Читать книгу Backpacker's Britain: Northern Scotland. 30 short backpacking routes north of the Great Glen онлайн

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Mhealasta island lies about 750m offshore and is used as grazing land for sheep. As you continue northwards, keep an eye on the shoreline for otters. Although they are not easy to see there is a small population on these coasts. Otters inland on the mainland and in England and Wales are almost always nocturnal, whereas on the coasts of Scotland they tend not to be so choosy. These otters are governed more by the tides, preferring to hunt on a rising tide, whatever the time of day or night. Many people talk about these coastal otters as ‘sea otters’, but although they live and feed in the sea, they are the same species as the otters found inland in Britain, the Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra. There is such a thing as a sea otter, but this is a North American species. Eurasian otters, even those that live in coastal waters, need freshwater to clean their fur in daily.

During the summer months there will be lots of seabirds in this area. Fulmars, shags, rock doves and kittiwakes nest on the cliffs, while you may also see puffins, guillemots and razorbills. Out at sea occasional pods of pilot whales and sperm whales are seen, although you need a very calm sea to stand any chance of a clear view.