Fauna found around Turnberry
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Basking Sharks Second largest fish in the world, sighted five last summer (2008) off Turnberry Point. |
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Black Guilimots Very rare Auks, nesting on Ailsa Craig and a couple of pairs on the cliffs below Culzean Castle. Can be seen from time to time fishing for sand eels in the lighthouse area. |
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Brown Trout Great camouflage eh? Brown trout are very common in the Milton Burn which runs adjacent to the golf course. Even the heron will have a hard time spotting this wee guy. |
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Bumble Bee Turnberry boasts many species of bees due to the rich diversity of flora. This bumble bee was photographed collecting nectar and pollen from a ..... |
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Burnet Moth Pretty little moth, again very common in the rough around the Ailsa course. Not adverse to flying around during the day unlike most moths which are nocturnal. |
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Butterflies Very common in all the rough areas around both courses. First one here is a Heath Brown............ |
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Buzzard Turnberry boasts quite a few species of Raptors. Kestrels are commonly seen hunting for small mammals in the rough areas of both courses. ..... |
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Common Lizard As far as I know there are 3 or 4 colonies of common lizards in and around the Ailsa course. Quite commonly seen sunbathing on the rocks and ..... |
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Common Toad Both common toads and frogs breed in the small ponds next to the 11th green, 12th tee of the Kintyre course. |
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Cormorant Very common on the rocks and actively fishing in the lighthouse area. This one has obviously been successful as it's in the process of swallowing quite a large fish. |
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Dolphins and Porpoises Here we have a common dolphin in the first picture and porpoises in the second..... |
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Eider Ducks Probably the most common ducks to be found near to the coast at Turnberry. Eider ducks breed on the rocks all around the 9th tee and the lighthouse area...... |
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Finches Chaffinches are common around the golf course area, as are Yellowhammers, Linnits, Goldfinches and Greenfinches. |
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Fulmar The Fulmar is a Petrel which nests in the cliffs at Culzean but very commonly seen soaring up and down the coast in the vicinity of the lighthouse. |
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Gannets Gannets are the largest of the sea birds found in these waters. There is a large colony on Ailsa Craig and they are commonly seen ..... |
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Grey Heron Commonly seen fishing in the rock pools both sides of the lighthouse. |
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Grey Mullet Very common in the Summer months. Feeding very close inshore on small marine invertibrates. This large specimen probably between ..... |
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Gulls and Terns There are 7 species of gulls and 2 species of terns commonly seen in the Turnberry area. This is the largest of them all, the Greater Black Back Gull. Others will be added as and when available. |
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Herring Small shoal of Herring feeding in a plankton bloom. They are the staple food source for the large number of Ganets to be found in these waters. |
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Jellyfish Very common along the coastal area. Many different varieties. Examples of the other will species will be added as and when available. |
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Lambs Going, going, gone. Pair of lamb twins enjoying the sunshine, in the field next to the Kintyre course. |
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Larks and Pippets Skylarks and Rock Pippets are very common. Skylarks on both courses and Rock Pippets all along the rocky shore line. |
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Mallard Drake Mallards are common at Turnberry and nest in the rough close to the burn. This one was photographed on the 7th fairway of the Ailsa course. |
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Mallard Duck Mallard duck with 12 ducklings on the fishing pond at Turnberry. |
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Oyster Catcher's nest and eggs We have a pair of resident Oyster Catchers which regularly nest on or next to the runway adjascent to the 12th hole. |
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Raven's nest This was pictured on the cliff below the 10th tee in May 2009. In my 33 years at Turnberry as a caddie there has always been ..... |
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Ring Neck Pheasant Pheasants are now very common on all the golf courses and many of the pairs are successfully breeding. It's not unusual to see both parents and chicks ..... |
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Sand Eels Sand eels are the staple diet of the majority of the sea birds to be found in this area. |
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Seals There are two varieties of seals in the Turnberry area. The most common is the larger Atlantic Grey Seal. The first one pictured here is the rarer of the two species, the so called ..... |
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Seven Spotted Ladybird Very common pretty little predators, found throughout the area in long grass. |
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Slow Worm Small harmless legless lizard, photographed in the rough at the 17th on the Ailsa course. |
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Swallows, Swifts and Martins These are baby swallows ready to leave the nest. Turnberry boasts large amounts of swallows and house martins but a few swifts and sand martins can usually be seen ..... |
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Wolf Spider This tiny spider, believe it or not, is a close relative of the Tarantula. Like the Tarantula who doesn't build a web it relies on sight to locate and run down his prey. |
Our local expert John has been a wildlife enthusiast for over 40 years and a professional caddie at Turnberry for over 30 of those, so there can be few, if indeed anyone, who is better placed to advise on the wildlife to be found in this beautiful area of Scotland.
Not only does Turnberry boast of the finest and most scenicly spectacular golf course in the world, but also sports a vast array of fauna and flora, some of which we will display on this site. We will be updating it regularly as new material becomes available.
Questions and Answers
| On 2009-10-19 14:48:52 James asked: the pictures of the gannet you got fishing it was in the carrick caziet was it not John Answered: Yes, that's right. It was taken on a fishing trip in September and sent in to the local newspaper for their 'Carrick on Camera' competition. |
| On 2009-08-10 12:12:22 Angela asked: cool pics! so could you tell me why do they look out of focus on the main page? when they look ok after clicking the read more link A John Answered: Hi A, thats just because the images were resampled to a size of 100 x 100 pixels to keep the file sizes small, they are displayed at 150 x 150 pixels on the main page, stretching the thumbnail, but the larger images on the read more page are all 920 pixels wide which is the size they're displayed at so there is no distortion. Thanks for your interest. |
Ask a Question
| Send in your wildlife related questions for John using the form below and he'll answer them for you within a day or two. | |