SOME BIRD NOTES FROM SOUTH UIST 187 



SOME BIRD NOTES FROM SOUTH UIST. 



By Donald Guthrie. 



Continued from page 1 50. 



The Brent Goose. Brent Geese are rare in Barra, 

 South Uist, and Benbecula, the only three I have seen in the 

 Outer Hebrides were shot in South Uist. 



The Barnacle Goose. Barnacle Geese arrive in the 

 Hebrides about 15th October and leave almost to a day 

 on 1st or 2nd May; on arriving at the islands they come 

 from the south, flying low along the Atlantic sea-board. 

 My idea is they fly south far out at sea and then, when 

 about Barrahead, turn north to settle on their favourite 

 haunts ; they come in from the sea very often at dusk. 

 White-fronted Geese, on the other hand, arrive from the 

 north-east, year in, year out. It is exciting work stalking 

 a large gaggle of Barnacle Geese as the}' make a con- 

 tinual cackling noise which makes one fear they are on the 

 point of rising ; they are easier to kill than other kinds 

 of geese as their feathers are easier to penetrate. It was 

 very interesting to watch the Barnacle Geese congregate 

 into one huge flock during the last days of April preparing 

 for their spring migration ; I have seen a large plain covered 

 with geese in the evening and by next morning not a single 

 goose was to be seen, even wounded geese disappeared 

 mysteriously. They left almost for certain on or about ist 

 or 2nd May, that is if not harassed by shooting too much 

 during the spring. During frost Barnacles take to the sea- 

 strands but return to the fresh water when possible at dusk 

 and during the night. In hard frost one winter I went to 

 an open sheet of water at the mouth of a large drain a little 

 before dusk and hid myself in a large stone butt. In a very 

 short time Teal began to come, then Snipe and a few Wood- 

 cock walking along the sides, then Wigeon, Goldeneye, 

 Scaup, Pochard, Mallard, Tufted Duck, and a few Pintail, so 

 that the sheet of water was covered. Just as the moon 

 began to shine brightly the Barnacle came, in hundreds, 

 some settling on the ice, some on the water, others on the 



