Arran is a bird watcher’s paradise. Novice and experts, enthusiasts and scientists, Arran has a lot to offer for anyone who is interested in birds. The time of the year doesn’t really make a difference here as Arran always has something interesting to offer. Geographically, Arran lies in the Firth of Clyde, located 28 kms west of Ayrshire coast and 5 kms east of Kintyre Peninsula.

The rugged mountainous northern half is remote with very little human population making it one of the best habitats for the golden eagle. The 874 meter high Goat Fell watches over the town of Brodick on the east. The south, a gentle moorland, is land to extensive conifer plantations and boasts of most of the island’s farmlands too. The coast is either a raised beach that has a shoreline made of rock or shingle and steep escarpments. This wide diversity makes the island a suitable habitat for over 250 species of birds.

Arran has a healthy population of raptors, notably buzzard, kestrel, sparrowhawk, hen harrier, short-eared owl and golden eagle. Nightjar may be in cleared forest.  Red-throated diver breed on remote hill lochans.

Nationally, Arran plays host to the raptors and it is an important geographical location for the red breasted merganser and in the autumn, for the black throated divers. Walking down the coast, you can see great northern divers, red throated divers and black throated divers during any point in the year.

Internationally, it is an important area for the hen harrier, over 11,000 hectares of land is dedicated to it as the Special Protection Area (SPA). Arran plays home to a wide variety of bird species found across Scotland and that is just one of the reasons why it rightly described as Scotland in miniature.