An Otters tail.

Thursday the temperature went up again to about 28C - too hot for me! Not too many chances of photos through the day but some good views of the wildlife. WT Eagles performed well, a nice GN Diver but the only view of an Otter was a tail disappearing over a rock never to be seen again! A splendid Whinchat posed on a post but I had no camera to hand. Two Hen Harriers and two Golden Eagle kept the thrills going and a Wood Warbler was a nice find. More Whinchat, an Adder, a dashing Sparrowhawk, a couple of Whimbrel and two Mountain Hares seen us through the rest of the day. The run back produced some good sightings with a WT Eagle hunting, we lost it and then relocated it tearing a Greylag Goose apart.

The heat haze didn't help with that one but the Common Gulls flying along the road came out a bit better.

We finished the day with some views of Short-eared Owl.
Friday there was no let up in the heat and it may have been a tough day but we got some awesome views. The Eider ducks were on the shore at high tide.

A couple of Red-throated Diver performed well but a GN Diver was a bit more elusive. We got cracking views of a Golden Eagle being seen off by a Hen Harrier. The Goldie picked up speed with no effort and the harrier struggled to keep up.

An adjustment of the wings and the Hen Harrier was left standing - good viewing for us!

The Adders were a struggle to see in the blistering heat but we did find one that had just shed it's skin and better still we found a young one too.

This youngster was on a mission and well capable of swimming the stream.

We checked out the waders and Mountain Hare and then it was back on the trail of the elusive Otter. Any sighting would have done but when we stopped to see what had caused some ripples on the water we had our target. We crept closer just in time to see this Otter surface with a large catch.

The Otter was kind enough to bring it's catch out right in front of us - what a way to finish!

The heat is on.

Wednesday the temperature soared to 22C! A bit warm but the wildlife showed well. We started the day with a Curlew with 2 youngsters.

A couple of Otters wandered along the shore and gave us the slip now and again. You can see how well this one blends in to it's surroundings.

A Cuckoo was seen at close quarters before it retired to a pole.

There are plenty of Oystercatchers on the nest and most of them are obliging as long as you stay in the vehicle.

Another good Golden Eagle day with another fairly close fly past.

Some of the Red Deer are sporting quite big antlers already - looking good.

A couple of Adders and a Slow Worm today. The Whinchat numbers seem to be pretty good this year but it's not easy getting a decent shot.

The Common Whitethroat is always worth a look but it looks like we were worth spying on too!

A cracking Hen Harrier in the afternoon, a couple of SE Owl, Whimbrel and Mountain Hare were all seen despite the heat that normally means a quiet day.

Spine tingler.

Tuesday the weather took a turn for the better as it went from warm to hot! The House Martins finally arrived today and immediately got down to business.

When we turned up at the WT Eagle nest there was no sign of any adult birds which was odd as they won't be out of sight of the chicks at this stage. A bit of a look around revealed the adult bird hiding behind a branch so we moved for a better look and no sooner was that done and the adult flew to the nest - good times. GN Diver and SE Owl carried on the good sightings with a few of the commoner birds to fill the gaps. Next up was a stop for Golden Eagle and, boy, was it a good one. Nothing to see at first and then two birds were seen rising from behind the forestry and then they started to drift towards us.

A Hen Harrier rose up to buzz the eagles but maybe two was one too many as it disappeared pretty quick - the Goldies came closer.

There was no need for binoculars as both birds drifted over the top of us - a real spine tingler!!

You had to be there.

As we left the area we admired a male Whinchat and also saw a female Redstart. We managed to get decent views of an Adder before we had lunch and a nice display from a pair of Hen Harrier before I headed back for some reptile shots. There were two Adders curled up together - you can see the eye is clear on one beast...

...and cloudy on the second one. The cloudy eye is an indication that the skin will be shed soon.

After all that excitement we calmed things down in the afternoon with a wander on the beach and watched the likes of Stonechat and Sedge Warbler and finished the day off with more views of Short-eared Owl. I was kidnapped by BB as I arrived home to go watch the Shorties again - it's a hard life!