Kildonan to Auchenhew Walk

Starting and finishing at the car park above Silver Sands at the east end of Kildonan NS032208, on this walk along the coast a range of birdlife should be seen in a couple of hours. Parts can be rough and slippy after rain. Appropriate footwear should be worn.

The descent from the car park to the shore provides a number of vantage points for sea watching. Particularly at migration time it is a good area to the see the passage of Manx Shearwaters, skuas, terns, auks as well as Gannets, Shags and Cormorants

Heading west, remain on the shore beyond the Kildonan Hotel. Later you may find it easier to walk on the road rather than the shore. In the first part of the walk there is usually a range of shore birds including Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Turnstone and Curlew. At migration time Dunlin, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit can turn up and in the winter Purple Sandpiper. In addition Pied Wagtail, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Rock Pipit often congregate in numbers at times of migration.

The island of Pladda has breeding colonies of Black Guillemot, Shag, Cormorant and Arctic Tern as well as a range of gulls. The area around the little harbour can be a good area to watch these species feeding.

Walking through the village there are usually a range of finches, thrushes and tits using the gardens plus good numbers of Swallows and House Martins in the summer. This whole stretch of coast is also a good area to encounter Otter.

Where the main road turns up to the right, there is track running parallel to the shore heading west. Take the track to Auchenhew again checking the bay for shore birds. The area in front of the small group of houses can be a good area for Whimbrel on passage and Wigeon in the winter.

Continue on the path through the gates heading towards Bennan Head. The more open land here with bits of scrub and the woodland on the raised beach can be a rich source of warblers including Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat and other passerines including Linnet, Stonechat, and Wheatear. The rocks are a haul out area for Harbour Seals which should not be disturbed.

Retracing your steps back to the Silver Sands car park, gives a different view of this interesting stretch of coast.