Wild About Mull

Happily ever after.

2012-02-24T22:12:00.000Z

Most of this week has been wet so I've stayed dry by not going out! An early highlight was a close encounter with a male Hen Harrier flying beside the motor in the pouring rain on Monday. Thursday was a good run out but in very murky conditions as you will see from the photos. I started the day with a Glaucous Gull on the beach.

I had my first singing Skylark of the year while getting my best views of the, normally, very flighty Barnacle Geese.

The WT Eagles were sitting side by side on the nest and two Golden Eagle put in an appearance near the end of the day.

A Mountain Hare was close enough for a photo but the light was failing - you can't win!

Friday was a lot better - quite a few showers but there was sunshine inbetween. I'll start with a common bird that you probably wouldn't look at twice but you should - just look at the colours on this Mallard.

It was no surprise that the handsome chap had a pretty lady in tow...

...and I'm sure they will live 'happily ever after'!

I caught up with a Raven that was posturing and giving a quiet low pitched, call while spreading it's tail and blowing up it's neck feathers - awesome.

It was nice to get the Lapwing in a bit of decent light too.

A quick bit of lunch while it was raining and I was off again in the sunshine. A Common Buzzard flew past but it was heading into the sun.

The sunshine will always bring the Adders out. This is the one that came out of hibernation first...

...and these two were fresh out.

Check out the head pattern on the top one of the two snakes - a distinct heart shape that will make it easy to ID if I see it again. The rain was coming back in again when I found this Golden Eagle - it did the sensible thing and flew off away from the wet stuff.

A bit of spring in the snow.

2012-02-21T09:08:00.001Z

The weatherman said Saturday would be quite blustery with snow showers later in the day - he wasn't wrong. On Sunday enough snow had fell overnight to cover the higher ground but the roads were fairly clear. We had a quick look for the adult type Iceland Gull I'd seen on Friday but we only connected with the 2nd winter bird again along with 20 White-fronted Geese. A flock of 20 Lapwing were a nice find as this Song Thrush added some music to the scene.

The temperature peaked at 8 degrees on lower ground but a bit colder near the higher ground. The Red Deer seemed to be round every corner in the morning but as the snow disappeared they were heading back to their usual grazing areas.

A walk on the beach next to try for better photos of the Glaucous Gulls. We passed a small flock of Greylag Geese that gave us a fly past about 10 minutes later.

We could see one Glaucous Gull in fields too distant for photos and another on the beach. As we approached the bird on the beach another Glauc came flying in and another flew over the top - four birds in total. Of the two on the beach, one swam off and the other perched on a rock to bring up a pellet.

Another change of location and another walk gave up a few more treats. First off was a nosey Great Tit.

There were plenty more Red Deer and a Golden Eagle perched on top of a very thin looking Larch. Best of all was to see an Adder out in the snow - I know it's not a lot of snow but it's not often you get both together!

We found our first lump of Frog spawn this year and, just so you can see how cold it is, this is covered in ice.

We had a nice view of a female Hen Harrier on the way home but I was hoping to catch up with an Otter. We checked a few places with no luck but finally we picked up a distant one. A bit of a wait as it made it's way towards me and eventually up on the shore.

Gulls.

2012-02-19T18:28:00.000Z

Friday was supposed to be a real stinker from the off but with no sign of rain it would be silly to waste it. A bit of a random journey with nothing in particular in mind but it just happened to turn into a gull day. First up was an Iceland Gull that flew in front of the motor and off into the distance. It looked grey on the wings so certainly near adult and one I will have to find again soon for a better look. It did leave a friend behind - another Iceland Gull, 2nd winter bird.

Good numbers of Herring Gull waiting for the Sheep to be fed.

The Common Gulls seemed a bit flighty today and always on the move so no photos of them. Next up was a particularly menacing Great Black-backed Gull that had just finished it's lunch.

It was just starting to rain by now and the light was going fast but I could see another white-winged gull in the distance. This bird wasn't happy with the approach of other gulls so it took flight a couple of times and settled on the beach before it was close enough for a photo.

It wasn't long before the bird was flying again.

The rain was fairly steady by now so I didn't try to get any closer to a second Glaucous Gull that was lingering in the fields.

a good haul of gulls for the day.

Stuck in the mud.

2012-02-18T10:35:00.003Z

Wednesday started off with plenty of rain but it soon broke up into occasional showers. I stood and watched this Raven for a good half an hour as it paraded around the tree displaying and calling.

The bird certainly looked very smart in the sunshine but I couldn't find the bird that this one was displaying to. I guess the other bird was on the nest not too far away. The Red-breasted Mergansers are fairly well paired up now but this just increases the displaying as the males try to keep their females. Plenty of splashing about too...

...but it's worth it when you look this good.

Thursday was a bit gloomy but just bright enough to get some photos. First off was a WT Eagle perched in a tree - I could see a wing tag on this one so a closer look was required. It turned out to be one of the East coast re-introduction birds but I'd seen this one before in April 2010. I needed to find a closer spot for a photograph and I knew just the place - through the wood. I made a great error going into the wood as I didn't have my laces tied properly and as I sunk into the first bit of soft ground, off came the first boot, a bit of forward momentum and off came the second boot. I'm not a small bloke and I sink fast in boggy ground so I just had to keep going to the other side!! My boots were stuck so I just carried on to take a couple of shots.

I did manage to find an easier way out of the wood and I rescued my boots. I kept an eye on the bird for an hour or so and as soon as I took my eye off it, it disappeared! I could hear the shore birds calling so something was unsettling them and as I turned to look a Grey Heron was cruising over the shore and another, different kind of bird was breaking the sky line. I could see this was another, younger, WT Eagle and it was heading my way and off towards where the other bird had been.

After a change of clothes and some clean boots I was back out in the afternoon taking a few photographs of the pale Common Buzzard...

...and a cracking Great Northern Diver.

The Black-throated and Red-Throated Divers were both on show but way too far away for the camera. Not a lot else to crow about apart from the very dodgy internet connection I have at the moment hence the lack of posts. I'll leave the Hoodie to do the crowing for me.

Sunday stroll.

2012-02-13T19:47:00.000Z

A bit of a look back to the start of the month for the first photo as I've neglected the scenery of late - February 3rd this was the view.

Saturday was a bit of a quiet day but I did manage to see the Tawny Owl coming out of it's roost and a singing Stonechat.

Sunday we had a stroll around the woods seeing very little on the bird front. Seeing isn't everything though as there is plenty to hear - Blue, Great and Coal Tit, Mistle Thrush, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Robin and Woodpigeon. The vegetation is always interesting too as you can see by the moss growth on the trees - a jungle in itself!

There are plenty of Snowdrops in the gardens although ours haven't flowered yet so it was nice to find this single flower in the shade.

Out of the woods and into the open we came across a group of Hooded Crows...

...that appeared to be mobbing two Grey Herons but as we got closer a Common Buzzard, two Ravens and a Great Black-backed Gull all started mobbing the same place. What did we find? Nothing, no food, no larger birds - a bit odd. A bit further along the road a Royal stag was munching on the vegetation - looks like he's lost a bit of his left ear too.

As we drove back home there were numerous Buzzards sitting on posts but we just drove past them because they usually just fly off. I did stop for one and it didn't fly immediately.

Another update...Sula, the kitten I picked up on the road side a year and a half ago. As you can see she's a sweet cat that wouldn't hurt a fly!

Wide load.

2012-02-11T16:01:00.000Z

Thursday started off with rain but it was easing off. I didn't get out until lunchtime but I hadn't got far when an odd wader caught my eye. A quick wander down the shore for a closer look revealed a Knot - first one I've seen here in the winter.

It was a good start to the trip out and it just got better. I picked up an Otter fishing the opposite side of the loch to me, watched it for five minutes and decided it wasn't going to visit me in a hurry. I'd driven along the road for a bit and looked back over to see the Otter swim into my view but still on the far shore. I got the scope out and watched it looking for somewhere to haul out with the fish it had caught when it suddenly turned and started swimming across the loch. I wandered back down the road to watch it haul out - result.

I wasn't quick enough to get in a closer position but looking at that picture the Otter seems to be a bit of a wide load! On the walk back to the motor I saw a couple of Grey Heron having a dispute over the fishing rights and watched the victor arriving back to it's spot.

They look really big like this but it's surprising how small they are up close.

The Rock Pipits are starting to pair up and investigate their usual breeding sites so I was escorted along the road by this bird!

As you can see it wasn't the brightest of days but these conditions always add some atmosphere.

I managed to get some decent views of the rare Sea Bat...

...which normally looks like a Slavonian Grebe - or should that be the other way round?

I was trying to get into a good position for some Otter photographs but a Black-throated Diver was a bit of a distraction as it came in fairly close.

I missed the Otter as it swam past but I did catch up with it. While I was waiting one of the Great Northern Divers started calling further down the loch, a haunting call that echoed down the loch and received a response from two other birds - a real spine tingling moment. Just as the calls stopped the Otter stuck it's head up for a quick look around before it moved on.

My next stop was right next to the GN Diver that was being vocal. It was good to see the behaviour of the bird as it submerged itself before firing off the calls over the surface of the water. The bill is hardly opened at all when it calls and I wonder how much the call travels below the surface from this position.

Here is the same bird calling again - you can see the throat is distended but the bill is just cracked open.

A bit of the white stuff...

2012-02-09T10:20:00.000Z

...but not any snow! It was another nice day on Tuesday so I had a trip to Tobermory to visit friends and hopefully pick up some wildlife too. A Pied Wagtail on the front street and a few Buzzard, Meadow Pipit and my first Primrose of the year were the best of the haul. The trip back home produced the white stuff. Firstly a group of three Mute Swan - not a bird I see that much of in the SW of Mull.

Next stop was a visit to the salmon hatchery for white-winged gulls. As you can see there were a few birds at the outfall including a few Shelduck. If you look carefully you should see FOUR Iceland Gulls in this shot.

If you are struggling with the gulls there are two first winter birds on the left, another first winter just right of centre and a second winter on the right...or maybe it's easier to look at the photo below.

A Red-breasted Merganser posed well a bit further along the road.

Quite a nice haul at the next stop. I noticed this Grey Heron perched overlooking the road and I had to drive past it before getting out to photograph it- it was nice to get one off the shore.

I could see a Razorbill on the loch, heading towards me, but too far off for now. Luckily there was a small distraction on the skyline - a nice Red Deer stag.

I was almost too late to catch the Razorbill after those shots but a quick scramble down the rocks gave me decent views.

Wednesday was a bit of a contrast with a stiff breeze blowing, overcast sky and rain by lunchtime - it never got light! Just as I was getting up there was a Tawny Owl hooting as it was going to roost and then as I was leaving the house a male Hen Harrier flew over! Better still were the four Buzzard that were a bit agitated because there was WT Eagle hanging around! I'd only driven a couple of hundred yards from the house and I had to pull over to get a shot...

...but the camera was still set up for sunnier conditions. A quick change of the settings and I managed to get this one instead.

Keep it small.

2012-02-07T18:25:00.001Z

Sunday was a bit overcast but the football and rugby were taking up most of the day after a quick walk in the morning. Three Wigeon and the odd stag were the best of the day.

Monday was an absolute stunner with blue sly, no wind and 9 degrees!! It was the ideal conditions to dig out some of the small stuff that I haven't seen this year. I got a trio of goodies as soon as I arrived with 4 Skylark scurrying about amongst six Reed Bunting...

...and a Pied Wagtail not too far away.

The Starling flock was up to a couple of hundred birds - cracking birds.

I could see another flock of small birds sitting on the wires a few hundred yards away but just too far to ID them. I walked up the road to get a better view picking up Kestrel, Hen Harrier and 120 strong flock of Barnacle Geese. I'd seen the small birds drop to the ground so all I had to do was find them without disturbing them. A bit of careful walking and I had them in my sights and a bit of patience and they had made their way towards me - 14 Twite were the prize.

The male House Sparrows were looking very smart as they kept an eye on the ladies.

The next stop was for the reptiles, surely they would be on show in this heat! I checked the area carefully and finally located one basking in full view.

I was happy with the haul for the day so I decided to park up and just see what would come by. Plenty of stuff out on the loch with the highlights being a Slavonian Grebe, one Black-throated Diver, plenty of Razorbill and an Oystercatcher that was in full display mode - he never shut up and flew past every couple of minutes.

One more stunner before the day was done - a male Siskin on the feeder.

Flight.

2012-02-06T09:30:00.000Z

Friday was another pleasant day. Apparently the rest of the country is freezing while we are basking in plus five degrees - quite pleasant in the sunshine. As the weather was so nice I thought I would check out the Adders again. We are only a week away from the earliest date that I have seen them before so, with no sign of them, it looks like the temperature is not encouraging them out at all. There won't be much difference in daylight hours in a weeks time but maybe they really are that sensitive to the changes - we'll see. It wasn't a fruitless day out though. As I parked up I could see a Buzzard sitting on a distant post, it took flight as I took a few test shots - I like the feel of the motion in this one.

I managed to walk past this Red Deer hind to get the light on it before it wandered off.

A pair of Golden Eagle put in an appearance for a while before disappearing. Three Meadow Pipits were seen on the track as I continued up the hill and located one of the Goldies sitting on the ridge. The Golden Eagle took flight and quickly disappeared and I thought that would be the last I would see of them. On my return journey I'd stopped to watch a Stonechat and as that disappeared from sight I turned around to find a Golden Eagle flying towards me over the trees. It put on quite a display with it's mate not too far away - the best of the action was the foot dangling.

No sooner had the Goldies disappeared again and this female Hen Harrier was circling in front of me - awesome!

I'd missed an opportunity of getting a Pheasant photo on my way out so I made the effort to stop for this male with a couple of hens.

I stopped for my lunch and had a scan of the distant ridges to find 5 Golden Eagles flying together. There was an obvious pair, two adults that kept apart and a juvenile - good to see the interaction between them though with nobody stepping on anyones toes! I picked up an Otter next that drifted off quite quickly so I settled for the distant views and a scan about. There were plenty of Great Northern Diver, a smattering of Razorbill, a single Red-throated Diver and a few Red-breasted Merganser to keep the interest. I took a few snaps of a Herring Gull preening and managed to catch it in an odd pose.

Damage.

2012-02-02T17:16:00.000Z

The temperatures are dropping and making it feel like winter at last but things are starting to change for the better too - the Oystercatchers are pairing up and displaying, the GN Divers are quite vocal, Lesser Celandine plants are starting to show, the list is endless. Despite this change times are still hard out there and occasionally you see something like this Common Buzzard.

I could be wrong but I think this bird may have been in a bit of a scrap and lost some feathers. It didn't seem to affect the birds ability to fly about so, hopefully, it's just a lesson learned. There were plenty of other birds in the same area with 6 Buzzard, 20 Hooded Crow, 12 Raven, 1 Golden Eagle and 1 Hen Harrier all seen in the air. Two unconcerned Song Thrush were poking about unaware of the action above.

I had a quick look for the Adders on Wednesday but had no luck. An afternoon of sit and wait paid off as I had a few views of 3 Golden Eagle and a female Hen Harrier. None of the views of the raptors were particularly close but that's just the way it is. A couple of Wrens were having a dispute while the eagles soared overhead.

A change of location and another view of a young Golden Eagle was a nice way to finish the day.

Thursday was an overcast day with a chilly wind. I was staking out a Golden Eagle in the morning but the bird had other ideas as it dropped behind the ridge it had been sitting on and never reappeared. I've not seen an Otter for a couple of days so I thought I should put a bit of effort in. It couldn't have been easier as I spotted this one making it's way to shore...

...looking for a nice place to eat it's lunch.

It couldn't have picked a better spot.

Eyeballed.

2012-01-31T18:47:00.001Z

January is over already!! Monday was a really pleasant day with sunshine (remember that?) and a cold wind. I had a pleasant wander about along a woodland edge which produced prolonged sightings of WT Eagle and Golden Eagle in the distance but it was the smaller birds I was after. A flock of Crossbill were flitting about the tree tops but never settled anywhere for a good view. It took some time to find anything else but once you found one bird there were plenty more not too far behind. A Blue Tit appeared from nowhere, closely followed by two Great Tit, three Coal Tit, several Chaffinch and a Treecreeper.

The small birds were not concerned with the presence of the displaying Common Buzzards.

A change of location in the afternoon should have been pleasant but the wind had picked up a bit and had a real bite to it. Plenty more Buzzard plus a Kestrel and a fly past Woodcock...

...were seen before I headed for a more sheltered spot. I found my first Redwing of the year just standing in the middle of a field.

I hung around for a bit and a Mistle Thrush appeared and that encouraged the Redwing to fly around.

A young Great Black-backed Gull posed nicely against the blue sea as I headed for home.

Tuesday was a complete contrast as the cloud cover was complete and it stayed that way all day. I had a couple of things to do in the morning and with no improvement in the weather I was just going to head for home. A flock of waders flying around turned out to be Golden Plover so I thought I might try to get a usable photo for the blog. I wandered down the shore in the general direction of the 5 Golden Plover and watched another wader join them as they lifted briefly and flew closer to me. The extra bird was the Purple Sandpiper that has been missing for wee while - cool. I was never going to get too close so I fired off a few shots of one Golden Plover that was coming into summer plumage.

Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? I'd wandered past a herd of cattle that looked like they might follow me but it wasn't them, it wasn't the Common Gull just off to my left...

...but it was a WT Eagle appearing from cover like a giant grouse!

It wasn't going to hang around for long as it eyeballed me and there was nothing I could do to hide so off it went.

I got another year tick as I arrived home as three Meadow Pipit landed on the fence.

So, one month down and 76 species seen - that's over half of what I expect to see for the whole year!

Not a lot.

2012-01-29T17:33:00.000Z

There doesn't seem to be a great deal happening out there at the moment. We had a bit of a wander round in various locations and turned very little of interest except for Red Deer.

A Coal Tit and a Blue Tit at the top of a tall conifer were of little use so another Red deer will suffice!

A walk on the beach was a bit more productive with a few Herring Gulls, one GN Diver, a couple of Shag, plenty of Oystercatchers and a flock of 12 Reed Bunting.

Corvids always provide good entertainment so a flock of Jackdaws were a real treat. Apart from the amusing antics the colouration of these birds changes with the light so you can go from monochrome...

...to a bit of colour...

...to 'are you sure that's the same bird?' Cracking birds though.

It had to happen.

2012-01-24T17:46:00.000Z

It's been a few days since the last entry but with no decent weather I haven't really been out and certainly no camera action. The weekend was a bit wet and windy, Monday was showery with wind and the only improvement on Tuesday was that the wind had dropped so it looked a bit like this.

I couldn't stay in for another day so I grabbed the camera in case things improved and headed out. The usual flock of waders - 10 Turnstone, 12 Ringed Plover, 5 Redshank, 3 Greenshank and 1 Dunlin - were on show. The two Goldeneye are still hanging around but there was no sign of any Iceland Gulls today amongst the usual GBB, Black-headed and Common Gulls.

It didn't look like I was going to get many photographs so I had a play about with some of the settings to see what I could get. There were three Red-throated Diver that were way too far away so I resorted to firing away at the easy target of Grey Heron.

A Robin played hard to get in thick vegetation but it showed long enough for a couple of snaps.

Something always happens to make it all worthwhile and that thing happened just after lunch. A disturbance in the water started it all off - I knew it was an Otter but I couldn't see it to start with. As I got a bit closer I saw the beast slipping back into the sea and coming towards me - result! I took a few blurry shots as it swam past and then had to change location and change the settings on the camera for another attempt. I was surprised to find a Dipper sitting on a rock as I got into position. It was more interested in the Otter than me - you can see the disturbance in the water where the Otter is.

The Dipper flew off the rock towards me as the Otter hauled out.

As soon as the Otter moved on the Dipper went back to it's rock.

I had a bit of a dilemma as the Dipper was close, the Otter was moving off and a Great Northern Diver was moving in - what to do?!

I fired off quite a few shots before heading off for the Otter again and managed to catch up with it just as it was heading for shore...

...and out of the water.

This is a spot I know well and the Otter was heading for a gully and it would have to climb out at the other end if it came all the way through. It's a good five foot drop to the bottom of the gully but Otters are fairly nimble and better climbers than you think!

The Otter was close enough to hear the shutter on the camera and it dropped out of sight. I moved off quickly so the Otter could carry on. One lucky break is enough and with the weather closing in again I called it a day. On the way back I noticed the Lapwing flock had increased to three - is that enough birds to make a flock?

Pushing off.

2012-01-19T21:01:00.000Z

Wednesday may have been dull and windy but there was still things out there begging for their photo to be taken - first up was an adult Iceland Gull. It was a blustery wind cutting across the loch and with no cover to get close, it wasn't going to be an easy task. There was a WT Eagle sitting across the loch too so I didn't want to frighten that off either. I just walked out to where the Iceland Gull was and started firing off a few shots, then a few more, some more - get me out of this wind!! I did get a usable shot eventually.

The Iceland Gull was pushed off by the tide and I watched it fly over the top of the WT Eagle. A quick drive got me a bit closer to the eagle but there was no chance of creeping closer to this one.

I waited until the tide pushed the WT Eagle off, frightening the life out of the Mallard. A big surprise for me at the next stop. I was expecting to take some flight shots of the eagle but as I pulled up a Mountain Hare raced away from the side of the road and stopped, briefly, in full view.

The Greenshank is a flighty bird, quite happy to set the alarm call off and frighten everything for miles so if you get one that is approachable it's a bonus. Like any good performer you have to clear your airways and strut about before taking to the stage...

...and then it's all sweetness and light.

I was happy with the performance and managed to get an encore as the bird flew off and came back to the same spot!

Dark skies.

2012-01-18T19:07:00.000Z

Tuesday started with dark skies but rather than do something useful I headed out to see what was about. First stop was for a WT Eagle that was showing well against the dark sky.

As the bird disappeared over the ridge I thought I might have a chance of another view if I drove round the corner. It didn't work but a couple of Hen Harrier plugged the gap nicely. An Oystercatcher flew onto the shore just below me and posed for the arty wave shot!

I could see brighter skies in the distance so I headed for the sun. I caught up with one of the two Lapwing that are spending the winter here...

...and a Red Deer in the shade as the sun warmed things up.

The temperature was up to 10 degrees so I had a quick look for Adders but there was, thankfully, no sign. Another WT Eagle picked up in the distance put some effort into giving me a good view...

...as it cruised past and off into the distance.

A good check of the loch was worthwhile as I picked up a couple of RT Diver, six GN Diver, three Kittiwake, twenty Razorbill, ten Guillemot and two Slavonian Grebe! That was just the first scan as I picked up an Otter and another WT Eagle on the second pass.

The cloud came back in to dull things down again but the sightings continued with another group of 7 GN Diver, plenty of Common Seal, another three separate Otters and two Woodpigeon (the first I've seen this year)!

Some improvement.

2012-01-16T20:23:00.000Z

Another three days without the internet and a lost weekend means there has been no update to the blog but you haven't missed anything! I managed to get some, slightly, better photos of the Black-throated Diver....

...and another attempt at the Red-breasted Merganser - I don't think I'll ever get a good shot of these.

The small waders eventually started to come back on Wednesday when I picked up one Ringed Plover and two Turnstone but it was another couple of days before more birds reappeared. Thursday I clocked my first Sparrowhawk and Dipper of the year plus had another sighting of one of the Iceland Gulls. No photographs of any of them so a Shag will have to do.

Friday was a decent day with distant views of Hen Harrier, Golden Eagle, two Otters and a couple of Stonechat that kept just out of camera range. Things improved in the afternoon with a cracking Otter...

...and the return of the Purple Sandpiper, a Dunlin, a couple of Lapwing and three Greenshank to swell the number of waders. Monday was a good day too as a report came in of some Bottle-nosed Dolphin just along the road - off I went. I managed to pick four of them up in the distance and they were heading away. A bit of a drive along the road and another scan produced nothing. I picked up WT Eagle, 8 Razorbill and a few Kittiwakes before I picked up the Dolphins again.

Back at base two second winter Iceland Gulls floated past the shop and landed with the Common Gulls - I managed to get one in flight but that was it.

With nothing else to distract me I had to have a go at this Grey Heron as it came past.

Seven.

2012-01-10T07:46:00.000Z

The weekend was a bit of a wash out but Monday was just stunning. I've just been nibbling away at the year list but it does add a bit of interest to the sightings. I've mentioned the fact that the small birds are not visiting the feeders in the poor weather, they are coming back in now the wind has dropped but the numbers are down on what we had in December. I have only seen one Robin this year but I've had six Dunnock and not a sign of a Wren! Common birds but interesting. The year list can help with a blog title too - how many year ticks did I get today? Seven.
I was prepared for a bit of driving around but a quick check outside the shop produced a white winged gull that needed a closer inspection. It was an adult bird that was a bit distant and facing away from me so off I went for a better look. On arrival at a closer spot I was surprised to find not one but two Iceland Gulls. A superb 2nd winter bird...

...along with the adult bird - awesome.

Things got a bit confusing after that as both birds flew off and when I relocated two white winged gulls one was a young Glaucous and the other was a young Iceland Gull! Another change of location for a closer look and the Glaucous Gull had disappeared and the young Iceland had a different amount of black on the bill tip and looked darker. I couldn't get close enough to get any decent photos for a comparison and I never saw more than two birds at any one time. A pair of Goldeneye were seen in the vicinity of the gulls as were a pair of Goosander both of them boosting the list.

The last of the year ticks in the afternoon were a flock of six Rock Dove, a single Black Guillemot and a flock of about 180 Barnacle Goose. I got a superb view of a Golden Eagle on my way back home but I'd managed to move one of the dials on the camera which messed up the shots!

No such problem with the White-tailed Eagle that appeared a bit further down the road but it never came that close to me.

The year list now stands at a modest 50 which is just under a third of last years total of 164.

Looking good.

2012-01-06T10:51:00.000Z

The sun was shining on Thursday!! Not quite the blue sky extravaganza but it was nice enough to venture out with the hope of a few photographs too. First thing of note was the lack of small birds around on the shore and the land - not many birds coming to the feeders and no sign of the Turnstones and Ringed Plover. As I was driving along the lochside I could see there were quite a few gulls circling and stooping towards the water indicating something interesting was there. I got to a suitable parking place and jumped out to be faced by this...

A bit too close to get it all in but the Red Deer was looking good in the morning light. Turning my attention back to the loch I found the reason for the gulls behaviour. There must have been quite a few fish close to the surface that had pulled in a few other birds too as I scanned past numerous divers and a few auks - a closer inspection was worthwhile. Four Guillemots that wouldn't stay on the surface very long, 3 Red-throated Diver (only two in the photo)...

...a single Black-throated Diver...

...and about 10 Great Northern Diver.

There were numerous Shag, a couple of Cormorant and a few Red-breasted Merganser to fill the gaps - not a bad haul! I wasn't particularly looking for Otters but I had to stop when one popped up close to the shore. A quick run down the shore got me close enough for a shot but with no cover I was never going to get too close.

Half a mile down the road was another Otter so I gave it another shot. A bit of a wait for this one to come ashore but well worth the effort.

Lots of Buzzard, Hooded Crow and Ravens around all looking for food and a nice female Hen Harrier on my way back for lunch. A couple of Golden Eagle and three Hen Harrier (including 1 male) in the afternoon were nice to watch. Two Mistle Thrush (on the left) and a single Fieldfare (on the right) were seen in the last of the sunshine - nice!

Get it while you can!

2012-01-04T13:34:00.000Z

There has been a lack of posting this year already but without an internet connection it's a bit difficult! The year has got off to a really windy, rainy start which doesn't help any either. I had a quick run out on New Years Day and not ventured much further than the garden since then. The first birds I clapped eyes on were my regular 3 Hooded Crows but with the feeders empty there were no other birds of note. A quick trip to the shop upped the list a bit with three species of gull, Greenshank, Common Buzzard, Kestrel and GN Diver seen amongst the 23 species noted. A couple of Otters were seen too. Only two birds photographed in the poor conditions and I shouldn't have bothered. First off a hunting Buzzard...

...that already had a full crop.

Obviously a case of get it while you can. Next up was a tired looking Cormorant hauled out on the shore.

Monday I managed to get Hen Harrier and Golden Eagle from the garden and a bunch of the regular garden birds. Tuesday was an indoor day as the gale force winds and rain didn't look too good!

The end of 2011.

2011-12-30T18:58:00.000Z

After the Christmas food excess I was back out in the field on Thursday checking out a few birds in the feeding station at Gosforth Park. Not a great deal of activity but the weather is still quite mild. A Goldfinch sat quietly nibbling away on the niger seed.

Two female Great Spotted Woodpeckers landed on the same trunk and eyed each other up. The first bird was quite high up...

...and kept an eye on the bird underneath.

Three Nuthatches were buzzing in and out, grabbing food and heading off.

A quick trip to one of the hides was worth it for the Wigeon and Shoveler but there was no sign of any Bitterns. A wander round the woods was a bit quiet but we did manage to find 12 Crossbills and a flock of Long-tailed Tits before our time ran out.

All the best to everyone for 2012!

Desert Wheatear.

2011-12-28T07:48:00.000Z

I was hoping for a few more photos for this post but I haven't been out to take any! This was on Christmas Eve at Newbiggin, Northumberland.

I was wondering if the hanging alula might be stopping this bird from leaving but it seems to fly ok. It was distant to start with but as we were leaving we'd lost sight of the bird and it appeared right in front of us! A few more shots had to be taken.

I'll have to check these details but I think this is my fifth Desert Wheatear, 2 in Yorkshire and the other three have been in Northumberland, stunning birds though.

Back on line!

2011-12-21T20:56:00.000Z

More problems with the internet have caused a bit of frustration but hopefully all is well now. The weather hasn't been that good and with Christmas looming there have been other things to do. A small, dark wader had me grabbing the camera on Tuesday. The weather was filthy so I'm surprised the photo is as good as it is - it's a nicely marked Purple Sandpiper.

I've not really seen them away from their usual rocky shoreline habitat so it was interesting to see this one paddling around with the Ringed Plover flock. It wasn't going to get any brighter but I had a run out anyway. A young Common Seal looked more like a carcase from a distance but you can see it's a lively little cutie.

Next up was a Kestrel with it's lunch. I couldn't get near it but the distant shots were good enough and there was rain approaching.

I'm not sure when the next blog post will be so I'll take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Predictably, I'll leave you with a Robin. Good times.

Mixed up.

2011-12-16T22:43:00.000Z

Thursday - what can I say? LOOK.......AT........THAT!!!

I'm not sure what's happening in that photo - what is that blue stuff? The white stuff came from the grey stuff that's normally where the blue stuff is now and someone has polished the grey choppy stuff at the bottom to make it look like a mirror! I might be confused about it but I think I like it. It was that calm you could see the birds on the loch a mile away but something a bit closer would be nice. A search for an Otter was an easy one but despite getting well in front of it, it never came close. A Raven perched in a tree was keeping an eye on the attempt.

With the better light another attempt was made on the Dipper. A bit frustrating to start with as the Dipper stayed in the shaded areas but it got into the sun eventually.

A WT Eagle flew past while waiting for the Dipper to perform.

Surprisingly the weather turned quickly, the cloud rolled in and the threat of rain was there. Three Otters were seen sleeping on a rock so a change of plan was in order. Chasing the light seemed a good idea but it didn't help with the sightings. Another hour closer to sunset and the only poser was a Red Deer stag.

A site for Golden Eagle might have been worth a go but checking on where the three Otters were was a good call as they were on the move. A quick dash down to the waters edge gave some excellent views and some photos too. Here they are watching the traffic go by.

The Red-breasted Mergansers were not too far away and the males were displaying.

The Otters were feeding well - I like the spray of water as this one chomps down on the fish.

One last effort for the day was to get a look at three Golden Eagles (cheers Janis). The birds were found easy enough but a combination of the rain starting and the late hour had the birds heading off before too long.

Passenger.

2011-12-16T08:16:00.000Z

Wednesday wasn't too bad a day so a run out was in order. Just for a change I was the passenger as Steve had offered to take me out. First in front of the camera was a Greenshank - as you can see there wasn't enough light yet.

It was getting brighter by the minute so the Great Northern Diver didn't come out too bad.

We did locate an Otter but it was heading away from us so we pressed on. A bit of time was spent looking at a Dipper before we headed off for the Iceland Gull - a new bird for Steve.

Another stop had us viewing a couple of distant WT Eagle. We finally got close to some eagles at our next stop. Initially there didn't seem to be anything happening but as we got to a place to park a large bird could be seen on the rocks. A quick look through the bins revealed a bit more - an adult WT Eagle plus two young birds. It wasn't too long before we found the reason for the gathering as three Otters broke the surface in front of the raptors. One of the young birds found something tasty to eat and took off. It showed great skill as it picked away at it's prize in mid air.

The eagles followed the Otters around often hovering above them when they caught a fish that was big enough to be brought ashore.

As the Otters moved off things settled down but we did have one more piece of action as we were leaving. A couple of eagles appeared in the air just as we pulled away, a bit of interaction as they touched talons and then moved off. I managed a couple of blurry shots and found that it had been a Golden Eagle chasing off one of the young WT Eagles - awesome stuff. The light was fading fast as the clouds started to roll in and the sun (what sun?!) was sinking towards the horizon. A juvenile Hen Harrier graced us with it's presence as we were heading back. A cracking way to finish the day - cheers Steve.

A handsome beast.

2011-12-14T22:12:00.000Z

Monday I was out on tour, once again on the hunt for Golden Eagles. The rain was just clearing as we set off so we thought it would be a good time to get the big birds up in the air. The first stop was fruitless but the second port of call gave us a surprise find...driving up a forest track, half way up the hill we came across three Otters! There were plenty of Buzzards and Red Deer around and a couple of Hen Harriers to keep the interest going. It looked like there was more weather coming in so we had a quick change of location and hit lucky with an adult and juvenile Golden Eagle. A stunning rainbow appeared as the eagles drifted from sight. We moved out of the rain and back into better weather to find our fourth Otter of the day.

The Otter was always moving away from us so we moved on to a spot for lunch. A quick look round produced another Otter for the tally and the last one for the day. After lunch we spent a bit of time watching and photographing a Dipper.

Scanning the ridges we located a large raptor in the distance so we headed a bit closer to be rewarded by closer views of two Golden Eagles. The wind was starting to pick up and the light was fading but we made the effort to attempt to find a Mountain Hare. We would have been happy with distant views in the conditions but our luck held and we got a close one - a handsome beast.

That could have been the last of the sightings but there was more to come. We found a spot to have an afternoon cuppa in the company of a few RB Mergs and an elusive Red-throated Diver. Just as we were packing things away I picked up two bird over an offshore island - Hen Harriers! We had good views of the male and female birds before they were joined by another male. You couldn't ask for a better way to finish a day.

Ice, Ice, baby!

2011-12-12T20:32:00.000Z

We had a nice run out on Sunday that produced a couple of nice birds, wonderful scenery and a few photos too. I hadn't caught up with any of the white winged gulls last year and I didn't want to see another year out without one so first port of call was for an Iceland Gull. These birds can hide themselves away in a crowd of gulls but once they take flight they really do stand out.

I watched this bird fly past and land beside the Herring Gulls but when I turned to look the other way there was an Iceland Gull! I looked back towards the first bird but it was gone and I couldn't see it in flight - odd. I took some flight shots when the other? bird took flight.

As you can see they are completely different birds;-) Just to prove the presence of two birds here they are together - ice, ice, baby!

It was a bit chilly standing in the breeze coming off the loch so we did the same as these Curlew and headed for some shelter.

The scenery was taken in next as we had a bit of a walk scanning the snow capped tops and choppy waters. I couldn't resist a snap of a Slavonian Grebe. Too far away for a decent shot but a stunning bird to see and I just had to share!

A trio of Fallow Deer were grazing near the road but best of all they were all sporting a different colour variant - an all dark one, a mid brown and a regular pale one.

Time was cracking on so we started to head for home taking in some nice Redwing...

...and Fieldfare along the way.

Idle birds.

2011-12-11T21:09:00.000Z

Thursday was a little bit breezy as you may have heard. The worst of the damage was an island wide power cut and everything is back to normal now.
Saturday I was out on tour doing an eagle special. A request to see a wild Golden Eagle by Dan and a new experience for Kevin seeing Mull in all it's winter glory. It couldn't have been a better day after the stormy weather we'd had. The landscape was covered in snow with pockets of mist in the glens and a Golden Eagle perched on a rock amongst the splendour.

The idle bird just sat there and viewed it's territory so we moved on. A Kestrel at the next stop was the best we could manage but as we stopped to take in another stunning view we picked up another Golden Eagle sitting on the ridge. Once again we waited to see if the bird would fly. A WT Eagle appeared over the opposite ridge and landed in full view. No reaction from the Goldie as it just sat and looked across. Another WT Eagle took off from the hillside and disappeared before the first WT Eagle followed it.

What did the Golden Eagle do? It took off and dropped behind the ridge! It was a bit chilly standing outside watching these birds do their thing so when they left we headed off for a warming cup of tea. Next on the agenda was to try to locate an Otter. A good look around the loch gave us plenty of Shag, a few Red-breasted Merganser and a group of five Great Northern Divers. A group of 10 Crossbills flew across the conifers but, typically, landed out of sight. We decided to move on and got as far as the first corner and there was an Otter swimming along close to the shore. A quick bit of reversing and a scramble across the rocks gave us some stunning views of three Otters.

The Buzzards were out in force, a few in flight, but most of them were hunting from poles.

We were even lucky enough to see a few of them catch a vole. The rain started just as we were going to have lunch so we headed for a drier spot to eat. Once we found a nice spot beside a river and started lunch. There were a few Red Deer on one side, a nice male Wigeon and a young WT Eagle on the other. Once again the eagle was an idle bird that sat surveying it's surroundings. We had a bit of a laugh trying to photograph the eagle through the scope with Dans iphone. After lunch we found another eagle sitting in a tree in the distance. Our expectations were that this would be another WT Eagle but when we got into a better position it turned out to be a stunning Golden Eagle!

A superb experience of a winters day on Mull - job done!

Not the best.

2011-12-07T18:00:00.000Z

A quick run out on Tuesday in some, briefly, brighter conditions. Not the best set of photographs but it's all I have. I thought it might be worth looking for Golden Eagle to start with and I wasn't disappointed. One of the birds was perched on the skyline being hassled by a Kestrel and it wasn't too long before it took flight. You can see the Goldie keeping an eye on the Kestrel in this one.

It wasn't the Kestrel that got the Golden Eagle up but it's mate was arriving on the scene.

With all the snow there are a lot of Red Deer close to the road at the moment. Nice to get one with a snowy background.

A change of location produced another Golden Eagle sitting on a rock on the skyline but it was pretty distant. The light was starting to fade as the cloud started to build up. A Buzzard was sitting on a telegraph pole and I could hear a vehicle approaching so I waited for the bird to take off.

I spent a pleasant half an hour watching this WT Eagle hoping for it to take flight.

While I waited I had a couple of Common Seals come to check me out, a couple of GN Diver were calling to each other when they surfaced, a group of 30 Shag were fishing offshore and a couple of Greylag Goose cackled their way past too.

I followed a small flock of Long-tailed Tit along the road but the light was too poor for photos. We'd seen a Peregrine outside the shop earlier in the morning but we lost sight of it as it stooped at the waders on the shore. I was surprised to find, possibly, the same bird some three hours later sitting digesting a meal.

Icing on the cake.

2011-12-05T20:35:00.000Z

Saturday was another showery day - wind and hail, not a good combination! The only sensible thing to do was go for a walk in the woods. I took the opportunity to get a few shots of this stag as it posed close to the road.

The wander round the woods was pleasant enough as the trees cut down the wind speed. Not a great deal to be seen but anything is better than nothing - plenty of Blackbirds, Pheasant, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Kestrel. The 'icing on the cake' for the walk was a group of four Crossbills that landed at the top of a conifer and the male birds started to sing - stunning!

We finished our walk getting pelted with hailstones but it was worth it.
It snowed a bit on Sunday and a bit more on Sunday night. Monday morning the hills were white but best of all the wind had dropped a bit. A fairly productive day for a couple of hours shower dodging...first off was a Hen Harrier that headed off pretty quickly. Good numbers of Buzzard on the wing, Redwing flying up from the roadside, Divers on the loch, a sleeping Otter and two WT Eagle were all nice to see but hardly a photograph taken. A hail shower came blazing in just as I found two Slavonian Grebe and a Water Rail called from a rushy area. The hail stopped and I couldn't find the Slavs or hear the Rail but I did spot two Otters - which one to go for! I went for the furthest one, good choice. I just got in position and it headed straight for me!

It clambered up the rock in front of me for a better look...

...wandered past and settled down for a clean up - awesome!

The Otter moved off, the hail moved in and I left. The Hen Harrier that I'd seen earlier was floating about but it was still distant.

It landed on a post so I clambered out for a better view but I got distracted by some Red Deer jumping the fence.

No sign of the Harrier after that. My last effort of the day was a shot of a Redwing that was with a single Mistle Thrush and a few Blackbirds.

November out, December in.

2011-12-02T09:51:00.000Z

A quick run out on Wednesday wasn't too bad. I started the day with a Whooper Swan outside the shop.

The wind was pretty savage so I didn't do a great deal but it's better to be out there than not. A visit to the beach produced six Turnstone, ten Ringed Plover and a mean looking Herring Gull.

One of the Turnstones had a bath while the others carried on feeding. So that's November dealt with...

...and on with December. The forecast was reasonable for the first of the month - it looked good just before the sun broke the horizon.

Typically, as I headed out the rain headed in but it gave nice light on these Red Deer.

I had a look about while waiting for the weather to clear again picking up 3 RT Diver, plenty of GN Diver, 1 Guillemot, 1 Gannet, 10 Whooper Swan flying west and a group of about 100 Barnacle Geese. A couple of Hooded Crows posed nicely for a couple of minutes before heading down to the shore to forage.

A couple of Common Buzzard photos next to show how variable they can be. A dark one first...

...and a paler one.

The last of the shower drifting over the hill looked quite dramatic too.

With the sun shining nicely I parked up and had a wander about. Plenty of things to see but some were hard to capture. Redwings and Blackbirds were not approachable at all, a Wren scuttled through the undergrowth before singing from a perch I couldn't see, an Otter was out fishing but the Great Northern Diver was the first performer.

As I came to a stretch of trees I could see a few birds flicking about - Coal Tit, Blue Tit and Great Tit plus a single Goldcrest. I followed the Goldcrest until I lost it in long vegetation and a Robin popped out in it's place! The Robin was an easier capture as it fed along the shore before heading back to where it had appeared from.

A couple of Shag were making their way towards me so I stood and waited. First one bird came ashore and then the other - sometimes you just want to be alone!

I found the Goldcrest again and attempted to get some shots as it flicked around the Ivy. It will come as no surprise to tell you that the best shot I had was of it's backside - I'm sure you'll settle for the blurry front side!

The showers were starting to come back through so I thought a quick change of location, to get an eagle fix before the light went might be nice. Two birds were sitting side by side on the ridge when I first parked up but as soon as I got out they were both in flight and heading away from me. I raced up the road a bit further to capture one just as it disappeared from view. A good way to finish the day.

All at sea.

2011-11-29T18:15:00.000Z

I just had a quick run out today with no real intention of taking photos as it was lashing down again! As it turned out the first thing I came across was an Otter running across the road and as I pulled up another Otter was heading into the sea in front of me. A nice surprise, for sure, but you can see the raindrops - nasty weather!

I couldn't go back home with just a few grainy shots so I went for more. A decent number of Great Northern Diver were on show but none of them close so this was the best I got.

The rain was hammering down and I was all for heading home to put the fire on when I picked up another Otter. I watched this one fishing and with a good catch rate it wasn't going to be too long before it headed for shore - wrong! The fish it was catching were all small so it stayed out for a while.

Notice the rain in the photo above? It stopped...briefly, just as the Otter headed to shore with a crab.

I had to stand and listen to the crunching of the crab being devoured as I couldn't view the place where it hauled out. I never got any closer to the Otter but there were a few distractions along the way. A flock of Greylags landed out on the loch with a lot of splashing and cackling, there were quite a few Red-breasted Mergansers flying up and down the loch too.

A single Dipper was calling and eventually revealed itself as it flew off, there was a Black-throated Diver well out and a Red-throated Diver in the distance too. The Otter came back out on the shore but once again it was distant.

I could see the rain approaching again so I headed back to the motor and grabbed a quick snap of a very cheesed off Hooded Crow - could it get any wetter?!

I managed to catch up with the RT Diver just as the weather hit again. It's surprising how dark they can look when the light goes.

On the run.

2011-11-27T15:14:00.064Z

Not a great deal to report at the moment more down to the poor weather than anything else. I had a quick run out on Friday and found a Black-throated Diver way out on the loch. I gave it a bit of time and managed to get it a bit closer but not really close enough.

The wind was pretty savage and getting worse so I headed for home. A couple of Buzzard were hunting the side of the road and one of them stayed long enough to be photographed.

A single Whooper Swan dropped in on the loch and hung around for most of the afternoon before flying off into the gale. Not the best photo but you can see how much the bird was leaning into the wind!

The weekend was really wild with gale force winds and plenty of rain - needless to say I didn't bother going out!

I picked up the spycam this morning so here are a few pics from that. First into the frame was a cat.

Next up was the main target - an Otter. It hung around the camera for a while before disappearing.

I think I was lucky that the camera didn't get washed away too. There were quite a few shots of water splashing the lens and you can see the tide is well in!

Doing the rounds this morning I managed to get a snap of the Grey Heron that stands in the river every morning as we head to the shop.

I did well with the birds of prey too. A nice Hen Harrier to start things off...

...then a possible Merlin that was perched up. Not that sure as I couldn't stop but it looked a good candidate. Next up was a Kestrel that would give nothing but rear end views.

As the Kestrel veered away from me a Peregrine came screaming in and tried to take the Kestrel - times must be hard in the poor weather. A real bonus next as I was checking out the flock of 18 WF Geese a male Hen Harrier put in an appearance.

If you thought those last few photographs were pretty bad, brace yourself for the next three!! I was heading for home when an Otter came out of a burn and onto the road in front of me. I followed it up to a point where I could stop and the Otter left the road and headed for the sea. It was fair distance away by the time it came out of the long grass - splash...

It didn't like the look of the next bit of water so it took a leap...

...across to the other side.

It was certainly on a mission and it could still be on the run now!

Getting the eye.

2011-11-24T17:23:00.001Z

Another day of grey skies but no rain in the morning. As I type this the wind is howling and the rain is lashing off the windows - brrrrrrrrrrrr. As there didn't seem much point in going too far today I had a quick scan outside the shop picking up the usual Teal, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Greenshank and Little Grebe plus an adult WT Eagle. I kept my eye on the Eagle in the hope it would fly a bit closer as it was about half a mile away. Half an hour later the bird was in the air and heading my way. It had it's eye on something as it came back to earth with talons at the ready.

The prize it had collected was a half eaten carcass of a Mallard. I watched as the Hooded Crows harassed the raptor as it ate it's meal but when I took my eye off the proceedings the WT Eagle flew off! Not a great deal else to photograph so I pointed the camera at the cat - you can see he is not impressed at all!

As I headed for home I took a quick detour and picked up two adult WT Eagles gliding into the strong wind. It was good to watch the interaction between this pair as they moved along side by side, looking at each other.

Does my bum look big in this?

2011-11-22T18:59:00.001Z

The predicted sunshine did arrive yesterday but there was still a fair bit of cloud around too. I settled myself onto a comfortable rock to wait for an Otter to come a bit closer. I watched and waited as this Otter clambered ashore, some distance away, and promptly settled down for a kip!! I turned my attention to a few RB Merganser that were heading my way and managed to capture this male as it flapped it's wings.

Not the best shot of the day but if you look in the top left of this one you can see the Otter snoring.

A quick change of location got me some closer Otter action - 'You can't see me, right'

Nice reflections in the calm water...

...and .Does my bum look big in this?' I would have to say yes!

I managed to get the spycam out again today so we'll see what that brings. I picked up a few raptors along the way too with the usual Buzzards and one each of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Golden Eagle. I was stuck at home in the afternoon so the best I could do was point the camera at some garden birds. The ubiquitous Robin was first to present itself.

With the feeders full the Chaffinches were around but not posing well so I made do with this Great Tit on the Willow.

There were a few Fieldfare just across the road 'chacking' away but I never saw them until they flew. The Blackbirds were not so shy.

One of our most stunning birds is the Blue Tit - even in a bad photo it looks good!

Back to normal.

2011-11-21T21:15:00.000Z

I was standing outside the shop this morning when a flock of birds came up from the shore to land on the wires - an impressive flock of 22 Rock Pipits! While looking at those birds I could hear the 'pit, pit, pit' calls of Long-tailed Tit just before twelve of them came flitting overhead - a nice way to start the day. I couldn't resist going out to see what else was out there. Most of the water was flat calm so it wasn't too long before I'd picked up an Otter. It didn't take too long before it came ashore but it was a fair distance away - not a bad effort though.

The Otter paused on the edge of the rock and dipped it's face in the water and then had a good shake.

Enough of the regular stuff...there wasn't that much stuff on the loch but a single Guillemot, a Dipper, one Red-throated Diver, Shags and about 12 Great Northern Diver.

There are still plenty of Blackbirds around...

...but the Fieldfare and Redwing seemed to have dispersed. I spent a bit of time watching this Cormorant fishing it's way towards me - it was worth the wait.

The Red-breasted Mergansers are fishing in decent sized flocks around the shore but most of them keep their distance but you do get the odd close encounter.

As for the Stonechats - you can't drive past them can you?!

Sunshine...

2011-11-20T20:02:00.000Z

...but not up here. To be honest it's been overcast with plenty of drizzle. Plenty of birds around though with the best of the bunch being a single Common Scoter. The Turnstones are showing really well on the high tides...

...and the Dippers are still hanging around the shore but they are very flighty.

With the rain coming down quite hard I took some snaps of the Oystercatcher before calling it quits.

The temptation of a couple of rare birds on the East coast and a chance to see the kids was too much. A quick visit to Hauxley in Northumberland saw me connecting with a Greater Yellowlegs that had been in the area for the best part of a week. Not unlike a Greenshank the bird was constantly on the move and feeding well.

It did do a bit of posing too - awesome!

Next up was a trip out with the kids to Holy Island.

There was another tasty little bird to catch up with too...

I've seen plenty of Black Redstarts over the years but this Eastern Black Redstart was something else.

Of course, the sunshine helped!

There were plenty of other birds on offer too with Scaup, PF Goose, Brent Goose, Bar-tailed Godwit, Wigeon and plenty of Magpies around. It's not just the rare ones though - this Mallard looked particularly splendid in the morning light...

...and the Herring Gulls gave me a welcome back in Oban.

Eagles and Otters.

2011-11-16T09:45:00.000Z

What more could you want? I'll have to put some effort into photographing something different but it's never that simple! I did attempt to digiscope a Curlew...

...but I was a bit distracted by the three Otters in the bay that were peering at this WT Eagle. The young eagle blended in extremely well...

...and then it flew off.

The three Otters just kept on trawling the sea for more fish.

As you can see from the photos the weather hasn't been too bad up here the last few days. The days are quite short though and the light can go quickly. Out on tour on Tuesday and it was a bit of a struggle for the big stuff initially. One request was for a good view of Redwing. I'd seen plenty of flocks as I was heading to pick up the guests but nothing except birds in flight with the guests on board! We eventually located a flock of 150 or so Redwing, including 3 Fieldfare and about 20 Blackbirds, that showed well. A distant WT Eagle was seen briefly before we bumped into this one.

Half decent views of an Otter next but the low sun was spoiling the view. Another Otter was picked up in better light but it gave us the slip as we were also looking at Black Guillemot, Goldeneye, RB Merg and GN Diver. The loss of the Otter was soon forgotten as an adult WT Eagle flew over and then turned into the wind with legs dangling to land on the rocks - superb. Another Otter showed really well at the next stop. Every time this one surfaced it rolled over.

A good view as it came ashore too.

A couple of stops for Golden Eagle produced the goods as we had one bird perched on the ridge and another in flight.

We'd already had a couple of sightings of Hen Harrier and we managed one more at our last stop of the day. There were plenty of geese on show with the usual large flock of Greylags holding a single Barnacle, 3 Canada and ten Greenland White-fronted Geese.

Don't care.

2011-11-13T18:33:00.000Z

I have been out recently but nothing of any great note has been seen. The photographs are the usual suspects...an Otter pretending it hasn't seen me yet.

A Red Deer that doesn't care if I'm there or not...

...and a WT Eagle that really should have took more notice of who was looking.

It didn't seem to care too much about me watching it - just look at them toenails.

There are still bats flying around the house and the owls are pretty active but there is little chance of getting any photographs of them!

Sunshine!

2011-11-09T18:48:00.000Z

I'm falling behind again but I'll catch up with it all eventually - mostly by not going out! A quick run out on Saturday morning as the sun was rising was a real treat. The light wasn't great but the wildlife was still kicking about. A couple of Red Deer stags were right next to the road but they wouldn't stand still for a photo!

We followed an Otter along the shore and got some good views but the best photo was one where it had just swam past us before hauling out.

The tour on Monday was in fine conditions and provided some reasonable sightings. There were plenty of Golden Plover on show, a single Dunlin, a couple of Greenshank and a small squad of Ringed Plover. Hen Harriers are showing well too with numerous sightings through the day. Both types of eagle played hard to get but we managed to find them. We struggled to find an Otter early on but we made up for that with a close encounter of mum and two cubs.

There are three in that photo, honest! One of the youngsters gave us a real show as it hauled out with a fish.

We got a nice surprise in the afternoon when we found a Swallow flying about. It landed a couple of times but it was always backlit - you can tell what it is though.

The Fieldfare and Redwing numbers are good at the moment with a fair smattering of Blackbirds too.

We finished the day watching the Great Northern Divers gathering offshore.

Monday evening we had a Barn Owl screeching on the roof and got a glimpse of it as it flew off.

November.

2011-11-05T16:42:00.000Z

The weeks and months keep passing by but the weather doesn't seem to notice. We've had one brief cold spell that gave us a bit of snow but other than that it could be September still! I had a reasonably close view of the two Brent Geese...

...on the last tour (Monday) along with just a single WF Goose and a stunning Hen Harrier sighting. With the Red Deer rut over the beasts are starting to populate the side of the road again.

The WT Eagles can be elusive at times but if you get the right place at the right time...I'll keep waiting for my chance!

The word on the street is that the Otters are hard to find at the moment. They are still out there but it can take a bit of searching.
Friday the sky turned a funny colour, it was blue, and a big yellow thing was seen. I had a bit of a wander in the pleasant conditions. A flock of nine WF Goose flew over but when I checked the regular site for them there was no sign - they must have went to Islay.

A flock of 10 Long-tailed Tit was a nice find but they had a visitor with them too.

Not the best photo but the Chiffchaff was moving around a fair bit and I'm not surprised as there were two Sparrowhawks flying about.

A Treecreeper put in a brief appearance too.

I watched a Hen Harrier hunting before being charged down by a couple of Hooded Crows. The harrier gave as good as it got before drifting off.

I had another look at the Golden Eagle photos and decided they were all rubbish but worth playing with.

Patience...

2011-10-31T11:03:00.000Z

...pays off. I've had the spycam out for quite a while now but the results are in. As you know the weather has not been the best but the camera still does the business when a very damp Hooded Crow paid a visit.

A bigger bird in this next one but in the same poor conditions - a Raven this time.

The star of the show, finally, Golden Eagle!

It could have been better but there is always a next time.

Loan.

2011-10-30T19:23:00.000Z

A good start to the tour on Wednesday as we watched a handful of GN Diver, 15 RB Merg scattered around and a single Crossbill perched up long enough for everyone to get a good view. I'll not mention the weather as I'm sure you can guess! Otter sightings were good on the day with the best one sleeping on the seaweed.

A juvenile Golden Eagle showed well as it was mobbed by a couple of Ravens and a young WT Eagle almost had us fooled as it paraded itself in Golden Eagle territory. We went through all the different guises of the Common Buzzard - Tourist, Bowmans, Pole and the lesser known Wire Eagle.

You have to have a laugh at some point! We finished the day off with stunning views of a female Hen Harrier along with Twite, Brent Goose and Mountain Hare.
Thursday and Friday were, once again, not the best and I had the loan of a DSLR (Cheers Steve). I could go through all the usual photographers excuses but I was just exploring the capabilities of the equipment (is that a new excuse?!). An easy subject to start with - Collared Dove.

Red Deer on the hillside - I know that my camera wouldn't have got this shot as it was too far away.

It took a while before I got sufficiently close to a subject and fluffed it.

A flock of Fieldfare and Redwing showed well but I struggled to get a sharp image - not a bad effort though.

I took a bit of time trying to find some smaller birds while there was a brief bit of sunshine. The Blue and Coal Tits never stayed still or showed in the open so I followed the Goldcrests instead. Did I get a result? Nothing of the Goldcrest but I did get this...

Another opportunity for some Otter shots on Friday.

Plenty of other photos taken but it might make for a long post! An interesting couple of days but I'll not bore you with any more. I'll leave you with a Common Buzzard.

Seven.

2011-10-28T09:35:00.000+01:00

Tuesday we battled our way through the showers in the morning and suffered the heat in the afternoon - 14 degrees it was! A good start to the day for me as I picked up a Short-eared Owl in the gloom of the early morning before leaving to pick up the guests. Our first stop of the day was quite atmospheric as we stood in the rain watching three Otters, the clouds were clinging to the conifers in the background and a group of seven GN Divers were calling to each other - stunning! Next up was a brief view of a female Hen Harrier, 3 Red Deer on the skyline and a distant WT Eagle behind them. A quick botany stop next to look at the Pale Butterwort which was, surprisingly, having another go at flowering.

A cloud of birds in the distance had me reaching for the scope to find a Golden Eagle being mobbed by some Ravens. A bonus bird for me was up next as a flock of Chaffinch lifted off the road but one of them had a white rump. Brakes on, bins up and there was my first sighting of a Brambling on Mull - long overdue that one!

It's the one at the bottom of the picture for those that don't know the difference. I don't go in for giving wildlife names but this is definitely Spot the Otter!

It showed well enough as it made it's way along the shore but it was difficult not to get a shot without a wave breaking over it. Our next Otter performed a bit better as it fished offshore before bringing it's catch ashore. I managed to get a few digiscoped shots for the guests but it was back in the water before I had a chance to get one for myself. Another two Otters brought the tally up to seven for the day. We had a nice sighting of Golden Eagle next...

...and as it moved out of sight we followed to find what we thought was the same bird perched on a ridge.

This one took flight and if you look back to the first flight shot and compare it with this one there is no missing feather - two different birds.

The afternoon was a bit quieter but a couple of Stonechat posing on the fence were nice.

While looking for the Mountain Hare...

...we picked up an adult WT Eagle. We had the bird in flight and then on the deck before it took off and dropped from sight. With a bit of searching we relocated the bird drifting away but giving good views in the scope.

When cameras go bad.

2011-10-26T17:19:00.000+01:00

I'm trying to catch up with the blog posts but until BT sort out my line I'm struggling a bit.

Friday was a bit of a nightmare for the camera and the weather wasn't the best either. Our first sighting of the day was a young WT Eagle having a bath in the loch - superb to watch. We headed to a different viewpoint for a better look only to arrive just as the bird took off. It was flying towards us so I grabbed the camera, switched it on, pressed the important button.....NOTHING!!!! Press again, nothing, switch it off, switch it on - yes, I'll work but I'm not focusing on that!!

Yeah, I wasn't happy with that either. We were lucky enough to find another WT Eagle so I tried again with the camera and managed to get a better result in the poor conditions.

Otters were the main request for the day and we had a few with one close encounter. Guess what the camera did...

I gave up on the camera after that despite the opportunities that were there.
I didn't touch the camera again until Monday morning as this Buzzard presented itself. Camera out, button pressed...no problem. I love technology me!

Getting closer.

2011-10-26T08:50:00.000+01:00

Wednesday started off with some nice weather...

...but there were plenty of showers pushing through too. I headed out to retrieve the card from the spycam as I hadn't looked at it for a few days. I got some nice views of Common Buzzard...

...and Mistle Thrush as I wandered along.

Not a great deal to show for the camera being out but you can't expect instant results from these things. I'm patient enough! So the Common Buzzard was a nice capture...

...and the Hooded Crow leaning into the wind isn't too shabby either.

There will be more....

Pom!

2011-10-20T13:48:00.000+01:00

Monday it was back on tour in dull conditions. We had a nice encounter with two Kestrel and two Sparrowhawks when we set off. The Sprawks flew up the road in front of us and showed well. A quick look for eagles gave us a blank but the Red Deer made up for that. Next up was the Otter hunt and we picked one up quite quickly and managed to get down the shore to get some decent photos.

A small flock of Fieldfare with a single Redwing were the first I've seen of the winter thrushes. The rain came in quite hard after that to slow the sightings down. Hen Harrier, GN Diver, RB Merg, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit were all seen well so it wasn't too much of a hard time. A cracking finish to the day as we hit a clear spot and picked up 3 Brent Goose, Mountain Hares down to a couple of yards and two juv WT Eagle that put on a good show.

We also picked up 3 Hen Harriers just before close of play. Monday night we had a bit of thunder and lightning that knocked out the phones, broadband and blew some sparks out of the sockets in the house!! Still got a dead line at the house now:-(
Tuesday was a better day with blue skies and the odd heavy shower through the day. A good start to the day as we picked up a Golden Eagle close to the road with an escort of a Buzzard and a few Ravens.

The next bird on the list was a real surprise - Pomerine Skua! It was only a brief view but you can't mistake them from 10 yards away. I hauled in as quick as I could but couldn't find the bird again so no photo of that one. We got stunning views of a WT Eagle sunning itself and then followed an Otter along the shore until it went into the holt. The GN Diver numbers are starting to rise now so it was no surprise to see two adults together.

We were lucky enough to relocate the three Hen Harriers that I'd seen the previous day. A heavy shower delayed lunch but then we got a Golden Eagle when it cleared. A quick change of location to follow the Goldie proved fortunate as we managed to get scope views of two birds and then some drama as another two birds turned up. Four Golden Eagle in the air together is not to be sniffed at! The three Brent Goose were still in attendance and two Greenland WF Geese showed well too.

There were plenty of other birds through the day but the highlights will do for now.

Flying visit.

2011-10-19T09:58:00.000+01:00

A flying visit to Newcastle at the weekend. We drove down on Friday night getting my first views of Magpie in a while as they flew across the road. Saturday I was up bright and early managing to catch the sunrise at St Mary's Island.

I had a quick look at the wetland to get a number of Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and a couple of Moorhen. Standard fare for the locals but all good stuff for me! Next up was a look on the shore. A flock of 6-700 Golden Plover were in the air the whole time I was there with a few more sitting on the rocks. The shore itself was awash with waders - Sanderling, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Purple Sandpiper, Knot, Dunlin, Redshank and a couple of fine looking Bar-tailed Godwit. I took a few shots of the Barwits standing to attention...

...in flight...

...and swimming.

I was fighting against the light or the birds were just in the shadows but I couldn't resist these Turnstone on the green weed.

Some distant trumpeting had me on the look out for Whooper Swans. 22 of them flew past with the Golden Plover in the background.

I just missed getting these birds flying past the lighthouse so you'll just have to imagine the sight. Here's the lighthouse to help you out!

A quick check round the bushes produced a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Linnet and a few Chiffchaff. One of the Chiffs was lacking it's tail feathers too.

Next up was the big twitch for the Lesser Scaup. Plenty of weird and wonderful birds on show along with the regular Tufted Duck, Coot and Moorhen.

The Lesser Scaup was always distant and I didn't have my scope but the views through the bins were good enough.

Plenty of Magpies were on show in the time I was out and good views of Sparrowhawk were had while watching the duck. On the trip back up to Mull we had two sightings of Jay flying over the A1.

Window of opportunity.

2011-10-14T10:13:00.000+01:00

Wednesday was supposed to be a nice day but we managed to hang on to the dreich weather instead. Our first stop of the day provided us with good views of Wigeon, Teal, Curlew and Dipper. Two large birds in the sky had us pulling over to the side of the road to ID them. WT Eagle was the result of that and after a quick drive along the road we had them overhead - awesome!

Three Otters in quick succession were good to see. There were another couple of Dipper sightings with one close enough for a photo.

Late records of Summer migrants are always a good find so the two Swallows we picked up were appreciated by all.

Another three WT Eagles soon had the focus of our attentions. We attempted to get closer to these birds but to no avail. Plenty of Lapwing and Golden Plover around too and with 59 species on the list for the day too many other things to mention apart from the 5 Whooper Swan we found...

...nearly forgot about the Red Deer in someones garden on the way home!

Thursday was another cloudy day but it was marginally brighter in the morning so we were hoping for some good sightings. With the same group on board we headed for a few different spots. A gentle start was had as we picked up a few wading birds including a flock of 12 Turnstone. A couple of Mute Swan were nice to see as I don't get them that often down 'my end' of the island. We soon livened things up with a mum and cub Otter fishing and scampering over the rocks. We headed for higher ground as the cloud started to lift off the tops and we were soon rewarded with a couple of WT Eagle on the hillside and then in flight. An Otter on the shore behind us was a good distraction too as were the three Slavonian Grebe that put on a show for us. One last scan around produced a Red Kite - annual on the island but you have to be lucky! Fallow Deer was on the list of requests and just as we were giving up on them we found three together - nice.

The tops of the hills were just about clear by now so this would be our window of opportunity to get Golden Eagle. It paid off handsomely as we managed to get three Golden Eagle together plus four WT Eagle with another Golden Eagle not too far away - result! A Common Buzzard got in on the act too as it caught some prey and landed close to us to devour it's catch.

Another bonus find was a single Jay that was calling in the trees behind us before taking flight when we were looking at a Summer plumage Slavonian Grebe.

The window of opportunity closed after that as the cloud dropped down and the drizzle started. We ploughed on with the good sightings though with a RT Diver and a Peregrine at lunch. All three divers were seen in the afternoon with the Black-throated proving a bit difficult but everyone got it eventually. Another Otter, WT Eagle and a female Hen Harrier finished the day off nicely.

Topping up the tan.

2011-10-13T08:36:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was a cracking day with plenty of sunshine - probably the last bit of 'topping up the tan' for this year. On our way to our first stop we were rudely interrupted by the appearance of a Golden Eagle - no complaints there then. Plenty to see as we scanned across the lochs with RB Merg numbers starting to build up, GN Diver in summer plumage, Golden Plover, Greenshank, Dunlin on the shore and a female Hen Harrier at the side of the road. Cracking views of an adult WT Eagle sitting in a tree. With the sun out and a bit of heat we were able to find an Adder coiled in the grass.

Plenty of Buzzard on show through the day and it was nice to be looking down on this one as it flew past us.

There were still quite a few Barnacle Goose heading South today plus a flock of 20 Pink-footed Goose. A stop for a comfort break produced an excellent sighting of a WT Eagle as it sailed over the top of us.

We had at least eight Mountain Hare with one of them allowing a close approach.

Hubba hubba!!

2011-10-12T07:47:00.001+01:00

The hub has arrived!!! Hubba hubba;-)Monday brought a bit of a change in the weather and we actually saw that yellow thing in the sky! Don't get too excited about it though - it won't last. Less than a minute after getting everyone on board we were trying to catch up with three Hen Harriers that had took off from the side of the road! We got good views of one of the birds before it disappeared. We had a good view of an Otter making it's way along the shore before we picked up a showy Bullfinch.

Another shot at the Otter was worthwhile as was the distant Golden Eagle tussling with Ravens. With the sun shining nicely we headed off to get better views of Golden Eagle, got that and another Hen Harrier plus some good views of Buzzard and Kestrel. Cracking views of a WT Eagle after that and then we bagged a couple of Adders.

The star of the day was a Mole that we found wandering down the side of the road - awesome!!

We'd already seen a few skeins of Barnacle Goose heading South but we managed some closer views in the afternoon...

...and the local Greylag Geese tyring to get in on the act too.

Our last stop of the day produced another Hen Harrier.

These Red Deer were picked up just as I was heading for home - another quality day out!

Fried

2011-10-11T09:11:00.000+01:00

Just a quick catch up...The weather hasn't been the best over the last week but the sightings, as usual, have been good. Tuesday gave us cracking views of an Otter eating a fish on the shore.

Other highlights from the day were two WT Eagle, three Dippers, cracking views of RB Merg, a couple of Gannet, a single Barnacle Goose, Mountain Hare...

...and a brief view of a Golden Eagle at the end of the day.
Thursday was a day of excitement for other reasons as we started the day with a tremendous hail storm.

Next came the thunder and lightning and the reason for the title of the blog. Watching the sparks flying out of the phone sockets was bound to spell trouble!! A fried card in one PC and a fried hub put paid to any contact with the internet for a spell. Obviously I have access now but I'm still waiting for a new hub to arrive. The weather did bring a few birds though as a couple of Swallows appeared plus a smattering of waders. A WT Eagle was seen in the afternoon too.

Friday we peered out of the window to find the cloud down to ground level! A cracking day for Otters and we manged to get seven in total.

Other highlights were a GN Diver, a couple of Dipper, quite a few Golden Plover on the move...

...and the ever present Mountain Hare.

Hopefully the hub will turn up soon and I can get back to normal!!

A day in pictures...

2011-10-03T09:25:00.000+01:00

We started the day with a family party of Red-breasted Mergansers.

Next up was my first Black-throated Diver of the year and, hopefully, not the last.

While watching an Otter I could see and hear the gulls mobbing something that was out of view for me. A quick move along the road showed what the problem was!

After viewing a couple of Golden Eagle we headed down to the loch and found a cracking Red-throated Diver...

...and a close encounter with an Otter having it's lunch.

Grey Herons were, as usual, out in force.

Another Golden Eagle and three Adders later we bumped into a flock of six Common Buzzard following each other - here is one of the birds.

A cracking finish to the day started with a Mountain Hare then a Merlin sitting on the wires.

A stunning Northern Wheatear showed well...

...as did this Stonechat.

Hen harrier was a bird we hadn't come across so it was nice to add this one to the list.

A very obliging Skylark posed at the side of a muddy track.

That might have been enough for one day but we still managed to scrape a few more in... Grey Plover, Greenshank, Swallow were the last additions for the day.

Under a blood red sky.

2011-10-02T18:57:00.000+01:00

I've not done a great deal over the last few days but the spycam has been out. On the way to pick up the camera I nabbed this shot of a Little Grebe. It might not be a good shot but there isn't anything else!

I spent half an hour looking through the 2500 photos but most of them were just the grass blowing in the wind! I did get a couple of Meadow Pipits though.

Needless to say the camera has been moved again and we'll see what happens - patience. Last night finished under a blood red sky - nice.

Catch up.

2011-09-30T12:35:00.000+01:00

It's been a few days since the last post but here is a quick run down of the last tour and a couple of bits since then. A cracking start to the tour as we picked up a total of four Otters on the way to pick up the last of the guests. We had to backtrack to one of the Otters when everyone was on board and managed to find two! This was the closest.

A bit of a blank sky when we looked for raptors but we had a distant view of a Hen Harrier and a WT Eagle just as we were moving on. Plenty of waders on the shore with Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank and Greenshank all seen. Two Golden Eagles performed well after doing a disappearing act for 5 minutes.

There are not many Swallows hanging around now so the 5 birds that we saw were a good find - I'm sure there will be a few more before the year is out. Not much else to report so the Rock Dove gets a spot on the blog!

A migrant Blackbird put in an appearance too.

The usual sightings of WT Eagle over the last few days of birds flying over and the Otters continue to be elusive but show well when you find them.

That's the end of another month but October should provide plenty of interest as the winter visitors start to arrive.

Pallid again!

2011-09-26T07:20:00.000+01:00

Saturdays tour turned up another Pallid Harrier! Just as the guests gathered for the start of the tour a WT Eagle put in an appearance to give us a good start to the day. The search for Mountain Hare was interrupted by the appearance of a Harrier. Once again, as soon as I got the bird in the binoculars, it was obvious what this bird was. We were lucky enough to have bird flying towards us so the views were stunning. By the time I got the camera out it had drifted further away but you can still see the diagnostic head markings.

We continued the search for Mountain Hare and after a good walk around to see a couple of these beasts we got another as we approached the motor and another close one as we drove off. A couple of migrant Wheatear were a good find for the day as were the distant Golden Plover found at our next stop. With quite a few birds of prey flying around, mostly Buzzard we thought the search for the larger species might be easy - wrong! A good spell of raptor activity gave us Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine but no large ones. A small Common Lizard was seen basking in the sun and an Adder showed well.

A distant Golden Eagle showed briefly as we had lunch but it didn't reappear and then the skies went quiet. We searched the ridges for any birds but there was nothing showing at all - very odd. The afternoon was a bit quiet but the commoner birds kept us going with the likes of Curlew, Eider, Guilemot, Greenshank and Goosander all seen well. An afternoon tea break to try for better views of Golden Eagle paid off. A herd of Red Deer and a few Ravens were all we had to keep us company but after a long wait a Golden Eagle appeared, closely followed by it's mate, and showed really well against the land. A shower of rain encouraged the eagles to land so we got decent views of one of the birds perched up before the both flew over the top of us - excellent stuff.

We still had Otter to find but the best we turned up on our first look was a Chinook.

Why put this photograph on a wildlife blog? If you look underneath the helicopter you can see the area where we actually picked up two Otters. Just as we picked the two Otters a Hen Harrier was flying across the loch too - not a bad finish to the day at all.

THIEF!!!!

2011-09-22T22:31:00.000+01:00

This post should have been some spycam stuff. I went to retrieve the camera today to find it was pointing in the wrong direction and a bit loose on the mount. It never crossed my mind that something was wrong but on opening the camera I discovered that someone had stolen the card!! Thanks for that.A bit of good news is the Pallid Harrier that I found on Tuesday is a first for Argyll.

I did see an Adder today that was next to the regular hibernating area. The only Lizards that I could see were the young ones. The two in the picture below are no more than an inch and a half long!

Another good find was this Common Hawker - it was nearly squashed by a size 12 welly!

Big ears.

2011-09-21T10:34:00.000+01:00

Not too bad a day on Monday with a drizzly start then some clearer weather. We started the day with a good view of an Otter on the move before it came ashore to show very well.

Next up were a couple of juvenile WT Eagle that kept dropping behind the trees. A frustratingly brief view of a Hen Harrier being mobbed by a couple of Hooded Crow was next up. There were plenty of Common Buzzard starting to appear as the weather broke. After viewing the Common Seals and an adult WT Eagle we headed for another spot that gave us a real treat. First up was another adult WT Eagle...

...and the supporting cast of two Hen Harrier, two Kestrel and a number of Buzzard kept things interesting. When the WT Eagle took off it attracted the attention of all the smaller birds in the area but watching it chase one of the Kestrels was a sight to behold! Two Golden Eagle and a herd of Red Deer stags were seen too. Good views of some of the smaller birds were had too with 2 Yellowhammer proving popular, lots of Meadow Pipit and a couple of Stonechat. The search for 'Big Ears' was an easy one. Our first scan around for a Mountain Hare gave us one in the distance but as I got out of the motor I noticed one tucked into the rocks right next to us - what a fine looking beast too!

Tuesday was a cracking day with sunshine and a bit of a breeze. With the tide right in our Otter sighting was a cracking one. We had to wait for it to make it's way along the shore towards us but as it passed within a few yards it was worth it.

Once again the Common Buzzards were much in evidence just hanging in the wind which gave us the chance to get them in the scope - fabulous views. A juvenile Peregrine flew across the road in front of us just as we got an eye on a Buzzard that was perched up. As the Buzzard took off we watched it go and that got us onto two Hen Harrier in the distance. A quick drive along the road for better views of the Harriers paid off. A distant view of a Golden Eagle was the best we could manage after that. We tried to relocate the Goldie but we had no luck. A Harrier put in an appearance as we drove down a track but as we stopped to look at this one it was immediately apparent that it wasn't a Hen Harrier. The underparts were too extensively buff/orange and unmarked, the pale collar was obvious, the dark neck stood out too - this was a juvenile Pallid Harrier. I fumbled for the camera and managed to get a couple of shots of it too - awesome!

Everywhere we went there were Buzzards in the air so it was rude not to get a shot.

After seeing the Mountain Hare we made a determined effort to get both types of eagle as the distant views were not good enough. First up were two Golden Eagle riding the wind. We watched as these two put on a bit of a display. With one bird above the other the top bird just pulled in it's wings and dropped it's feet to plummet towards it's mate. It stopped just above the other bird for a minute or so before they both peeled off and headed for the ridge and out of sight. The WT eagles didn't disappoint either. We picked up two juvenile birds and had one fly just overhead. We followed these birds along the road as they were joined by a third bird. Lots of interaction followed and a cracking way to finish the tour.

Sunshine.

2011-09-20T09:12:00.000+01:00

The weather really calmed down and the sun came out so I tootled around checking a few areas to see what was on offer. A hunting Common Buzzard got some grief off a Jackdaw.

The Skylark flock was a bit easier to see in the calmer conditions...

...and a single Ruff was very obliging as it fed in a small pool.

It was warm enough to check out the reptiles too but I wasn't expecting to see too many. Two Adders were seen but only one photographed.

The Common Lizards were out in good numbers too but these basking individuals were the easiest to capture. An adult first...

...and a nice, green looking, youngster.

The Hooded Crows are starting to gather in flocks and show well as they forage along the shore.

Stonechats seem to have had a good breeding season and are much in evidence now.

A Red-breasted Merganser with 3 youngsters has managed to keep her full brood.

Little and large.

2011-09-17T10:49:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was another rainy day but the wind had dropped but the birds still get out. A juv WT Eagle flew over the shop at tree height and a male Hen Harrier was hunting out the front in the rain. Wednesday was a much brighter day and dry too. Two juvenile WT Eagle started the day well...

...and an Otter that didn't want to get too close.

The wader flock was still hanging around but looking a bit more restless in the clearer conditions.

A flock of Long-tailed Tit were the first ones I'd seen since the Spring. Golden Eagle took a bit of waiting for but we got good views when it did appear.

Another good find in the afternoon was a Little Gull. No chance of getting close to this bird but it did land next to a Herring Gull which was a nice comparison of size.

A good finish to the day as we were looking for waders. A brown blob in the middle of a flooded field turned out to be a Mountain Hare.

The Hare took it's time crossing the pool but it was interesting to watch.

A cracking view of a female Hen Harrier finished the day off in style.

ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY!

2011-09-14T09:22:00.000+01:00

Monday was a true test of patience as we got battered with the wind and rain that was the tail end of Hurricane Katia. With it being a bit wet, as soon as everyone was aboard, the windows steamed up. Job number one - try to keep the windows clear! It wasn't too long before we all got out to look at a WT Eagle sheltering from the rain. We all got soaked but we all saw the bird which was an achievement in the poor visibility. Next up was trying to find an Otter. With the rain hammering against the windows it was difficult to see out so there was only one thing for it - keep the window down! The inside of the motor was as wet as the outside. With no Otters to be seen we checked out the waders that were on the shore. I managed to get a poor, but identifiable, photo of one of the Curlew Sandpipers.

I was convinced we'd overlooked an Otter along the way so another good hard look turned up a furry beast. Another good soaking for all as we watched the Otter make it's way along the shore. There is always more appreciation for what you see on a wet day as they are usually hard won finds - Buzzard hunting was a good one, Gannets were out in good numbers, a male Hen Harrier cruising through the rain was an awesome sight, Swallows battling the elements - I could go on! As for the title of the blog I found my 180th species of bird on Mull today in the shape of three Ruff. The photo below shows two of the birds with a Golden Plover in front of them.

Skylarks and Meadow Pipit were in good numbers and a couple of Mountain Hare were good to see. Just before I dropped the guests off we picked up a Dipper as it flew along the shore and then landed to give good views.

Soggy.

2011-09-12T09:02:00.000+01:00

Wet and windy weather on Friday for the tour but still a good day out. Three Mountain Hare together were a bit of a surprise as they chased each other along the beach rather than hiding from the wind. Still a good flock of Skylarks around and the Rock Pipit numbers are increasing. Another day of patience was rewarded in the afternoon as we had a nice Otter sighting. We picked it up in calmer waters and watched it fishing...

...before it moved closer to the shore and clambered through the seaweed and peered out.

A WT Eagle put in an appearance in a brief clear spell and a good spread of waders were seen. Quite a few Redshank in a couple of places but the Dunlin, Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Sanderling flock was given a good chunk of time.

The weather started to break as the day was coming to an end so a final effort for Golden Eagle paid off. We got the bird at close quarters as it sat on the ground and then it took off to show it's huge size to better effect. A tough day but thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Sunday was a real stinker as the wind was quite strong with lashing rain. We had an awesome start to the day as we viewed a sprinkling of waders - Redshank, Ringed Plover, Curlew and Dunlin. I picked up a male Hen Harrier next. We watched this bird as it hunted in the distance but it was making it's way closer to us. A Sparrowhawk got up to harass the Hen Harrier and still it came closer. Just as we were getting cracking views all hell broke loose as all the waders and gulls took to the skies. The Hooded Crows all left the ground too as a WT Eagle came over the top of us to take some prey from the far shore. Five Golden Plover and two Turnstone flew in as things started to settle down. we attempted to get closer to the WT Eagle but too many distractions along the way as we picked up the Sparrowhawk at close quarters plus a female Hen Harrier and then a Kestrel too! The sea was really choppy but that didn't stop us from finding an Otter...

...but the rain forced us back into the motor so we lost that one. Two minutes later we were onto another one. This Otter caught a fish and headed for shore. It looked like it was going to haul out in a place we couldn't view but the crashing waves changed the Otters mind and it came over the top to eat it's fish on the edge of a pool!

Four Curlew Sandpipers (the first I've seen since 2007) were next on the list along with a Greenshank. We even saw the sun, briefly, in the afternoon so we walked the beach and picked up a couple of Knot amongst the Oystercatchers plus lots of Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail and a couple of White Wagtail. We finished the day with superb views of Mountain Hare.

Full spate.

2011-09-09T08:39:00.000+01:00

After a couple of days off, the tour on Monday had the last of the good weather. The Otters were out in force as we saw one before getting everyone on board and then three separate ones in less than a mile. Just to give an idea of the conditions here is Otter number three heading for shore...

...and another as it hauled out.

A couple of Hen Harriers were seen as we waited for the Otter to come ashore. We had look for the WT Eagles but there was no sign in the regular spot but I did find one across the other side of the loch. A quick look for Golden Eagle was fruitless but we did get some Red Deer. A quick drive round the loch to get better views of the WT Eagle was worth the effort. We got cracking views of Golden Eagle as we had lunch and also a nice Adder sighting. This could be the last one I'll see this year.

Another two Hen Harriers, 6 Dunlin, 4 Ringed Plover and a couple of Redshank were the afternoon highlights plus nice views of Mountain Hare.

Tuesday was a complete contrast as the wind had picked up and it rained all day. You can't let the conditions put you off as the wildlife is still out there somewhere. Cracking views of a WT Eagle taking shelter in the trees gave us a good start. Things got difficult after that but we still picked up Raven, Kestrel, Red Deer and a Red-throated Diver. A well chosen spot for lunch was required to shelter from the wind and rain and hopefully we would get a window of opportunity. The showers carried on while we had lunch but just as we were packing up the rain stopped and a Buzzard appeared and then, one we were hoping for, a Golden Eagle appeared. It dropped from sight so we jumped aboard the motor and drove along the road to get cracking views of the bird. The afternoon was almost a complete wash out so the commoner birds were seen, some brief sunshine when we hit the beach and a Mountain Hare. Away from the wildlife side of things - the piglets are coming along nicely and should be heading to new homes in the next couple of days...

...and the sheep caused a bit of amusement.

A close encounter with a Herring Gull was worth taking a snap of.

The rest of the time was spent looking for an Otter in the choppy waters. It took until our last stop before we found one but it showed well and the guests were pleased to finally catch up with one. As I was heading home the rain stopped and the Buzzards came out in force. I took a quick shot of one bird hunting but found it was actually looking over it's shoulder rather than the ground!

The rainfall through the day had got all of the rivers in full spate too - spectacular.

The end.

2011-09-03T10:31:00.000+01:00

Don't panic - it's just the end of Summer. Autumn is here now and the Bracken is starting to die back, the leaves are starting to fall off the trees and maybe, just maybe, we'll get some exciting migrant birds.

Thursday was a pleasant enough day with a decent breeze blowing. With the guests on board we headed off in search of the wildlife and almost drew a blank to start with. The tides are running very high at the moment so there was no sign of any waders at our first stop but they'll be out there somewhere. No sign of any Mountain Hare either so, not wanting to leave empty handed, we wandered around until we found one. While slowing down for some oncoming traffic we noticed three leggy birds parading in a field (I know what you're thinking). Three Black-tailed Godwit but I only got a photo of two - stunners!

Golden Eagle was high on the agenda for the day so a young bird trying to avoid a cloud of Ravens was nice to see but better was to come when we arrived at the next location to find one sitting on a ridge.

It put on a fine flying display before disappearing. Next up were the WT Eagles. Not a sign to start with and a couple of folk turned up to say they'd just seen one, in flight, about a mile away. That started a bit of conversation on 'should we go after that one'...I said we should be patient and we'll get what we want. Ten minutes later one of the young birds flew in and gave us good views and then another youngster flew over the top of us - result! Just as we'd all clambered aboard the motor we noticed one of the birds heading towards us - everyone back out to watch this fly past...

The Otters proved to be elusive but we did find one eventually that most people got onto.
On Friday the weather was nice in the morning but the rain was due in the afternoon. Trying to make the best of the weather we went in search of both types of eagle to start the day. Two WT Eagle, an adult and a juvenile, were perched in the trees and then flew off. The Common Buzzards were everywhere some showing better than others but this poser got the most attention.

With the skies starting to darken we took in what would be the last of the good views of the the day and also a herd of Red Deer hinds. A Golden Eagle appeared from nowhere and gave us close views before being joined by it's mate - cracking stuff!

Once again it took a while to find an Otter but when we did get onto one it performed to everyone's satisfaction. A Slow Worm was found by one of the guests just before the heavens opened. The best of the afternoon was the Mountain Hare and an anniversary treat for the last two guests to be dropped off as we picked up another two Otters along the way. So there you go, the end of Summer, the beginning of Autumn and nothing has changed!

Angry August.

2011-08-31T20:38:00.000+01:00

Friday it was back to an easy day in pleasant weather. A couple of minutes after picking up the guests we were watching 3 Otters and then off to see the WT Eagles - simple!

Another Otter and then two Golden Eagle plus a Slow Worm - just one of those days.
Saturday went along the same lines too. A couple of Otters at the start of the day were distant but good enough. We had some good eagle action after that with a couple of WT Eagles in flight and a Golden Eagle not happy with the bigger birds flying around his territory. No damage done as the WT Eagles just drifted away. It must be a time for Goldies to be angry as we picked up a juvenile Goldie that was seen off by a couple of adult birds. Next up in the angry stakes were a couple of Sparrowhawks that took umbrage with a squad of Hooded Crows - good to watch though.
Sunday was a day off and it rained all day. Monday was a day for fishing to try and catch some supper. With three men in the boat we headed off to see what we could catch. One of the first fish I hauled in was this Cuckoo Wrasse - not a common fish so that went back in.

Plenty Mackerel were hauled in before we had a go at catching Pollock. A few small ones were caught and thrown back before I caught this 5lb fish - supper!

Tuesday was another day off so Wednesday will have to do. An overcast day with little wind and some good birds. The usual suspects performed well with both juvenile WT Eagle putting on a show for us. Here is one of the birds with a Common Buzzard for company.

The Otter took a bit of finding but performed well despite the attentions of SIX photographers.

We got good views of Greenshank and Ringed Plover along the way. A bonus bird was an adult WT Eagle that was well camoflaged as it sat on the rocks. We almost overlooked this Common Lizard too.

If you look closely you can see the scales starting to grow back on the tail now. A bit more obvious was this Adder.

Only distant views of Golden Eagle today but three birds made up for the distance. There were plenty of Buzzard along the way mostly sitting on posts.

Plenty of Stonechat to see plus a couple of Whinchat, Common Whitethroat and a nice female Hen Harrier before we finished the day with Twite, Linnet and Skylark.

...and pigs might fly!

2011-08-26T09:22:00.000+01:00

Wednesday was another good day for sightings but the weather was a bit iffy in places. First on the list was a male Hen Harrier that we picked up while looking for Otters. A cracking Otter sighting came next as we managed to get down to the shore and watch this one from close quarters while it was bringing crabs ashore to eat.

A bit of video footage too. There must be a way of keeping the quality but I haven't worked that out yet.

The WT Eagles put on a fine display after that and then the clouds started rolling in. With some good sightings in the bag we didn't worry too much about the weather. Decent numbers of Curlew along the shore, a few Wheatears are still hanging in and lots of Meadow Pipits everywhere.

The rain started in earnest after that but thankfully it didn't last too long. Four Eider ducks enjoyed the shower.

We put in a good effort for Golden Eagle while the weather cleared but there was no sign of them flying around. We made the decision to move on and try somewhere else. I made another stop to have one last look around and located one of the Golden Eagles sitting on a rock in the distance. We did get a bit closer but it was still a distant view. Next on the list were flying pigs - I haven't gone mad, honest! The pigs were getting fed when we arrived at the next Golden Eagle site and one of the sows was literally launching the piglets out of the way - so there you go, pigs do fly;-) A Golden Eagle hove into view and landed on one of the poles so we were into the motor and racing towards it in seconds - result!

It wasn't too long before it was flying again and not away from us either - have some of this!

Cracking weather for the rest of the afternoon, stunning views and plenty of sightings of common birds plus, of course, a good sighting of some eagle food.

One last photo opportunity as we headed for home was this Stonechat.

Thursday was a complete contrast as it was forecast to be pleasant all day with a decent breeze blowing - perfect eagle weather. Someone needs to tell the eagles about these perfect conditions as it was a struggle to find anything flying around! We did start the day with a superb performance from the WT Eagles as the male bird teased the youngsters with some food it was carrying but he wouldn't let them have it - lots of flying about ensued. A decent view of an Otter followed and then things got difficult. Most of the Buzzards that we saw were perched up and the skies remained devoid of birds. The commoner birds were seen but took a back seat to the obsession of finding the elusive Golden Eagle. There was some serious effort put in but it took all day before we finally cracked it. A male Hen Harrier hunting the moor was well watched and right at the last a Golden Eagle cleared the ridge briefly. We hung on for another view. A WT Eagle showed briefly, another brief view of Golden Eagle and then 3 big birds were picked up. It was three Golden Eagle together - a just reward for the effort we'd put in.

Sula - one year on.

2011-08-26T06:38:00.000+01:00

As requested by a few people - an update on Sula, the kitten I found on the side of the road while on a tour. Here she is the day I brought her home - cute as a button...

...ten days later she's happy as a sandboy...

...three months later and she's the boss...

...six months old now and enjoying the heat from the fire...

...and here she is at one year old - no more cute little kitten as she's trashed the scratching post...

...and spends most of her time in prison;-)

Showstopper!

2011-08-24T20:58:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was another day full of surprises. It was overcast for most of the day but it doesn't put the wildlife off. We started the day with a couple of WT Eagles, Buzzard and plenty of Hooded Crow.

Next on the hit list was a very obliging Otter eating a fish.

Just before lunch we got excellent views of an adult and juvenile Red-throated Diver (the photos don't do the sighting justice).

This Dung Beetle was examined closely while we were viewing the Common Lizard.

The Golden Eagles really made the day as they were on show for ages. They disappeared for a short time so we had a look at an Adder but nobody would have imagined the next event. As we walked away from the Adder the Golden Eagle appeared not 15 yards away. It flew past us without a sound but gave us a hard stare - I'm sure it winked as it went past!!

A bit of a showstopper that one so the good numbers of Dunlin and Ringed Plover, flocks of Linnet and Skylark, three Twite, 2 Golden Plover and a couple of Mountain Hare all had to take a back seat!

Talented Otter.

2011-08-23T20:39:00.000+01:00

Sunday was spent dodging showers while putting a pond in the garden. The Frogs and Toads now have a place to do their spring thing.
Monday was an overcast day but there is always sunshine round the corner. The Skylarks and Linnets showed well along with a single Dunlin and a Mountain Hare. The flat calm conditions were bringing out the occasional midge, no surprises there, but the Golden Eagle that we picked up at our next stop was worthwhile. Three Red-throated Divers were a bonus as we tried to relocate the Golden Eagle. Our good fortune continued at the next port of call when we picked up an Otter while viewing a Grey Seal that was hauled out alongside it's smaller cousins. Another Otter at the next stop showed a bit better as it hauled a fish out on the shore. A juvenile Hen Harrier and an Adder showed well too.

The next Otter was a lot closer but didn't hang around for too long so we headed off to look at the WT Eagles. We managed to get both of the adults and the two chicks in a field with quite a bit of interaction between them.

We managed to pick up the Otter again and discovered it had a talent for doing impressions. See what you think of these...Popeye complete with a pipe!

'I yam what I yam!'

A roaring Lion complete with mane...

...and, last but not least, a Tarzan dive into the water.

How talented is that?! We picked up quite a bit of other stuff including another couple of Hen Harrier, Kestrel and this Northern Wheatear.

Just to top things off nicely the skies cleared too.

Spot the Otter.

2011-08-22T19:22:00.000+01:00

Friday was a bit grubby in places but as usual the sightings made up for it. A bunch of Mountain Hare to start the day before we set off in search of the elusive Otters. Along the way we bagged a couple of Hen Harriers...

...four Eider, two WT Eagle and a Goosander.

It might look like I use this photo a lot but it's a new shot every time - this Buzzard is a real show off!

We'd searched high and low for the Otters with no reward and not much to add to the list but common birds, Adder and a couple of Common Lizard. One last effort to get the furry beasties turned up trumps when we located the mum and two cubs. They spent quite a bit of time in the water fishing...

...and each time they came ashore it was in a place we couldn't see! At least we got them.
Saturday was decent weather with some cracking sightings but less photographs. Stunning views of two Golden Eagle close to the road started the day off well. We followed that up with the WT Eagle perched in a tree and off to find the Otters. The wind had picked up which might make things difficult but as I was explaining what to look for one popped up right in front of us - result! The down side was we lost it straight away as we tried to get in a better position. It was relocated and watched for half an hour and then lost in the choppy water. Another move and we had it back in our sights but this time it wasn't alone. Spot the Otters in this photo!

There are two Otters in that shot - one top left and the other bottom right. We managed to pick up the four Eider and the Goosander again plus another sighting of the two Golden Eagles. Reptiles showed well with a young Slow Worm and two Adders. Plenty of Buzzards around through the day but none better than the one we followed down the road. This one was taken through the windscreen so it's up to the usual standard!

Another good finish to the day with flocks of Linnet and Skylark, Mountain Hare and a Sparrowhawk.

Ring of bright water.

2011-08-19T22:33:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was a pleasant enough day and the top priority was to locate an Otter. Within five minutes of getting some of the guests aboard we got our first view of an Otter. We had to head off to pick more guests up so we let that one go. A WT Eagle was perched in a tree so that got a good grilling too. With all the guests present we headed back to the Otter to get everyone on level terms. Golden Eagle was the next target and it couldn't have been further away! It was watched while it flew closer then it turned to go further away. A change of location and we got better views but while we had a comfort break another Goldie put in an appearance. A trio of reptiles, Mountain Hare and a few waders padded out the day. I'd not had a chance to use the camera all day so when the Tawny Owl put in an appearance in the evening I gave it a shot - what a waste of effort!

Thursday was a pleasant day with no wind and full of midges! On the way to pick folk up for the day I managed to see four Otters - the ring of bright water works well. Was it easy to find another one with the guests on board? The mill pond conditions were perfect for Otter spotting but all the ring of bright water bits turned out to be fish! We eventually found an Otter making it's way quietly along the shore away from us and out into open water. We got well in front of it and waited until it swam under our vantage point and hauled out - superb! After viewing the WT Eagles we headed back for more Otter action - another one with a crab for lunch was the best we could do.

A brief view of a female Hen Harrier was good and we saw the Common Lizard that is growing a new tail.

The female Adder is still showing well too.

Best sighting of the day was a Sparrowhawk that posed perfectly in the middle of the road.

Hen Harriers everywhere.

2011-08-16T14:13:00.000+01:00

Saturday was the coos trip to the seaside - they love a good paddle they do. This unruly bunch are now staring in the window wondering what I'm saying about them!

Sunday I was sh***ing all day. Fill in the blanks yourself but it shouldn't be mentioned in public (I did get some new boots and a pizza out of it though). A nice male Hen Harrier seen in the evening made up for the shameful activities of the day.
Monday morning I headed off to pick up the spycam, which had drawn another blank, and saw an Otter and THREE Hen Harriers along the way! I had my fingers crossed that the tour would continue in the same vein. With the guests on board the first sighting was.............wait for it.................................a male Hen Harrier! A couple of Curlew and a few Heron later and another Hen Harrier, this time a female, flew along the ridge. The WT Eagles put on a premier performance with the female sat in a tree, both chicks on the nest and the male coming in with prey over our heads.

The Otters were proving to be a bit elusive but our persistence paid off when one was seen to clamber over a rock and disappear. We moved further down the road and relocated the beast asleep on the shore.

A nice Red Deer stag was seen just before lunch which was a lot better than the distant views of a herd of deer on the skyline. Three Common Lizards, a Golden Eagle, three more Hen Harriers in the distance and an Adder.

One of the kids found a caterpillar that looks like it could be Narrow-bordered Bee hawk-moth.

Yet another female Hen Harrier as we headed off...

...and a first for me - a live Mole! A nice Peregrine sighting in the afternoon and a selection of waders finished the day off nicely.

Bits and bobs.

2011-08-15T22:42:00.000+01:00

I've had the spycam out in various places over the last week and mostly it has just got wet! The best bit of video captured is the one below.

If that's not good enough here is another from the Ardnamurchan trip.

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An interesting find on the island - a Siskin was picked up in the feeding station at the back of Harbour Guest House in Tobermory. The bird was ringed and here is the information on the bird...

Ringing Scheme:

London

Ring Number:

X645136

Species of bird:

Siskin

This bird was ringed by R L Coombs as age 2 years , sex Male on 15-Mar-2009 at Kempley, Gloucestershire
OS Map reference SO6828, co-ordinates 51deg 57min N 2deg 28min W.

It was found on 01-Jul-2011 at Tobermory, Argyll and Bute
OS Map reference NM5055, co-ordinates 56deg 37min N 6deg 4min W.

The bird was Dying Bird Found

Remarks

It was found 838 days after it was ringed, 569 km from the ringing site, direction NNW.

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Another interesting sight, noted on a number of occasions, is Sparrowhawks hunting Swallows. I've not seen a successful hunt but they certainly put the effort in.

Quiet times

2011-08-14T08:12:00.000+01:00

Wednesday it lashed it down and luckily I didn't have a tour. Despite the weather there was a superb encounter with a Sparrowhawk that came swooping in for a Swallow about three feet in front of me!Thursday was another rainy day with no tour but another close encounter with a Sparrowhawk coming up from the side of the road. Good views of WT Eagle and an Otter too.

Friday I was back on tour and it was still raining! A couple of requests from the guests - Wheatear, Otters and WT Eagle. We started the day with good views of a couple of Wheatear (they are thin on the ground now as they head of to Africa for the winter), Mountain Hare and a bunch of Dunlin. Nice views of Redshank and Curlew were had before we tried for some reptiles. No sign of any of the scaly trio today but it was a bit cool in the more exposed areas so we checked out some flowers. Grass of Parnassus was looking good...

...and lots of Mint in flower.

Marsh Valerian was also seen but not photographed. Next on the list was a couple of Red-throated Divers in spanking plumage. We headed for lunch with the WT Eagles next. We had one bird perched up but just as we started lunch it took off and disappeared! I picked up another bird sitting low in a conifer and then we had one of the youngsters flying around before the original bird returned to it's perch.

What a nice way to spend lunch! Next into the bag and the final request fulfilled was an Otter. Good views as it came to shore with a fish and then a good half an hour sitting on the rocks watching it fish. We finished the day with another WT Eagle encounter. The bird was seen sitting on an islet and just as we pulled up it took off - impressive.

The velvet gloves are off.

2011-08-10T20:21:00.000+01:00

Tuesday weather was good with less wind - result. None of the guests had never seen Otters before so that was top priority. We started the day with a single Mountain Hare or at least an ear of hare.

We dropped in to a couple of prime locations for Otters but the best we got were three Red Deer stags at the side of the road. Another stop and there was a single Otter asleep on the seaweed. It wasn't that easy to see so we moved closer but it was already on it's way by the time we pulled in again. A couple of Crossbill distracted us momentarily.

The Otter was swimming away from us but as it approached the far shore we noticed there were two cubs asleep - not bad for your first ever sighting of Otters! We left those ones to try to find a closer one. Our next stop did produce another Otter but it was distant and brief - surely we could do better. A WT Eagle was next in our sights - nice views in flight but it was heading off and gaining height. We finally got close views of an Otter when we picked up the fifth one of the day - not even lunchtime either! We watched this one fishing and eventually it came to shore with a fish.

While that was all going on I managed to pick up a juv Golden Eagle some distance away but good enough views in the scope. We needed a plan for the afternoon after all those Otters - closer views of a Golden Eagle was the request. Once again I picked up a distant bird that was gaining height - it must have been more than a mile away to start with. We watched this bird as it turned towards us and pulled in it's wings to get forward motion towards us. It was a bit of a wait but eventually it was a close encounter.

No Adder today as it was too warm but a single Slow Worm and a couple of Common Lizard were good enough. This young Lizard is no more than a couple of inches long and not much thicker than the blades of grass.

The Red Deer stags we'd seen in the morning were paid another visit. I'd noticed that one of them was just starting to lose it's velvet in the morning but look at the state of him in the afternoon!!

Just to finish the day off nicely we found an adult WT Eagle perched up and also watched it fly off.

Top Gun.

2011-08-09T21:32:00.000+01:00

Enough of those Pine Martens and back to the Mull stuff. Monday was a pleasant day with a bit of a breeze blowing. As I picked up the last of the guests a WT Eagle was circling overhead - not a bad way to start! We bagged an Otter not long after just as it was heading for shore.

Next off was a close up of a WT Eagle perched low down in a tree before flying off.

Our next stop produced a distant Peregrine and another Otter on the shore. No chance of getting out for a closer look at this one as it kept a close eye on us. Next up was an aerial dogfight between the Peregrine and two Kestrels. The smaller falcons had to work hard as the larger bird completely outclassed them in the aerial display and turn of speed. In true Top Gun fashion the Peregrine buzzed the tower when it shook off Kestrels.

Another close encounter a bit further down the road as we found two Red Deer stags. One of the beasts actually came in for a closer look at us!

I managed to get a photograph of the young Adder today - very smart.

The Common Lizards tail seems to be growing back nicely.

We had a long wait for Golden Eagle but a couple of Crossbill and a rampage of Ravens kept us amused before three Golden Eagle appeared. Various small birds were seen along the way too with the best performer being this Dunlin.

I mentioned there was a bit of a breeze blowing - these, mostly young, Swallows looked a bit worn out from their efforts of battling the wind.

A shower of rain came in just as I arrived back at base to give me a cracking rainbow to finish off the day in style.

Short break.

2011-08-08T07:19:00.001+01:00

Thursday - quite a bit of low cloud around and I left my camera at home. The WT Eagles were still loitering round the nest in the morning but with a fine drizzle falling and not much wind there was very little activity. We headed off in search of Red Deer instead - a nice hind on the edge of the forestry and a herd of hinds with a few young were good enough. Cracking views of an Otter after that and I was missing the camera now! Good views of Ravens, Greenshank and 3 Red-throated Diver seen us towards lunch. The afternoon was just as good with another 3 RT Diver, plenty of Meadow Pipit, the odd Wheatear and Stonechat. Best find of the day was a single Tree Sparrow.

The main reason for not having the camera the previous day was due to packing things away for our weekend break. We headed off to Ardnamurchan for a look around. Not a great deal of wildlife was seen on the trip but we didn't look too hard either. Traffic lights at the entrance to the lighthouse.

Plenty of Gannet and Manx Shearwaters from the lighthouse itself and nice weather too.

Good view of the surrounding islands with Rum, Skye, Eigg and Muck in this shot.

It was nice to be a tourist for a change driving slow and enjoying the scenery. Quite a few Buzzard along the way and the odd Scotch Argus seen too.

A moss covered rock that looked like a skull.

We were lucky enough to call in to Nadurra visitor centre just as they found a Long-eared Bat.

I did take the spycam away with me too with the hope of catching something on the one night it was out. A quick glimpse to start with...

...and then a better view.

Not a bad effort with a good few videos of the Pine Marten - I wouldn't mind another go at that!

Two's company . . .

2011-08-04T17:36:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was a fine day to start with and we finished up in rain. A good start to the day with both WT Eagle chicks still sitting on the nest and as we left the area to look for Otters we picked up an adult bird in flight. This bird wasn't alone - a Common Buzzard and a Hen Harrier were there for company! Everyone was pretty keen to see the Otters and it took some searching but we found a mum with two cubs from some distance away. We moved to a closer spot and lost them!! They turned up again, on the shore, right in front of us and then gave us a masterclass in hide and seek.

It was a struggle to get views of the Lesser Redpoll and I missed two chances of getting an Adder photo. Another Otter was picked up while we had lunch. We had the friendly Buzzard too.

The clouds were gathering and it was spitting on with rain but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm. Yellowhammer, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Stonechat and Mountain Hare were all seen before a cracking encounter with an adult WT Eagle that came flying down the road towards us.
Wednesday was forecast to be a cracking day - they weren't wrong.

It wasn't just the weather that was good - Slow Worm, WT Eagle and Golden Eagle were seen in the morning. We spent an hour and a half with three Otters while we had lunch. Butterflies showed well through the day too with Scotch Argus, Speckled Wood...

...and Grayling all seen.

I'm trying to keep an eye on this Common Lizard to see how long it takes for it's tail to grow back.

We had a stunning encounter with a pair of Red-throated Diver. The views were not the best but the birds calling to each other and echoing around us was simply awesome. Our last stop of the day gave us good views of four Dunlin and lots of Sheep.

Good and bad.

2011-08-03T21:52:00.000+01:00

More spycam stuff...a couple of vids from a while back to start with.

A couple of photos that show the dawn chorus brigade...

...not just singing but a dance routine too!

I finally captured what I was after last night and it looks like this...

Yep, I'm disappointed too. I will be going for a second attempt but don't hold your breath. What is it? It's a Tawny Owl.

August here we come.

2011-08-01T22:11:00.000+01:00

August got off to a good start - it looked like this in the morning.

With the guests on board we went in search of some photos and the cameras were given a good work out. We found a Slow Worm early on and that was followed up with a juv WT Eagle. I picked up an Otter not long after that and managed to pick the right place to catch it as it came ashore. A bit damp to start with...

...a quick shake will help.

There, that looks better!

It's still not right, there's only one thing for it...a good roll around on the seaweed.

The Otter wasn't the only one keen to get things in tip top condition as this Buzzard gave a fine display of preening.

After all the rain yesterday the grass was still damp but it didn't stop the Scotch Argus butterflies from flying about and, surprisingly, landing low down in the vegetation.

Next up was a squadron of screaming gull giving away the presence of a WT Eagle - top stuff.

The trio of reptiles are still showing but it took a bit of looking to get them today. This Lizard was the best performer of the three.

A great selection of small birds were seen too with Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Bullfinch, Meadow Pipit, Wheatear, Linnet...

...and Stonechat all featuring.

The Mull Meercat seen us out in fine style.

We're not leaving.

2011-07-31T22:46:00.000+01:00

An eventful end to the month with the local social life going down well. A spit roast lamb was a delicious event and a Swedish candle to keep us warm - a big thank you to the Pink Kipper Club for that one. Roll on next year!

On the wildlife front the last two days of July had similar sightings but one day was blisteringly hot and the next day was a wash out. The usual suspects were seen on both days with the highlights being the return to the nest of the first fledged WT Eagle. Obviously they are typical of the younger generation - we're not leaving home!

We didn't see Otters on Saturday but when I picked one up on Sunday the previous days guests were just driving past - lucky or what?! The Common Seals are an ever present beast but sometimes you get a close one.

The reptiles are still showing well but I've not managed a photograph yet - must try harder. The poor weather on Sunday didn't stop the Mountain Hare from showing but it was the only one we saw.

The only other notable event was getting a Mull tick when I picked up a Sandwich Tern. Let's see what August brings.

Garden list.

2011-07-30T20:40:00.000+01:00

Just for a bit of interest here is my garden list...

1. Whooper Swan 2. Red-throated Diver 3. Grey Heron 4. White-tailed Eagle 5. Hen Harrier 6. Sparrowhawk 7. Common Buzzard 8. Golden Eagle 9. Kestrel 10. Merlin 11. Peregrine 12. Common Snipe 13. Woodcock 14. Curlew 15. Common Sandpiper 16. Common Gull 17. Herring Gull 18. Great Black-backed Gull 19. Cuckoo 20. Barn Owl 21. Tawny Owl 22. Long-eared Owl 23. Short-eared Owl 24. Skylark 25. Barn Swallow 26. Tree Pipit 27. Meadow Pipit 28. Pied Wagtail 29. Grey Wagtail 30. Wren 31. Dunnock 32. Robin 33. Whinchat 34. Stonechat 35. Northern Wheatear 36. Blackbird 37. Fieldfare 38. Song Thrush 39. Redwing 40. Mistle Thrush 41. Common Whitethroat 42. Willow Warbler 43. Blue Tit 44. Great Tit 45. Coal Tit 46. Hooded Crow 47. Raven 48. Starling 49. House Sparrow 50. Chaffinch 51. Greenfinch 52. Goldfinch 53. Siskin 54. Lesser Redpoll 55. Common Crossbill 56. Yellowhammer

Not too bad for the first year in residence.