Most bizarre is the recorded sighting of a lamb head-butting a golden eagle at Balallan on June 24th 2006 and an immature golden eagle running along the ground trying to catch rabbits on the Sollas machair.

SNH area Manager David Maclennan who welcomed the publication: “The rich diversity of bird life in the Western Isles is one of the great natural attractions for many of the visitors who come to these islands.

“These islands offer a wide range of habitats to bird species in the form of sea cliffs, machair, mountains, woodland, peat lands and even back gardens.

This publication does a great service for the islands by recording the behaviour and movements of different species of birds including those exceptionally rare and unusual visitors which draw bird enthusiasts here from all over the UK.”

Amongst the other exceptional sightings was that of ‘Albert’, the 47 year old black browed albatross, photographed happily roosting in the middle of the vast gannet colony on cliffs of Sula Sgeir by Dods Macfarlane of Ness.

This far travelled returning visitor from the Southern oceans caused such a stir that scores of twitchers from across the UK headed out to the remote rock on chartered boats to log their own sighting.

The report also carries a detailed account of the diet of the reintroduced sea eagle population through the prey contents of nests.

These were shown to contain the remains of seabirds mainly and fulmars in particular, followed by mackerel, lumpsucker, dogfish, red deer, mountain hare, lamb, brown rat, raven, short eared owl, great black backed gull, puffin, greylag goose and eider duck.

Coordinator of the Outer Hebrides Bird Group Brian Rabbitts said: "We are delighted to see the efforts and input of so many people included in this publication which we hope will be of great interest to anyone with a general interest in the nature and wildlife of the Western Isles as well as those with a more specific interest in birds.

“We thank all contributors and hope people enjoy reading about the birds of the Western Isles and the very special environment we have here to support such a rich and varied bird population."

Elsewhere the report charts some of the remarkable stories of migration which some species undertake to reach the Western isles in the course of their seasonal wanderings.

Travellers to the islands included an arctic tern from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a woodcock from Russia, sandpipers and whooper swans from Iceland and storm petrels from County Mayo. One determined dunlin left the balmy shores of Setuba in Portugal to head for Stinky Bay, Benbecula.

The report also notes the earliest ever sightings of snowy owls and the arrival of two colourful hoopoes from sub tropical climes,

New arrivals to the islands include a pair of Arctic skuas hunting ringed plovers, a sighting of an isabelline shrike at Brue, a pine bunting at Carinis, an olive backed pipit at Port of Ness, a Pallas’s warbler at Loch Eynort and a Wilson’s phalarope at Rubha Ard vule.

Non native, introduced or escaped species also feature with recorded sightings of an escaped black swan, a bar headed goose, a Lanner falcon and a Saker (falcon).

Very rare visits included those of a red eyed vireo - a North American passerine - on Uist and a golden oriole at North Tolsta on Lewis.

Source: Hebrides News