SEA & SHORE
Geologically, Bute is unique. Twenty
thousand years ago, the island lay under an Ice cap, a kilometre thick. The glaciers
carried huge boulders with them, sometimes for hundreds of miles, and deposited them on
the Bute shoreline. They gouged the land with fragments of bedrock, like some giant
scouring pad to produce the gently rolling hills of today. As the icecap receded and the
sea level dropped, the former shoreline became the raised beaches and cliffs that are a
distinctive feature of the Bute seaside landscape.
Bute is divided by the Highland Boundary Faultline ( marked by Loch Fad ) producing
the contrasting grey, glinting seashore rocks in the north and the red/brown sandstone in
the south. Along the coast to the south of Kilchattan Bay is the start of a
geological mystery tour. A path leads past strange rock formations and cliffs to the
anchorage of Glencallum Bay at the southern tip of Bute. (see our Walking
pages for a map of this walk. In the west, the sea bites into the land in a series of long
sandy beaches - Stravannan, Scalpsie, St Ninians and Ettrick Bay - sheltered by the little
island of Inchmarnock and the Mull of Kintyre. Seals, seabirds, shells and lots of
rockpools await explorers of all ages.
| The rocks of
Ardscalpsie's shore sometimes move! Gentle snoring or luxurious stretch gives the game
away, as the 'boulder' turns into a snoozing seal. Bute is a favourite haunt of both the
common seal and the Atlantic Grey seal. They playfully follow walkers around the
shoreline of Scalpsie Bay, keeping a respectful distance in the shallow waves. |
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| Looking
further out into the Sound of Bute - binoculars are useful here - one can occasionally
spot rarer backs breaking the waters; porpoises, basking sharks, dolphins and even killer
whales. |
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BIRDLIFE
More than 100 different species of birds live on the island of Bute. With one
mile's stroll of Kingarth, the moorland curlew and lapwing are neighbours of the woodland
tits and finches and the seashore gull and waders.
Huge flocks of geese winter on Bute and the lochs that divide the island are a
paradise for wildfowl, with Cormorant and Heron competing for fishing rights. |
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St
Ninians Bay is their off-season resort. Each Autumn, thousands of orange billed Greylag
and Greenland geese fly in from the Arctic circle to take advantage of the mild climate
and the lush grass of the virtually frost free island. The rhythm of their beating wings
heralds the V-shaped formations as they come into land and their haunting chatter gives
the winter dusk an almost eerie quality.
North of the Highland divide, the scenery changes to the scrub woodland, rolling
heather covered hills and rocky shoreline of the highland sea loch. Here raptors such as
the Buzzard and Hen Harrier wheel overhead in search of prey.
For the avid birdwatcher 2 hides are located at Kirk Dam, within a Site of Special
Scientific Interest, and Loch Ascog. 14 different species inhabit these areas, including
teal, mallard, tufted duck, coot and crested grebe. |
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