August 2019
Aug 14th
Out and about early again this morning and there is still
not a lot
about although
for those
planning on
coming to Mull
I did see an
otter today
and I wasn't
even trying.
My sighting of
the day was by
the
Killiechronan
campsite where
a flock of at
least 70
Ringed Plover
flew in to
feast as the
tide went out,
they were
joined by a
few Dunlin.
The Autumn
flowers are
out in
abundance now
with Grass Of
Parnasus seen
as well as the
Bell Heather
and Ling. On
my way home I
was able to
photograph the
Goosanders on
Loch Cuin,
they would be
some of the
same ones we
saw when out
walking with
Lucy on Moday.
Aug
13th
A day
of showers, heavy
showers, like the
saying goes it never
rains but it pours. It
was a bit like that in
the mail today the
accountant sent back
our accounts, it
included his bill and
then we have tax to
pay, like I said it
never rains it pours.
On a lighter note the
Woodpeckers are back
in the garden check
out the photo.
Aug 12th
This
morning I went out
early in lovely
weather, light breeze,
sunshine, 4
degrees centigrade,
I was wearing
thermols for
goodness sake, talk
about climate
change. Being
out and about on Mull
in such calm
conditions was
wonderfull and the
views even more so,
with Coll and Tiree
looking resplendent
from Calgary Bay, I
felt I could reach out
and touch them. On the
birding front the
highlight of the
morning had to be the
flock of approximately
20 Twite seen at
Cailaich Point,
Kittiwakes, and
Gannets here as well.
There are lots of
Meadow Pipits
everywhere and Pam and
I saw at least 12
Goosander on Loch Cuin
and also 3 Greenshank.
Red Deer and of course
Rabbits were the
Mammals seen but
really it was just
being back on Mull
that was the real
highlight of my
morning. This
afternoon once again
the weather has
intervened, I was
supposed to be mowing
lawns but it is
pouring down, the suns
still shining though.
August
2018
31st August
Mowed lawns as I had no tour and weekend
weather not
promising.
This Good
Morning Good
Morning, I was
feeding the
birds With a
little help
from my
friends, Jack
and Tom but
not For the
benefit of Mr
Kite as we
don't have Red
Kites on Mull
very often.
The house and
self-catering
are getting a
bit of a
makeover with
our friend and
neighbour Nick
Fixing a Hole,
whilst
painting all
the windows,
which is all a
Day in the
life for Nick
and Getting
Better for us.
In November
Pam is going
to a wedding
in America
with our son
and
daughter-in-law,
you could say
She's leaving
home, leaving
me to look
after our dog
Lucy (in the
sky with
diamonds) so I
will not be
one of SGT
Peppers lonely
hearts club
band. This
blog post is
mainly for
Blake and
Sheila but I
hope it makes
you all smile
a little bit.
30th August
Another tour and I am
unashamedley starting with the
best of the rest as we had 3 Red
Throated Divers today on Loch Na
Keal which made my day even if
my guests appeared a little
underwhelmed. We had to show a
lot of patience today as we had
to wait for an Otter we were
watching at a distance to fill
up with fish, eventually however
it climbe out onto an island and
gave us a great view, my guests
were very excited with that
sighting. White-tailed Sea
Eagles were excellent again
today and we saw 4 really good
Golden Eagles. Changing my route
a tad today brought us good luck
with a very good Hen Harrier
sighting and a couple of
Kestrels and a nice herd of Red
Deer including some good stags.
29th August
A tour today with
great guests, they were great at
spotting, great at chatting to
me and all had a great sence of
humour which helps me enormously
. Mulls special species also
performed well for me today, we
had a fabulous sighting of a
female Hen Harrier but sadly for
one of my guests not a male, ah
well you can't win them all.
White-tailed Sea Eagles were
seen in good numbers but the one
that flew over our heads was
very special. We saw a lot of
Golden Eagles today although the
one that was being mobbed by
Crows and landed reasonably
close for a Golden Eagle was
probably the highlight of the
day. Loads of Red Deer were seen
today including several stags
and a very good if brief Otter
was also seen which pleased my
lovely guests no end. Thanks to
everyone on todays tour I had a
really great day with you all.
28th August
No tour and not a lot to report
but I did manage to walk Lucy
across the road and got some
photos of Dunlin which dropped
into feed as we were there and
the tide was receeding.
27th August
A full tour today and
we had a good day with 2 Otters
seen well, both types of Seal
and Red Deer includig a stag. On
the bird front we saw 4
White-tailed Sea Eagles both
sitting and flying, it is when
they are flying that you
appreciate how enormous these
birds are. 2 Golden Eagles were
seen a little distant but very
good views, Kestrels and
Buzzards as usual and a brief
Hen Harrier which most of my
guests saw. Wader of the day was
a Bar-tailed Godwit and my
guests also enjoyed seeing Black
Guilliemots and Cormorants and
Shags sitting together giving
good size comparrison and the
obvious different forehead
shape. Finally our guests are
amazed by how many Grey Herons
they see on Mull and I explain
that we have at least 12
Heronries of various sizes.
26th
August
No tour today but an
awful lot of rain, we worked
indoors and enjoyed the birds in
the garden.
25th August
Saturday so no tour
but we took Lucy across the road
to the side of Loch Cuin and saw
5 Black Tailed Godwits still in
partial breeding plumage, 40
Redshank, a count of 9
Greenshank, 7 Goosander, 6
Curlews, 55 Greylag Geese, 5
Herons, a pair of Mallard, and 2
Herring Gulls and a single Great
Blacked Gull. Earlier one of our
self-catering guests had also
seen good numbers of Ringed
Plovers and a few Dunlin here as
well. On our way back to the
house Pam spotted the Buzzard
sitting on the telegraph post
which I just had to stop and get
a photo of as they usually fly
away when I show them my camera.
With the 16 to 17 species seen
regularly in our garden it does
not matter if it rains at
Ardrioch there is plenty to see
within a ten minute walk.
24th
august
A tour in very showery
conditions and the showers were
very heavy when they came and
were very blustery in stong
winds. We saw some very good
birds of prey between the
showers including several
White-tailed Sea Eagles with the
one in the photo below aruably
the best of them. Very good Hen
Harrier and 2 Peregrine Falcans
were seen as were 2 Kestrels and
a Sparrowhawk although the
Golden Eagle we saw was so brief
only myself and one guest
actually saw it. Red Deer
including a stag and Fallow Deer
were seen, the Fallow Deer
crossed the road right in front
of the mini-bus. The Hedgehog in
the photo we rescued as it was
crossing the road, so we took it
up a forest path and just hope
it found a much safer route for
its travells.
23rd August
No tour today so I
went with Lucy across the road
to the Loch and saw 4 Black
Tailed Godwits in a field with a
large group of Greylag Geese,
more migration. At the coast
there were lots of Ring Plover
and 4 Greenshank, a single
Dunlin, Curlews and Goosander.
Guests in our self-catering who
came down as I was leaving saw
an Otter fishing an hour after I
had left. My mate and neighbour,
Nick has been painting our
wooden widows blue to match in
with the new windows we had put
in Inch Hame in the Winter. As
usual he is making a first class
job and the house will look
really good when he has
finished, although at the moment
he is dodging the showers so
can't get in a full day very
often on what is a very fiddly
job.
22nd August
A tour today and at
our first stop there was a Bar
Tailed Godwit at Aros, so Autumn
migration has started which will
make birding more interesting
for the rest of the year after
the Summer moult. We had several
sightings of White-tailed Sea
Eagles today and 3 Golden Eagles
at lunchtime. An Otter in the
morning which was number one on
my guests wish list so I was a
very happy chappie when we found
one. Red Deer mums and calves
proved a big hit with my guests
and so did the Seal seen in a
few locations. We are seeing a
lot of Grey Herons all over the
place at the moment as fledged
birds join their parents around
the coast, my guests are amazed
at how many Herons we have on
Mull. The views were spectacular
today and we were able to see
the Outer Hebridies from one of
my favorite viewpoints.
21st August
No tour today but I did manage
to get out birding for myself
and saw a few nice
birds including 2 Wigeon the
first back for the winter
or maybe they were just passing
through. A Dipper was seen at a
regular haunt and there were
lots of Swallows and a few House
Martins feeding up before their
long migration to Africa begins.
A lot of Arctic and Common Terns
also feeding up although a
couple were having a rest along
with some Shags, Cormorants and
a single Kittiwake. Without
really looking for them I saw
both types of Seal , a single
Fallow Deer and 4 White-tailed
Sea Eagles. A total of 35 bird
species and 3 mammals were seen
and I was only out for about
three hours.
20th
August
No tour today but as
it was a beautiful day I mowed
the lawns which meant I had no
time to go out birding as I also
had to go to Tobermory to fill
up the car, get some more bird
seed and fetch a new gas for the
midge machine as it had run out.
No rest for the wicked as the
saying goes although I did
manage a few looks at the birds
in the garden, the highlights
being Lesser Redpoll, Siskins
and Great Spotted Woodpecker, at
least now Lucy chases the
Rabbits off the lawn, so there
is one animal she is not scared
of.
!9th August
A tour today and I can
honestly say it could not have
been better with lovely guests
and would you believe it 3, yes,
Three Otters at three seperate
sites, where have they been
hiding. We saw 2 Golden Eagles,
4 White-tailed Sea Eagles, Red
Deer including stags and a Hen
Harrier, we also saw Buzzards
and Kestrels. other wildlife
were waders which included
Oystercatchers, Curlews,
Redshank, Greenshanks, Ring
Plovers and Dunlin. Other
notable birds were Goosander,
Black Guilliemot, Kittiwakes,
Shags, Cormorants, Gannet,
Siskin and a beautiful male
Linnet, I nearly forgot the
Wheatears of which we saw quite
a few mainly in one location. As
usual I forgot about my camera
for most of the tour as I prefer
to watch the wildlife and look
out for more as my guests watch
the Otters and other wildlife we
find but I did remember I had it
with me when I found my first
Grass of Parnassus of the year
it wasn't until I looked at the
picture on the computer that I
saw the small insect on the
flower.
!8th August
Changeover day in the
self-catering and I was relieved
that the lawns did not need
mowing and so I took Lucy across
the road and down to the Cuin
lochside and enjoyed an hour of
peacefull birding. There were
over 50 Greylag Geese grazing
the new grass from recently mown
fields much to the farmers
chagrin. Down at the Lochside a
mother and 4 well grown
Goosander chicks flew past to
land on the Loch for a leisurly
swim. There were the usual
Redshanks, Greenshanks, Curlews
and Grey Herons but what I was
most taken with today were a
mixed flock of Ring Plovers and
Dunlin which had obviously just
arrived judging by the way busy
way they were feeding. I enjoyed
watching their antics and with
lovely Lucy by my side I just
relaxed in the atmosphere that
only Mull can bring to me.
!7th August
As forecast the
weather today was pretty awful,
wet and windy, a bit of a change
from what we experienced in the
South and not the best for
wildlife watching but apart from
2 no shows we had a full bus.
The day started quite well with
Redhanks, Greenshanks, Curlews
and Oystercatchers seen at
Dervaig, we also saw Goosander
and the first of many Grey
Herons here as well. Ravens were
seen but little else untill we
got to the shoreline once again
where we saw Red Breasted
Mergansers, Mute Swans,
Cormorants and Swallows as well
as Common Seals. The rain kept
falling and the wind got up so
hot coffee and tea were most
welcome. Apart from a very nice
Ringed Plover and all Mulls Gull
species not a lot was seen until
Sam spotted a White-tailed Sea
Eagle fly in and land on a tree
which lifted everyones dampened
(litterally) spirits somewhat.
Red Deer, Shags, Black
Guilliemots and a Great Northern
Diver were seen but the rain
kept falling and it was hard
keeping eveyones spirits up
although with a little
persuasion our guests devoured
all the hot Carrot soup and
sandwiches. The rain stopped at
10 past 4 in the afternoon and
in 10 minutes we saw 2 Kestrels,
2 more White-tailed Sea Eagles
and 2 Hen Harriers, the trevails
of the day were forgotten in
this bird fest and my guests
went home tired wet and very
happy, me I was tired, wet and
very relieved.
!6th
August
Arrived home at 2-30pm
after a family and friends visit
of 3 weeks, thanks once again to
Pete and Jenny for looking after
everything including Lucy, also
for ensuring our self-caterers
were well looked after, we are
really indebted to you.
Everything was perfect when we
got home which was just as well
as we have our first tour on our
return tomorrow and the weather
is not looking to promising.
9th August
Photos from our
holiday to Spitzbergan, Our ship
Ortelius took us north into the
Ice Flows just 600 miles south
of the North Pole. The view was
incredible with ice as far as
the eye could see. This is home
to Bruinics Guillemots, Ivory
and Glaucous Gulls who feed on
Polar Cod from the icy seas.
Yes, thats Pam so rugged up you
can not tell who it is.
5th August
Long-tails Ducks and a
Juvinile King Eider were seen
from a Zodiac ride and Glacias
seen from the ship.
4th August
Arthur & I
enjoying our holiday in the
Artic and all our trips out in
the Zodiacs, we saw Rock
Pharmigan and Artic Skua.
2nd August
At 79 degrees north
Ny-Alesund is the worlds most
northern settlement originally a
mining comunity today it is a
centre for International Artic
Scientific research and
environmental monitoting. Here
we saw our first Glacia and an
old Mining Train. We know it as
the Grey Pharolope as we would
normally see it in winter
plumage but in the Artic this
bird is know as the Red
Pharolope. The female on the
left is the more colourful as
the male sits on the eggs and
rears the young whilst she goes
off to find another male to mate
with. (I think this is a good
idea - Pam) We also saw our
first Reindeer, Ivory Gull,
Purple Sandpiper and nesting
Artic Turn.
1st August
Fulmar in fabulous
Artic sky. We saw Blue Whales on
our first evening on our ship
and Polar Bear with cubs the
next morning, they were walking
amongst the nesting Barnacle
Geese and Eider Ducks and
foraging the eggs from their
nests.
Aug 31st 2017
A
wader day with
8 different
Waders seen
with
Oystercatchers
being the most
prolific
followed by
Ringed Plovers
and Curlews.
after sifting
carefully
through the
Ringed Plovers
we saw a few
Turnstones and
a couple of
Dunlin. In
total we saw 5
redshank and 3
Bar Tailed
Godwits but
Wader of the
day was a
Little Stint
which Pam and
I took some
time to figure
out, of course
I had not
taken the
camera out
with us so no
point in
reporting it.
There was also
a Carrion Crow
present at the
main Wader
spot not a
bird always
present on
Mull and
seldom seen.
As we were
checking out
the Waders a
White-tailed
Eagle flew
over our
heads, we saw
4 in total
today and we
were not even
looking for
them. I went
to the doctor
today to get
an appointment
to see a
specialist to
look at my
DUPUYTREN'S
CONTRACTURE, I
will leave
readers to
look that one
up, suffice to
say it is not
contagious so
won't affect
the tours but
probably means
I have Viking
blood.
Aug 30th
A
lovely tour
today with
great guests
and although
the wildlife
proved
somewhat
difficult to
find we
eventually saw
all of the
Mull main
species really
well. The day
began with a
Greenshank at
our first
stop, Gannets,
Kittiwakes,
Manx
Shearwaters,
Snipe and a
flying family
of
Shelduck
at the next.
Red Deer were
seen as we
left Cailaich
Point and
Linnets and
Goldfinches
were present
along the road
back towards
Calgary. The
weather took a
turn for the
worse as it
started
raining but we
still managed
Curlews and
Ringed Plover
as we
continued the
tour. The rain
stopped after
lunch and we
managed to see
a Bar-tailed
Godwit and
Black
Guilliemot but
it was later
in the day
that the major
action took
place, a
Golden Eagle
appeared and
attacked a
Buzzard, the
Eagle was then
itself mobbed
by a brave
Kestrel. At
long last we
saw a
White-tailed
Sea Eagle and
then like
buses another
appeared
giving us
great closeish
views. We
watched both
types of Seal
before 2
Otters joined
us, could the
day get better
I thought, yes
it could a
female Hen
Harrier to end
a terrific
tour. Thanks
to Sal and
Andy for their
great
spotting,
thanks to
Mulls wildlife
for the
welcome
home......
It's great to
be back.
Aug 29th
We
Are Back Home
after a lovely
visit to see
all our family
including a
Christening
and a
Wedding....Tour
Tomorrow
August
2016
Aug
31st
A
lovely day
even if the
weather was
windy and cool
with
occasional
squally
showers. Today
we had good
sightings of
everything as
we had a
couple of
really good
spotters on
the tour. The
tour started
with
White-tailed
Sea Eagles but
after only a
couple of
guests had
seen them
through the
scope it
poured down.
We then went
and looked for
waders,
spotting
Greenshank,
Redshank,
Curlew,
Herons, Common
and Herring
Gulls and some
distant
Goosander. As
we were
watching some
Red Deer stags
on a high hill
this juvenile
White-tailed
Sea Eagle flew
right over our
heads, so
close it
caused a
partial
eclipse, even
I managed a
decent photo
with my box
brownie. More
White tails
followed
shortly after
this sighting
and the first
of 2 Hen
Harriers flew
past. With all
this action
going on we
went to our
lunch spot
right after a
very late
coffee break
and we were
just in time
to see a
brilliant
close Golden
Eagle hunting
over a ridge,
it
dissappeared
but then
returned
carrying a
forlorn
Rabbit. As we
were watching
the Eagle I
turned round
and saw an
Otter on a
nearby island,
it gave us
great views
before going
into very
choppy water
to fish, later
it came out to
eat a Crab and
was joined by
another Otter,
what a day. As
the weather
deteriorated
we decided to
call it a day
but not before
a celebratory
cup of tea and
cake, oh and 2
more
White-tailed
Sea Eagles. My
thanks to my
guests and the
Wildlife on
Mull for
giving me an
unforgettable
day.
Aug 30th
A tour today where we saw all
Mulls Specialities but in some
cases it was really hard work,
mainly because the Golden
Eagles were not coming out to
play. We started the day with
some nice Waders, Bar-tailed
Godwits and Greenshank being
the pick of them and then we
saw our first Otter, it was a
good find and as we did not
see another one all day, a
very good find. We watched the
Otter for ages and then went
to look for and eventually
find White-tailed sea Eagles,
3 of them and they gave us a
wonderful display of flying
and no boats in the area. Then
it started to get harder, it
was a lovely warm day and
nothing was flying although we
did see the occasional Buzzard
and a long distant persistant
Kestrel and lots of Ravens. As
the afternoon drew on we saw
Red Deer hinds, stags and
calves and a very good Kestrel
and a Hen Harrier flew in
front of the bus and
dissappeared but no Golden
Eagle although we tried really
hard. On our way back home I
stopped at a place where I
can, but not often, see a
Golden Eagle and almost at
once one appeared and just as
quickle dissappeared. After 10
minutes it re-appeared and you
guessed it dissappeared again.
It eventually gave up and put
on a distant show before
landing on the hillside,
result, job done.
 
Aug 29th
Back on
tour again today and the star
was undoubtedly the Otter, not
the first one we saw which was
good but the second one which
was excellent, it came out of
the water on to land and put
on a performance worthy of an
Ottscar, the Otter equivalent
to the oscars. White-tailed
Eagles were seen well in some
numbers and a couple of
distant Golden Eagles. A
Goosander with eyes bigger
then its throat provided early
morning entertainment as it
tried to eat a large flatfish
whilst being harried by a
Great Black backed Gull and a
Heron. The protaganists
certainly did not get the fish
but nobody saw the Goosander
eat it either, the concensus
was like all big catches the
fish got away. It will however
make for good quack at
Goosander dinner parties.
Aug 28th
A lovely
day just great for a tour but
no takers, tour numbers down
this summer after a promising
spring, with lower ferry
prices there are more day
trippers and less longer
stays. The good weather and no
tour meant I had to do
yesterdays gardening and help
Pam with a clearout in the
sheds, oh joy. We had friends
around to help us eat the
fantastic Mackeral that my
mate Nick Evans kindly dropped
off for us and mighty tasty
they were to, well done to Pam
the chef.
Aug 27th
No
tour as we clean holiday lets
and this week I valeted the
bus and car and tried to do
some gardening but it rained.
Aug 26th
No tour
today and lunch in the
Bellachroy which was very
nice, although a large lunch
and two pints of really nice
beer do not make for a very
productive afternoon. So
tomorrow I am going to have to
do two days chores in one. We
have a very noisy young
Buzzard flying round the
garden at the moment and the
Great Spotted Woodpeckers
family are in and out all day
and with the Jay putting in an
appearance now and again
garden watching is very
productive.
Aug 25th
Another
very nice day and the Eagles
were again out to give us a
day to remember but today the
White-tailed Sea Eagles joined
the party, The Golden Eagles
were not quite up to
yesterdays five star
performance but were pretty
close and the White-tails
matced them. Red Throated
Divers again made my day but
my guests wanted the big stuff
and although we found 2 Otters
neither stuck around for long
although all my guests got to
see at least one of them. Red
Deer and Seals proved a hit on
another tour in which Mulls
specialities put on a show.
Aug 24th
A beautiful
day and it turned into a
festival of Golden Eagles, 6
were seen in total two in the
morning flying, one sitting on
a hill at lunch time and when
it flew it was mobbed by a
Kestrel as a Hen Harrier
watched on and then at tea
time Mum, Dad, and Juvenile
gave us a flying display which
I can only describe as
awesome. We saw 2 very good
Otters today and Red Deer
stags and only 1 but quite
close White-tailed Sea Eagle.
On any usual day I would have
put the very good Red Throated
Divers as birds of the day but
today the Golden Eagles were
just special. Before we
reached the Eagle territory I
took a photo of a Buzzard in
flight they are a bird that
hardly get a mention but they
are still nice to see.
Aug 23rd
A dull day
but the promised rain stayed
off for most of the day and it
was fairly calm and we saw
lots of Mulls famed species in
the company of Mulls least
favorite famed species,
Midges. An Otter was found in
the morning and we watched it
for quite some time as it
travelled along eventually
coming out onto the rocks to
mark his territory
, another Otter was seen later
this time fishing for it's
lunch. 4 White-tail Sea Eagles
were seen as well as Golden
Eagles and Hen Harrier. Red
Deer were every where today
with plenty of stags seen at
the tops of the hills. I don't
know why Arthur was making
such a fuss, he was only going
to the hygienist.
Aug 22nd
No tour
today but still up early and
took this lovely photo at 6am.
Out with the strimmer, I now
need a baler to pick up the
grass as I think the lawn
mower might choke. I saw our
Jay today and a Buzzard and
the Sparrowhawk came into the
garden, my little garden birds
are getting somewhat
traumatised with all these
raptors and now 2 White-tailed
Sea Eagles have just flown
over. If You think my garden
birds have problems, I have a
dentist appointment tomorrow,
oh joy, and Pam is doing the
tour.
Aug 21st
A dull
driech day with low cloud and
drizzle, not great if you wear
glasses and use binoculars,
but fantastic if you are an
unemployed spontex optics
cloth. We started off with
head and shoulders, no not the
hair cleaner but a
White-tailed Sea Eagle trying
to keep out of the rain, we
just managed to see it through
the mist. We then went on and
saw a pair of antlers on a
hill just above the skyline,
we couldn't really tell if
there was a Red Deer attached
to them but presumed there had
to be one. On we went and had
a better sighting of two
Kestrels and a Buzzard and
then two more White-tailed Sea
Eagles in another tree and as
it had stopped raining for a
short time we got a good view.
2 otters were seen briefly but
they only hung around about as
long as Usain Bolt in the
hundred metres and more
White-tails both sitting and
flying. Another Otter was seen
and this one stayed around
about as long as Mo Farrah in
the 10,000 metres, result. A
great sighting of 4 Kestrels
hounding a Buzzard was
probably my sighting of the
day although we did see more
White-tailed Sea Eagles but as
the cloud was still low no
Golden Eagle. As we were
returning home the sun
appeared from its hiding place
and so I decided to go where
we might see a Golden Eagle
and after waiting it out one
put in appearance and gave us
a bit of a show, I was happy,
my guests were happy, we all
felt dozy and so we went home.
 
A day of
chores, water supply, tick,
Strimming, tick, wash van,
tick, watch Manchester City
play and beat Stoke City ay
football, one of those sports
mentioned in yesterdays blog,
tick, Go out for a lovely meal
with friends tick. What was
Pam doing, swimming in the sea
with friends and a Red
Throated Diver 10 yards away.
Am I jealous? no as she had
cleaned two self-catering
cottages before she went.
Aug 19th
A wet day
and no tour, we stayed in and
watched some olympics seeing
Nick Skelton win gold at 58
tears old, yeh one for the
golden oldies there. Well done
to all our olympians for
bringing a smile to our faces
in uncertain times, now let us
get behind the para olympians
who have been dealt a blow due
to money shortage which is a
real shame as there is so much
money floating about in some
other sports these days.
Aug 18th
A beautiful
day but for us Mulls main
species were hard work today
and although we saw very good
White-tailed Sea Eagles, Red
Deer, a distant Golden Eagle
and Seal we did not manage to
see an Otter. On a brighter
note we did see a lot of
Wading birds, Golden Plover,
Ringed Plover , Bar-tailed
Godwits, Curlews,
Oystercatchers, Redshank and
Greenshank. We had a good
sighting of a Great Northern
Diver and 2 Red Throated
Divers and a spectacular
diving Gannet and less
spectacular but still worth
seeing diving Common Terns.
Aug 17th
We took our
family back to the ferry and
then on returning home
re-charged our batteries,
Grandchildren are delightful
but what enegy, it was like
Duracell bunnies against cheap
battery bunnies and you can
guess which we were, and at
our time of life we are not
re-chargeable. Bird of the day
was Hen Harrier with two
juveniles which we saw hunting
as we made our way home from
the ferry, they briefly
revived us till we got home
and had a reviving cup of tea
and a snoozeeeeeee?
Aug 16th
A very
sunny hot day not my favorite
wildlife watching conditions
but we did have some good
sightings with Whimbrel and
Red Throated Divers being my
birds of the day. My guests
were desperate to see Otter
and they were easily downcast
if one did not appear within
minutes of us arriving at a
spot where they might be seen.
After lunch we found an Otter
which my guests watched for
about an hour, they were
delighted and I was relieved
as I had felt somewhat
pressured all morning. Both
types of Eagle were seen as
were Red Deer and Seals and a
lovely Whinchat, but it was
the Otter most of my guests
wanted and fortunately we
obliged for them.
Aug 15th
We spent a
day with the grandchildren and
went for a 3 mile walk seeing
a close up view of a
White-tailed Sea Eagle chick
and one of its parents, we did
not need binoculars for this
sighting. We went to the Olde
Byre for me to have a game of
Table Tennis with my daughter
but the bronze medal match
showed no sign of ending so
the Gold medal match between
the two of us has been put off
for the time being. I am glad
to say the weather for the
second part of their stay is
really good although keeping
up with three young girls is
getting harder for my ageing
bones. Ouch, Ow, ouch, ok I'm
coming as fast as my legs can
carry me.
Aug 14th
A dull day
with little wind and no
sunshine or rain, a perfect
day for wildlife watching. We
saw 4 Otters, &
White-tailed Sea Eagles,
Golden Eagles, 2 Hen Harriers,
Red deer stags, hinds and
calves, Fallow Deer does and
fawns and even Porpoise not
often seen on Discover Mull
tours. Other birds of note
seen were Bar-tailed Godwits,
Gannets, Black Guilliemots and
Black Throated Divers. Pam
went out on a boat with the
grandchildren and saw 12 Storm
Petrels so in spite of our
great day I was a little
jealous as I rarely get to see
this beautiful little sea
bird.
A day with
Becky and the grand children
and we went to Cailiach and I
saw my first Arctic Skua of
the year, Gannets, Fulmar,
Kittiwakes, Shags,
Buzzards and we had a great
sighting of a Merlin. We went
to Glengorm for lunch and a
walk which was lovely and
Grandpa had a great time
trying to lose his grand
children after they had run
him ragged, this is what they
do with their energy, I
remember having energy back in
the day. On our way home we
stopped to look for a Golden
Eagle and found one with a
White-tailed Sea Eagle and
Ravens in close proximity.
Becky our daughter has now
seen, Otter, White-tailed
Eagle, Hen Harrier, Buzzard,
Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin,
Golden Eagle, Red Deer and
both types of Seal and she has
done it in 3 days in awful
weather without trying, Mull
is that special, today they
are going out whale watching
and I will update you on their
success or failure. By the way
it hardly rained at all today
and we could be in for a dry
spell for at least a couple of
hours.
Aug
12th
If possible
the rain was even worse today
and one couple booked on the
tour did not turn up, so they
stayed dry but missed Common
Seals, Red Deer, flying
White-tailed Sea Eagle and 2
Otters with 41 bird species
seen and 4 mammals. Yes the
conditions were not perfect
but the wildlife was still out
there just harder to find but
you can imagine the pleasure
when we saw some very good
wildlife and the waterfalls,
particularly Eas Force were
spectacular. Just thought of
another song ..... Tell it to
the rain by the Four Seasons,
yes I am old enough to
remember them???
To get out
of the wet we took the
grandchildren to the baths,
yes we took them into the
water to get them out of the
water, there is some reasoning
in there somewhere. After
lunch we went on a reminissing
tour with our daughter and saw
an Otter and some Red Deer but
what she most remembered of
her holidays on Mull was that
it was raining then as well.
On the subject of rain here
are a few songs to get Blake
and May going on the subject
of rain. It might as well rain
until September, Its Raining
in my heart, Raindrops keep
falling on my head, Singing in
the rain and Here comes the
rain again. More anyone?
Aug 10th
The Monsoon
season has arrived, typically
the day the family come for a
visit, we are due rain for
three days which is a shame
for them and my guests on
todays tour. We spent a lot of
time looking for waders and
saw Greenshank, Curlew
Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover,
Bar-tailed Godwit, Redshank
and my first Common Sandpiper
for some time. We saw 4 Fallow
Deer two mums and two fawns,
Red deer, a family of
White-tailed Sea Eagles two of
which were on the beach,
looking somewhat depressed and
finally an Otter so in the end
my guests did get a wildlife
experience and the waterfalls
are filling fast.
Aug 9th
It is that
time of the year when in
wildlife terms we call it very
quiet, It is the time when a
lot of our breeding migrants
have left and before our
winter migrants return but
that means we spend more time
looking for the Mull
specialities. Todays tally was
2 Otters, a very good Golden
Eagle, White-tailed Sea Eagle,
2 Hen Harriers , Red Der stags
hinds and calves and of course
seals and it did not rain till
the end of the day. Lovely
very chatty guests who got on
so well with each other so I
hardly got a word in edgeways
which as regular guests will
know that is unusual for me.
Our super Grandchildren from
the deep south are arriving
tomorrow so it could be bedlam
after tomorrows tour.
Aug 8th
The gales of
yesterday had abated to just
strong winds and we had a
full bus of friends and
family on a private hire. It
was a lovely day out as they
had differing requests, some
wanted wildflowers, some
birds and some mammals but
with an overall interest in
anything we saw. For our
wildflower people we found
our first Grass of Parnasis
of the year, for the mammal
folks, 2 Otters, Grey and
Common Seals, Red Deer stags
and lets not forget the
Rabbits. Birds seen were
many with Golden Eagles
being the highlight although
White-tailed Sea Eagles and
Hen Harrier were seen well.
We also saw a Peregrine
Falcon, Buzzards and
Kestrels and lots of waders
and even Black Headed
Gull and Wood Pigeon put in
guest appearances. All in
all a good day was had by
all.
Today was
difficult, out on a tour in
gale force winds with more
white horses than wildlife and
heavy rain in the afternoon.
We saw lots of Goosander today
in three places sheltering in
hidden bays, I wish we could
have joined them. Curlews and
a Greenshank were seen and
some of us saw Fallow Deer
very briefly. Inspiration hit
me and we found a pair of
White-tailed Sea Eagles
sheltering in a tree out of
the wind, result, I now felt a
little better for my guests.
Red Deer were seen as were
some Seals and one brave Seal
even clambered onto an Island,
the fool!!!. Then just after
lunch taken before the rain
became intollerable a Female
Hen Harrier got up and gave us
a great show before it to
thought better of it and flew
off. As it disappeared I
spotted an Otter in the water,
I still don't know how but off
we went down the road to get a
closer look and after
searching for some time we
found it on a seaweed island
eating fish and it gave us
half an hour of Otter magic
before it too succumbed to the
conditions and went home. We
took the hint and did the
same, thanks to Mulls wildlife
today you went above and
beyond to give our guests a
good day and in so doing saved
my bacon, probably shoudn't
have written that, most of our
guests today were vegetarians.
Aug 6th
Saturday
and change over day so no tour
and I had a lazy day, much to
Pams disgust as I had promised
to do some work in the garden,
but regular readers know how I
feel about gardening. There
were birds in the garden but I
was to lazy to even look to
see what was out there
although I had fed them before
the laziness kicked in.
Aug 5th
A great
Norther Diver at the start of
the tour boded well but the
wildlife was playing hard to
get and it was well past
coffee break before we found
White-tailed Sea Eagles and
they came as a package with 3
all together, mum and dad
standing by as youngster was
getting food from a sheep
carcase as Ravens looked on.
It was lunchtime by the time
we saw Golden Eagles but they
put on quite a show probably
because they could see the
rain coming in, Buzzards and
Kestrels were also seen well
at the same spot. We saw Red
Deer and both types of Seal
but no Otter which was
somewhat disappointing. The
rain was continuing so we had
afternoon tea in the warmth of
our kitchen and as we left the
rain stopped. Stopping off on
our way into Tobermory to have
a last look for Otter and low
and behold we found one and
from the look on my guests
faces it made their day. My
day was made at lunchtime as
my guests were watching the
Golden Eagles I saw a
beautiful male Linnet.
Aug 4th
Todays gems
were all Mulls main species
and all seen very well. To
begin with we saw some Red
Deer stags which took some
finding as they were so well
camouflaged against the
hillside, we were to see hinds
and calves later in the day.
Driving further down the road
my Eagle eyed guests spotted a
juvenile White-tailed Sea
Eagle flying with 2 Buzzards
and we were able to watch it
for some time till it
disappeared over the wood, a
total of 4 White-tailed Sea
Eagles were seen during the
day. Next after searching for
some time we found an Otter
just before lunchtime and it
behaved in a way that I had
never witnessed before, the
tide was way out and the Otter
hunted through the surf right
by the beach almost like beach
combing. We must have watched
facinated by this behaviour
for nearly half an hour, I
know as I was getting very
hungry when we eventually ate
lunch. After lunch we saw a
distant Golden Eagle and some
Kestrels but as the afternoon
wore on we found two more
Goldies and one was this years
chick flying like a veteran.
To finish the day we went in
search of a Hen Harrier more
in hope than expectation and
we had a brilliant sighting of
a very close female, it was
the closest I have seen this
year, what a way to end a real
gem of a day.
Aug 3rd
Another day
with family going swimming as
Nia loves it. I, of course,
was looking for wildlife,
Golden Eagle carrying prey was
probably the best wildlife we
saw today after the rain had
stopped but 2 Hen Harriers sky
diving was a close 2nd and an
Otter fishing was 3rd, not
every young child gets to see
wildlife like this I hope it
sticks in the memory, although
I doubt it, but it will remain
in mine. Richie and Nia leave
early in the morning so back
to work, if you can call
wildlife watching back to
work, I wonder what gems
tomorrow will bring.
Aug 2nd
A day spent
with my lovely and, for now,
youngest Grand Daughter, Nia
who is up visiting with her
dad. We went to the Old Byre
and had a nice cup of coffee
and Nia played in the outside
play area which is excellent
for kids of all ages and I
whipped Richard our son at
Table Tennis, the old man
still has the moves,Occasionally.
This evening we went
looking for the Marsh Harrier
seen earlier in the day, we
did not see the bird but felt
an awful lot of Midges. Pics
of Nia helping grandpa when he
was feeding the birds in the
garden.
 
A lovely
day out and a highlight of 4
Red Throated Divers in Loch Na
Keal, as Red Throats have been
at a premium this year I was
delighted to see so many in
one group. On the subject of
Divers there was a Great
Northern Diver in Salen Bay,
it was probably a none
breeding bird returning early
from up north. Black
Giilliemot young are appearing
on the Lochs now and I saw at
least 3 today. Finally Scotch
Argus Butterflies are now
starting to appear but the
little blighters did not hang
around enough for me to get a
photo.
August
2015
August
31st
A dry day in very
good company and a
day to remember for
Lyn, although she is
a bird watcher she
had never seen
Golden Eagle in the
wild before
and now she has. It
gives me a real buzz
when I can help a
guest to realise a
lifetime first and
the Golden eagles
that we saw were
excellent and gave
her an outstanding
performance. It was
not all plain
sailing as we were
well into the
afternoon before we
found the Eagles and
initially they gave
us a very brief
glimpse but it was
as if they knew as
taking pity on us
they came out and
put on the 5 star
show.
August 30th
A tour
today and after a
gloomy start the
weather turned out
not to be too bab
and we even saw a
little sun. In the
poorer condition we
saw a family out on
the beach, not
unusual you might
think, these however
were White-tailed
Eagles, mum, dad and
their two chicks
from this year, even
Eagles take their
kids to the beach.
An Otter just before
lunch was a very
good spot as it was
playing in the
seawed, to be honest
it was a guest not
me who spotted it.
We had great views
of the Otter as did
several passers by
who joined the party
at least I did not
have to provide them
with lunch. I think
the highlight of
today however were
the Golden Eagles
seen in the
afternoon, we must
have watched them
flying and their
youngster learning
how to dismantel
prey for 45 minutes,
even for me who
lives here it was a
fabulous experience.
August
29th
Today I
walked our
bounderies with our
friend Nick from
next door to find
out if there were
any places where Red
Deer could get in
and after ploughing
through the jungle
that is Bracken we
eventually found a
rotten post which
the Deer had lifted
and were able to get
underneath.
Wednesday will be
spent fencing them
out again.
August
28th
A
decent day weather
wise but as I had no
tour today I took
the opportunity as
Pam is away at a
wedding in Cheshire
to clean through our
watee supply. This
took most of the day
as the supply got
air locked and
needed freeing after
the clean up.
Hopefully alls well
that ends well..
August
27th
A tour
today and you
guessed it more rain
but we did manage to
find a White-tailed
Eagle sitting on a
beach which we
watched as we
huddled under the
large boot lid of
the van out of the
rain drinking coffee
and eating home made
buscuits. eventually
the rain eased and
the bird flew off
disturbing all the
Gulls in the area.
Our luck continued
as at our next stop
we found a mum Otter
with 2 cubs coming
out to feed and we
watched them playing
in and out of the
water for some time
and then a Golden
Eagle flew briefly
before the rain came
down. We saw 2 more
Golden Eagles at
lunch time as the
weather improved
slightly and Red
Deer in the
afternoon. Other
notable birds seen
on the tour were
Cormorants, Curlews,
Ring Plover, Dunlin,
Redshank and
Greenshank. It was
too cold and wet for
Adders today and no
Slow Worms either.
August
26th
A day
off and was I glad
as it rained for
most of the day.
August
25th
Another
nice but at times
cool day and all of
Mulls main species
performed admirably.
We had Golden
Eagles, very close
White-tailed Eagles,
2 Otters, Red Deer,
when we found them,
and a female Hen
Harrier. Culews,
Oystercatchers,
Dunlin and Ringed
Plovers were also
seen well as were
Common and Grey
Seals. At the end of
the day we saw Slow
Worms and a lovely
male Adder which I
managed to get a
photograph of. On
her way to the bank
bus this morning Pam
had the bird of the
day with a
Kingfisher at
Dervaig, lucky or
what?
August 24th
Not such a
hot day but still nice and a
new bird for my year list at
our first stop, a Ruff, not a
bird I see often on Mull. Then
came the star of todays tour,
a really close Otter which
gave my guests a lot of
pleasure and I even remembered
I had a camera in the bus and
got a decent Photograph.
Another highlight on todays
tour were the Golden Eagles
with super sighting at
lunchtime and a rare sight on
Mull this year with a family
mum, dad and daughter all
flying together in their home
territory. White-tails seen
well in several locations and
lots of diving Gannets and a
single Fulmar, a memorable day
enjoyed by all.
August 23rd
I can't
believe I am writing this but
today it was SCORCIO,
a blistering 25 degrees, that
is 78 degrees in old terms.
After overnight rain the birds
of prey were out in force with
Buzzards, Kestrel, Peregrines,
Golden Eagles and White-tailed
Eagles all seen well. The
mammals were seen also and as
the number of people who
stopped us to ask if we were
looking at Otters grew it
prompted one of my guest to
remark that we must have
been the only people to see an
Otter on Mull today. Special
thanks to my guests today as
they all helped me to change a
flat tyre on the van,
especially Terry Barker who
knew what to do and we all
chipped in, thanks to you all.
August 22nd
A pleasant
day weatherwise and I was
doing some repair work,
filling holes in the drive,
clearing drains to stop water
running down the drive and
creating holes which then need
filling and clearing our water
supply. This is how I spend my
day off, woe is me?
August 21st
A lovely
tour today with very nice
guests who made my job so
easy, special praise to Ellie
a young girl who was very keen
on wildlife and a very good
spotterand could win an
olympic medal for eating Lemon
Drizzle cake. On the wildlife
front it was wild flowers that
were a real treat today as
were the pair of Golden Eagles
and Red Deer. My highlight
today were Lapwings, Goosander
and a family of Red Breasted
Mergansers which were swimming
so fast it was difficultto get
all my guests to see them.
August 20th
No tour
today so we took the car into
Tobermory for its MOT test
tomorrow. On our way home we
stopped to take a few
Photographs of the Heathers
you can see on Mull, a Slow
Worm and a Toad. In the
afternoon we went down to the
Lochside opposite our house
with the dogs and saw 4
Greenshanks which flew off, a
few Dunlin and a single Ringed
Plover which I did manage to
get some pictures of. Our
local White Tailed Eagle is
now occasionally being seen
flying over the Loch and they
are cutting the trees again
now it has fledged.
Ling
or Scottish Heather
Bell Heather
Cross-leaved Heath
Heather
Toad
A story of
two halves for the tour today,
the morning warm, sunny and
nice, the afternoon, wet,
windy and not at all nice. In
the morning we saw
Kestrels, Little Grebe and Red
Deer stags, this was followed
by Common Seals. At coffee
break we spotted a flying
White-tailed Eagle which flew
right over the mini-bus and at
almost the same time as if not
to be out done a Golden Eagle
flew past giving guests the
dilemma of which bird to
follow in their binoculars.
Then down came the rain and we
were left with only one thing
to do, you probably guessed
that it was look for Otters
and we had 3 seperate
sightings, two of which were
very good ones if a little
hazy through the rain. Waders
seen today incuded Curlews,
Ringed Plovers, Redshank and a
Bar-Tailed Godwit. My best
sighting of the day was a
Great Skua chasing a poor
Kittiwake, the big bully.
August 18th
No tour
today and so Pam and I went to
look for Basking Sharks as Pam
had not seen one for two
years. Fortunately for us one
put in a brief appearance
before being disturbed by a
boat and dissapearing below
the surface, not to return. I
took a couple of photo's of
the veiw and my first Grass of
Parnassus of the year.
August 17th
Another
beautiful day for a tour and
we were not dissapointed as we
saw great Otter, White-tailed
Eagles, a distant Golden Eagle
and a Hen Harrier being mobbed
by Kestrel. A Whimbrel at
Salen was the bird of the day
and we saw a Greenshank there
as well, other waders seen
were Ringed Plovers and
Curlews. I think after the
Otter the sighting of the day
were the Basking Sharks,
at least four were seen and
the first we have seen on our
tours this year, last year we
did not see any.
August 16th
The day of
the bird club BBQ and it was
probably the nicest day of the
year, the midges certainly
thought so as they were out in
earneat, squadrons of them.
Hardy souls that we are we all
went outside to eat but as the
afternoon wore on more and
more club members went inside
for more salad and did not
re-appear. The event was again
a great success, enjoyed by
all, thanks to Pam for all her
hard work and to Mike for
looking after the BBQ and
cooking some great black
sausages, just the way I like
them, cheers mate.
August 15th
A mainly
dry day with an early start as
I had to take self-catering
guests to catch the 6-45am
ferry from Craignure. On the
way home I took some time for
some birding with Waders being
the main species on my wish
list. Golden Plover, Ringed
Plover, Curlews and
Oystercatchers were seen at
Craignure Golf Course along
with all Mulls main Gull
species. Other waders seen on
the jouney home were Redshank
and Greenshank and with no
guests to worry about I
managed to get a couple of
decent photographs which Pam
will put on the blog when she
gets time. It is the Bird Club
BBQ at our place tomorrow and
she is very busy, I offer
moral support.
August 14th
A dull cool
day but little rain so that
was a bonus. We had a Common
Sandpiper at our first stop
the first I have seen in some
time. Both types of
Seal were seen and an
Otter and although it was seen
well running across the top of
the islands it did not hang
around for long before
dissappearing over the back
and out of sight. Great Golden
Eagles again today and Slow
Worms but the Red Deer took
some finding. White-tailed
Eagles at the end of the day
proved to be the icing on the
cake.
August 13th
The
nicest day for a tour this
year for me, no wind and warm
sunshine all day, Arthur was
resting again today and it was
a great day for the wildlife
with all the main species
being seen well including 3
different Otters and a female
Hen Harrier being attacked by
Hooded Crows. I managed to
find Golden Eagle not only for
todays guests but also for
Mondays guests who missed out
because of the showery
weather. I went rowing again
in the evening this time in
Tobermory, rowing over to
Calve Island and around the
bay, it was so calm and warm
and it was great to be out on
the water again.
August 12th
Pam did the
tour again today as I was at a
funeral of one of the first
man we met when we moved to
Mull. Bert was a character but
had the best interests of
Mull, its farmers and the area
around Ulva Ferry where he
lived close to his heart. He
did all that he could during
his life to help and protect
them all. He had a passion for
wildlife particularly little
birds and waders and was very
fond of the pair of Golden
Eagles living on his land.
Like most farmers he was not
happy at the re-introduction
of the White-tailed Sea Eagle
and would give me a hard time
about them at times but he was
also very helpfull and
generous to me with our
Wildlife tours whilst at the
same time telling guests I was
taking money under false
pretences. I will miss his
banter and farming chats, Ulva
Ferry will not be quite the
same without him. On the tour
front Pam again had great
views of Otters today but her
sighting of the day was of a
Peregrine Falcon, her WoW
moment of the tour.
August 11th
A day of
light winds and no rain which
after the deluge of yesterday
was fine with me. The bad
weather yesterday brought a
new bird for my year
list as a Curlew Sandpiper
had been brought in with a
couple of tired looking Black
tailed Godwits, a great way to
start our tour. We had a total
of four Otters today and more
White-tailed Sea Eagles than
you could throw a stick at. A
brilliant view of a Golden
Eagle had my guests in
raptures and the day ended
with a view of Slow Worms
ionly seen rarely this year
due to the cold weather.
August 10th
Light
showers in the morning turning
to heavy rain in the
afternoon, I think Arthur was
glad to be at home today.
Plenty of Red Deer in the
morning and White-tail Eagle
bringing prey to it's
youngsters who, now they have
fledged, were hiding behind a
hill fortunatly for us the
adult stayed visable sitting
on a rock on the hill side.
Star of the day was a close
Otter seemingly oblivious to
the boats zooming around. It
fished for half an hour to
everyones delight. Dispite the
rain we enjoyed lots of little
birds including Yellowhammer,
Whitethroat, Common Sandpiper,
Ringed Plovers, Linnet and,
unusual for north Mull, a
juvinile Rook.
August
9th
A tour
today and only drizzle to
contend with, result. A Black
Tailed Godwit at our first
stop got us all in the mood
for a good day wildlife
watching. White-tailed Eagles
were seen in a few locations
and we saw my first fledged
Golden Eagle of the year, one
of three seen during the tour.
We saw both types of Deer and
Seal but guests really wanted
an Otter and at the end of the
day we got one which we watch
for over half an hour. Other
notable sightings today were
Ringed Plovers and Twite.
Congratulations to Richard and
Francina who were on their
honeymoon, have the Otter on
me as a wedding present, you
were a delight to take out.
August 8th
I watched
England win back the ashes at
cricket, it only lasted an
hour but don't let Pam know or
I will be in trouble as she
was working all day on the
chang overs in the self
catering.
August 7th
My first
tour since coming back and a
real highlight an Osprey
hunting and catching a fish in
Loch Na Keal. A lot of
White-tailed Eagles were seen
although not at nest sights as
all of the young fledged
whilst we were away.Three
Golden Eagles and an Otter
were seen as were the usual
Grey and Common Seals but it
took until near the end of the
day to see any Red Deer. Other
notable birds on the tour
today were goosander, Curlews
and Ringed Plovers with a
lovely pair of Arctic Terns in
Calgary Bay.
August 6th
Back home
today and many thanks to Pete
and Jenny for looking after
things for us whilst we were
away. I watched the
cricket on tv today, well
done Stuart Broard 8 wickets
for 15 runs and the
amazing catching, go boys.
August
2014
August
31st
A dull day and breezy but we
saw a Great Northern Diver
at our first stop the first
I have seen in some time so
the day had got off to a
promising start. The day
turned out well as all the
Mull main species were seen
but we had to be patient for
all of them with as usual
Otter being the hardest of
all to find. My Guests loved
the young Ringed Plover that
we found seemingly on its
own but as it was quite
close up the view we got
through the telescope was
awesome.
August 30th
Another pretty depressing
day both with the weather
and my football team the
weather was awful and
Manchester City lost at home
to Stoke so blog readers I
am writing todays blog in a
depressed state. On a more
cheerful note even on a day
off I was able to show a
visitor to the Island a
White-tailed Eagle even if I
was more interested in
looking for waders. The
Buzzard returned to the
garden this morning and the
Great Spotted Woodpecker
this afternoon. Guest who
are in the self-catering are
amazed at the number of
birds they are seeing in our
garden which is just as well
as seeing much in the
weather we have in the last
couple of days is at a
premium. Told you I was
depressed.
August 29th
Given the weather, heavy
rain for most of the day it
was of little surprise that
the best birds we saw today
were Waders. At our first
stop we saw lots of
Oystercatchers, Curlews and
two Bar-tailed Godwits and
at our third stop Ringed
Plovers and Redshanks were
seen. My guests today were
great as they never lost
their sence of humour
throughout the day and were
rewarded at the end of the
day with good sightings of a
Kestrel, Manx Shearwaters,
Gannets and Kittiwakes.
August
28th
On tour again today and it was
a mixed day for weather but
fairly calm and I had a couple
of people from Turkey amongst
my guests today. They were
rewarded with an Otter
where I have not seen
one in ages and it gave us
excellent views for about 20
minutes. Golden Eagles today
took a lot of patience but
were well worth the wait when
they did appear. White-tailed
Eagles and Red Deer as usual
but the bird of the day for me
was the Little Stint
in a flock of Ringed Plover
and my first new bird of the
year for a long time.
August 27th
Pam gave me an unexpected day
off today and apart from a few
chores I put my feet up and
did nothing. During the day
when I was making myself a
brew I noticed a pair of
White-tailed Eagles above the
Loch in front of our house and
managed to get a distant
photograph of one as it came
down below the skyline. Our
self-caterers also told me
that the day before he had
seen a buzzard sitting on the
garden fence but as soon as it
saw his camera it flew off,
typical Buzzard.
August 26th
A day of similar weather to
yesterday with a lot less wind
and also a lot more wildlife.
White-tailed Eagles again flew
right over our heads but at a
different location and this
time I remembered I do have a
camera in the the van, see
picture on the right. We also
saw a very good Golden Eagle
sitting on a hill but just too
far through the heat haze to
get a decent picture. An Otter
early on in the day took the
pressure off a little bit as
it was a first in the wild for
most of my guests. Lots of Red
Deer including a stag and both
types of Seal were again seen
well and after a couple of no
show days an Adder gave my
guests a perfect end to what
had been a good day which had
at times required a great deal
of patience.
August 25th
A sunny, warm but windy day
and this beautiful island that
is Mull came to my rescue
today as the views all over
the island were spectacular
whereas for the most part the
wildlife was a little
underwelming. Occasionally you
get a day when nothing seems
to fly or even be about and
today was one of those days.
We did see very good
White-tailed Eagles flying
right over our heads and a
very good Buzzard and a
distant Kestrel that only I
and one guest saw but that was
it for raptors. Red Deer,
Common and Grey Seal and a
Rabbit were the mammals but
fair dues Mull was at its
magnificent best.
August 24th
A beautiful, warm day and we
had seen Red Deer stags, hinds
and calves, 2 Golden Eagles, 3
White-tailed Eagles, Common
Seals and an Otter before
morning coffee. Other notable
sightings were Manx
Shearwaters, Gannet and Twite
but what made the day special
was how appreciative my guests
were, I know everything was in
their favour but if I could
bottle their enthusiasm and
humour and take it out on all
our tours I would, many thanks
to you all for giving me such
a nice day out.
August 23rd
A lovely day and my day off???
I mowed the lawns, washed and
valeted the van, spent time on
our water supply, met our
self-catering guests as Pam
was off sea swimming and put
food out in all the bird
feeders so I don't have to do
it tomorrow. I am now tired
out after my day off so I am
off to bed good night readers.
August 22nd
Another day of fine weather
and once again all the Mull
specialities put in an
appearance except for the
Adders which seem to be
dissapearing as the weather
cools down. A fine mixture of
guests today from children
aged 7 and 9 and a half to
doctors from the outback in
Australia. Ian't it funny how
the half is very important to
children, I could do with
taking some off my age. Bird
of the day the Golden Eagle
that gave us a display of
flying for 20 minutes before
dissapearing behind a hill.
August 21st
It was a calm mixed day of
sunshine and cloud and we saw
just about everything my
guests wanted to see including
the juvenile White-tailed
Eagle in the picture below
which flew over our heads and
the boat was not out. We had
already seen an Otter, Red
Deer and Golden Eagle before
the White-tail and had not had
coffee yet, this for me was a
very easy day, More Red Deer
were seen including a nice
group of stags, a great Golden
Eagle and to finish the day a
Hen Harrier which was a bird
one of my guests had not seen
for over 20 years so we were
all happy bunnies, and yes we
saw them as well.
August
20th
A mainly dry day with a shower
in the afternoon but we saw
some very good birds of prey
including a Peregrine Falcon
which we do not often see on
our tours. Towards the end of
the day we had a terrific
sighting of a ring-tailed Hen
Harrier interacting with a
Buzzard, very exciting and a
great watch. The Eagles
performed as nearly always
they do and the Adders and a
Slow worm put in an appearance
today unlike yesterday.
Siskins and Twite were the
other best spots on todays
tour.
August 19th
A dull day but
with only a light breeze
perfect for wildlife watching
and all Mulls prime species
came out to play with Golden
Eagle interacting with a pair
of White-tailed Eagles at the
start of the day setting the
tone. Not long after this
sighting we found our Otter so
all in all I had an easy day
for once. Other notable birds
seen were Common and Arctic
Terns, diving Gannets,
Kestrels and Buzzards and not
to be out done Ringed Plovers
and Wheatears and a lovely
Stonechat at the end of a very
successful day. Thanks to my
guests, great spotters one and
all so there was very little
out there we missed and this
makes the day even more
enjoyable in my humble
opinion.
August
18th
A lovely if a little cool and
breezy and back to normal on
the wildlife front. Golden
Eagles giving great views,
White-tailed Eagles giving not
such great views perched as
they were in trees, 2 Otters
in seperate locations which I
had been pressured to find by
guests, thanks to the Otters I
am still alive to tell the
tale. Red Deer, both types of
Seal, 2 Adders and a Slow
Worm, my guest went home happy
and because they were happy so
was I.
August 17th
It was a very good day for
Swans, Ducks and Geese, yes
you guessed it, rain all day
but my guests were great as
was Pam's food, the praise she
is getting for the
refreshments at the moment is
making me somewhat jealous;
not really we are just pleased
that guests enjoy their day
with us. Back on todays
wildlife front, Brilliant
White-tailed Eagles which flew
round, showed off then sat in
trees where we were able to
see them through the scope and
if that was not enough one
came in carrying prey much to
the delight of a vociferous
youngster. Both types of Deer
and Seal were seen well as
were Gannets being blown into
shore on a very strong wind
and lots of Common and Arctic
Terns. It was the bird club
BBQ tonight at our place and I
must congratulate Mike Hale
for the best BBQ sausages I
have ever eaten and I tried
several just to make sure,
well done mate and watch out
Pete someone is after your
apron.
August 16th
I had a day off and it rained
for most of the day, but my
day brightened up as
Manchester United lost their
first league match of the
season to Swansea City. I knew
there was a reason i love
birds, well done the Swans.
August 15th
A dull, dry day and very good
Eagle sightings once again,
however the raptor sighting of
the day was a Peregrine Falcon
seen at our very first stop,
the first Peregrine I have
seen in some time. We saw a
distant Red Throated Diver
which typically flew off just
as I got the telescope out
which was a shame as one of my
guests had asked about Divers.
Other birds of note seen today
were Common Terns, Goosanders,
Ring Plovers, Curlews and
Siskins. Lovely guests today
which made my day a good one
as well, thanks to you all.
August 14th
A sunny warm day and Pam did
the tour so that I could mow
our lawns, the garden birds
will be delighted now they can
find all the food that falls
on the floor. Pam Said that
they had incredible Eagle
sightings today and she also
said she was too hot as I had
told her she would need to
wrap up warm. Hey ho this is
Mull nobody can truly predict
the weather. We went to the Am
Birlinn restaurant with Pam's
cousin and his wife this
evening and had a very good
meal.
August 13th
A dull, breezy, cool day but
with only a little rain.
Another good day today with
all the Mull special species
seen well particularly Golden
Eagles, Red Deer and the
Adders. Todays highlight for
me were a large group of mixed
but mainly Arctic Terns
feeding off islands near Ulva,
it was certainly the largest
group of Terns I have ever
seen in this area. At our
first stop we saw 3
Greenshanks, this lovely
elegant bird is one of my
favorite waders and I am
always delighted to see them.
I took this picture of a
Wheatear as we were waiting
for the Golden Eagles to
appear at lunchtime. For all
visitors to Mull you will be
relieved to know the toilets
at Salen have re-opened.
August 12th
It was anything but the
glorious twelfth today with
rain, wind and cool conditions
that is except for my guests
who were bright, breezy and up
for the challenge. The fact
that my guests were up for the
challenge proved invaluable as
they found their own
White-tailed Eagle as I was
off in another direction
looking behind the trees when
the bird flew in, it was the
only White-tailed Eagle seen
today, Guests1 Guide 0. Under
pressure to perform the guide,
that would be me then found an
Otter at our next stop and
whoopee it gave an outstanding
perforformance of typical
Otter behaviour. A golden
Eagle at lunchtime as the rain
temporarily abated, it was a
juvenile from this year and
the first time I have seen it,
its mother then appeared and
sent it home following close
behind. The day finished on a
real high with a brilliant
sighting of a ring-tail Hen
Harrier, yep the guide got
this one at the same time as a
guest and then Red Deer stags
always a nice animal to show
guests particularly at this
time of the year. Other good
sightings today a large flock
of about 40 Ring Plovers which
had been disturbed by a
Sparrowhawk which flew over
our heads. So at the end of
another very wet day it
had turned out to be the
glorious twelfth.
August 11th
No Ants today the guests did
not waste any crumbs of cake.
It only rained occasionally
today and so we saw 3 Golden
Eagles and 6 White-tailed
Eagles, 3 Adders, an Otter,
Red Deer stags hinds and
calves, Common and Grey Seals,
Curlews, Oystercatchers Red
Breasted Mergansers,
Goosanders, Greylag Geese,
Grey Herons, Buzzards, Ravens,
Hooded Crows, Rabbits,
Swallows and yes I nearly
forgot a lot of water in the
waterfalls a remnant of the
long forgotten rain. Tonight
it is supposed to rain heavily
and I mean heavily yellow all
over the map of Mull, oh well
we will see what tomorrow
brings we are considering
going into Arc building.
August 10th
Pam did the tour again today
and it rained all day again.
She was able to see 5
White-tailed Eagles a
tremendous fete considering
the conditions, 2 Otters, Red
Deer stags, hinds and calves
and an Adder so her guests
were very pleased. There was a
Yellowhammer in the garden
first thing this morning, Pam
had told me she was seeing it
regularly but it was the first
one I have seen for some time.
Fortunately I have no time to
mention my teams abismal
performance in todays charity
shield match but well done
Arsenal.
Note from Pam: Not only did
our guests enjoy their Lemon
Drizzle cake at afternoon tea
stop today but we watched a
single Ant carry a crumb of
cake twice it's size for over
a metre until it went down
it's hole with it.
August 9th
Raining again so at least I
could not mow the lawns and
although it stopped by lunch
time it was still too wet to
attempt them in the afternoon.
Pam was busy with changovers
in the self-catering and still
found time to go for a swim in
the sea. Last night we went to
a new small restaurant at
Ballygown and had a lovely
meal with friends, I think
most of Dervaig had the same
idea as it was full of locals
and folks we knew well, it was
a great night out.
August 8th
Rain bucketing down for most
of the day and as I was having
a day off Pam had to do the
tour. After searching for most
of the week looking for Otters
she was able to find 2 for our
guests and I was really
pleased for Barbara a guest
who came on three tours and
Otters were the only species
on her list she had not seen.
No Golden Eagles today, hardly
surprising given the weather
but Pam did manage to find the
other big Mull species for
which she deservers a lot of
credit. She missed out on her
sea swim today but came home
as wet as she would have been
had she been swimming.
August 7th
A lovely day with warm
sunshine and a nice breeze. We
started with Adders, always a
treat for guests who are not
frightened of Snakes and we
moved on to look for Red Deer
stags and eventually found a
herd of 21 which took some
finding in the shadows on the
hillside. At our next stop the
sighting of the day, a
female(ringtail) Hen Harrier
giving us a flying display not
easily forgotten, this went on
for several minutes. We saw a
lot more during the day but
the Golden Eagle towards the
end of the day was the other
standout, but for me it did
not eclipse the Harrier
sighting.
August 6th
Another wet start but quite
warm and calm but as I told my
guests it was due to clear up
by 11am and it stopped raining
at 10-45am and the Eagles
which had been down all
morning all got up to give us
a great hour of raptor fest.
We had Golden Eagles bombing a
White-tailed Eagle which was
passing through their
territory, we had the same
Golden Eagles being mobbed by
Buzzards and Ravens and Hooded
Crows, with Kestrels watching
on. We saw Eagles in trees
Eagles sitting on hills,
Eagles everywhere and all
because it had rained all
morning. I took the picture of
the Green Veined White in
glorious sunshine as my guests
were enjoying, you might have
guessed, EAGLES.
August
5th
A dull but mainly dry breezy
day and what a difference a
day can make in the world of
wildlife watching, yesterday
we saw no White-tailed Eagles
and today we were tripping
over them, seven in total I
think all giving brilliant
views. Another bird that has
been in short supply lately is
Kestrel, well not today they
wern't, they rivalled the
White-tail Eagles in number.
Other notable bird sightings
were Goosanders, Red Throated
Divers, Black Guilliemots and
Eider Duck, not forgetting the
single Gannet shining bright
white against dark grey
clouds.
August 4th
A dull driech start to the day
improving as the day went on.
I saw two of my favorite
little birds today a Whinchat
and Lesser Redpoll, birds I
have not seen recently so it
made my day. The Golden Eagle
obviously feeling guilty for
its short performance
yesterday put on a
command performance for my
guests today. The White-tailed
Eagles on the other hand went
on strike and did not put in
appearance at all, this was
more than made up for by a
terrific Otter. Pam and her
swimming buddies swam across
to Ulva today providing
entertainment and mirth to all
those who witnessed this act
of bravery, after a hearty
lunch and cakes discretion got
the better of valour and they
returned on the ferry.
August 3rd
I will start this blog by
wishing my brother Andy a very
Happy Birthday, unfortunately
he is 5 years younger than me,
better looking and better at
sport, is there a reason why I
am wishing him a happy
birthday. Todays tour was
great, fabulous guests again
and the Mull specialities came
out and performed, although
the Golden Eagle only put in a
part time shift. After very
heavy overnight rain
the waterfall at Eas Force was
spectacular today. I
read Simon Barnes piece on
Mull in the Times and he did
not mention meeting me, never
mind the piece was beautifully
written as always and I am
still a great admirer of both
his values and writing.
August 2nd
A dull but dry start to the
day which turned wetter as the
day drew on. We started with
the Adders and Slow worms and
finished with the Golden Eagle
and everyone enjoyed their day
which was full of humour and
banter and even a bit of
serious discussion in between.
I have to thank my guests for
their spotting today as they
found their own Otter, a very
good one, and both their own
Eagles, I put it down to not
usually doing tours on
Saturdays.
August 1st
A beautiful day and no tour as
I unusually have one tomorrow
so Pam and I went out to do
some shopping, not for us but
for the birds which are eating
us out of house and home at
the moment. We stopped at the
shoreline below Aros Castle
and saw this lovely family of
8 young Red Breasted
Mergansers with their mum, as
I keep saying it is not just
about Eagles and Otters and
this sighting really made my
day.
August 2013
Aug 31st
This is not a
usual blog but a small thank you
to my friend and colleague Richard
Atkinson who has sold his Isle of
Mull Wildlife and Birdwatching
safari business and retired this
week. When we started up our
business Richard gave us a lot of
help and advice even though we
were going to be competition and
for that we will always be more
than grateful. A man of great
humour we shared several laughs
when our tour paths crossed and
also passed information to each
other and fought the bureaucratic
council together on several
occasions. Enjoy your retirement
Richard as I write this just
before going out on tour I look at
at the low cloud and drizzle and
think this could be a hard day,
you after 20+ years can turn over
smile and go back to sleep. Thanks
for everything you are a real mate
and friend.
Aug 30th
A day of mainly
drizzle and wind but we got really
lucky with White-tailed Eagle as
we eventually found one in a tree
just visible through the rain and
as we were trying hard to see it
drinking morning coffee the male
appeared like a small plane out of
the mist and struggling to fly
into the wind and rain flew right
over the top of us, For readers
who know Mull the boat was not out
and we were not parked near the
normal spotting stop we were just
in the right place at the right
time and very fortunate. The
weather hardly improved all day so
Golden Eagle were out of the
question but we did get an Otter
and some delightful Red Deer,
Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk and
Kestrel. All in all a good day out
given the conditions.
Aug 29th
A day of low cloud
and drizzle not the best for
wildlife watching but we did see
the Whimbrel very well and the
Common Seals. During a short lift
of the mist we found a family of
White tailed Sea Eagles which were
playing a game of musical trees
without the music, what parents
have to do to amuse their
children. High tide so no Otters
about so we went to the toilets
before lunch and lo and behold 2
Otters with the same idea, lunch
that is not the comfort break.
Arthur could relax now as good
views of Eagles and Otters always
puts the guests in a good mood
which continued when a Golden
Eagle got up flew round and went
down again all within 30 seconds
as we were eating lunch. Red Deer,
Buzzards, Kestrel a very good
Basking Shark Slow Worms and a
Toad to conclude a very good day
considering the weather. Another
lovely group of guests who chatted
to me all day and excepted the
weather conditions with good
humour and to James who wore
shorts all day I hope you knees
don't get too rusty.
Aug 28th
A dull dry day and
no tour as van was having a
medical at the garage in
Tobermory. On a walk whilst I
waited I saw a Dipper in the
stream by the distillery, it kept
falling off the rock it was trying
to perch on, for the life of me I
can't think why? another joke???
At the Tobermory tip, I get to all
the best places, I saw a Reed
Bunting, not a bird I see often
but one that gives me great
pleasure as it was the first bird
Pam and I identified when we
started birding.
Aug 27th
A wet start to the
tour with drizzle for the first
two hours and then it turned
brighter as the wind got up. 4
white-tailed Eagles today although
one was just a shape through the
drizzle, Fallow Deer a brilliant
spot by one of my guests and also
Red Deer seen. A fabulous Otter
sighting after a very patient wait
of over an hour, but that's what
the saying says all things come to
those who wait. Golden Eagle quite
close being mobbed by not one, not
two not even three but twelve
Hooded Crows, must be their hobby
on damp days. The day finished on
a terrific high with 3 Basking
Sharks at very close quarters, I
don't know why they were basking
we were freezing..... Joke?
Aug 26th
A dull but calm
day just as I like it and just as
the wildlife likes it as well and
the day produced very good Golden
and White-tailed Eagles, 3 Otters,
Red Deer but no stags, Hen
Harrier, Buzzards, Kestrel, Common
Seals, Adder, Gannets, Curlews,
Whimbrel and all the usual stuff.
Birds of the day had to be the 2
Red Throated Divers very close in
near the start of the day but the
Twite at the end of the day ran
them close.
Aug 25th
A very warm sunny
day with little breeze. 5
White-tailed Eagles at one spot
and 6 seen in total, very good if
a little distant Golden Eagles,
Red Deer stags hinds and calves an
unobliging Otter which all my
guests saw and that was about it,
Adder and Basking Shark a typical
Discover Mull tour at the moment
although we usually get a more
obliging Otter. As for me the
highlights were a very good Red
Throated Diver and a Snipe and
Gannets plunge diving.
Aug 24th
A nice day and a
day of chores, gardening, even the
cricket was washed out so no
excuse to rest, the only bright
spot a Great Spotted Woodpecker in
the garden before anyone else was
about.
Aug 23rd
It was pouring
with rain when we picked up our
guests but by the time we got to our
first stop it had stopped and
remained fine for the rest of the
day. Curlews, Whimbrel, Greenshank
and Redshank were seen as well as
the regulars and Common and Grey
Seals. A total of 4 Otters were seen
but only 2 White-tailed Eagles and
they took some finding. Pam made a
very good spot of a female Hen
Harrier which came flying in from
over the sea and as the day
progressed we saw 3 Golden Eagles
including a this years juvenile and
a very nice group of Red Deer. A
good day finished with Basking Shark
and an Adder not in my usual spot.
Aug 22nd
No tour today
and typically great weather so
Pam and I went for a couple of
hours to the coast. Pam saw 4
Basking sharks in total and we
both saw several Gannets, Manx
Shearwaters, Kittiwakes, and a
dad and baby Guillemot. 200+
Starlings were seen in one
group, Wheatears are still
around as was a family of
Stonechats but the sighting of
the day was a family of 6 Twite.
Aug 21st
A day of low cloud
and drizzle for 90% of the day, my
worst nightmare. We saw Curlews, a
Whimbrel and a Greenshank by the
coast along with Common Seals and
apart from a couple of Buzzards
and and the closest Otter of the
year that was it for most of the
rest of the day. A few little
birds were seen Swallows, House
Martins, Stonechats and Wheatears.
My guests were very kind and
patient and accepted the weather
as just what you have to expect
when you come to Scotland. We did
get a short break at lunchtime
when the mist lifted and we got a
brief view of a Golden Eagle and a
distant Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.
After lunch we went back to the
coast and saw a Basking Shark
Gannets and Kittiwakes and a Black
Guillemot. At 3pm approximately
the cloud stated to lift and we
raced back to a Golden Eagle spot
and we did not have to wait too
long before 2 Golden Eagles got up
and gave us a spectacular display
watched not only by us but by a
couple of Red Deer stags as well.
Time for a celebration cup of
tea/coffee and cake, as you can
imagine we were all in very high
spirits and stopping on our way
home we stopped and saw a
White-tailed Eagle sitting and
enjoying the late afternoon warm
sunshine and we did too as we
contentedly watched her. Thanks to
all my guests for their humour and
patience, in the end you got the
wildlife you deserved, not one
word of disappointment of the
weather was uttered, not one moan
and in the end all things come to
those who wait, thanks to you all
each and every one of you a star.
Aug 20th
A mainly dry day
but with one very heavy long
shower. I did a tour for the
United Nations today with 3 French
guests, 2 Americans, 3 Scots and
an Englishman, me. It was one of
those days today we saw all Mull's
main species but none of them
spectacularly. A special mention
for Marlene and Sylvia who were
delightful and kept me on my toes
all day, many thanks.
Aug 19th
Manchester City
play their first league game of
the new season and win 4-0 Pam's
happy because i'm happy, even the
dogs are happy as is the cat for
differing reasons.
Aug 18th
A good day
weatherwise but cool and todays
highlight was a flock of 50+
Whimbrel in Aros Bay, probably
dropped in as the weather last
night was pretty bad. Apart from
the Whimbrel all the Mull main
species were seen although the
Otter was brief, oh and the Hen
Harrier none existent which is why
nobody saw it. Too many Midges to
eat outdoors so lawn mowing a
waste of bird watching time.
Aug 17th
Mow Lawn for bird
club BBQ
Aug 16th
Rain in the
morning but clearing as the day
went on and after Arthur's hard
day yesterday I thought it was
time he had a days rest so I (Pam)
took the tour today with lovely
guests who all helped with the
spotting which meant we saw 2
White-tail Eagles, 3 Otters, 8
Golden Eagle, lots of Red Deer, 2
Basking Sharks, a slow worm,
Stonechat, Wheatear, Yellowhammer,
Goldfinch, Whitethroat, Pipits and
on the way home a Merlin flew
across the front of the van.
Arthur didn't even have to worry
about getting dinner as we went
around to our neighbours and had a
lovely evening with friends. Me,
being organized, had made my
pudding the day before to take
with us.
Aug 15th
Low cloud and
drizzle for most of the day, my
worst nightmare for wildlife
watching. I got lucky, arriving at
my White tailed Eagle spot I could
not even see the trees so as it
looked better on the other side of
the Loch I took a gamble and went
round there. We had barely got out
of the van when a guest saw A
White-tailed Eagle flying below
the mist layer about 20 feet above
the water, it flew right past us
and landed in a tree where I could
get the scope on it. As guests
watched the Eagle in the tree the
mist started to lift a little on
our side of the Loch and on a whim
I checked out an old Golden Eagle
nest site and could hardly believe
my eyes as there sitting on a dead
branch by the nest was a Golden
Eagle. The rain stopped for a
short while the Eagle flew giving
my guests a great view and then it
flew off and the rain and mist
descended again. No chance of
seeing much at all for the rest of
the day but we kept trying for
Otters and were rewarded at about
3-30 pm by not one but two, like
the saying about waiting for a
bus. On our way home the mist
started to lift and the rain
stopped and we saw 6 Red Deer a
brief Hen Harrier, Buzzard and
Kestrel as everything started to
get up and hunt. Other notable
sightings today were Red Throated
Divers, Razorbills and the
waterfalls. Thanks to all my
guests for their patience on what
was a trying day when we saw
eventually all the Mull main
species.
Aug 14th
A day of
showers and brilliant Eagles, an
Otter put in a very brief
appearance and then did what
Otters do best disappeared.
Curlews and a Whimbrel were seen
but no Hen Harrier today but good
views of Seals and Red Deer.
Gannets and Kittiwakes were seen
as were several Red Throated
Divers. A good day with
entertaining guests just the kind
of wildlife watching day I like.
Aug 13th
A dry cooler day
and I start with a couple of
omissions from yesterday, A very
late Common sandpiper sighting and
a Great Skua a bird I have not
seen many times this year. On to
today and 3 Red Throated Divers, 2
Black Guillemots, lots of Golden
Eagles, 2 white-tailed Eagles, Red
Deer, a Hen Harrier but no Otter
today. We saw Whinchat, Stonechat
and lots of Wheatears and a pair
of Sand Martins still feeding
young in a nest at Calgary.
Aug 12th
Another day of
sunshine and showers but with more
of the sunshine than yesterday.
Highlight of the day was the Basking
Shark the first one we have
seen on our tours this year and it
is now the middle of August, it
gave us good views as it was quite
close to the shoreline, well done
Mark for spotting the Shark. A
well done also to Jim who spotted
the Otter, do I ever spot anything
I hear you thinking, yes the
Golden Eagle and Red Deer, but I
have to say that once he had got
his eye in Mark was good at
spotting them as well.
Aug 11th
It stopped raining
then it started again then it
stopped again start stop start
stop all day and pretty cold for
August. A tour today and We saw 3
White-tailed Eagles one really
close with up to 5 Ravens mobbing
it. Brilliant Golden Eagles, being
mobbed by a Kestrel and a Buzzard
giving great size comparison. A
hen Harrier at the start of the
day, a close Otter and lots of Red
Deer, both types of Seal but no
Dolphins today and certainly no
Basking sharks, much too cold for
basking. Great day with great
guests and good spotters.
Aug 10th
I had a day off
and it rained persistently and
through the night.
Aug 9th
A mainly dry day
and we had terrific views of at
least 10 Bottlenose Dolphins
in and around Calgary Bay, we
watched them for about half an
hour and then we had to leave them
still playing around as time got
the better of us.
We saw all the
other Mull specialities including
Otter and small bird species of
the day were Whitethroat and
Stonechat, waders of the day were
greenshank and Whimbrel and my
birds of the day were a Great
Northern Diver in full breeding
plumage and A lovely Red throated
Diver seen as everyone else
watched the Dolphins.
Aug 8th
A cool dry day and
I spent it mowing lawns and
cutting Bracken, not my favorite
day of the year.
Aug 7th
No tour again
where are guests when you want
them so Pam and I went in search
of a Mediterranean Gull seen
yesterday, to no avail, we did see
a White-tailed Eagle although I
don't look out for them so much
when not doing tours as I see them
on most days. We did stop and
watch 2 Golden Eagles though as
they gave us a great display
flying right over our heads.
Aug 6th
A lovely day
and Bottlenose Dolphins at
Cailaich and 3 Adders at the place
I know so after seeing all the
Mull main specialities except for
Hen Harrier everyone had a great
tour, at least that's what they
told me and who am I to argue.
Aug 5th
A lovely day
weatherwise and a great group of
guests and super wildlife, with
Otter and White-tailed Eagle at
our first stop. We had 2 Whimbrel
as well as a lot of Curlews,
Common Seals with calves and Red
Deer stags, hinds and newborn
calves with their bambi spots. We
had to wait out the Golden Eagles
but they eventually put on a great
display. Buzzards and Kestrels as
always and the day finished with 3
Adders , the most I have ever seen
on one tour. Great day, fabulous
views and a lot of chat and
laughter, what more could you wish
for, Ah Pam's Cakes I hear you
thinking, well we had those as
well.
Aug 4th
A lovely warm day
with a light breeze today and a
Whimbrel, Greenshank and Goosander
getting the day off to a fine
start. White-tailed Eagles and
Ringed Plover followed and with
both types of Seal seen well we
were in high spirits for the
afternoon. The afternoon was a
little disappointing as although
we saw a good Golden Eagle, lots
of Buzzards and a very good
Kestrel the only other notable
birds seen were a very nice
Stonechat and a Hen Harrier which
only I saw which was a shame. My
Adders under a tin sheet keep
providing my guests with good
photo opportunities though and one
more thing a Gannet either hurt or
just landed in the wrong place, we
left it to Dr. Paul Howarth to
deal with, he is our leading
authority on Hen Harriers on Mull
and he told me he only knew of 6
females which had fledged chicks
on Mull this year due to the
shortage of Voles. Just to say we
had a great time with the family
last week, thanks to Richie for
bringing the furniture from Pam's
Dad's, it means a lot to her to
have this reminder of her Dad, so
well done son.
Aug 3rd
A fine sunny day
and our grandchildren left first
thing this morning but no time to
dwell as chores to do. Pam has 2
cottages to clean and I have
gardening, not my favorite job and
help Richie our son with furniture
from Pam's Dad's house which
Richie has brought up in his van.
We did however manage a bit of
time off to go to Glengorm for
lunch which was scrumptious.
Aug 2nd
A mostly fine day
for our boat trip with the family
but unfortunately a force 5 wind
so there was little chance of
cetaceans although we did see some
great birds close up. Puffin, my
first of the year, Razorbills,
Guillemots both common and black,
Gannets, Kittiwakes, Manx
Shearwaters and a Great Skua. As
the wind blew the waves came over
the side of the boat and drenched
us which Pam and I found quite
funny but not all our family did
and the children were getting cold
so we called it a day at
lunchtime. Thanks to the crew of
the boat particularly Ruth who was
terrific with the children and
they learned a lot about the sea
and will remember the day for all
the right reasons. Thanks to Pam
for organizing the trip, another
bird for my year list in a tricky
year.
Aug 1st
A wet day so we
went to the garden at Lip Na
Croise but as it was pouring down
Becky our daughter suggested we go
and look for an Otter, in the
event we saw 2, very close and
very good, a White-tailed Eagle
and a pair of Red Throated Divers.
We spent an hour walking round the
garden after the rain stopped and
just got back in the van before it
poured down again, it was a lovely
morning with our family and one we
will treasure.
August
2011
Aug 31st
Weather damp
morning sunny afternoon calm
- I took time out to do some
serious work in our woodland
today, primarily it was a day
spent pulling Ragwort. This
invasive yellow flower is a
noticeable plant as it is very
toxic to certain animals notably
Horses but can now regularly be
seen on grass verges and marginal
land throughout the country, very
bad so I thought I should do
something about the plant on our
land.
Aug 30th
Weather cloudy,
cool but dry with light breeze -
Another great Eagle day with both
White-tailed Eagles and Golden
Eagles showing well with the
highlight being both in the air
together so we could spot the
differences in shape. We had a
very good view of a Grey Seal
which stayed on the surface
bottling all the while we were
having our afternoon tea and cake
break. It was a good Seal day as
in the morning some Common Seals
had been Porpoising, leaping out
of the water like Dolphins, our
guests had not seen this behaviour
before.
Aug 29th
Weather best
described as unsettled - We went
to the Bellachroy Inn last night
with friends up from Cumbria, we
had a really nice meal and evening
with them but I was glad I had no
tour today as I was not up to
much, too many Beers. In the
afternoon I did manage to get to
Tobermory and licence the car, it
was a bit of a write off day, on
the wagon for the rest of the
week. Thanks to David and
Catherine for a great evening, we
both needed a good night out.
Aug 28th
Weather rain and
strong breeze in the morning,
drier but very cold wind in the
afternoon - In spite of the
weather we saw all of the Mull
specialities except for Hen
Harrier today. the sighting of the
day was of 4 red grouse on the
hill road from Dervaig to Torloisk
the first Grouse I have seen this
year taking my Mull list to 142
for the year to date.
Aug 27th
Weather nice again
- Wow we are having our summer at
last, the negative-lawns to mow,
the positive-an Otter in the loch
seen from our self-catering
kitchen.
Aug 26th
Weather another
lovely day - Although it was a
beautiful day we had the first
sign of autumn on the tour today,
A Slavonian grebe, the first I
have seen since they left to breed
further north at the end of April.
We saw the Otter with 2 very small
cubs again today a sighting which
always makes our guests smile. It
was also another great day of
views and Eagles.
Aug 25th
Weather the best
day for ages warm and sunny all
day - White-tailed Eagles or Otter
that was the dilemma for guests
today. Guests were watching 2
white-tails when I spotted an
Otter on some rocks close by,
fortunately the Eagles flew round
for some time and the Otter for
half an hour, see pics. Brilliant
Golden Eagle, a Hen Harrier and
Red Deer including Stag provided
us with a day as good as the
weather.
Aug 24th
Weather after a
dull start it turned out nice
again - We had a terrific sighting
of Hen harrier again today and I
was doubly pleased as it was a
Lifer a first time some of our
guests had seen this beautiful
raptor as due to persecution they
are few and far between in
England. Another lifetime first
were the 2 red Throated Divers
seen earlier in the day and the
Otter although brief gave guests a
great thrill.
Aug 23rd
Weather the same
as yesterday with less wind - The
wildlife was the same as yesterday
as well but substitute an Otter
for the Hen Harrier and add a
Sparrowhawk. Other notable birds
seen today were Arctic and Common
Terns, Gannets and Kittiwakes and
I saw a Stonechat but most of our
guests missed it. We saw this
beautiful Peacock butterfly and a
Bee on Knapweed as well today.
Aug 22nd
Weather High cloud
but dry with light breeze -
another great bird of prey day
with both types of Eagle being
seen very well along with Hen
Harrier, Buzzards and
kestrels. No Otter today but
we did see Red Deer and Common and
Grey Seals. All 3 types of heather
to be seen on Mull are now in
flower to see the difference check
out the pictures below. A new find
on a Discover Mull tour in the
past couple of days is an Adder,
the first I have seen in some
time. I nearly forgot a large
party of Twite at Cailaich Point
about 40 in total.
Aug 21st
Weather heavy
showers then low cloud and mist
improving in the afternoon - What
a day for the Mull specialities,
it started with an Otter with 2
very young cubs just what one of
our guests wanted. Red Deer stags
next another request from our
guests and we had not had coffee
yet, then the mist came down
literally putting a dampner on
proceedings. We did manage to see
a lot of Buzzards and 2 very nice
Red Throated Divers before lunch
but our guests were getting
twitchy. I told them not to worry
about seeing the big stuff but to
let me worry about them, if we had
not seen them by 4pm start
worrying. 2 Kestrels and a few
Ravens at lunch and just as we
were about to give up a distant
but good Golden Eagle. soon after
lunch at a Place I look for Otter
I heard a White-tailed Eagle call
and there was a youngster not far
away on a hill and after some time
it flew giving guests a great view
of its size. Common Seals and a
Black Guillemot followed and then
we went for tea. Just as we
arrived at our tea stop so did a
Hen Harrier which was hunting and
gave us a special show. Homeward
bound and a White-tailed Eagle
very very close and on the other
side of the road appeared a very
close Golden Eagle guests did not
know which way to look. After they
had gone I checked my watch and it
was just 4pm.
Aug 20th
Weather lovely all
day - A day spent mowing lawns and
looking for sheep, I got the lawns
mowed easily as the weather was so
nice, it was not however easy
trying to find two sheep in
Bracken as high as Triffids,
Eventually I managed to find them
but it took some time to get them
back home as our two wonder
Shetland Sheep Dogs our not that
wonderful when driving sheep,
although they do enjoy trying and
are very noisy as they get rather
over excited. A White-tailed Eagle
and 2 Buzzards over Ardrioch this
afternoon. I was woken up this
morning by a Tawny Owl calling
from a tree right outside our
bedroom window, Pam slept on.
Aug 19th
Weather a nice day
on the whole before it started to
rain in the late afternoon - A
nice family of Italians and
delightful German lady on todays
tour and as the italians had
little English and I no Italian we
were extremely grateful to Regine
the German who spoke both rather
well. I was also very grateful to
the White-tailed Eagles, Golden
Eagles, Otters and Seals which all
put on fantastic displays for our
foreign visitors showing Mull off
at its wildlife best. Ooh La Laa.
Aug 18th
Weather cloudy
with a heavy shower in the morning
improving with sunshine in the
afternoon - Highlights of another
good day for wildlife spotting
were a group of at least 8 Red
Throated Dives with 10 being seen
during the day. Great view of a
Male Sparrowhawk sitting on a
rock and wonderful
interaction between a Hen Harrier
and 3 Kestrels. Great spotters on
the tour today but even they could
not conjure up a Golden Eagle.
Aug 17th
Weather warm with
occasional small shower - Many
thanks to twins Charlotte and
Louise who made my day much easier
with all the wildlife they were
spotting for me, nothing got
missed. Whilst we ate our
sandwiches at lunch time we were
watching the Golden Eagle eating
his lunch of fresh Rabbit, see
pictures below. A nice treat was a
stop looking at a variety of small
birds including a handsome male
Redpoll sitting out well on a dead
branch.
Aug 16th
Weather heavy rain
all morning clearing up after
lunch but breezy - Otter at our
second spot, drat, we had to stand
out in the rain to see it and got
soaked. At the next stop a very
wet looking White-tailed Sea Eagle
sitting on a hill and then we
spotted another Otter, we got even
wetter if that was possible, a
scrabble for wet weather clothing
and great views of the Otter and
then we spotted a White-tailed
Eagle fledgling in a tree, joy of
joys as the rain poured down
relentlessly. Then someone with a
sense of humour said that there
was a hint of blue in the sky
ahead and thank goodness she was
right, by lunchtime the rain had
eased and low and behold 6
Buzzards appeared and then 2
Kestrels and then a Golden Eagle
very close then double drat the
rain returned and the Eagle flew
off. Passing the waterfall we
noticed it was in full spate, now
that was a surprise, then an even
bigger surprise the rain stopped,
the views appeared and all was
well in my world. " more Golden
Eagles, lots of Red Deer including
some good stags and 3 Hen Harriers
later my world and our guests
wishes were complete. who says
wildlife cannot be seen on wet
days, well today they were
definitely proved wrong.
Aug 15th
Weather mainly dry
with breeze but still warm -
Another good day for the Mull
specialities but we had to show a
lot of patience before we saw a
pair of Golden Eagles. We saw 2
Otters again today and had good
sightings of a group of Red Deer
stags , which although Britons
largest wild land mammal still
take some spotting when the are
against a heather covered hill. I
saw a Great Skua and Twite at
Cailaich Point but guests missed
them as they had gone to take in
the views and look for none
existent cetaceans as I tidied up
the afternoon tea cups.
Aug 14th
Weather mainly
sunny but breezy, warm - A group
of very good spotters today which
meant we saw everything that was
there to be seen, as I keep saying
the more eyes looking the more you
see, it's not just down to luck.
We saw 5 Golden Eagles, 5
White-tailed Eagles, a family of 4
Sparrowhawks, Kestrels, Buzzards,
Goosanders, Kittiwakes, Gannets
and Red Throated Divers as well as
lots of other birds. We also saw
both Red and Fallow Deer stags and
2 very good Otters one in
particular fishing, Gambolling
over rocks, oblivious of our
presence and behaving in a normal
wild way, just the way we like to
see them. Another nice sighting
today was of the Highland cow,
bull and calf in the photo below.
Aug 13th
Weather rain in
morning drier as day wore on -
Watched England beat India in the
morning after a few regular
Saturday chores and too wet to mow
the lawns. I took the dogs on a
short walk to the loch this
evening seeing 5 Goosanders, 6
Greenshank, 4 Redshank, 12 Curlews
and a Buzzard, earlier in the day
52 Rock Doves were waiting to be
fed on power lines around
Ardrioch.
Aug 12th
Weather cloudy but
predicted rain did not arrive
until 3pm - Back on Mull after
family wedding and nice time being
pummelled by our young grand
children. On the tour today Otters
3 of them showing well, where have
they been for the last few weeks.
Amusing sighting of the day, a
newly fledged White-tailed Eagle
landing on a not to stable branch,
slipping round it like a gymnast
on the parallel bars before
loosing go and flying back to the
nest site much safer.
August 4th to
11th
We are taking a
week off to go to a niece's
wedding in Cheshire leaving
Ardrioch and the animals in the
capable hands of our good friend
Jacqui. So here are a few photo's
of a beautiful early morning in
August around the garden.
Aug 3rd
Weather sunny,
hot and calm -A raptor fest
today with White-tailed Eagles,
Golden Eagles, a Peregrine
Falcon, Buzzards, Kestrels, Hen
Harriers, Sparrowhawk and Merlin
all being seen. Red Throated
Divers, Gannets, a brief Otter
and Red Deer in large numbers
including stags were also seen
in a very good day. The Scotch
Argus Butterflies are now out in
good numbers and the views today
were spectacular, Mull at its
best. Pam has put some pictures
on the site all taken from in or
around our garden pretty aren't
they.
Aug 2nd
Weather cloudy
with the cloud getting lower as
the day wore on - great Golden
and White-tailed Eagles today
and a very good Otter although
it did miraculously disappear in
kelp as it brought in a large
fish it had just caught. Birds
of note today were 2 Great Skuas
and 2 Manx Shearwaters, lots of
Common and Arctic Terns, a
family of 4 Kestrel mobbing a
Golden Eagle and a grand total
of 6 White-tailed Eagles. Just a
quick mention for the humble
Meadow Pipit seen on nearly all
our tours, bottom of Mulls bird
food chain and so often
overlooked.
Aug 1st
Weather cloudy
with some sun, rain in
late afternoon - Unusual
sighting of the day a Piperstrel
Bat at Calgary as we were
visiting the toilets, it kept
flying right past us chasing
Midges as we watched on in
amazement. Later in the
afternoon we watched a small
group of Porpoise about 5 in
total as we were looking out for
sea birds. Brilliant Red Deer
stags and a female Hen Harrier
had started the day and a Merlin
with White-tailed Eagles was the
star at coffee break.
Aug 31st 2010
Weather the same
as yesterday - A second day with
Hen Harrier, we also saw 3 Golden
Eagles in the air at the same time
really close , 3 Otters, lots of
Red Deer including stags and 2
White-Tailed Eagles. As we were
looking at Common Seals and
Curlews we noticed that amongst
the Curlews were 2 Bar-Tailed
Godwits always nice to see. We
were watching Basking shark in the
morning and at the same time
Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters and
Gannets and I saw more Shags over
200 in one group than I have ever
seen on Mull Before.
Aug 30th
Weather sunny,
calm and warm - Grim, gripping,
exciting, exhilarating and
alarming, a great fight between a
mother Otter and a Dog Otter, the
mother protecting her 2 offspring
from what could have proved a
fatal confrontation with the dog
Otter. Do not take on a mother
protecting young as after 10
minutes of ferocious fighting the
dog Otter limped away to lick his
wounds and pride, what fantastic
wildlife watching I can not speak
for our guests but I was
completely blown away by what we
were seeing. Lots of other
wildlife were seen including 2 Hen
Harriers at the start of the day
but they all paled in significance
after the Otter encounter.
Aug 29th
Weather sunny but
very windy - We had more
White-Tailed Eagles than you could
throw a stick at at our first stop
and all of them gave us a great
flying display. We stopped to look
at some Red Deer and a Golden
Eagle appeared and it to showed
off its flying prowess. Otters we
had to wait for but did manage a
nice Red Throated Diver in the
meantime, the day finished with
Basking Sharks becoming a regular
feature on Discover Mull Tours
recently.
Aug 28th
Weather showers
all day - Pam hates it when it
rains on a Saturday she can't
get the washing dry, I love it I
don't have to mow the lawn. Here
are some highlights from this
week including a very sleepy
Barn Owl leaning on it's chick.
Aug 27th
Weather
sunny with light breeze - We
started the day with a Goosander
always a nice bird to see on the
tours, a nice flock of Linnets
followed but we were struggling to
find White tailed Eagles until we
came across the 2 pictured in the
tree. Golden Eagles and an Otter
followed and 4 Basking Sharks very
close. the day finished with
diving Gannets and lots of
Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters, a
Great Skua and a lone Puffin.
Aug 26th
Weather warm,
sunny and calm - Great Baking
Sharks at the end of another good
day which had started with a flock
of Linnets my favorite bird. 3
Otters were seen in the day but I
must admit 2 were only brief
glimpses as they tormented us with
'yes we are here but you can't see
us,' the third one was much more
obliging. we saw a Red Throated
Diver but the bird highlight of
the day was a brilliant Golden
Eagle which flew below us as we
stood on a hill looking at views
of the Outer Hebrides, Treshnish
Isles, Staffa, Iona ,Ulva Ferry
and Ben
Mor..............................special!
Aug 25th
Weather lovely and
warm - No tour today so I did some
BTO work instead which gave me
some time to watch the birds in
the garden and particularly the
Rock Doves. I watched in stitches
as this dominant Dove standing on
the bird table taking on all
comers trying to steal his spot,
the funniest bit was when one
landed on the roof of the table
and tried to slide down out of
sight onto the table,
unfortunately the roof overhangs
quite a bit and so the bird slid
down the roof and fell off, it was
a laugh out loud moment.
Aug 24th
Weather after more
rain overnight it became sunny and
breezy for most of the day - What
a difference a day makes it
stopped raining by 10am and all
the birds of prey got up we had
seen 2 Golden Eagles Buzzards a
Sparrowhawk and 2 White Tailed
Eagles within 40 minutes of
starting the tour. We had more
Eagles and Kestrel 2 Otters and
the best for me a Bar Tailed
Godwit the first on its return
journey from the far north. A
lovely day with another great
group of guests.
Aug 23rd
Weather Heavy Rain
all day - Apart from 2 very good
Otter sightings and some Red deer,
brief Fallow Deer, Common and Grey
Seals, a good Red Throated Diver,
Eider Ducks, Red Breasted
Mergansers, Black Guillemots,
Cormorants and Shags, Wheatear,
Linnets, Twite, Gannets,
Kittiwakes, lots of Manx
Shearwaters, Guillemot with young
fantastic Great Skua sighting, 3
Basking Sharks and a possible
Minke Whale it was a day to
forget. Oh by the way Eas Force
waterfall was magnificent.
Aug 22nd
Weather after
overnight rain it turned out nice
again - a good day for seeing the
Mull specialities plus a little
history and geology thrown in.
Great views of 4 Otters today the
best I have seen for some time, we
also had 2 White-tailed Eagles and
both obligingly flew for us. The
Golden Eagles we saw flew over our
heads but were quite high but we
did get to see a lot of colour on
this years chick, lots of Red Deer
with several stags seen really
well, another good tour with very
nice guests.
Aug 21st
Weather warm,
sunny, dry and calm - A saturday
with no rain can only mean one
thing for me at Ardrioch, Lawn
Mowing and that is what I did for
most of the day. I hate lawn
mowing I get so bored and it does
not take much to stop mowing ,
unfortunately for me nothing much
happened so I had to keep mowing,
at least I got all of them done.
On a happier note a Grey Wagtail
complete with family turned up
here in the morning the first one
I have seen for some time.
Aug 20th
weather rain for
most of the morning then nice but
windy then later high winds - We
watched an Otter for an hour in
the rain, Eagles both types in the
nice weather and Red Deer in the
gales, not bad for such awful
weather. other notable sightings
include Little Grebe, Greenshank,
Curlews, Red Throated Divers,
Gannets, Kittiwakes, Goosander,
Red Breasted Mergansers, Eider
Ducks, Kestrel and Buzzards,
Linnets and Goldfinches. Lots
of stuff.
Aug 19th
Weather showers
all morning lovely afternoon - No
tour today as we had to deal with
sheep all morning, in the
afternoon I mowed some of the
lawns and enjoyed a rest, back on
the wildlife trail tomorrow. I
thought I would show you some of
the wildlife I have managed to get
a decent shot of this week and
share with you some kind words of
some satisfied customers.
Thank you for our
fantastic day out on 7
August. The kids all said it
was the best day of the holiday.
We are now back at home, where
everything is very flat and
dry! Please thank Pam for
all the great baking! Best wishes
Louise, Andy, Jemma, Henry and
Felix+ Celia, Abigail and Gareth
(now back in California)
HI Arthur, Just
wanted to say how much Janette and
I enjoyed our day with you and the
wildlife of Mull. For us, it was a
great mix of humour, company, food
and birds. Marvellous! Thanks for
a fantastic Sunday, Paul and
Janette
Aug 18th
Weather sunny and
breezy after early showers - After
a quiet start to the tour we
eventually had great sightings of
white-tailed Eagle. We looked for
Otter and had a very brief view of
one but after yesterday I wasn't
going to hang around and hope it
returned. As the day wore on we
had very good sightings of Red
Deer and Golden Eagles and a
distant Basking Shark. I went to
look for closer Basking Shark and
picked up a great Otter which made
the guests day, as I say you can
spend all day looking for the big
species and not see them, look at
all Mull has to offer and you see
much more. The day ended with a
terrific sighting of the Barn Owl
Chick.
Aug 17th
Weather sunshine
with light breeze - A day spent
mainly looking for Mulls
specialities and we spent 2 hours
looking for Otters that did not
turn up, as I always say if you
look for everything you see more
if you just look for the big stuff
you are not guaranteed to see them
and miss out on everything else.
We did see Great White-tailed
Eagle, Basking Shark, Golden
Eagle, Gannets, Kittiwakes, Barn
Owl, Red Deer, Seals,
Buzzards and Kestrel before we
started to just look for Otter,
get my drift.
Aug 16th
Weather low cloud,
drizzle, rain later in the day but
quite warm - It was warm enough
for us to see 3 Basking Sharks in
the morning with Gannets and Manx
Shearwaters in the same area. An
otter provided some enjoyment for
our guests despite not being too
close, Red Deer and Seals were all
seen in a largely mammal day as
the weather deteriorated. We did
see a miserable White tailed Eagle
looking at the rain and wondering
where yesterdays great weather had
gone, we were doing the same as we
watched the Eagle. Goosanders were
my birds of the day and a great
Greenshank at our first stop.
Aug 15th
Weather sunny warm
and calm - What a day, it started
with the Barn Owl, then a
Bullfinch followed by 2
White-tailed Eagles which were
very close and both flew pursued
by Buzzards, then we saw 3 Basking
Sharks and several Porpoise and
all this before morning coffee at
11 o'clock. 4 Golden Eagles were
seen and Red deer Stags, Hinds and
calves, and we sat in the sunshine
having lunch and watching 3 Otters
swimming, playing, running across
rocks up streams over islands you
name it they did it. We saw both
types of Seal in the afternoon and
the day finished with a fantastic
Whinchat sighting. Many
thanks to Ian, Rachel,
Sophie, Richard, Paul, Jeanette,
Jerry and Sue for being such a fun
group and sharing with me one of
the best day tours I have ever
had.
Aug 14th
Weather beautiful
again - Lawn Mowing, finding and
sorting lost Sheep, cleaning the
Van and checking out the new Deer
fencing, who said it was my day
off. The Woodpecker was back today
as were all our regular birds and
our Hedgehogs. What with the
Sheep, Dogs, Rabbits and Slow
Worms this place is becoming a
regular menagerie. Oh and by the
way the woodland is full of
Butterflies.
Aug 13th
Weather beautiful
- Another great day out seeing 4
Otters, 4 White-tailed Eagles, 6
Golden Eagles a very close Basking
Shark, 2 Red Throated Divers,
Black Guillemots, Red Breasted
Mergansers and even a Hedgehog in
our garden, all our guests were
delighted with the day. when I got
home at the end of the tour Pam
informed me that we had a juvenile
Greater Spotted Woodpecker
visiting our feeders.
Aug 12th
Weather cloudy but
dry, very windy and cool - Another
day with all the Mull specialities
showing well except the Otter
which only put in a brief and
distant appearance. Birds of the
day were two very good Red
Throated Divers which were very
obliging by not diving, so all
guests got a good look at them,
unusual for these birds. Stunning
views today and we even got to see
the Outer Hebrides from the top of
a hill, but we nearly froze to
death whilst we were up there. I
am still thawing out as I write
this as I was wearing summer
clothes as it is still officially
summer, same old story right
weather, wrong clothing.
Aug 11th
Weather cloudy,
breezy. drizzle and cool - Not
really the best weather for a tour
but our guests today were great
and determined to enjoy themselves
no matter what. We had a lot of
laughs, a great crack about a
White-tailed Eagle which I shall
use on tours in the future and
some cracking sightings. A lovely
day with 3 Otters, 4 White-tailed
Eagles, 2 Golden Eagles, Seals,
Red Deer with a great sighting of
a stags antlers, it was hard to
see the stag but its antlers were
skylined. A great Little Grebe
sitting on some seaweed, Black
Guillemot and lots of Shags and
Kittiwakes at the same spot. It
was just a lovely day in great
company thanks to all involved.
Aug 10th
Weather exactly
the same as yesterday after even
heavier over night rain - Eas
Forse even fuller than yesterday
making our guests even more
delighted. They were also happy to
see the Barn Owl, Sparrowhawk, a
fantastic Red Throated Diver and
lots of Red-breasted Mergansers
with quite small babies. An Otter
for 20 minutes also proved to be
quite a hit as were all the other
main Mull highlights.
Aug 9th
Weather Weather
beautiful day after heavy
overnight rain - The rain last
night meant that Eas Forse
waterfall was in the best spate it
has been for quite some time much
to our guests delight. Great views
of all our specialities today and
also saw my first Grass of
Parnassus flower this year. A late
update of the fluke tail we saw
yesterday, it was almost certainly
an Orca, Killer Whale, as they
were seen in the area we saw it
yesterday.
Aug 8th
Weather another
nice day but slightly cloudier -
We went to see my Barn Owl first
stop this morning and enjoyed some
good views, we also had the first
of many Buzzards we saw during the
day. We went to a possible
White-tailed Eagle spot and had
great views of a bird which took
off and flew round while we were
drinking coffee. Basking Shark was
the next major spot along with
Great Skuas, diving Gannets and
Manx Shearwater. It was when we
were at this spot we saw a great
splash and a very large tail fluke
of a creature from the deep, which
was repeated a few minutes later,
this one I did not see, we are
going to check to see what was
seen by the boats today to see if
we can find out what it was, it
was all very exciting. Good golden
Eagle followed and another
White-tail. A flock of 26 Curlew
were other birds of note as was
the Red Breasted Merganser with
some very late hatched babies.
Aug 7th
Weather fantastic
warm and sunny - Basking Shark,
brilliant White-tailed Eagle,
Golden Eagle, Red Deer, diving
Gannets
just a fabulous
day with a very nice family, I
enjoyed it enormously.
Aug 6th
Weather light
squally rain all day, calm - I
spent the morning cleaning and
servicing our water supply getting
very wet into the bargain. In the
afternoon I went out with a friend
and saw a very good Otter, a Sedge
Warbler, a Whitethroat and a House
Martin the first I had seen for
some time. As we drove round we
happened upon 3 Golden plover and
a Red Throated Diver which made
the journey in the rain very
worthwhile.
Aug 5th
Weather
cloudy but mainly dry, breezy - A
quiet day but we eventually saw 2
very good juvenile Golden Eagles
which lifted everyone's spirits.
Soon afterwards we saw both types
of Seal and some Red Breasted
Mergansers with Shags and
Cormorants on an island in the
middle of of a large sea loch. We
were scanning to see what was
about and saw some Ringed Plover
and Buzzards. At lunch at last we
got White-tailed Eagle giving us
good views both flying and
sitting, in the afternoon we saw
lots of Red Deer and also diving
Gannets, so not a bad day after
all.
Aug 4th
Weather fine
morning showery afternoon, windy -
Velvet Scoter seen today a
lifetime first for me and
obviously a first for our tours,
fantastic. It was a good day for
me as we also saw Linnets, a
particular favorite of mine,
Ringed Plovers and another
favorite bird of mine Whinchat.
Another good day of Red Throated
Diver sightings but we missed out
on Greenshank today. Red Deer
stags on top of a hill rounded off
a very enjoyable day.
Aug 3rd
Weather mainly
fine with cool breeze on coast -
We saw a Greenshank today the
first I have seen for some time
although Pam saw one last week.
Goosander was another good
sighting today although they were
some distance off. Brilliant views
of both White-tailed Eagle and
Golden Eagle today and we gave up
counting Buzzards. On the water we
had 4 Red Throated Divers 2 of
them very close and lots of Manx
Shearwaters were also seen.
Aug 2nd
Weather cloudy
with sunnier breaks, cool but dry
- Another tour with guests who
wanted Otter as they had been to
Mull before and seen Eagles but
not Otter, We managed to find 2
Otters for them but not as close
as I would have liked them to be
but reasonable views through the
telescope for quite a long time.
very good views of both types of
Eagle with both newly fledged
White-tail and Golden Eagle seen.
Notable sighting of a Buzzard
taking a young Rabbit, this was
wildlife in the raw and a good
view of a recently fledged
Sparrowhawk.
Aug 1st
Weather mainly
cloudy but with only light wind,
dry - A good tour today with an
early White-tailed Eagle which was
sitting on a hill before flying
and then landing out of sight in
tall bracken. We saw 4 Otters
today with 2 of them giving really
good views which was great as 2 of
our guests had been coming to Mull
for 10 years without seeing one
and were beginning to think they
did not exist. We saw 4 Golden
Eagles today but none were really
close but we did have lots of Red
Deer including a group of 8 Stags
of varying ages. Black Guillemots
and Red Throated Diver were the
other main highlights today, with
Spotted Flycatcher, Whitethroat
and Stonechat the best of the
little birds. On our way home
there was a feral cat with 3 small
kittens walking down the middle of
the road.
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This
is the web site of Pam
& Arthur Brown,
Ardrioch Farm,
Dervaig, Isle of Mull.
PA75 6QR
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