Glendale, Skye - Tourist Guide
The Wildlife of Glendale, Isle of Skye
Seals
Atlantic Grey Seals are very common in Loch Pooltiel. They are very curious of people and will come closer to investigate if you whistle or sing at the sea-shore. There are usually a few basking daily on the skerries in Loch Pooltiel at low tide.
Grey Seal at Neist Point, Isle of Skye.
Whales & Dolphins
Minke Whale at Neist Point
This area is the best place on Skye for seeing whales, porpoises and dolphins. Dolphins are often seen outside the Three Chimneys Restaurant at Colbost. Minke whales and basking sharks are regularly seen off Neist Point from late April until the end of the Summer, with June/July being the peak months.
Even Killer Whales have entered Loch Pooltiel to hunt the seals. Read More
Otters
Otters often hunt for sea urchins on the shore of Loch Pooltiel and they regularly fish for trout in the many burns that flow into the Loch.
Broken sea urchin shells at the shoreline are a sure indicator of their presence. Read More
Orchids
Heath Spotted Orchid.
Some very interesting and unusual plants are common in Milovaig including Heath Spotted Orchid, Fragrant Orchid and Early Purple Orchid.
Carnivorous butterworts and sundews use their sticky leaves to trap passing flies. Bog Asphodel, Ragged Robin, Saxifrages, Spurges, Thrift and Monkey Flower can be found.
Sea-Birds
Black Guillemots are the commonest auk and are resident all year round. Gannets plunge-dive for fish into the Loch in the long Summer evenings. Fulmars nest on the sea cliffs.
Red-breasted Merganser, Eider Ducks, Red-Throated Divers, Great Northern Divers and Black Throated Divers are all regular visitors. Read More
Shore Birds
Oystercatchers, Curlews, Snipe, Common Sandpipers and Rock Pipits are very common around the shoreline of Loch Pooltiel and breed on the heather moorland.
Whimbrels pass through on migration and Golden Plovers are common in Winter.
Bluebells flowering beside Loch Pooltiel.
Wild Flowers
Milovaig is renowned for it impressive displays of wild flowers, with the fields beside Loch Pooltiel carpetted with flowers from Spring until late Autumn.
The Primroses and Violets of Spring, give way to beautiful wild bluebells in June and, in turn, to Orchids, Wild Herbs, Vetches and Heathers in Summer.
Recent Wildlife Sightings
17th Dec 2024
An otter crossed the road by the cattle grid at 1 Waterstein heading towards Loch Mor at 7:30pm (Alan Lamb).
9th Dec 2024
There were 2-3 harbour porpoises close in by the lighthouse and another 2 further out towards Canna at mid-day.
There was a distant, small pod of common dolphins breaching and splashing off Lower Milovaig, mid afternoon.
There we 12 fieldfares at the Loch Mor viewpoint, early afternoon.
5th Dec 2024
There was a single otter feeding around the skerries in Loch Pooltiel, mid morning (Alison Stables).
More recent wildlife sightings
Sea Eagles
Sub-Adult White-Tailed Eagle.
Both White-Tailed Eagles and Golden Eagles nest in North-West Skye.
Merlins and Sparrowhawks often flash past through cottage gardens in pursuit of bird-table visitors.
Buzzards are the commonest raptor and pose at the roadsides, to the delight of the tourists,
who leave Glendale happy to have seen an 'eagle'.
Garden Birds
Wheatears, Stonechats, Twite, Ravens, Hooded Crows, Goldcrests, Redpolls and Cuckoos are common around the Cottages and regularly come into the gardens.
Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Siskins visit bird feeders and, in Winter, redwings and fieldfares feed on lawns.
Magpie Moth in Milovaig.
Shorelife
Sea Anemones and Winkles at Milovaig.
There are fascinating rock pools near Meanish Pier containing beautiful sea anemones, winkles, crabs and sea urchins.