Many of the species of birds and animals can be seen in or around the garden at the Willowburn Hotel. We have worked hard over the years to plant trees and shrubs to increase the shelter and nesting opportunities for various birds. We have also put up numerous nesting boxes around the garden to further attract feathered visitors and also nesting boxes for hedgehogs. It has paid off. When we first came here in 1997, to hear birdsong we would have to go several gardens away – now we just step outside and listen.
We have a substantial colony of house sparrows which nest in the ivy on the north gable end of the building – so many people tell us that they hardly ever see sparrows any more. The kitchen stove is on the gable end, and at roosting time each day there is a noisy squabble for the warmest spots, especially in the winter.
But we also have chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, bullfinches, blackbirds, thrushes, blue, coal and great tits, siskins, yellowhammers, wrens, dunnocks, pied wagtails, house martins, swallows, robins, starlings and collared doves. Some of these birds are seasonal visitors, but many stay with us all year round. Some of them seem to be gentle souls, but others, like the siskins, are feisty little devils who chase other birds three times their size away from the feeders.
Being close to the sea means that we also have shore and sea/water birds – oystercatchers, who regularly raise at least one brood during the summer, and dive bomb you if you go near their nest or young, grey herons who stalk fish and eels in the slow, stately and unhurried manner that they have. Then there’s the ruddy shelduck who come to nest each year, red breasted mergansers, shags, divers, grebes, eiders, curlew and goldeneyes. And of course, the mallards, who give us hours of entertainment with their daily pantomime – and help to keep the slug population down. Again, many of these are seasonal or occasional visitors, and this list is certainly not definitive.
We also have a healthy collection of raptors around – buzzards, sparrowhawks, and peregrines being the most regular, but we also see golden eagles, merlins osprey and sea eagles occasionally. The sparrowhawk is the most regular visitor to our garden. He can be seen cruising round, and quite close to, the building – you can tell when he is around by the behaviour of the little birds. More than once we have been almost on collision course with her as she has pursued her prey. On one occasion she actually came into the hotel lounge in pursuit of a chaffinch who hid under the settee.
Perhaps closest to our hearts are our two resident swans, Mr & Mrs D52. Each year they go away to nest around the end of March. In ten years, they have only reared young once – and that was in 2003. When they go on their annual nesting, we are usually visited by two migratory swans who stay for about 3 weeks before moving on to their own nesting place.
Rarer visitors include a rose coloured starling, a snowy egret, red polls, fieldfares and geese.
Of course, this is only our garden, and as such, provides a snapshot for the rest of the island which provides a healthy mix of habitat with plenty of wild spaces and food supplies for an enormous variety of birds including woodcock, snipe, wheatears, stonechats, ravens, redwings, and skylarks. The island next to us, Luing, provides all of this too, but in addition, it has an enormouse flock of geese which visit every year.
And that’s just the birdlife!
Roe deer are an occasional visitor to the garden, but normally we see them over the road or in the woodland around the island. Sometimes you can hear them bark warnings to one another – if you’re not familiar with the sound, it’s quite a spine tingling one, especially at dusk. Another species of deer seen increasingly often here are monkjacks. Hedgehogs are plentiful, but sadly, like everywhere else in the country, they are regularly seen as victims of the road. We also have red squirrels, but these seem to be mostly around Ballahuan hazel woods.
We regularly see otters in the garden – we have quite a number of small eels in our ponds and up the burn, so they often come for those, but I think sometimes they just come to play, running up and down the burn like puppy dogs! There are quite a number of otters around the island, it’s just been in the right place at the right time to see them. Sometimes you will come upon a place where they regularly eat their catch – the smell of fish will tell you where! You will often see seals in the waters around the island, and on a lucky day, you may see pods of porpoise or dolphin moving through ther water. There have also been sightings of minke whale, orca and basking sharks in the waters around the island. These waters are so clear you can see crabs scurrying around the bottom – and you can certainly chase them round the rock pools!
We musn’t forget too, the lambs and calves that arrive in the spring – whilst not really wildlife, they’re always a joy to watch as they play king of the castle, and tig, or just jumping around with the joy of life.
There is as wide a variety of flora as there is fauna on the island – probably more so! In the spring we have banks of primroses, bluebells and violets in the woodland areas, and carpets of thrift at the seashore. The foxgloves spire upwards later, along with the wild orchids, some of which are quite exquisite, and heady with perfume. If you walk through the marshland (and there can be plenty of that!) the smell of water mint fills the air. The season ends with fires of rowan berries and the turning of the leaves.
There are numerous pools and ponds around the island, too, providing habitat for frogs, toad, newts, and other water-liking creatures.
What ever time of year you are here, there is something quite beautiful about it, and there is something quite special about finding a quiet corner, lying back and listening to the sounds around you.
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Jan & Chris Wolfe
Willowburn Hotel, Seil Island,
By Oban, Argyll
PA34 4TJ
Tel: 01852 300276
email us at: info@willowburn.co.uk