Black Isle Birds

The Black Isle is rich in wildlife, especially birds. From the car park at Munlochy Bay you may be able to spot buzzards and kites. In late autumn, the fields around the bay can have large flocks of greylag geese.

Chanonry Point at Fortrose is also a good place to spot birds. In late summer and autumn shearwaters are regular, especially after north-easterly winds. Four different species of skua have been spotted here and in winter you can see long-tailed ducks, divers and auks. Large numbers of dunlin, ringed plover and turnstone roost around the point at high tide.

At Cromarty in winter you can get excellent views of long-tailed ducks, eiders, divers and red-breasted mergansers offshore. In summer, the cruise boats, which can almost guarantee sightings of the bottlenose dolphins, also give good views of the seabird colonies on the North Sutor at Cromarty. Guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, shags, fulmars and cormorants all nest here.

Slavonian grebes and scaup regularly winter off the coast at Jemimaville. However, the best site for waders and dabbling duck is the RSPB hide at Udale Bay. Just before high tide you might see oystercatchers, redshanks, curlews, dunlins, knots and bar-tailed godwits all assembling to roost on the saltmarsh. Carry on to Newhall Point and you may see goldeneye out on the firth. The hawthorn hedges are also excellent for winter thrushes, finches and bunting.