Still high on the previous day’s sightings we travelled to the south west of the island to Fionnphort the ferry point for the island of Iona. Our campsite overlooked a fine white sandy beach bounded by pink granite rocks and a turquoise blue sea with views of Iona abbey.

Although still early spring I decided to take a trip to Staffa in the hope of seeing the first puffins arriving home to re-establish their nesting burrows.

Despite a cold north easterly wind the Atlantic was calm under sunny and almost cloudless blue skies. A 50 minute crossing took us to the amazing island of Staffa with its tall basalt pillars formed from volcanic lava cooled by the sea to form almost uniform hexagonal columns. At the south of the island is Fingals cave which due to its size imparts a unique sound.

We carefully disembarked the boat and whilst all the other passengers headed for a closer look at Fingals cave I headed for the north of the island in search of Puffins.

I had been reliably informed that my presence at the cliff tops would deter the marauding great black backed gulls and skuas and allow the puffin access to their burrows.

So I sat patiently scanning a small raft of puffins floating out at sea through my binoculars. And just as predicted after around ten minutes in flew several puffins which landed within 10-15ft from were I was sitting which made the some what rushed walk seem very worthwhile.

Plenty of other seabird sightings on or around the island including fulmar, cormorant, shag, kittiwake, common gull, lesser black backed gull and manx shearwater.

Back at the campsite that evening we watched hares feeding on the seaweed together with dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, rock pipit, curlew, buzzard and Atlantic seals...