Two Islands - Handa, Scotland & The Farnes, Northumberland  -  Graham Lenton

Handa a beautiful island off the north-west coast of the Highlands of Scotland boasts up to 150,000 seabirds.  Its location seems to have its own weather pattern and the island is uninhabited apart from a seasonal warden and reserve volunteers.  It is accessed by a ten-minute ferry from the hamlet of Tarbet and its white sandy shores and clear blue waters make it appear almost tropical.  The seabird colonies of puffin, guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake and fulmar are easily viewed from the top of the island where sea cliffs of the Torridonian Sandstone reach over 300ft (100metres).  Other notable birds that breed on the island are great and arctic skua, stonechat, wheatear, cuckoo, twite, oystercatcher, arctic tern, common, herring and great black-backed gulls, shag, eider, red grouse, ringed plover, snipe, rock dove, meadow and rock pipit and reed bunting.  Most of the divers can be seen flying or on the sea around the island and black guillemots are often seen in the bay. Read more ...