January
2019
Jan 31st
Funny
how work comes
along when you
least expect
it but I had a
phone call
today and they
are coming to
sample the
water supply
next week so I
have to go out
and service
the system
which means a
trip to
Tobermory for
a new UV
filter bulb.
It was a very
slow journey
as there was
still ice on
the roads in
certain spots
even though
the gritters
had been
through, still
needs must.
Tomorrow I
must go and
clean the
system through
which I
normally do in
the spring.
Jan 30th
We
had a lovely
walk down the
side of Loch
Ba today
hoping to see
Snow Buntings
but there were
none although
we did see 4
Reed Buntings
a a single
Pied Wagtail
around the
area where the
farmer feeds
his cattle.
The views were
spectacular
but my aging
bones were
aching by the
time we got
back to the
car. We took
Lucy wth us
and she spent
the afternoon
asleep on the
sofa, I felt
like joining
her but a hot
bath was more
appropriate
for me.
Jan 29th
Big garden bird count
at Ardrioch, birds seen
Chaffinches 150+, Greenfinches
16, Goldfinches 12, Siskins 8,
Lesser Redpoll 3, Mealy Redpoll
1,House Sparrow 8, Brambling 1,
Treecreeper 2, Jays 2, Hooded
Crows 2, Yellowhammer
3,Sparrowhawk 1, Rock Dove 36,
Collared Dove 2, Blackbirds 6,
Robins 4, Blue Tits 8, Great
Tits 6, Coal Tits 6, Dunnocks 2,
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2. The
numbers were all seen at any one
time in the garden so there are
probably more birds than this
that actually come to the garden
which is not a bad total. The
picture is of the tree that fell
over in its present state after
the tree fellers had done their
work.
Jan 28th
I have to drive Arthur
to the dentist for a brush up
and polish this morning as his
hand is still very swollen. As
we were a bit worried about it
we took a visit to the Doctors
just to check nothing is broken,
fortunatly it is not and a trip
to Craignure to have it Xrayed
was not nessesary. As it was
such a lovely morning I took
Lucy for walk down the
road when we got home, I don't
take my binoculars when walking
the dog but I listen to the bird
song and try to identify them
this way and it is lovely to
hear the Great Tits 'Teacher
Teacher' always one of the first
birds with their spring songs. A
female Hen Harrier was hunting
over the fields to my left and I
watched it for some minuites as
it circles right over my head
before dissapearing over the
woodland. Some Red Deer were
grazing the fields around the
Bellat river and on my way home
a Dipper was feeding on the
stream near our house, it just
shows you don't have to go far
on Mull to see some wonderful
wildlife. We did the RSPB Garden
Bird count at the weekend and
Arthur will report on this when
his (one) typing finger is able
to straighten.
Jan
27th
Pam writing as Arthur
is 'handicaped', whilst in the
garden this morning checking out
the fallen tree and feeding the
birds Arthur got his fingers
trapped in the big shed door
when a sudden gust of wind blew
the door to as he held it, he
has lots of bruising and
swelling across 3 fingers and it
is very painfull, I hunt out the
Arnica for him which gives him a
bit of releif. As you can see in
the picture we were very lucky
with the tree, it could have
landed on either of our sheds or
the old caravan but it manages
to land nicely in the field
behind, a job for our neibour
Nick and his chain saw me
thinks!
Jan
26th
We had friends around
on Saturday evening to celebrate
Burns night this is a Scottish
tradition that seems to invole
haggis, neeps & tatties, and
a lot of whisky, a good time was
had by all but we were rather
late to bed. Saturday evening
into Sunday morning we had very
high winds bringing a tree down
at the edge of the garden, we
didn't hear a thing only Lucy
barking around 6 am, she must
have heard it go and we had to
comfort her by letting her on to
our bed.
Jan 24th and 25th
Out and about doing a spot
of birding and enjoying the
views after the snow, nothing
new to report although I did get
a Fabulous sighting of a Golde
Eagle and took a photo of a
Buzzard in a tree and a
beautiful shot of Beinne Talaidh
my favorite mountain covered in
snow.
Jan 20 to 23rd
Snow and Ice on
untreated roads so we have only
gone to Dougies shop in Dervaig
and otherwise just watch the
garden birds although I did see
one new bird for my 2019 Mull
year list, a Pheasant, I also
took pictures of a Greenshank
and Snipe at the end of Loch
Cuin on my way to the shop.
Jan 20th
We had a lie in this
morning I can't think why. later
in the day I went to Calgary and
saw 2 Divers in the bay one a
very nice Black Throated Diver
always a great bird to see. This
afternoon as I watched my
football team on TV Pam went
swimming in the sea with her
mates, to put it bluntly it was
freezing out there and so was
she when she got home, freezing
but elated, personally I think
they are all nuts. Pam is now
doing a big jigsaw with Tigers
on, all trees, stripes and sky,
she should get easier and more
comfortable hobbies. We are
saving to go to India to try and
see Tigers in the wild as our
retirment present, before my
joints seize up completely.
Jan
19th
Lucy is happy we had
some young lads turn up to work
on their rally cars which I
allow them to keep in the big
shed and I got one of them to go
on the roof to get the chuckit
and chuck it back down so that I
can chuck it for Lucy again,
Lucy is a very happy little dog.
My mate Nick came round this
morning and we hung up the Tawny
Owl box which we have somewhat
repaired, now we have to wait
and see if anything decides to
use it. We went to our
neighbours house for the evening
where we ate too much, drank
even more, and generally had a
really good time.
Jan
18th
No birding today as we
have work to do although
it was a very good day for birds
in the garden, we had 2 Redpolls
on the niger seed feeders, one
was obviously a Lesser Redpoll
but the other looked bigger and
different and might have been a
Common or Mealy Redpoll, still
not sure I need a longer look if
they return. Today there was
another first in our garden for
2019 a Yellowhammer, the first
we have seen this year. With all
the other garden regulars
including the Great Spotted
Woodpecker and Brambling we can
have great birding days without
leaving home. Lucy is not a
happy dog she has this toy which
she loves called a chuckit, I
chuck it she fetches it back,
not off the house roof she
doesn't, she just looks at the
roof mournfully.
Jan 17th
With an absolutely
beautiful Mull winters day the
proposed trip to the south of
the island went ahead and we
took Lucy with us as we were
going out for the whole day and
Pam needed her to warm her hands
after using the telescope. Less
of this frivolity and get to the
wildlife watching with the south
island birds seen first, White
Fronted Geese was a particlar
highlight as we often have to
search for them but today a
flock of over 20 landed on Loch
Pottie as we were watching
Tufted Ducks another south
island bird, as were the several
Jackdaws seen in a field with
Rooks. Other notable sightings
today were 4 dozen Ringed
Plovers on the beach at Fidden
with a single Turnstone and 40
Lapwing in a field close by with
2 Skylarks near the farmyard. At
Fidden we also saw our first
female Hen Harrier of the day 2
others were seen on our way
home. On the journey back we saw
5 Red Throated Divers on Loch
Scridain, a large flock of
Barnacle Geese on Inch Kenneth,
2 Whooper Swans flew over Eorsa
as we were watching Guilliemots.
a single Jay flew over the
Mini-bus at Knock as we were
watching grazing Fallow Deer and
we saw Long Tailed Tits in
bushes along Loch Na Keal. For
Eagle and Otter readers we saw
lots of Red Deer but also 3
Otters and 4 White-tailed Sea
Eagles but no Golden Eagles
today. The weather was lovely
the scenery spectacular, what's
not to love.
Jan
16th
Although I am still
stiff from yesterdays fall I
went to Tobermory to fetch even
more bird seed and fill the van
with fuel as Pam and I intend to
go birding on the south of Mull
some 60 miles away from where we
live on Mull. It will be a full
day but weather permitting worth
it as you do get birds in the
south that you don't in the
north of the island. This
afternoon I had some retirement
practice I listened to my music
of which I have a lot and
started reading a very good book
about a music shop. For any
younger people who read my blog
that's a shop where you can go
in touch, feel and listen to the
product you may want to buy and
chat to others in the shop about
music, it used to be the only
way to buy music.
Jan 15th
Today we had Strictly
Come Dancing meets Dancing on
ice at Ardrioch when on
returning to the house from
feeding the birds I managed to
slip on some wet grass. I did a
perfect pirouette, followed by a
one legged spin, going well so
far, then I ingloriously
completely lost balance and fell
inelegantly onto our drive, have
you ever felt very foolish. An
update on my condition I am
battered, bruised but nothing
broken. I must thank Pam who
watched my performance from the
kitchen and was out to help
faster than a Rat up a
drainpipe, typically full of
concern one minute and then on
seeing I was ok, enraged at my
foolishness with wearing Crocks
which had no tread, us blokes
can't win.
Jan
14th
Pam and I had to go to
the doctors surgery this morning
and get innoculated against
nasties on our trip to Costa
Rica later in the year and for
once I had the rough end of the
stick or in this case needle. On
our way home via the scenic
route we saw 2 Otters and
several Deer. This afternoon me
and our neighbour Nick made 5
bird boxes and repaired a Tawny
Owl box, now when I say help I
mean Nick did most of the work
and I was like a TV presenter
who says we have come to help,
that is TV speak for hinder and
get in the way, that was my
contribution and I hope the
birds appreciate it.
Jan 13th
The poor weather
continued and so I cleaned the
bird feeders a very important
task if the spread of desease
particularly in Finches is to be
prevented. In between the heavy
showers we had fun playing with
Lucy who I must say gives us
lots of fun and pleasure. The
Sparrowhawk was also busy during
the breaks in the rain which
makes our garden birds very
twitchy. Tomorrow we are going
to get innoculated for our trip
to Costa Rica later in the year,
we are not looking forward to
it, the innoculations not the
holiday.
Jan
12th
The Mull bird count
and as predicted numbers were
well down on previous years
although the weather with rain
driving in on a very strong wind
made birding very difficult. In
the event 69 species were seen
by an intrepid, and given the
weather, number of 16 birders,
our van of 4 found 59 which
included a Rook another first
for my Mull year list. Notable
birds seen on the day were
Peregrine Falcon, White-tailed
Sea Eagle, (from our bedroom
window before leaving our house)
Kittiwake, Guilliemot, Slavonian
Grebe and Goodander. We had a
Great Spotted Woodpecker and
Brambling in the garden at the
start of the count. Although we
were not counting Mammals a
total of 5 Otters were seen
including a mum with 2 growing
kits.
Jan
11th
Tomorrow we have the
Mull bird count and this year
looks like it will be somewhat
dissapointng birdwise as I have
yet to reach 70 birds seen and
the weather forecast is awful.
The good news is that my thigh
seems to have turned out to be
only a small muscle pull and
although it is a little
uncomfortable I can still get
about pretty much as normal.
Jan 10th
I took Pam out to see
if we could see the Velvet
Scoter this morning but as it
was much windier than the last
couple of days we failed to find
it, the bird might have gone or
just been harder to see in the
rougher seas. Pam still enjoyed
the outing as she got 10 new
birds for her 2019 year list
which included a Carrion Crow
and an early returning Shelduck
which were both new birds on
Mull this year for me as well.
We also had good sightings of
Buzzards, Kestrels, 2 seperate
Golden Eagles, a couple of
White-tailed sea Eagles and an
Otter. We see Otters every time
we go out out in the winter as
with no tourists to disturb them
and much shorter daylight hours
for hunting they are much easier
to find.
Jan
9th
I managed to feed the
birds and check the water supply
before discretion took over from
valour and I put my injured leg
up and watched the birds in the
garden and let the bruising on
my thigh come out. Our friend
Alan Spellman came round for
some lunch and to see our
Brambling in the garden, Alan
left at about 3 pm and the
Brambling turned up 10 minutes
later. We are inundated with
Chaffinches again this winter
withwell over 100 in the garden
at any one time and it is I
think their weight of numbers
that prevent some of the other
birds visiting, well that and
frequent Sparrowhawk visits.
Jan 8th
Pam and I took Lucy
for walk on Calgary beach but
went down to Cailaich Point to
look for Jack Snipe first. Now
there is good news and bad news
first the good news we had a
very good sighting of a Jack
Snipe then the bad news I pulled
a thigh muscle as my leg went
through the top of the bog
further than I expected, ouch.
Anyway Pam took Lucy for a walk
on the beach whilst I went to
check out for more wildlife from
the comfort of the car. I got
lucky with a very good sighting
of an Otter eating a fish. After
picking up Pam and Lucy we went
home although we still managed
to see some Redwing and a male
Hen Harrier. I made it to the
house and cleaned my binoculars
and had a very hot bath before
finding a thigh bandage which I
have not used since my tennising
days which I played before
coming to live on Mull 20 years
ago.
Jan 7th
Oh Joy, today I have
been to Oban for an endoscopy, I
knew it was coming up and to be
quite honest I was not really
looking forward to it. The
Consultant and nurses were great
and persuaded me to have it done
without the anesthetic throat
spray which means you have no
side effects apart from the fact
that you feel more when the tube
and camera go down your throat.
All was well as they found no
hidden troubles and sent me home
with a clean bill of health. On
our way to the ferry this
morning we saw a Barn Owl and
also leaned that the ferry we
had booked on to return was
cancelled due to very high
expected winds, taking no
chances we were first in the
queue for the 2 pm ferry.
Jan
6th
A late start wildlife
watching today as we did not get
to bed till the early hours, see
yesterdays blog. I saw 2 Otters,
2 White-tailed sea Eagles and a
female Hen Harrier but for me
the bird of the day had to be a
Velvet Scoter seen on Loch Na
Keal near scarisdale Rocks, this
was a lifetime first for me so I
was quite excited. Other birds
seen included a large flock of
Meadow Pipits with an odd Rock
Pipit or two mixed with them, I
also saw several Ring Plovers at
Garmony and on Loch Na Keal 2
Kittiwakes and a small group of
Guilliemots.
Jan
5th
I went to Tobermory
today with Pam and saw very
little in the way of wildlife
which was a little
dissapointing. In the evening we
went for supper with friends in
Salen and on our way home we saw
a Tawny Owl, I dont know if we
should count it it on the 5th as
it was seen after 1am in the
morning.
Jan 4th
Today we had to go to
stock up the larder as we did
not have any space in the car on
our journey home and essencials
were getting very low. I also
had some work to do as a sheep
was getting into the orchard so
we had to get it out and block
the hole, what a great invention
cable ties are. Also using cable
ties I made Lucy 4 more jumps
out of canes to go with her
expensive one and she has great
fun leaping over fences with
differing heights. We took Lucy
for a walk to the pier at
Calgary and down on the beach
which she loves and I managed to
see a Stonechat and Wren to add
to my Mull Year list. On our way
home a White-tailed Sea Eagle
flew past the van, which was
Pam's first of 2019.
Jan 3rd
Out wildlife watching
today although I forgot the
camera, I did however take
binoculars and telescope and had
a great time but no photos, I
don't have an iphone although
Father Christmas bought one for
Pam. Today I saw 2 Otters, 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles, 2
Golden Eagles, Red Deer, Fallow
Deer and Common Seals. My
highlights as a birder were a
Tree Creeper, Great Spotted
Woodpecker, Jay and Brambling
all seen in our garden this
morning. There was also a single
Pink Footed Goose amongst the
Greylags at Killiechronan, 23
Snipe at Dervaig, a Bar Tailed
Godwit at Salen with the
Whimbrel seen by the old boats.
A good number of Teal flew in to
roost on the north shore of Loch
Na Keal joining the large number
of Mallards and Wigeon already
there. Over 50 species of birds
were seen on my first day back
on Mull and it was lovely to be
out birding again if a little
cold in the afternoon.
Jan
2nd
We have returned to
Mull after a very good Christmas
with family and friends.
Jan
1st
A very happy new year to all
our guests and blog readers.
January 2018
Jan 31st
As regular readers know I have been a
Manchester
City supporter
since I was
eight years
old and at
last a Blue
moon rising.
(check photo
taken this
evening). We
went to
Calgary and
Cailaich today
and Pam saw
her first
Gannet of the
year from
Mull, I missed
it as I was
trying to find
a Jack Snipe
which I also
failed to
find. We
watched a
Golden Eagle
interacting
with a Buzzard
which was nice
to see as
Golden Eagles
have not been
seen about
much lately as
they don't
like to fly in
rain. Pam who
was certainly
in a spotting
mood today as
she saw a
Merlin flying
past as I was
negotiating
one of the
several
potholes which
have appeared
on Mulls roads
since the snow
and ice.
Jan
30th
A very quiet day spent
doing indoor chores as it was
seriously raining outside. We
now have 3 Bramblings in the
garden and at least 3
Yellowhammers and an overload of
Chaffinches.
Jan 29th
Trouble in Arthur's
world, Pam had an appointment
with the nurse in Salen and I in
my wisdom advised getting there
early, this was so I could go
birding. I dropped her off at 10
past 9 and went to pick her up
at half past 10 and she was
still waiting, I was left in no
doubt that she was not a happy
bunny. On the upside I did see
some nice birds whilst she was patiently
waiting (see what I did there)
firstly 2 Mistle Thrushes, birds
Pam has yet to see this year,
and I got a Photo just to rub it
in. I also got some nice Duck
pictures particularly the Wigeon
and Teal, the Goosander picture
is not as good but I liked the
Heron looking on in the
background. Whilst waiting for
Pam a pair of Bullfinches
flew into a tree near the car
park my first Bullfinches of the
year, again Pam has yet to see
any, but just to keep the peace
I won't refer to
this again although I think Bullfinches
are beautiful birds. A bit of
good news for Pam she might have
found us a new Sheltie puppy, I
will keep you informed, it is a
bit like the football transfer
window, negotiations on both
sides ongoing.
Jan
28th
A walk around our land
today where we had a very good
view of our neighbours
refurbished home, yes the local
White-tailede Sea Eagles have
nearly completed their new nest
and very impressive it looks.
one of the adult birds was
sitting at the top of the nest
tree and the other flew in and
gave us a very good sighting, it
now only remains to be hoped
that the new hydro plant
building traffic does not
disturb them, as it has been
going on all winter I don't
envisage any problems. On our
walk round we put up a couple of
Woodcock, it doesn't half make
you jump as they fly out of the
undergrowth from right under
your feet.
Jan 27th
We did the Big
Garden Birdwatch today
and I will list the birds seen
in our garden at Ardrioch. Blue
Tits (4), Great Tits (4), Coal
Tits (3), Treecreeper (1),
Chaffinches (140), Goldfinches
(24), Siskins (22), Greenfinches
(12), Bramblings (2) House Sparrows (5),
Yellowhammers (2), Robins (3),
Blackbirds (3), Dunnocks (6),
Collared Doves (2), Rock Doves
(23), Feral Pigeons (2), Common
Buzzard (1), Hooded Crow (1),
Jays (2), Great Spotted
Woodpecker (1). This was a total
of 21 species and 263 birds it
is no wonder that they are
eating us out of house and home
but what a privilege to watch
them and all their
idiosyncrasies and to know we
are helping them get through the
Winter months.
Jan
26th
Out and about and
another wildlife experience
between a White-tailed Sea Eagle
and an Otter. The tide was
coming in and I spotted the
White-tailed Eagle standing on a
rock sticking out of the water
and I then noticed that the dark
seaweed right by the Eagle was
in fact a sleeping Otter, it was
so close you could not have got
a piece of paper between them
which in itself is a little
unusual. As the tide came in the
Otter woke up and did a little
stretch before calmly standing
up, it proceeded to stroll past
the Eagle so close that the
Eagle jumped as if startled and
proceeded to fly off. The Otter
nonchalently wandered to the
edge of the rock and slid into
the water before gliding off
unconcerned. Just another Mull
wildlife encounter. When I got
home Pam informed me the
Brambling had returnrd in time
for the big garden birdwatch
tomorrow.
Jan 25th
Firsly I must thank
Jac and Mike for coming and
taking the old windows to the
tip in Mike's van another Winter
job out of the way. A trip round
the block with Pam this
afternoon and at one point
an unusual occurance of a lone
Long Tailed Tit in a tree with a
single Blue Tit, a single
Treecreeper, a Robin and a
Goldcrest, the first one for Pam
this year. We wondered if this
was the equivelent to our
singles nights. We had a great
time trying unsuccessfully to
find a Mistle Thrush in a field
full of Fieldfares although
there were a couple of Redwings
mixed in with them. On the way
back home we saw this Red Deer
stag close enough, for once, for
me to get a photograph.
Jan
24th
A Short finned Pilot
Whale has died and been washed
up on Calgary Beach, the whale
has been covered up by the Whale
and Dolphin Trust with help from
friends of Calgary Bay but this
has not stopped this first
winter Glaucous Gull finding a
good chunk of blubber to keep it
going for a few days.
Jan 23rd
Sometimes when out
wildlife watching the unexpected
can take your breath away and
that is what happened to me
today. I had stopped to check
out a White-tailed Sea Eagle
spot when a Kestrel hunting
caught my eye and just as I
focused my binoculars another
bird got up right under the
Kestel, it turned out to be a
female Hen Harrier and I watched
in awe as these two iconic
preditors hunted together over
the same piece of ground for
several minutes one above the
other. Presumably they were
looking for the same prey Voles
or Mice but it shows how hungry
theses birds get in Winter if
neither was prepared to give up
its hunting territory to the
other now the snow has gone.
Anyway whatever the reason I was
the beneficiary of a spectacular
piece of wildlife action, the
memory of which will stay with
me through the rest of the
Winter months.
Jan 22nd
Out and about today
and although the weather was
much warmer in temperature in
the wind and rain it still felt
very cold. As the water was very
rough it was difficult to see
any birds on the Lochs just on
the edges where the Mallards,
Teal, Wigeons and goosanders
were all taking cover in hidden
coves. I did see 1 White-tailed
Sea Eagle, note photo below and
some Red Deer. Other birds of
prey seen were a single Kestrel
and a Sparrowhawk that flew
across the road in front of the
car. My bird of the day was the
Glaucous Gull still in
Lagganulva Bay, it is a very
large Gull as you can see it is
much larger than the Herring
Gull next to it in the water.
Jan 21st
Frost and more snow =
ice. It gets a little warmer
although as the wind gets up it
does not feel any warmer = wind
chill. As it warms up the snow
turns to sleet and rain =
thawing but very slowly. After
lunch just rain and the snow and
ice on the ground starting to
disappear= faster thawing. Just
before dark heavy rain, a lot
warmer the snow and ice on the
yard has gone but still some on
the fields and with warmer
weather forcast overnight we
hope for a full thaw by morning
= I can get out wildlife
watching again. Hoorah! Don't
forget to fill up your bird
feeders this week as it is big
garden birdwatch at the
weekend. Please take part if
you can it is good fun and
provides scientific
information on the state of
our Winter birds.
Jan 20th
Today we braved the
ice and snow and went to Loch Na
Keal to look for the Little Gull
and Little Auk which had been
seen recently we were fortunate
to find the Little Auk but did
not see the Little Gull. We saw
4 Otters during the day, 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles and 4
Red Deer Stags and plenty of
Great-northern Divers. The
sewage outfalls provided us with
lots of birds and many species
all vying for food during this
very cold period. At
Killiechronan we saw lots of
Ringed and Golden Plovers always
nice birds to see. The
Goosanders and Red Breasted
Mergansers are now looking
beautifully resplendent in their
breeding plumage as Winter moves
on and Spring gets ever nearer.
Two other ways to tell Spring is
on the way, Great Tits have
started calling and we have
Primroses in bloom around the
house, yes Primroses in bloom a
sprinkle of Yellow colour
amongst the snow.
Jan
18th-19th
The weather is still
poor and not fit to venture out
in unless neccesary although
being stuck at home did have one
plus, I saw our local
Sparrowhawk fly through the
garden scattering the birds on
our feeders everywhere.
Jan 17th
Ventured out to
Calgary and beyond, it was a bit
hairy at Reudle but made it back
OK. Two Black Throated Divers in
Calgary Bay with the usual
Waders at Dervaig otherwise
little to report on the wildlife
front. Pam had made croissants
and home made Tomato soup for
lunch, it was yummy but man
there is an awful lot of butter
in a croissant and I ate four.
Jan
16th
Lots of Snow-Stayed in after
feeding the birds.
Jan 15th
Pam and I went to the
Knock Hatchery outfalls today in
freezing conditions with wintry
showers, we were hoping to find
the Gadwalls seen on the bird
count and thanks to Pam's
extreme vigilance we eventually
found the female bird. We also
saw Turnstones, Teal, Goldeneye,
Shelducks, all 4 of Mulls winter
Gulls plus the long staying
Glaucous Gull, Hooded Crows and
Starlings. We did get one
suprise as we reached the
outfalls we spotted an Otter on
some shingle and I managed a
photograph from a suitable
distance so as not to disturb
it. On our way home we saw a
second Glaucous Gull in
Lagganulva Bay. Back at home I
saw the Yellowhammer in the
garden that Pam had seen a few
days ago and managed a nice
photo of it for confirmation.
Jan
14th
No wildlife watching
today
as we were still
getting over being cold and wet
yesterday but we did get my 2018
bird list up and running so you
can check that out on line.
Jan 13th
It was not the best
weather for a bird count
very windy and light
rain all day my least favorite
conditions. As a club we did
very well as the conditions
deterred all but the most hardy
birders and we managed a total
of 81 species of birds in the
day, the same as last year. Pam
and I had a great day seeing 63
species in total which included
7 new species for my Mull year
list. The highlight bird was
certainly the Red Necked
Grebe seen on Loch
Scridain, a bird rarely seen on
Mull. Other firsts for the year
were Merlin, Whooper Swans,
Tufted Ducks, Fieldfare,
Kittiwakes and Razorbills.
We missed our friends Nick and
Catherine , John and Jo who
normally join us for the count
but unfortunately they have all
had the colds and flu which is
rife on Mull at the moment, Nick
has been particularly badly hit
and is still far from well after
more than 3 weeks, we wish him a
speedy recovery.
Jan
12th
A day with no wildlife
watching very unusual for me but
I am saving up my time for the
Mull bird club bird count which
is tomorrow and Pam and I are
going to the South of the Island
as it was not covered in last
years count so it means a very
early start for us.
Jan 11th
The day started cold
only -4degrees when I started
the car at 5-15am to go on an
Owl hunt. In 2 minutes I had
seen a Barn Owl, it was
the local one to us over the
road from the White-tailed Sea
Eagle nest. I drove round very
slowly because of the conditions
and saw absolutely nothing for
the next 2 hours except 5 Red
Deer and 3 Rabbits. We went
round to our lovely neighbours
John and Jo's for morning coffee
and a catch up chat and had some
of Jo's excellent scones. Our
other great neighbours and
friends Nick and Catherine have
both been laid up with Flu, Nick
has been particularly unwell so
we have yet to see him this
year. Nick and Catherine usually
go on the Isle of Mull bird
count with us but this year it
looks like it will be just us,
if it takes place on Saturday as
the weather looks very poor.
Jan 10th
A trip around the
block this afternoon which
brought me 2 new birds for my
Mull year list, at last Ringed
Plovers there were 2 of
them at Lainne Sguerr near
Calgary and a Mistle Thrush
in a field with Redwings, a
Song Thrush and a Chaffinch at
Torloisk. On my way round I took
this poor photograph of Ben More
in evening sunshine with its
snow capped peak. We now have
new windows in Inch Hame the
larger of our 2 self-catering
cottages so now guests will get
an even better view of our
garden birds. The Shieling had
new windows fitted a few years
ago so now both cottages are
cosy and warm. I had to help our
builder lift the large window
into place so birding was
somewhat limited today.
Jan 9th
A very windy day with
everything hiding even the Ducks
were on shore so as not having
to battle the waves. I tried
walking but it was a case of 1
step forward 2 steps back, but
everyone loves a trier or so I
have been told. There were 4 Bar
Tailed Godwits with Curlews and
Oystercatchers at Killiechronan
at high tide all with their long
bills tucked into their
feathers, trying to keep warm
and also keep their balance,
none of them were standing on
one leg. There were lots of
Ducks particularly Teal looking
quite funny as they shuffled up
and down on large rocks next to
the sea, acting a bit like
Emperor Penguins at the
Antarctic trying to keep warm. I
must admit it felt a bit Arctic
here with the wind chill when
according to the car temperature
gauge it was 7 degrees at one
time.
Jan 8th
A quieter day after
the big day yesterday although I
did go to Cailaich for my daily
walk, Pam stayed at home as she
was coming down with a cold, I
hope it does not turn into the
flu which is currently
circulating round the Island and
is quite dibillitating. The walk
was excellent in spite of the
fact that the wildlife was at a
premium. There were 4 Redwings
which kept flying up the road in
front of me, a handfull of
Greylag Geese, the usual Shags
and Oystercatchers, Herring
Gulls and a Curlew. The only
really unusual spot were 11 Teal
in the bay which although not
rare on Mull only occasionally
do you get to see them in
Cailaich Bay.
Jan 7th
A lovely day and so we took the
opportunity
to go down to the Ross
of Mull with friends. During the
day we saw lots of Red Deer, 2
Otters, 2 White-tailed Sea
Eagles, a Golden Eagle and a
female Hen Harrier. It was the
smaller birds I was after
though, as many of my guest know
I love looking for the little
birds and Wading birds and all
in we did very well. On the
Wader front we saw a single Golden
Plover, it is unusual to
see them on their own, and a
flock of 17 flying Lapwings.
Little Birds seen included
around 20 Reed Buntings
seen at 3 different sites with
11 at one sit the most I have
ever seen together. There was a
field full of small bird feeding
like mad, mostly Chaffinches and
Rock Pipits but there were
several Meadow Pipits
amongst them and a single Pied
Wagtail. There were lots
of Rooks and Jackdaws
which we had expected to see but
no Ringed Plovers or Tufted
Ducks which was a shame. A bird
we did see however was Common
Crossbill in fact we saw
3, it took me nearly all year to
see one in 2017 but this year 3
in the first week.
Jan 6th
Today we did a walk
from the Episcopalian church at
Gruline to the Salmon Hatchery
at Knock, it was a lovely day
for a walk and we saw some good
stuff. Firstly we came upon a
small flock of Long tailed
Tits, always amusing with
their antics and balancing acts.
As we reached the track down to
the hatchery we heard and then
spotted a Treecreeper
climbing a tree looking for
food, there was a horse close by
covered in a bright orange
blanket which it certainly
needed to keep out the cold. At
the hatchery the area was filled
with Gulls at the sewage
outfalls and we were lucky to
find a first winter Glaucous
Gull amongst all the other
feeding Gulls, notice the the
white wing tips which are the
give away. On our way back home
there were at least 12 Snipe
at Dervaig, then it was home for
a much needed late lunch.
Jan 5th
We had the Jay back
in the garden today yet another
returning bird so our garden
species number are creeping back
up to near normal as the
resident Hooded Crow also put in
an appearance. Todays walk, yes
we are going on daily walks now
to try and keep fit and to
remove (Christmas excess), was
at Calgary Bay where the views
were beautifull and the small
birds were enjoying flitting in
and out of the seaweed on the
shore looking for food. There
were a lot of Rock Pipits, a
Stonechat, Wren and Grey
Wagtail and in the trees
by the toilets I saw a single Goldcrest.
The birds marked in bold are
new ones for me this year on
Mull.
Jan 4th
Since we have come
home from visiting our children
over the Christmas period the
birds have steadily been
returning to our garden feeders
and yesterday it was the turn of
the Brambling to
re-appear, I was not very
hopefull it would return so I
was pleasantly supprised. On a
walk to the nearby Loch I saw
Wigeon, Goldeneye, Greenshank,
Redshank, Curlew, all three of
Mull's regular Gulls and a Grey
Heron. This afternoon I went to
Tobermory to fill the car up
with fuel and to buy some more
feed for the birds, I swear they
eat better than us ,well it
costs nearly as much to feed
them as it does to feed
ourselves but with Big
Garden Birdwatch coming up
later in the month it should be
worth it. Please take part in
The Big Garden Birdwatch, it is
good fun and provides very good
scientific data, check out the
RSPB web-site.
Jan 3rd
Today looked as if it
was going to be a very quiet one
wildlife watching wise, on my
way into the garage to fill up
the mini-van and give it a much
needed wash I saw nothing but a
couple of Hooded Crows, even the
bird seed shop was closed. On my
way back home I did manage a
Greenshank, a Goosander and some
Greylag Geese at Dervaig but no
Snipe. Apart from a Buzzard and
Shags an Oystercatcher,2 Rock
Pipits and Hoodies again there
was little at Cailaich in the
afternoon apart from a few
Gulls. The highlight of the day
was at Calgary where there was a
single Great Northern Diver and
a beautiful Black Throated
Diver which made the
short trip from Ardrioch so
worthwhile.
Jan 2nd
This morning it poured
down with rain although after
lunch it dried up enough for me
to take Pam to see if the Glossy
Ibis was still around as she
missed out a couple of days ago.
Fortunately just as we arrived
at its favorite spot it flew in
with 4 Greylag Geese and we got
some very good view if a little
distant, if you try to get close
to this bird it spooks and
readers know my views on
disturbance, anyway, Pam has now
seen the bird and I have it for
my 2018 Mull bird list. Other
birds seen were Wigeon,
Greenshank and our regular over
wintering whimbrel at Salen. Now
we are back on Mull and feeding
the birds again the garden is
beginning to fill up, it never
ceases to amaze me how quick the
word gets around when we come
back.
Jan 1st
New years Day birding
on the Isle of Mull for the
first time in years. The day
started in pretty poor
conditions with heavy rain and
just 2 degrees but it improved
after coffee break so we had a
fantastic day out.
A total of 10 different Otters
were seen all were solitary but
we got some great views. Red and
Fallow Deer were seen as were
Common Seals but today was all
about the birds. At the start of
the day we saw an Iceland
Gull at Killiechronan
along with Common Gulls, Herring
Gulls, Great Black-Backed Gulls
and Black Headed Gulls. On the
wader front, Turnstones,
Curlews, Oystercatchers,
Redshank and Bar-tailed Godwits
were seen. Slavonian Grebe,
Great Northern Diver, Red
Breasted Merganser, Goosander,
Mallard, Teal, Goldeneye,
Shelduck, Cormorant and Shag
were seen on the water. It was
however the birds of prey that
were the highlight of the day
with a male Hen Harrier
and Perigrine Falcon
being the standouts although Golden
Eagles were also seen well
as were the White-tailed sea
Eagles, Kestrel and of
course Buzzards. In a total of
53 bird species seen other
notable ones were Redwings,
Barnacle Geese and
several Woodcock seen
on our way back home, a great
start to our wildlife watching
in 2018 on Mull.
January 2017
Jan
28th to Jan
31st
Down
in Cheshire....
Jan
27th
Barn
Owl box
cleaning out
day and 2 Barn
Owls flew out
one of them
leaving a
calling card
over our
friend Andy's
shoulder. It
is good to
know we still
have a pair of
Barn Owls in
this box which
has been up
now for 10
years. There
is no hope for
the other box
which fell
victim of
earlier winter
storms, so I
have
commissioned
for a new one
to be built. I
finished
strimming the
orchard today
and we hope at
least one of
the trees
produces fruit
this year. No
sign of
Brambling or
Waxwing in our
garden this
year but we
keep looking
and maybe
there is still
time for some
to appear this
winter.
Jan
26th
Very windy
and feeling perishingly cold
and I spent a good part of the
day strimming in the orchard
so that the bracken around the
solar panels can be more
controlled in the summer. This
afternoon I took Pam to look
for and find the Jack Snipe.
We actually saw two birds the
first I nearly trod on before
it flew up from under my feet.
The other bird flew off from
in front of Pam giving her an
excellent view.
Jan 25th
Pam and I
took Sally our dog on a 4 mile
walk early this morning, 4
miles is about as far as her
little legs will take her and
Sally can't go much further
either. On the walk we saw a
distant Golden Eagle flying
along a ridge in its
territory, it is always good
to see that the Eagles are
still on territory in the
Winter as we then know where
to look out for them for our
guests in the Summer. There
were a few Red Deer out and
about in the early morning and
I took this photo of one
before it crossed the road in
front of us and dissapeared
into the forest. Redshank,
Greenshank and Snipe the usual
Waders were in the bay at
Dervaig and the Kingfisher is
being seen there on a regular
basis.
Jan 24th
The weather
has been set fair for some
time now and so I decided to
go and look for Crossbills, I
went for a walk at Fishnish
and discovered the trees on
one side of the forest track
had been felled, less trees
for Crossbills which I failed
to find but I got views I had
never seen before. On my way
home I saw 3 Golden Eagles,
this is a majestic, iconic,
bird that should be on any
wildlife watchers must see in
the wild list. I am very
fortunate to see this bird on
a regular basis living on Mull
as I do, but even though I see
them often I am still in awe
of this bird.
Jan 23rd
A fun day
today, NOT, I had to visit the
dentist for more root
treatment, now it only, ONLY,
has to be capped. As I
could not feel most of my face
after the treatment even I did
not feel like wildlife
watching. Our dentist is
retiring at the end of
February, Hoorah, seriously
though Mr Price has been a
dentist on Mull for 30 years
and we have been very lucky to
have had such a good dentist
and I wish him all the best in
his retirment.
Jan 22nd
It was the
day after the great party of
last night, yes you can get
too much of a good thing. Was
it worth it? too right it was
but as they say you must pay
for your pleasure and I am
paying today, now where are
the paracetamols. We had a
great view of a Tawny Owl in a
tree in our garden this
evening, another bird for the
Mull year list.
Jan 21st
A quiet day
with little or no birding,
getting the body and mind
ready for a party at friends
next door. I did go out to
feed the birds in our garden
and took a photo of some of
the Snowdrops in the garden
and then spotted this Primrose
growing out of some sheltered
rocks near the house. It is
January the 21st and Primroses
are appearing and the esteemed
new American president is
going to bring back coal
mining, so much for our
childrens futures and that of
wildlife in general.
Jan 20th
A day
birding with friends Alan
'Mullbirds' Spellman and
Jaquie Murphy and although it
was cold we had a very nice
day out. Contrary to some
oppinions on Mull, 8
Meadow Pipits were seen with a
Grey Wagtail in water by a
manure tip which was really
welcome as the rest of this
area near Fidden was almost
bird free and it used to be a
fantastic winter visiting
site. We had some good views
of Rooks and 5 Tufted Ducks
but sighting of the day were
Common Scoters, we saw three
in total with two fairly
close, close enough to see the
yellow bills. Pam's home made,
very hot, Tomato soup was very
welcome as were her spotting
skills. In the day we had a
brilliant Golden Eagle
sighting, 2 White-tailed Sea
Eagles and 4 Otters but it was
really just a birding day with
mates, I can't wait for the
next one.
Jan 19th
Yesterday
the Yellowhammer came to our
garden for the first time this
year, today it was the Jay
putting in a guest appearance.
This morning Pam and I went at
high tide to look for Purple
Sandpipers at Lainne Sgier and
were lucky to spot one, even
though it was very tricky to
find, in the end after it
realised it had been spotted
it came out to give us good
views. Our White-tailed Sea
Eagle flew very close over
Pam's head this morning nearly
causing an eclipse and then
she saw the local Sparrowhawk.
At Cailaich Point this
afternoon I saw a Merlin, the
second one in a week, pretty
good going, well at least I
think it is. To complete a
great day I saw 8 Common Snipe
at Cailaich and then what I
had gone to see a Jack Snipe
took off right in front of me,
yep another Wow moment.
Jan 18th
A walk
round Aros Park this morning
yielded little in the way of
wildlife except for Goldeneye
and Mallards on the Loch and a
party of Long Tailed Tits, and
Blue Tits in the trees. Back
at Ardrioch we had a
Yellowhammer return to the
garden providing us with a bit
of colour and me a new bird
for my year list. Pam put her
scope up in the bedroom and
watched our local White-tailed
Sea Eagle sitting out the
drizzle. In the afternoon I
went out and dug a hole,
boring I know but it had to be
done.
Jan 17th
Pam had a
group of ladies round this
afternoon so I took Sally out
for another mud bath, this
time we went to Calgary and
the walk to and beyond the
pier. Although there was
little in the way of wildlife
there were 2 Great Northern
Divers in the Bay and a
White-tailed sea Eagle flew
across the Bay in front of us.
I took a picture of this Great
Black Backed Gull and another
of the Bay itself. On arriving
back home the mudpack that had
once been our dog was put in
quarantine to protect the
furnature, isn't it great the
way dogs clean themselves up,
she must be getting really
soft skin, watch out Olay.
Jan 16th
An early
morning drive out in the mist
and drizzle was rewarded with
a sighting of a Barn Owl on a
post by the road looking very
miserable. I had a very good
sighting of a female Hen
Harrier just across the road
this morning as I was taking
Sally, our dog for a mud bath,
it was supposed to be for a
walk but it is so wet and
muddy at the moment she
changed colour. I saw one of
our local wrens this morning
another bird on my Mull year
list. I took a photo of a
Great Spotted Woodpecker and a
Blackbird, both in our garden.
Jan 15th
A warm,
calm day with drizzle rain all
day. In spite of the rain we
went out with friends for a 3
hour trip around the middle of
the Island. A total of 4
Otters were seen including a
mother with 2 cubs, Red Deer
and Seals were also seen
through the misty conditions.
2 White-tailed Sea Eagles were
also seen with corvids
probably on a carcase. There
were two really good sightings
today, the first a Merlin
sitting on telegraph wires and
then hunting, chasing small
waders at an estuary, a
fantastic sighting and worth
going out in poor weather. The
other good sighting was of a
Pink Footed Goose in a field
with Greylags, look for the
smaller Goose with the dark
head in the photograph.
Jan 14th
A lovely
calm day with no rain, perfect
conditions for the Mull bird
club bird count. A total of 81
birds were seen in north and
central Mull which was one up
on last year when the whole of
Mull was covered. I got 7 new
birds for my Mull year list
including the Dervaig
Kingfisher, in our team we
also saw White-tailed Sea
Eagle, Golden Eagle, 2 Hen
Harriers, Red Deer and 3
Otters and some Porpoise, the
last three did not count in
the total. Long-tailed Tits
and Goldcrest were good spots
as was Pam's Ringed Plover
spot but my favorite sighting
of the day was the large flock
of Golden Plover. Bird of the
day had to be Grey Plover not
seen by us but a very good
find on Mull.
Jan 13th
Friday the
13th is considered unlucky in
some quarters and it certainly
was for our local Barn Owls as
one of the trees with the
boxes in fell down in last
nights gales, if the box can
be saved we will re-site it.
On a trip round bird activity
was in short supply and the
tide miles out but there were
4 juvenile White-tailed Sea
Eagles on the beach at
Killiechronan. Today in the
garden it was a party for the
Chaffinches with over 120 in
attendance, as always there
were also a few gate crashers.
Jan 12th
Sleet and
snow, wind and rain and then
gales what more could you ask
for on a January day in
Scotland. The birds in our
garden were really grateful
for our feeders today and
there were at least 80
Chaffinches at one time but no
Brambling as yet. We saw our
first Starlings of the year
today as we had to go to
Tobermory and there were some
going to roost at Balisgate.
We came home, battened down
the hatches and waited for the
overnight storms, we certainly
got one but fortunately no
snow at Dervaig. The photo is
of Ben More taken from Reudle
showing the snow line through
the sleet.
Jan 11th
Winter is
approaching, today it is cold,
wet and very windy and I spent
the morning digging a hole to
get to my neighbours water
pipe. I found the joint and
got the experts in, my mates
from across the fields, one of
whom is a retired heating
engineer and we managed to fix
the the problem and now my
neighbour has got water again.
If you are wondering why she
did not get our local water
authority in, it is
because we all have a private
water supply on our side of
the Loch.
Jan 10th
I was going
to have a good day birding
today before the Winter
weather returns but my
neighbour was having water
problems again so I spent the
morning trying to put it
right. We have found the
problem and tomorrow we will
hopefully get it repaired.
This afternoon I managed an
hours birding before dusk and
although I did not see a lot I
did get a good sighting of a
male Hen Harrier hunting. We
had 2 Great Spotted
Woodpeckers in the garden at
the same time today, it is the
first time we have had two at
the same time as far as I can
recollect.
Jan 9th
We went to
Tobermory today and saw a
Black Guilliemot in the bay
another new bird for my Mull
year list. I had an idea in my
head that I had a dentist
appointment for Thursday this
week but it was actually
today, so I missed it, I don't
like doing that as it costs
the health service and I was
in Tobermory. It was a genuine
mistake but I can have no
excuses.
Jan 8th
Another
driech day and a drive over
the hill road to Torlooisk and
then Ulva and on to Knock and
a walk with Sally, our
Sheltie, to the Salmon
hatchery sewage outfalls. Nine
new birds for my Mull year
list today taking my year list
to 63 birds and you can find
all I have seen on my Mull
Bird
List
2017. Highlights
today were Red Grouse,
Turnstones and a Carrion Crow,
they were all new for the
year. We also saw some good
Duck flocks including Golden
eye and Teal.
Jan 7th
Drizzle and
driech but we took the dog for
a walk to Calgary. In the sea
were 2 Divers, one a Great
Northern and the other a
Black-throated, a good bird to
find so early in the season.
There were 24 Snipe, an
unusually hight count at
Dervaig along with the usual
Redshanks and Greenshanks.
Today we saw Ringed Plover for
the first time this ear and a
Great spotted Woodpecker was
seen on the nut feeders in the
garden. As I write this blog
we are hearing a Tawny Owl in
the trees near the road.
Jan 6th
A Cautionary Tale
Bumped the
van last September, if you can
all remember
Damaged the rear door and
fender, so took it to the
fender mender
New door and fender for my
dough, but to my horror no
back window.
None the less I shelved my
doughts, closed the door, the
window fell out.
No-one would accept the blame,
which I thought was quite a
shame,
Temper lost, like my hair, the
insurance agreed to the
repair.
Although we had to cry and
moan, today we fetched the van
back home.
3 months of fall-outs and of
mix-ups, the van is now
completly fixed-up.
Jan 5th
Today was a
very good day both weatherwise
and also for wildlife
watching. Mammals seen were
Rabbits in our garden, several
Red Deer on the hillsides, 3
Fallow Deer and 3 Otters at
seperate sites, not bad
methinks. Birds seen were a
Golden Eagle interacting with
2 Buzzards and another one
seen at one of our hotspots
being chased by an unconfirmed
bird of prey. Other notable
bird sightings were Barnacle
Geese on Inch Kenneth, an
Iceland Gull on Loch Na keal,
Long Tailed Tits and Whimbrel
at Salen, Golden Plover and
Bar Tailed Godwits at
Killiechronan and a Stonechat
at Ulva Ferry. I could have
taken some good photos today
but when I took out my camera
I remembered I had not taken
the battery out of the charger
so my camera was as usefull as
a chocolate fireguard.
Jan 4th
A welcome home fly past by a
White-tailed Sea Eagle got the
day off to a great start this
morning and this was shortly
followed by a visit to our
garden by a very active
Treecreeper. On my way up to
check our water supply I
nearly bumped into a Woodcock
but it took off just before I
strod on it scaring me half to
death. We got reaquainted with
some of our regular garden
species today and saw
Goldeneye, Red Breasted
Mergansers, Wigeon and
Greenshank on a walk down to
the Loch. This afternoon we
went out to lunch at the
Bellachroy in the village with
more guests who have become
friends and Mull regulars,
Jeff and Debs Steed, what a
lovely way to spend our first
afternoon back on Mull.
Congratulations to Anthony and
Christine from the Bellachroy
who have got into the Michelin
good food guide, well done and
well deserved.
January 2016
Jan
31st
The
calm after the
storm and Pam
took our dog
Sally over the
road to the
Loch and
watched an
Otter and 16
bird species.
I went out and
about and saw
5 White-tailed
Sea Eagles in
total, over 20
Great Northern
Divers, 24
Golden Plovers
at
killiechronan,
8 Goosanders,
6 Greenshank,
a Dipper at
Knock Bridge
and my first
Black
Guillimots of
the year with
3 in
Lagganulva
Bay. There was
a Kingfisher
seen again at
Dervaig this
morning but as
usual I missed
it in the
afternoon.
Jan 30th
The
aftermath of storm Gertrude so
we stayed indoors and did the
RSPB big garden birdwatch.
Birds seen were Chaffinches
80, Greenfinches 6,
Goldfinches 7, Blackbirds 3,
Coal Tit 3, Collared Dove 2,
Rock Dove 27, Blue Tit 4,
Great Tit 2,Dunnock 3, House
Sparrow 3, Robin 2, Kestrel,
Buzzard and Hooded Crow. A
Sparrowhawk flew through but
we missed it but all the birds
dissapeared for a while and
the poor weather put off the
Jay,Treecreeper, Siskins and
Yellowhammers which have been
regular visitors recently.
Jan 29th
Only one
word to describe todays
weather Gertrude, however
the seas were spectacular.
I spent the afternoon
re-cataloging my C.D.
collection.
Jan 28th
It rained,
heavily, I'm not that daft I
stayed in and watched it
through the windows and saw
the Brambling and 4
Yellowhammers.
Jan 27th
Spent
most of the
day in the
garden but I
did manage to
see a flock of
about 10 Long
tailed Tits
fly into and
almost
immeadiately
out of the
garden. We had
our kestrel
hovering over
us again today
and our
regular
Buzzard put in
an appearance.
I saw the
Treecreeper
again today
and on a brief
trip to the
end of Loch
Cuin at
Dervaig took
this picture
of a Herring
Gull with a
Red Breasted
Merganser. The
weather today
was much
improved it
did not rain
all day and
for a second
or two I saw
blue sky.
Jan 26th
Today was
to put it mildly wet and windy
and you would think nobody in
their right mind would go out
wildlife watching but I did,
so I must be out of my mind.
What did he see in such awful
weather I hear you asking
yourselves, hmm 2 White-tailed
Sea Eagles flying in circles
around each other in drizzle
on gale force winds. A
fantastic view of a ghostly
male Hen Harrier, difficult to
see at first with its grey
back against a very grey
backdrop, this is where the
black wing tips come in handy.
An Otter struggling through
high waves being driven in on
the winds, this remarkable
creature then started fishing
and yes catching fish. Red
Deer, Grey Seals and other
birds were seen and I had a
really good day out.Still
think i'm out of my mind.....
probably.
Jan 25th
What a day
rain and wind and I had to
stay in but as I was talking
to my Dad on the phone I saw
our Tree Creeper through the
office window, Pam has seen it
on several occasions but until
today it had illuded me. After
the rain stopped I went to
Dervaig and I saw a female Hen
Harrier hunting, a Buzzard, a
White-tailed Sea Eagle, a
small flock of Wigeon, Little
Grebe, Greenshanks, Redshanks
and Greylag Geese. Home again
and back to work in the garden
and somehow Pam had managed to
turn off the aga so it took
ages to toast my bread for
lunch.
Jan 24th
I went out
birding today in the worst
conditions possible, low
cloud, rain and wind. Although
I did not see much in the way
of our super star species I
did add 2 more species to my
Mull year list, firstly Canada
Geese, there were several in a
field at Killiechronan mixed
with Greylag Geese, then on
returning home my first
Yellowhammer of the year in
our garden. It briefly stopped
raining this afternoon so it
was out working in the garden
for me and contiued up dating
the web site for Pam.
Jan 23rd
I took our
Sheltie ( Shetland Sheepdog )
to the vets to have its micro
chip fitted as this is to
become law in Scotland in
April, I have to say she was
no trouble and did not even
wince. Not satisfied with just
giving her the implant the vet
decided she needed a booster
jab, Sally the dog, not the
vet and so she will have to go
back in a fortnight for
another injection, we decided
it best not to tell her. I
stopped and bought some more
bird seed on my way home in
preparation for the RSPB big
garden birdwatch next weekend.
Jan 22nd
A day spent
at home working after last
nights monsoon had stopped, so
apart from birds in the garden
, note the Jay photo, I have
little to report.
Jan 21st
I was right
it definitely was the morning
after the night before. I trip
to see our friend Alan
Mullbirds Spellman today, he
has always been a good
sounding board for us
regarding our web-site and
gave some thoughts to consider
today. On our way home Pam saw
her first Dipper of the year
on the Aros river and we saw 2
pairs of White-tailed Sea
Eagles, the first pair looking
particularly miserable in the
rain, the other pair just off
hunting as the rain had
stopped.
Jan 20th
A trip
round the block with Pam and
we had a good sighting of 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles flying
off Treshnish Point and a few
Gannets flying between Mull
and Coll, my first Gannets of
the year. Nearing Dervaig on
our way back home we saw a
juvenile Golden Eagle, a
female Hen Harrier and a
couple of Buzzards. Over the
house on our return was a
kestrel which we are seeing
here most days now. This
evening we went to our friends
Nick and Catherines house to
celebrate Nicks birthday, we
had a lovely evening but I am
sure we will pay for it
tomorrow.
Jan 19th
It stopped
raining and I found myself
back in the garden but not
before a trip into Tobermory
where I saw 8 Whooper Swans on
the Mishnish Lochs and managed
to photograph the 3 closer
ones. There were 4 Snipe and 2
Greenshank at Dervaig and also
an unusually large count of 75
Common Gulls and only a
single, lonely, Herring Gull
which looked like it had been
sent to coventry by the Common
Gulls as it was standing all
alone on a large rock.
Jan 18th
A day of
constant rain and I took a
trip to my water supply dam
which was overflowing and
making a wetland habitat which
is OK by me but Sally our dog
hates it. Sally and I took a
tour of our perimiter fence to
check there were no breaks and
disturbed a Woodcock my first
seen this year. This afternoon
I dragged Pam for an hour at
Cailaich and although we did
not see a lot in the drizzle a
female Merlin flew in and
perched for a few seconds
before flying away again. This
evening, still in the rain we
went on an Owl hunt along the
road by the river Bellart and
spotted a Barn Owl on a post
wondering if the rain was ever
going to stop. At home today I
had a great view of our Jay
but did not manage a photo but
I was more lucky with our
Brambling and got one shot,
nice Blue Tit as well.
Jan 17th
A beautiful
day and I stayed home in case
the Brambling returned so I
could get a photograph, sods
law it did not put in an
appearance but the Jay did
although it flew off before I
could even pick up my camera.
It was said on the news this
morning that men are lazy on
Sundays, so who am I to buck
this trend.
Jan 16th
A cold,
windy and snow showery day,
not the best weather for the
Isle of Mull bird club annual
winter bird count, in the
event 80 species of birds were
seen, not a record count but
the most species for many
years, well done to all the
bird club members who braved
the conditions and did
extraordinarily well. Pam and
I along with our friends and
neighbours Nick and Catherine
saw the most species with a
total of 64. We did not see a
White-tailed Eagle but were
the only group to see Golden
Eagles, we also saw 6 Otters
two of which ran across the
road in front of us, which
shows why so many Otters are
run over on Mull if you drive
fast. I saw 3 new birds fo my
year list a Brambling in our
garden, a Dipper at Aros and 2
Pied Wagtails so a good day
all round.
Jan 15th
Our land
line phone is put of order and
being fixed on monday so if
you need to contact us please
use our mobile 07780600367. A
kestrel hovered over our
garden today, not an unusual
bird on Mull but rarely seen
from the house. It was not so
cold today so more gardening,
I don't get what so many of
you get out of gardening, me I
just get a sore back. I went
to Tobermory this afternoon to
fill up the bus in preparation
for tomorrows bird club bird
count, we are going with our
friends and hope to have a lot
of fun and laughter.
Jan 14th
After the
overnight snow and frost the
views from Ardrioch were
spectacular but the under foot
conditions were treacherous so
I thought it prudent to stay
home today. Pam continued to
make the Roman Blinds for the
new kitchen in Inch Hame and
from the occasional expletive
I heard proved it might not be
as easy as she thought. Pam
being a woman can of course
multi task and whilst sewing
and cooking still managed to
find our first Siskin visiting
the garden this year, another
new bird for my year list.
Jan 13th
a cold
frosty start to our day out
with our friends Jaquie and
Mike down to the south of Mull
and as expected I picked up
some new birds for my year
list. We found about 20 Golden
Plovers in a mixed flock with
Lapwings and Curlews, Rooks
and Jackdaw in a field near
Fionnphort and a Tufted Duck
on Loch Pottie. Birds we did
not expect to see were 4
Razorbills, 2 Guillemots and 2
Kittiwakes on Loch Scridain,
all new birds for my year
list. We had brilliant views
of Golden Eagles and Otters,
Hen Harrier and White-tailed
Eagles were also seen as were
Great Northern Divers and Red
Breasted Mergansers. A total
of 49 bird species and 3
Mammals were seen on a very
good if somewhat cold and wet
day. Thanks to Jac and Mike
for their company and the
wildlife for their presence.
Jan 12th
A cold
wintry day with a lot of rain
and wind so not much to see
except Great Northern Divers,
Red Breasted Mergansers and a
Slavonian grebe on Loch Na
Keal. We went to the
Bellachroy Inn tonight with
Chrissie our house Sitter and
had a fantastic meal, the best
meal out for some time. Thanks
to Anthony, Christine and
particularly the chef for such
a fantastic dinner, it cheered
us up no end and was just what
we needed after our traumatic
weekend.
Jan 11th
A day of
remembering and feeling a
little down, just did a bit in
the garden to be close to
Sally who was also missing her
companion.
Jan 10th
A very sad
day at Ardrioch as our older
Sheltie dog Misty had a stroke
and had to be put to sleep,
she was 13 years old and apart
from being speyed she had
never had to visit a vet so it
came as a bit of a shock.
Those of you who met Misty
would know she was a one off,
did her own thing but was one
of the family and Pam and I
and Sally our younger Sheltie
are going to miss her.
 
Jan 9th
A lovely
day after another frost last
night and Pam and I went out
looking for the Iceland gull
at the Knock hatchery again,
this time we were successful,
not only did we see the
Iceland Gull but also a pair
of Gadwall ducks not a bird we
see too often on Mull. We went
to look if there were any
Barnacle Geese on Inch Kenneth
and found a flock much closer
on a field by the Inch Kenneth
boat house. On our way home we
saw a small flock of Fieldfare
winter visiting Thrushes from
Scandanavia. We saw 6 Otters
today and my first Golden
Eagle of the year. All in all
a very good day out.
Jan 8th
Winter is
here we woke up to a frost and
bright sky. I went for a walk
to Croig this morning and saw
my first Otter of 2016, I
managed to get reasonably
close and was able to get a
couple of photos before it
went too far away although it
continued fishing for some
time. Before returning home to
the dreaded gardening I
slipped to Calgary and saw a
lovely little Goldcrest, a
bird I usually struggle to
find but not this year. The
resident pair of Song Thrushes
were in attendance as was the
Great Northern Diver always a
nice bird to see. As I write
this blog I have just come in
from the garden, my back aches
so do my arms and legs so I am
now off for a hot radox bath,
bliss.
Jan 7th
The mini
drought broke last night with
heavy rain which continued
through the morning before
drying up in the afternoon. I
went to Tobermory before lunch
to fuel the car but really to
look for wildlife but due to
the rain there was very little
about. I saw a single male
Goldeneye on the Mishnish
Lochs and another on Loch Torr
and the only new bird for my
Mull year list was a
bedraggled looking Mistle
Thrush. This afternoon I spent
a good deal of time in the
garden hey ho no day is
perfect. This evening we went
out looking for Owls and did
not find any, hey ho no
evening is perfect, will try
again soon.
Jan 6th
Yet another
dull dry day but with a strong
breeze and Pam and I went to
Cailaich which was somewhat
dissapointing with very little
about although we did see some
Redwings on our way back.
Ringed Plover at Calgary were
my first of the year and there
was a nice pair of Song
Thrushes on the Calgary camp
site. My other new birds for
the year today were Stonechat,
Wren and House Sparrows. This
afternoon Pam was preparing
the new Kitchen for painting
and I was clearing up in the
garden, not my favorite
occupation but needs must as
the saying goes.
Jan 5th
A lovely
day if a little dull, so I
went out looking for an
Iceland Gull which had been
seen at the Knock hatchery
sewage outfalls and although I
did not find the Gull I did
see lots of Redshank and
Turnstones there. Also seen at
Knock were Black Headed Gulls
with all the usual Mull
species of Gull, some Teal and
Goldeneye and believe it or
not my first Mallards on Mull
this year. Returning home via
Killiechronan I saw 4
Goosanders, 3 Bar Tailed
Godwits and a pair of
Shelduck. In Lagganulva Bay
there were at least 10
Lapwings but by this time I
was in a hurry to catch the
bank bus in The Bellachroy car
park and not wanting trouble
from the boss had to leave in
a rush. At the hatchery I saw
my first White-tailed Eagles
of the year as two juveniles
flew over scattering all the
birds, great sight to see.
Jan 4th
A warmer
calmer day so out I went
leaving Pam mopping the kichen
floors at Ardrioch before she
starts cleaning the
Self-catering in Inch Hame
which now has a brand new
Kitchen. I had a great
sighting of both a male and
female Hen Harrier today as
well as a pair of Kestrels
which seemed to be pair
bonding, something to do with
the Spring type weather we are
having. Redwings in a field at
Torloisk were a nice spot as
were the Turnstones again at
the same place I saw them
yesterday but there were 2
Purple Sandpipers there as
well today. My trip finished
at Dervaig with 8 Snipe, 3
Greenshank and 2 Redshank.
Stunning views today seeing
the Outer Hebridies well from
Reudle. When I got home Pam
told me she had seen 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles, a Hen
Harrier, a Kestrel, Buzzard
and Sparrowhawk from the
kitchen window as she was
mopping the floors, I think it
was a case of more birding
than mopping, but I must admit
on days like today working is
a bit of a chore. Before you
all feel to sorry for Pam I
had to work all afternoon on
our water supply and me with
an awful case of Man Flu.
Jan 3rd
A dull but
mainly dry day and Pam and I
went out for an hour to see
what was about and the answer
was very little. As always
there were plenty of Buzzards,
a few Hooded Crows, Ravens and
Starlings and we even saw a
single Red Deer. Garden birds
seen were Chaffinches, no
change there, Greenfich,
Goldfinch, Great and Blue Tits
with a single Coal Tit, Robin,
Blackbird, Dunnock and of
course our hungry Rock Doves.
It was around the coast that
we saw our most interesting
species for as well as Shags,
Common, Herring and Great
Black Backed Gulls we saw
Curlews, Oystercatchers, and 5
Turnstones one of our favorite
waders and a single Great
Northern Diver In Calgary Bay.
Jan 2nd
Today we
are having a dull but mainly
dry day except when its
raining and blowing a gale. I
looked out of the kitchen
window this morning and
instead of seeing 2 Turtle
Doves I saw 50, yes I did say
50, Rock Doves waiting on the
electric wires for me to put
out feed, they were to be
dissapointed as I was letting
the feed put out by our house
sitter to be eaten before
putting any new feed out. This
evening we had a Tawny Owl
visit our garden, they are
early breeders and could soon
start nest building if this
warm weather persists. I hope
to get out and about tomorrow
and start my year list for
2016 as I am feeling better
having seen off my Christmas
ailments. Why do so many of us
get ill at Christmas, another
matter for discussion, or
perhaps not.
Jan
1st
The
first bird we saw on
Mull this year was a
Chaffinch, the second,
a Chaffinch, the third
a Caffinch, are you
beginning to see a
pattern here, yes we
have a lot of
Chaffinches on this
island.. On the lawn
today we had a
continental Blackbird,
the ones with the
black beaks, are we
getting too many
foreign birds in this
country, should we be
getting twitchy about
this situation are
they taking too much
bird feed from British
birds and how do you
stop my dogs from
eating fallen
peanuts, all these
serious points will be
discussed on this blog
during the year. Keep
happy, keep reading.
January
2015
Jan
27th to 7th
Feb
I have not
been out for
several days
as I have a
virus with a
cough, sore
throat,
headaches and
almost
certainly have
a serious case
of 'man flu'.
Jan 26th
With poor
weather
forcast for
the rest of
the week I
went out to
Loch Buie with
my good friend
Alan " Mullbirds"
Spellman and
although we
did not see
much wildlife
we did see
both types of
Mull's Deer,
Red and
Fallow. On our
way back up
Loch Spelve a
small flock of
Gulls flew
across the
road in front
of us and
landed on the
shoreline.
After scanning
through them
Alan's cry of
Iceland Gull
was proved
correct as
this fine Gull
in the photo
below was
indeed a
second winter
Iceland Gull,
my second in
two days.
Returning to
Alan's house
at Loch Don my
eagle eyed
friend shouted
out Bullfinch,
no this was
not a term of
abuse, but a
fine example
of this lovely
Finch and my
first on Mull
this year,
taking my
running total
to 76, nice
one Alan.
Jan 25th
This was a
red letter day
as on a trip
to the sewage
outfalls at
the Knock
Salmon
hatchery we
spotted a
Golden Eagle
it gave us
great views
but just too
far away for a
decent
photograph. I
had just put
the camera
away when
Golden Eagle
number two got
up from its
hiding place
by the side of
the road and
flew low past
us not more
than 50 feet
away, it was
an awesome
sight and one
we won't
forget in a
hurry despite
the fact that
the camera had
been put away,
it will always
remain in our
minds eye.
Three Otters
seen today
including the
one in the
photo below
with a cut in
his tail,
great views of
Turnstone,
White-Fronted
Geese and a
juvenile first
year Iceland
Gull, on a
normal day
these would
have been
great
sightings but
by then we had
seen that GOLDEN
EAGLE.
 
We did the
RSPB big
garden bird
watch this
morning seeing
16 species in
the designated
hour,
typically our
Treecreeper
turned up a
day late. We
recorded 60
Chaffinches in
all, 20 Rock
Doves, 6
Goldfinches,
and a Great
Spotted
Woodpecker.
Only 1 Buzzard
which was the
only bird of
prey seen in
the garden as
our
Sparrowhawk
seems to be
giving our
garden a miss
at present. A
walk around
our wood this
afternoon and
the dogs put
up 6 Woodcock,
my first of
the year.
Jan 23rd
We stayed
in for most of
the day but
did go down to
Cailaich Point
in the late
afternoon to
see if there
were any Jack
Snipe about
and although
we saw at
least 5 Common
Snipe we did
not find any
Jack Snipe. On
our way back
home we had a
fabulous
sighting of a
male Hen
Harrier the
forth Harrier
we have seen
in two days.
This evening
we went to the
new restaurant
at Ballygown
with friends,
a party of ten
in all and had
a great time
as they say,
good food,
good company
and a lot of
laughs even
though as
designated
driver I could
have no beers.
Jan 22nd
The day of the
big day out
with Jac and
Mike to the
Ross with 55
bird species
seen including
7 new ones for
my Mull year
list and 5
Mammals not
including the
dead washed up
Whale. It was
a great day
despite being
perishingly
cold and we
saw all of
Mull's main
species,
Golden Eagles,
White-tailed
Sea Eagles,
Hen Harrier,
Red Deer and
Otters. It was
the male Hen
Harriers which
gave us the
best views
with one
flying right
in front of
the van. Twite
were seen at
Fidden as were
Rooks and
Jackdaws and
lots of
Lapwing. Other
good sightings
included Great
Northern
Divers and a
hunting
Peregrine
Falcon. A
lovely day and
thanks to Jac
and Mike for
their
excellent
company, they
are coming to
live on Mull
in February
with Jaquie
leaving her
job as centre
manager at
Leighton Moss
RSPB
reserverve,
yes the
reserve
featured on
the last 2 BBC
Autumn watch
programms,
they are going
to be involved
in tourism on
this brilliant
island so look
out for them
in the Summer.
Jan 21st
I went to the tip at Tobermory today and to fill up the
van for a big
day out with
friends
tomorrow. The
weather was
cold but dry
in Dervaig but
as I reached
the Mishnish
Lochs I
noticed they
were frozen
over and the
skies started
to darken and
then it
snowed. No
time for
birding today
a quick fill
up where
diesel was
under £1-20
for the first
time in I
don't know
when, off to
the tip and
with a few
slides I got
back to the
main Dervaig
road and home
where it had
not snowed at
all.
Jan 20th
Slightly warmer and so back at Calgary this time armed
with the
camera to try
and photograph
the Purple
Sandpipers but
the tide was
out and I
could not find
any, I did
however get a
good photo of
a Cormorant
with 2 Shags
showing the
size
differance,
with Cormorant
being the
larger with
thicker bill
and the steep
forhead of the
Shags and the
breeding
diagnostic
tuft on the
adult Shag,
the browner
Shag is a
juvenile. On
our way home
we went to
Loch Cuin and
I actually got
a decent Photo
of a
Greenshank at
last.
Still very cold and after nearly being stuck on ice a
day close to
home was in
order and a
trip to the
shop in the
village. At
Loch Cuin we
stopped as
their were
numerous
waders in the
bay, we saw 7
Snipe,
Redshanks,
Greenshanks,
and Curlews
but no sign of
the
Kingfisher. In
the afternoon
on a high tide
we went to
Calgary to
look for
Purple
Sandpipers and
after
searching in
the fading
light we
managed to
find 2 birds
and only then
because they
flew across
from one rock
to another but
it is another
bird for my
Mull year
list.
 
A beautiful cold January day and so I went out for the
afternoon
looking for
new birds for
the year and
it turned into
a good day
with 9 new
Mull species
seen in the
day. The
sighting of
the day was a
large skein of
Barnacle Geese
being put up
by a passing
juvenile
White-tailed
Sea Eagle, it
was quite a
sight. A Black
Throated Diver
was seen from
the same spot
as was my
first Wren and
Stonechats of
the year.
Other new
birds of the
year seen were
Slavonian
Grebe,
Turnstone,
Shelduck and a
Black
Guillemot.
Thanks to Jaq,
and Mike who
shared the
Geese with me
and gave me
some wearthers
to suck, If
you chew them
your fillings
are in great
danger of
falling out.
On my way home
I saw 2 very
close Otters
but the camera
had been left
at home. I
only just made
it home as the
ice on the
high roads
made the grip
very poor and
I was forced
to turn round
on the hill
road and go
via the more
treated
Calgary road
only just
making it over
the top at
Reudle, I was
very relieved
when I got
home.
Jan 17th
The day of the Mull bird club bird count which became a
damp squid due
to quite heavy
overnight
snow. Pam and
I did a count
in the garden
and with a
walk across
the road to
Loch Cuin. We
managed 28
bird species
and our first
Otter sighting
of the year
which was nice
and 4 Ringed
Plovers also
the first of
the year. In
the late
afternoon the
Great Spotted
Woodpecker put
in an
appearance on
the nut feeder
and I managed
to get a
Photograph of
it. This
evening we
went round to
neighbours for
a dinner party
not getting
home till late
but a good
time was had
by all even if
the girls won
the trivial
pursuit game.
 
Frost and ice prevented us from going out during the day
but as it
warmed up as
evening
approached we
were able to
get to the the
bird club
meeting in
Craignure
thanks to our
friends who
have fitted
their car with
winter tyres.
The talk was
by James
Fairbairns of
Sea Life
Surveys who
talked about
the changes in
Whale watching
over the last
30 years. One
very
interesting
fact about
last year he
told us was
that the
waters round
the coast of
Mull did not
start to warm
up properly
until very
late summer
which was why
we had very
few sea birds
and hardly any
Basking Sharks
were seen from
Mull. Readers
and guests
will know that
I have
commented
about about
the lack of
life on the
sea last year
and now we
know why. The
funny thing
was that
around Tiree,
Coll and the
small isles of
Eigg, Rum,
Muck and Canna
the seas did
warm up due to
the gulf
stream and
bird and shark
numbers were
very good, it
just goes to
show how
important the
gulf stream is
for British
wildlife.
Jan 11th to 15th
The only thing to tell you during the last 5 days is
about the
weather, we
have had it
all. humungous
gales which
woke us up in
the night,
gallons of
rain, thunder
and lightening
which
disturbed the
dogs so what
it did to the
wildlife I can
only guess, we
also had snow
and hailstones
as big as
marbles. Road
conditions
have limited
time out and
about but I
did find my
first Teal of
the year
locally. We
are enjoying
the garden
birds with 18
regular
species it is
at times like
these that
feeding our
garden birds
is vital to
there
survival. Pam
saw 2
White-tailed
Eagles flying
over our wood
and we have
seen a few Red
Deer at last.
We hope that
wildlife
watching will
improve and we
can get out
more over the
weekend as the
weather is
supposed to
improve. This
morning I
found a
hibernating
Hedgehog in
our shed and
moved it to a
safer place
packed with
straw keep it
warm and well.
Jan 10th
Again due to the very bad weather we are having and
coupled with
falling trees
it is
difficult just
to go out
birding but I
did manage to
get out early
this morning
and saw 3
Tawny Owls and
very little
else except
for a suicidal
Rabbit. If any
of you have a
Queasy
disposition I
stopped the
car in order
for the Rabbit
to escape
unharmed if a
little wet.
Wow, the gales last night were something else and
although we at
Ardrioch seem
to have come
out of it
unscathed the
same cannot be
said of the
large tree
just up the
road towards
Dervaig which
is no more.
Fortunately it
fell into the
field and not
across the
road so there
have been no
hold ups. We
took the dogs
for a walk at
Calgary from
the car park
to the pier,
our old dog
Misty cannot
now manage a
longer walk
and anyway it
started
raining so we
did not want
to be out for
too long. Not
a lot of
wildlife seen
today but I
managed my
photo of the
day the Great
Black-backed
Gull below.
Birds of the
day were 3
Great Northern
Divers in
Calgary Bay
and a
Greenshank at
Dervaig.
Jan 8th
A mainly dry day with occassional squally hail showers
and I drove
over the hill
road to Ulva
Ferry and back
home via
Salen. Four
more new year
Mull species
today
including
Black Headed
Gull, Wigeon
and a Dipper
flying up the
Aros river
estuary. The
most
spectacular
view of the
day was a pair
of
White-tailed
Sea Eagles
flying really
close but by
the time I had
got the camera
out and picked
them up in the
focus lens
they were
flying off
together into
the mist.
Jan 7th
Rain all day and a trip to Craignure for an appointment
to see the
physio. It was
really
annoying as
because of the
rain I could
only
concentrate on
the road as
Pam reeled off
all the birds
she was seeing
and I had not
yet seen this
year, to make
matters worse
she showed no
sympathy to my
plight. On the
way home
however we had
more time and
I was able to
add 9 more
species to my
Mull year list
which you can
check out on Arthur's Mull Bird List 2015.
The highlights
of the 9 new
species were
25 Lapwings at
Lagganulva
Bay, Redwings
with Song
Thrushes in a
field by
Lagganulva
Farm and
Goosander in
the Sound Of
Mull. The
waterfalls
were
spectacular as
you would
expect after
the rainfall
we have been
getting and so
we took a
picture of Eas
Force on our
homeward
journey.
After heavy overnight rain a pretty decent day
weatherwise
and a trip to
Tobermory to
change Pams
cristmas
present from
me, typically
I got the
wrong size. I
had a walk
around Aros
Park lake
seeing the
Mistle Thrush
in the picture
below and the
Goldeneye, I
do like our
new camera as
I now take
some half
decent shots.
On our way
home we
stopped off to
watch a Golden
Eagle giving a
flying display
to anyone who
wanted to
watch and as
there was only
the 2 of us we
had our own
private
viewing. This
afternoon we
saw a
Yellowhammer
on the garden
feeders from
our kitchen
window making
it 18 species
in the garden
so far this
year.
A dull breezy day but mainly dry and a short trip out
and about to
look for some
more new birds
for my Mull
year list.
Birds of the
day were
Kestrels, this
beautiful
small raptor
never lets me
down and
whenever I see
them I marvel
at their
lovely plumage
and am in awe
of their arial
ability. On
the trip I saw
my first Great
Northern Diver
of the year
and also my
first
Cormorant.
From the
kitchen window
we had a
Treecreeper in
the garden,
another first
for me this
year and
taking the
number of
garden species
in the first
week of the
year to 17.
There were
some lovely
sightings of
Highland Cows
in wonderful
scenic
settings, as
an ex farmer
it always
gives me a
lift seeing
these cows in
a setting
where they
seem to
belong.
Jan 4th
A mainly dry but breezy day and I went out to see what
was about
locally and at
Dervaig there
was A
White-Tailed
Sea Eagle
sitting on a
rock with a
Herring Gull
and 2 Great
Black-backed
Gulls close
by. On the
Wader front
there were
Curlews,
Greenshanks,
Redshanks and
some Snipe
trying very
hard not to be
seen. It was
lovely to be
back at a
favorite spot
and meeting up
with the birds
on my patch
again incuding
the Mallards
and Greylag
Geese which
seem resident
here.
 
A lovely day but as we
were tired after
yesterdays early start we
restricted ourselves to
neccessary chores and
watching the birds in the
garden after I had gone
out and filled up all the
feeders. It does not take
long for the word to get
out and soon we were
inundated with
Chaffinches, Goldfinches,
Great, Coal and Blue Tits,
2 Hooded Crows, Robins,
Blackbirds, Dunnocks and a
couple of Siskins. Our now
nearly resident Buzzard
put in an appearance and
to make our day we had a
visit from a Great Spotted
Woodpecker.
Jan 2nd
We returned
home today
from Cheshire
where we had
not only seen
in the new
year but also
celebrated my
dad's 90th
birthday, he
is a lovely
man and apart
from dodgy
knees is in
fine fettle.
The journey
back to Oban
was very good
with little
traffic on the
roads but due
to high winds
the ferries
were a little
erratic to say
the least. We
managed to get
a 4pm crossing
arriving home
at 5-30pm and
as always the
dogs and house
were in tip
top condition
thanks to
Chrissie
McPhail, what
would we do
without her.
January
2014
Jan 31st
A damp start and very
windy so Mike and I went
and sorted out our water
supply which had a silt
blockage, it doesn't now
in fact it is running full
tilt. Thanks to Mike, Nick
and John who have all
helped sort out the
problem. In the afternoon
after Mike and Jaquie had
left Pam and I went for a
short drive round and saw
21 species of birds within
an hour not including the
ones in our garden. The
main highlights were a
hunting male Hen Harrier,
a Great Spotted Woodpecker
and a Shelduck.
Jan
30th
A beautiful cold day which
started with a trip to the
doctors with my knee and
it followed with a further
trip to the hospital to
have my knee exrayed. I
met up with Pam and our
friends at Killiechronan
camp site where we saw
this White-tailed sea
Eagle just chilling out.
Also at the camp site I
saw my first Bar-tailed
Godwit of the year, I was
pleased to see this bird
as Pam had already seen
one earlier in the month.
Another new bird seen for
the year today was a
Fieldfare in a small flock
of mixed Thrushes. We saw
both types of Deer found
on Mull and 3 Otters and
several Golden Eagles.
After lunch we went and
checked for Divers and saw
a few Great-northern
Divers but we got a very
good view of the Raven
seen in the picture below,
you can see what an evil
bird this can be by the
size of it's bill. All the
pictures shown below were
taken today on our outing.
Jan
29th
Today we have compiled my new
bird list for 2014, I have 66
bird species seen on Mull so
far this year which is not too
bad concidering I have not
been able to get out much due
to my bad leg. Today from the
comfort of our office window I
saw a Common Buzzard surveying
my garden from the top of the
electricity pole in the corner
of the garden. A Dunnock which
spends the day sculking under
the Quince bush popped out and
grabbed a few seeds when the
garden got quieter between
coffee break and lunch time.
Most of my day was spent
playing with a problem I have
with our water supply, during
the heavy downpours leaves
have been brought down the
burn and partially blocked my
water pipes and I have spent
the day unblocking the system.
Pam facetiously asked if they
were the wrong type of leaves,
at the time I was not overly
impressed with her sarcastic
attempt at humour. Many thanks
to Alan 'mullbirds'
Spellman for the new banner on
my bird list.
 
A day out with friends Jacqui
& Mike and you could say
it was a fabulous day for
birds of prey. We had 6 Golden
Eagles and 5 White-tailed Sea
Eagles but the highlight of
the day were the 2 Merlins
that we saw. The first Merlin
was spotted sitting on a rock
close to the road but just as
we tried to get a photo it
flew several yards away onto
another rock, it proceded to
do this for several stops
until it landed on a rock half
way up the hill and out of
range to photograph. The
second Merlin, brave little
thing that he was, chased one
of a pair of Golden Eagles we
were watching and he was very
persistent. At afternoon tea
we saw 6 Eagles, 4 White-tail
and 2 Golden, in the air
together, then Mike spotted a
Buzzard flying in and as we
watched the Buzzard Pam saw 2
interacting Hen Harriers which
gave us a great display. On
the day we also saw 2 Otters,
one very close feeding on a
large flat fish. There were
200+ Barnacle Geese on Inch
Kenneth and 50 Golden Plover
at Loch Beg. A really good day
out and proof that we do get
some sunshine on Mull in the
winter.
Jan
27th
More heavy rain so Pam
continued working on the new
self-catering web site on the
new computer, I didn't realise
there were so many swear words
in the English language! A brief
note of thanks to our
friends Jacqui, Nick
& Catherine, who
are helping with
colour and design. We
went for a meal at the
Bellachroy Inn tonight
and are happy to
report that the
standard of the food
has been maintained by
the new owners.
Jan
26th
Another very wet day and we
did the RSPB Garden Bird count
from the comfort of our nice
warm kitchen. Chaffinches were
the most common bird seen with
over 100 in the garden at one
time, this made a fantastic
spectacle when they all took
off together as a Sparrowhawk
flew through. Other notable
numbers of birds seen were 8
Greenfinches, over 10
Goldfinches even more Siskins
and good numbers of all the
main Tits excluding Longtail
Tits. Birds of note seen
included Great spotted
Woodpecker on the nuts, a
Buzzard perched on the garden
fence, a fly over Raven and
our first Pied Wagtail of the
year at Ardrioch. Mammals in
the garden are an annoying
Mole, several Rabbits, Field
Mice and also a Vole seen by
eagle-eyed Pam eating seed
under the bird feeder.
Jan 25th
Today we celebrated Burn's
night with our friends and
neighbours and I think Robbie
would have been proud with the
amount of wine and whisky
which was consumed in
his honour. Pam had produced a
real Scottish meal for us with
Cock-a-leekie soup, Haggis,
neeps and tatties followed
Cranacan and Raspberries. The
evening was enjoyed by us all
and our friends Mike and
Jacquie from Leighton Moss
arrived on the late ferry and
the celebration continued well
into the small hours. Just
before they arrived Mike &
Jacqui were fortunate to see
the local Barn Owl on a post
near the road, it is nice to
know so far that it has
survived the awfull wet
winter.
Jan 21st to 24th
I am able to get out into the
garden between the showers and
tidy up ready for the new
season and for all who know
Ardrioch I have given the
Wheeping Pear Tree it's annual
prunning and it is once again
looking like a giant field
mushroom. The warm weather is
producing early signs of
Spring with Snowdrops and
Primroses now flowering and
daffodils showing through. I
must say this must be the
wettest winter we have
experienced scince we moved to
Ardrioch with 21 inches of
rain falling in 5 weeks from
just before Christmas until
the 20th Jan and it shows no
sign of abaiting, hopefully
this means we might get a nice
summer again this year,
fingers and toes crossed.
Jan 20th
As Arthur is still hobbling I,
Pam, went out with a couple of
friends to show them a bit of
winter wildlife. We managed to
choose the best day of the
week with only a shower at
either end of the day. We saw
6 Golden Eagles, 5 White-tail
Eagles, 3 Otters and 3 herds
of Red Deer including Stags.
Our first Golden Eagle gave us
a wonderful show, soaring
upwards with wings raised then
pulling in it's wings it
plunged down ward before
soaring up again in a
switchback display. Our second
White-tail Eagle after sitting
for sometime on a fence post,
took off and flew directly
towards us, flying right over
our heads so my friends got
some wonderful photo's. Our
final pair of Golden Eagles
also soared over head with
more photo's for my delighted
friends. Other highlights of
the day were a male Goosander,
a single Bar-tailed Godwit and
Siskin amongst our garden
birds.
 
Jan 19th
Gardening nuff said
Jan
18th
The day of the Bird Club Mull
bird count and several teams
from all over the island go
out from 9-30am to 3-00pm and
see how many species of birds
they can see. The winning
total this year was 61 by two
teams including ours. A total
of 79 species were seen on a
pretty wet day with highlights
being all 3 species of Diver,
Glaucous and Iceland Gulls,
Greenland White-fronted Geese,
Twite and Slavonian Grebe. The
day finished with tea and
cakes in the Coffee Pot at
Salen, this is a well
supported day out, competetive
and informative and enjoyed by
all who take part.
Jan 17th
A day with time spent
gardening, not my favorite
hobby but at least my knee is
well enough for me to do a
little work. Pam went to Bird
Club tonight to hear a talk
about Hen Harriers and wind
turbines, I think the score
was turbines 2 Harriers 0
maybe we will now see wind
turbines across all hunting
estates. On her way home Pam
saw a Tawny Owl, I have heard
them outside in the garden but
have not managed to see one
yet.
Jan
16th
Wow, a day without rain and a
trip out after the doctor's
visit, it was nice to get out
and about again and make the
aquaintance of the special
wildlife on Mull again. We saw
4 White-tailed Sea Eagles with
3 juveniles on a Salmon
carcase. A hunting Golden
Eagle and a male Hen Harrier,
2 Otters, several Great
Northern Diver and a single
Red Deer. Only seeing 1 Red
Deer seems to confirm our
theory that Red Deer numbers
on Mull have declined in the
last 12 months.
Jan 15th
Another
wet day and the electrician
came to check our fire alarms
which were beeping in unison
like chinese water torture
without the water, he
partially fixed the problem
but it will need further
investigation to get to the
root cause of the fault. I am
off to the doctors with my
knee injury in the morning but
I am pleased to report it
seems to be getting much
better and I can start getting
out and about once more.
Jan
14th
The driech weather continues
and nothing new to report in
the garden but there is change
to the local landscape on
Mull. At Langamull the
deforestation is continuing
apace and the scenery is now
hardly recognisable to last
summer, although it looks in
places that a bomb has hit the
forest it has opened up some
spectacular views that was
covered up by the forest
pressence. An observation
although not to scientific
both Pam and I think that
their are fewer Red Deer about
in the Dervaig area which is
good news for any newly
planted woodland and local
gardens.
Jan 13th
I climbed up to our dam this
morning to check on our water
supply, not to see if there
was water but to check the
filters, water was flowing
everywhere, yes we have had
the wind and rain that the
rest of Britain has been
enjoying this winter with more
ferry cancellations than even
locals who have lived here all
their lives can remember.
Looking at the vast amount of
Chaffinches on our feeders I
noticed a couple of male
Siskins on the peanut feeder
the first Siskins I have seen
in the garden this year. Time
to hobble off, will write
tomorrow if I see anything
worth writing about.
Jan 12th
I am sorry that there has been
no blog so far this year but I
hurt my Knee just before
Chrismas and I am having to
see the doctor regularly as it
is still very painfull.
This mean I have not been able
to get out wildlife watching
this year as I cannot drive
and walking hurts so I am
struggling with cabin fever,
the only good part is the
weather is so awful that it
doesn't encourage you to get
out much. Wildlife wise I am
restricted to looking at
our garden birds, the
highlights so far this year
have been Great Spotted
Woodpecker, Treecreepers, a
Yellowhammer and fly over Grey
Heron and White-tailed Sea
Eagle.
Jan 1st
Happy new year to all my blog
readers.
January 2013
Jan 31st
Another damp
blustery day and little to report
except a really funny sighting of a
pair of White-tailed Sea Eagles
huddling up together behind a small
rock on top of a low ridge trying to
keep out of the wind. The rock was
so small and they were snuggled so
close together that at first I
thought that there was only one
bird, it was only when I got the
scope on them I realized they were a
pair. It reminded me of Pam and I
when she gets in bed with very cold
feet and snuggles up close to me, in
my side of the bed.
Jan 30th
Avery windy but
dry day so Pam and I decided to do a
mini tour to see what we could see
in half a day, in the event we saw
42 bird species and 6 mammal
species. My highlights were a
Bar-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel in
Aros Bay and a Jay a Mull rarity in
trees by the 3 boats at Salen. Also
here were a large group of Wigeon
looking splendid in the sunlight. On
the mammal front we saw both types
of Seal and 2 separate Otters.
Downside of the day Pam had a brief
view of a male Hen Harrier hunting a
ridge line but by the time I got to
a passing place it had disappeared
and although we waited some time it
did not reappear the dratted thing,
another one up to Pam.
 
 
Jan 29th
Up early and out
and about to try and find some night
birds and I got lucky seeing 2
Woodcocks and a Tawny Owl for my
year list. After breakfast I washed
the car and gave it its annual
de-tarring which takes quite some
time and took 2 bottles of tar
remover before I got it clean.
Battening down the hatches this
afternoon in preparation for the
forecasted gales.
Jan 28th
An awful day
weather wise and a trip to th
doctors in Salen for health
checks. At the moment we don't
seem to be able to go out without
seeing an Otter and today was no
exception, I was driving by a Loch
on our way to the doc's when Pam
said there is an Otter on the
rocks and there it was seemingly
oblivious of the poor weather.
When we arrived at the doctors
surgery 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles
flew over the car park so even
when we are not particularly
looking for wildlife on Mull it
seems to turn up.
Jan 27th
On a day of very
wet cold wintry showers Pam and I
went in search of a possible
Desert Wheatear that might have
been seen around the the Victorian
bathing pool at Glengorm. Did we
see the bird?.... NO. Did we get
very wet and cold?....YES. Was it
worth the effort?....Well if you
don't try you would never leave
the house so YES and we did take a
nice picture of the bathing pool
and saw 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles
on our way to Glengorm flying over
the car and 6 Whooper Swans on the
Mishnish Lochs.
Jan 26th
A cold but drier
day and a walk with the dogs to
Langamull beach brought little in
the way of wildlife except for 3
Ringed Plover and some nice
views.
 
 
On our way back
we called to see if there was
anything in Calgary Bay and
almost immediately saw an Otter
eating a fish on a small outcrop
of rock which was disappearing
fast from an incoming
tide. The Otters
Tale...
An Otter
was nonchalantly eating
his fish supper on a very
small rock |
when a
large wave came and did
its best to remove the
Otter from its temporary
dining table. |
Buggar
thought the Otter, that
was a close shave as it
settled down to continue
his fish supper but this
time holding it tightly in
his paws. |
No
sooner had he started
eating when an even bigger
wave came along and the
Otter just managed to save
his meal by hastily
grabbing it in his mouth. |
This
isn't much fun at all he
thought and grabbing the
fish tightly in its mouth
he left the rock |
just before another wave
hit and started swimming
with his prize towards the
shore, should have done
this in the first place it
thought |
..................
and I have to admit so did Pam and
I.
Jan 25th
The forecast was
spot on with rain all day and as
the temperature never rose above
3% centigrade in a strong wind it
was really miserable. Talking of
miserable I went to the dentist
for root canal treatment, not the
best way to relieve the dourness
of such a miserable day. There
were 3 very brave Snipe trying to
make the most of truly horrendous
day at Dervaig.
Jan 24th
The last day of
good weather as it is forecast to
rain all day tomorrow so Pam and I
took the dogs for a walk at
Quinnish. On our way back there
was a field full of a mixed flock
of Thrushes, we seem to be seeing
quite a lot at the moment
including Mistle Thrushes which
have apparently nose dived numbers
wise in recent years. There was an
Otter at Dervaig and two
White-tailed Sea Eagles flew over
the village in the afternoon.
Jan 23rd
Weather unchanged
again it really is lovely here at
the moment. I went looking for
Jack Snipe again this morning with
Pam at a different site, no luck
I'm afraid. So this afternoon we
went to try and photograph the
Purple Sandpipers, tricky little
thing they are hiding in the rocks
but I managed one asleep which is
nice but not that exciting. We had
a close encounter with an Otter
when we surprised each other and
it was very close, I managed to
get 2 photos before it disappeared
but they were rubbish so wont
appear on the site.
 
Jan 22nd
Weather unchanged
and I went to Cailaich Point to
see if I could find a Jack Snipe
but there were only Common Snipe
there and I counted 11
flying out of the bog. At Cailaich
however there were several
Thrushes and Blackbirds and I saw
Song and Mistle Thrushes and
Fieldfares but no Redwings plus an
obliging Grey Seal. There
were 5 Purple Sandpipers at Lainne
Sgeir this evening.
 
Jan 21st
Cold, dry and
breezy and I decided to go for a
walk down Loch Ba to look for Snow
Buntings but in the event there
were no Buntings. The walk however
was very pleasant and there were
12 Goldeneye and a pair of
Mallards and a male Red Breasted
Merganser on the Loch. In the
Trees by the Loch were 3
Fieldfares and a Blackbird and a
Raven flew over. At Knock Bridge
where I stopped on my way to
parking for the walk I saw a
Dipper, one of my favorite birds
and my first on Mull this year. On
my way home I saw an Otter,
Slavonian Grebes and a Great
Northern Diver. This afternoon a
Goldfinch on our feeders was
another new Mull bird for the
year.
Jan 20th
Another cold day
and Pam went out to church with
our neighbour whilst I put
together an article about Mull for
a travel writer in Boston,
Massachusetts, it took me some
time as I only type with 1 finger.
A Yellowhammer appeared on our
feeders this afternoon another
first for the year bird for my
Mull year list, thanks to Pam for
spotting it as I was watching the
epic tennis match between Djokovic
and Wawrinka at the time.
Jan 19th
Cold but dry and
on my walk with Sally today a
flock of 11 Whooper Swans flew
right over us, a good way to start
my day, as we went on a
Sparrowhawk flew out of the wood
in front of us before diving back
in again another nice sighting. We
went for a very hot sauna this
evening and the plunge pool had
ice on it, no we were not daft
enough to jump right in although
our hostess with the sauna did, I
still get shivers thinking about
it.
Jan 18th
Another lovely
sunny day but very windy with a
strong wind chill, just the
weather for another bird for my
list so off to Calgary and a walk
to Lainne Sgeir to look for Purple
Sandpipers. In the event I was
lucky as 2 birds flew in just as
I as I reached the rocks but
on landing the perishers scuttled
off out of sight where i could not
see them again. As well as the
Sandpipers I also saw 4 Turnstones
which did hang around long enough
for a good view before they went
into the same channel in the rocks
as the Sandpipers before them and
you guessed it of my sight, lovely
mornings birding though.
Jan 17th
A lovely if cold
breezy day so I went to try and
add Chough to my year list and
fortunately I was able to find
Mull's lone bird not far from
where I had seen it before
Christmas. I was very relieved as
it is quite a trek and my knees
were not best pleased with all the
hills I had to go up and down. The
other notable species seen on the
walk were a pair of Golden Eagles
and a Raven being chased by erm A CHOUGH.
Jan 16th
We woke up to
small snow flurries today and it
felt perishingly cold. On a trip
out I saw 4 Great Northern Divers
in Calgary Bay and thanks to our
neighbourhood bird watch 3
White-tailed Eagles at Dervaig,
they were only around for 10
minutes so we appreciated the
jungle drums. On a walk with the
dogs to the Loch this afternoon
there were 3 Red Deer, 1 a stag
dead in the bog, an Otter in the
Loch, 3 Curlews and a Greenshank.
 
Jan 15th
A lovely cold,
sunny winters day and a 6 mile
walk with Sally which produced
nothing in the way of wildlife but
some nice views and much needed
exercise.
Jan 14th
A little on the
driech side but mainly dry, not a
lot to report but i did see my
first Sparrowhawk of the year
flying through the garden. Alan
Spellman came for lunch and a
check on the web site, I hope you
notice the change of background on
the most read pages on the site,
Jan 13th
A dull day with
persistent heavy showers and after
yesterday we had just decided to
do very little after all it was
Sunday when a very kind neighbour
e-mailed us to tell us of a
Whooper Swan which had just flown
into the bay at Dervaig. We
grabbed our coats and grabbed our
hats, made the bus in seconds
flat, saw the bird and even
managed these photos through the
rain, many thanks to Cheryl and
Moira the local network working
well.
Jan 12th
A dull, dry cold
day perfect conditions for the
bird club annual bird count. Off
we set with John and Jo are
friends and neighbours and enjoyed
a really good day birding with a
lot of laughs, good food and 56
bird species seen in and around
our patch. The winning total on
the day was 59 species and in all
a combined total of 80 species
seen over the weekend and day 5
more than last year. After a short
rest Pam prepared an evening
meal for our friends and some
other neighbours, where we shared
stories from the day's birding
over a glass or 2 or 3? of wine.
 
Jan 11th
A very wet night
was followed was followed by a wet
day. This evening we went to bird
club where the guest speakers Alan
Davies and Ruth Miller gave a
really good talk on their world
wide biggest twitch, when they
took a year out going around the
world seeing how many bird species
they could see in a calendar year.
They were trying to break a record
of over 3600 which had stood since
1989, in the event they saw a
total of over 4250 species a
remarkable achievement. A
cautionary tale for all would be
authors, check the publishers
small print on their contracts,
Alan and Ruth just signed theirs
and get no royalties for any books
sold below 50% of publishers price
and as most books about 90% are
sold below this figure by Amazon
they have received little in
recompense for their efforts.
Jan 10th
Cold but brighter
after early morning mist, I am
trying to go out for a walk with
our younger dog on most days now
that we have returned to Mull and
today it was a 4 mile walk up a
forest track, very unrewarding
bird wise but we did see 4 Red
Deer stags and 2 hinds. On my way
home I saw 2 Buzzards, a Kestrel,
a Song Thrush and at Dervaig some
Wigeon and 3 Snipe had joined the
birds there from yesterday.
Talking of yesterday I forgot to
mention the White Tailed Sea Eagle
that flew over Dervaig as I was
checking out the waders, it just
shows why birders need note books.
Jan 9th
A lovely
warm morning and I took
Sally, the young dog, to Dervaig
to post a letter birding as we
went. A Greenshank, 3 Redshanks
and a Curlew were seen at Dervaig
along with Teal and Mallard Ducks
some Greylag Geese and of course a
Grey Heron. I also saw 5
Blackbirds which I will report to
the BTO who are doing a Thrush
survey this winter and it is a
worthwhile exercise to do if out
walking or birding, if any readers
wish to help just put BTO in a
search engine to see what you have
to do.
Jan 8th
Travelled through
the early hours and arrived home
to be greeted by 2 wildly excited
Shelties, although we were very
tired we took them to Calgary Bay
for a walk, the weather was lovely
and dogs and Pam and I really
enjoyed it. Pam saw a Merlin, the
jammy girl, as I didn't so now I
am green with envy, my turn will
come.
Jan 7th
A day af recovery
from the real ales before we set
off back to Mull and although it
is sad to say goodbye to friends
we cannot wait to get home. It is
also sad to read about the plight
of birds after the horrible summer
most of Britain has just
experienced and so I do recommend
if you can afford to give birds a
helping hand by having a bird
feeder or two in your garden. It
will help them even more if
occasionally you fill them with
bird food.
Jan 6th
Back to Cheshire
and a catch up with friends and
get re-united with pubs that do
great real ales, Mmmmm.
Jan 5th
Our last day
in Devon and hurrah at last my
annual Cirl Bunting, I thought I
might miss out on one this trip.
Jan 4th
Still in Devon and
have been on a walk whilst Grandma
plays nurse and managed to find
some Purple Sandpipers and a
Little Egret, birds we don't
often see on Mull.
Jan 3rd
We have now been
visiting our Grand Children in
Devon with lots of laughter,
walks, play and even a
little birding for Grandpa, just
what the doctor ordered a bit of
normality --- Whoops the Grand
children have all gone down with
Chicken pox.
Jan 2nd
We are on the way
to sorting the family issues now
with Pam's Dad in a very nice care
home, many readers will empathize
with Pam as it not nice when a
family member becomes not the
person he or she once was and
needs full time care but Pam gave
her Dad a nice Christmas and with
help from her brother and sister
have found a nice home where they
know he will be safe and well
looked after and also close enough
for family members to visit.
Jan 1st
Although we are
still not on Mull may we both take
this opportunity to wish all our
guests whether on tours or
self-catering or just readers of
my blog a very happy New Year.
January 2012
Jan 31st
Weather rain all
day, windy - Pam and I went to
fetch some fodder for the new
sheep this morning and despite
only being out for 2 hours and in
dreadful weather we saw a lot of
wildlife and Pam never got out of
the bus. I don't often do this but
here is a list in the order we saw
them-Redshank, Ringed Plover,
Little Grebe, Curlew, Hooded Crow,
Mute Swan, Heron, Wigeon,
Oystercatcher, White-tailed
Eagles, Great Northern Diver, Hen
Harrier, all Mulls Gulls, Otter,
Golden Eagle, Red Deer, Greylag
Geese with one Pink footed Goose
amongst them and a Peregrine
Falcon. Who says the weather has
to be good to see wildlife? (Pink
footed Goose 2nd to right)
Jan 30th
Weather dull but
dry in the morning wet in the
afternoon - Big garden birdwatch
today with 18 species seen in the
garden with 2 notable misses, the
Collared Doves have disappeared
maybe the Sparrowhawk has taken
them and we have no Wren in the
garden this winter. We did see 140
Chaffinches and 21 Greenfinches, 3
Siskins, 6 Goldfinches, a
Treecreeper and a Brambling
amongst the 18 species seen.
Jan 29th Weather
dull but calm and dry -
Gardening nuff
said.
Jan 28th
Weather Cloudy,
cold but dry - I went out for a
couple of hours this afternoon
and saw the male and female
Goosanders seen below, the male
has a dark green head with a
white body which has a pinkish
wash , it is a very beautiful
duck usually favouring fresh
water. When I was out Pam saw
the Brambling again in the
garden, we have not seen it for
a few days and this was only a
brief sighting as the
Sparrowhawk flew through
scattering all the birds off the
feeders.
Jan 27th
Weather glorious
sunshine, calm and cold - We went
looking for a White-tail Eagle
nest this morning and although we
were unsuccessful we had a lovely
walk. We saw lots of Red Deer and
a juvenile White-tail and heard
but did not see some Crossbills.
Gardening again this afternoon and
a neighbour delivered our new ewes
4 Cheviots and 2 Hebridean,
hopefully they are in lamb, if
they are they are due to start
lambing in April.
Jan 26th
Weather sunny and
breezy, cool - A day out with Tony
and Alan mullbirds
Spellman to the south of Mull
today, we had a great day out with
lots of laughs and 48 bird Species
seen and 4 Mammals including the 4
Arctic Hares in the picture below.
We saw 24 White Fronted Geese, 9
Great Northern Divers, 3 Golden
Eagles 2 White-tailed Eagles and 2
Otters and a large mixed flock of
Fieldfares with a few Redwings
amongst them.
Jan 25th
Weather the same
as yesterday with less rain -I
went out for a couple of hours
today and spent 20 minutes
watching a pair of Golden Eagles
interacting with each other, it is
great seeing natural behaviour in
idyllic surroundings and it makes
me feel very privileged. I did not
rush today and took time out to
visit .Kilninian Church and took
in the views up Laggan Burn. On a
less fun note Gardening again in
the afternoon, does anyone have a
cure for boredom, yawn!!!
Jan 24th
Weather dull,
cloudy, breezy morning with rain
in the afternoon - We went down to
Cailiach with Tony this morning
and saw a White-tailed Eagle, it
is one we have seen regularly on
the island, we know this as it is
wing tagged, today we noticed it
had lost the tag from the left
wing. We also saw this Gadwall at
Cailiach an unusual Mull bird but
regular in other parts of the UK.
There was a Shelduck at Cailiach
back on territory and the first
one seen this year, 2 Grey Seals
in the bay and the group of Shags
seen in the picture below. Just in
case there is any doubt Tony is in
the picture bottom right, with
that hat it is easy to become
confused.
 
 
Jan 23rd
Weather cloudy,
dry and calm - I went for a drive
today as it was dry and warm and
we had the car back. The highlight
was a Black Throated Diver at
Salen, the first I have seen this
year, there were lots of Great
Northern Divers and Slavonian
Grebes on Loch Na Keal as well. I
saw 3 separate Otters and 3
White-tailed Eagles, a Golden
Eagle and more Red Deer than I
could count, another nice sighting
4 Bar-tailed Godwits at
Killiechronan. It was a lovely
drive and I bumped into several
people for a catch up, Dave Sexton
from the Rspb, Prassad from
Treshnish and the Rev Tony Budell
who has just arrived to spend a
few days with us. Tony collects
and delivers aid to the people and
children who are still tragically
suffering from the aftermath of
the Chernobyl disaster which has
its 25th anniversary on the 26th
March at 10.32pm. www.britishhumanitarianaid.co.uk
Jan 22nd
Weather cloudy but
calm, warm and dry - We went for a
walk in Tobermory today as our car
has been repaired at last and we
had to go in to pick it up. On our
way in we saw an Otter on the
Mishnish Lochs, this is the first
time we have seen Otter here
although we have heard of other
people who have. It was very quiet
on the walk with little wildlife
to be seen but the dogs enjoyed
all the new smells.
Jan 21st
Weather cloudy but
warm and calm - I did the annual
pruning of the Weeping Pear tree
in the garden today one gardening
job I do like as you can see a
difference when the job is done,
it is a bit like giving a guy with
long unruly hair a short back and
sides. On the bird front we had
both male and female Great Spotted
Woodpeckers in the garden on the
peanut feeders today.
Jan 20th
Weather pleasantly
sunny and warm - A great day to be
out and about and where was I
Gardening, lets just say I was
feeling very frustrated, I hope
the good weather continues, at
least I saw the Brambling on the
feeders again today.
Jan 19th
Weather beautiful
sunny, warm and calm - A morning
spent gardening, not great in this
weather and an afternoon at a tour
operators meeting trying to find a
solution to the parking in passing
places through Glen More
particularly between Craignure and
the turn off for the scenic route.
We are looking at putting in small
short stay parking areas for 2 or
3 cars at a time in various places
on the old road which runs
parallel to the main road. If in
doubt about how to drive on the
single track roads check out the
guidelines at the bottom of this
blog page. I will update you as to
the progress on the parking issue
as their is little funding
available. On a lighter note on my
way to the meeting I saw 2
White-tailed Eagles and an Otter
swimming with an enormous Crab in
its mouth, it made me feel quite
envious as I love Crab.
Jan 18th
Weather cloudy
warm and calm - We went to Oban
today as I had broken the frames
of my glasses, so this required a
trip to the big city for us, it is
not something we do often but it
does give us chance of a bit of
sea watching on the crossing. The
strange thing we saw on the
crossing was an Otter out in the
middle of sea half way between
Mull and Oban, this Otter was the
farthest away from land we had
ever witnessed. There were also
lots of Kittiwakes flying past the
ferry as we journeyed to Oban
always a nice Gull to see, they
look and fly like a cross between
a Gull and a Tern. It is a pity
you cannot be in 2 places at once
as we learned as we were watching
the Otter and Kittiwakes a pod of
5 Bottle nose Dolphins were seen
on the other side of the ferry.
Jan 17th
Weather cloudy,
warm with the odd heavy shower - I
could not put it off any longer, I
had to make a start on tidying up
the garden today. This involved
carrying lots of branches and the
remains of a tree which fell down
in a late autumn gale, yes I know
I should have done this long ago
but gardening is just not my
forte. The one thing i did learn
today was I am not as fit as I
used to be because at the end of
the day I was Knack..... The birds
in the garden were great though as
I frequently needed rest breaks.
Jan 16th
Weather cloudy,
warmer with showers - I went
looking for birds at Cailiach
Point today and dropped Pam off to
walk the dogs, there was nothing
unusual at Cailiach but the views
as always were worth the short
trip. I also had to dodge around a
herd of black highland Cattle
which were spread out on and
either side of the road, these
gorgeous animals might look fierce
but they are quite gentle unless
they have young calves and you
have a dog, if this is the case
give them a very wide berth.
Jan 15th
Weather cloudy,
warm, wet and very windy - Not the
best weather for the bird race but
17 members in 5 cars took part, in
all 76 bird species were seen with
Pam and I seeing 55 species in the
day which luckily for us turned
out to be the highest total for a
vehicle. The highlights for us
were 6 White-tailed Eagles, a
Golden Eagle, a Hen Harrier, a
Kestrel and our Sparrowhawk going
through the garden, the only
Sparrowhawk seen in the day. We
also had our garden Brambling
which has so far evaded the
Sparrowhawk, a flock of
Long-tailed Tits and a
Treecreeper. We found waders to be
hard to see again today although
we did manage Snipe at Cailiach
Point. We had a very good day and
everyone who took part enjoyed the
day, hopefully this event will
continue for many years.
Jan 14th
Weather cloudy,
dull but still mild - I went out
to look round the local wader
spots today and was disappointed
at the lack of wader species to be
seen in the Dervaig area. I saw a
Greenshank at Dervaig, a single
Redshank at Croig, Oystercatchers
and Curlews at Calgary and very
little else. This is not a good
omen for the bird club bird race
which takes place tomorrow with
Pam and I the only ones from the
Dervaig area taking part.
Jan 13th
Weather same as
yesterday with occasional showers
- The local Sparrowhawks are
having a great time in our garden
at the moment, we saw them fly
through several times today
attacking mainly Chaffinches.
Siskin numbers in the garden are
climbing daily now, always a nice
little bird to see. As I am
writing this we noticed that a
Goldfinch had fallen asleep on a
branch below a seed feeder, cute
or what or does it think our
Sparrowhawks only take
Chaffinches, a very risky
strategy.
Jan 12th
Weather cloudy but
warm with little wind - A
breakthrough in the Deer saga Pam
saw a calf that I and the dogs
disturbed it ran across our front
paddock and jumped straight over
our cattle grid, proof at last
that this is where they get in, it
will probably mean we have to put
a gate in at the entrance to our
drive. On a brighter note the male
Brambling was back in the garden
again today with all the other
finches in at present,
Chaffinches, Greenfinches,
Goldfinches and Siskins.
Jan 11th
Weather cold and
sunny all day but not windy - Pam
went with the dogs to the bank bus
in Dervaig this morning, it is
great that we have a bank that
comes to us and we don't have to
get the car out to go to the bank
and we get to give the dogs a walk
at the same time. The dogs love
Dervaig as they get fussed by
everyone in the village. We went
for a short trip out this
afternoon, it was a reasonable
hour spent looking for some
wildlife even if there was not a
lot about, just a hunting Golden
Eagle, a fishing Otter, an idling
Grey Seal, lots of Red Deer, yes
we can find them if they are not
on our land, a Great Northern
Diver and finally a White-tailed
Eagle going to roost.
Jan 10th
Weather very wet
but not like the unfortunate
Australians so we can't complain -
Pam on a walk with the dogs
watched an Otter for some time and
in the meantime I had to go and
sort out the water supply as the
particle filter tends to block
during heavy rain. It can be a
case of water water everywhere not
a drop to drink otherwise. We
still have not seen the Red Deer
on the farm so the mystery
continues.
Jan 9th
Weather thawing
fast after the heavy snow, it has
nearly all gone already - There
has been good and bad news about
the car, it needs a small part
transplant, not good on our pocket
but not fatal on the car. We have
been having the after christmas
book sorting today when we decide
which books go to the charity
shops and which go into the
self-catering and which stay in
our bookcases. I did not get much
help from Pam as she had a new
1000 piece jigsaw for Christmas
and spends as much time as
possible on that.
Jan 8th
Weather more
overnight snow and heavy snow in
the early evening - We had
visitors again last night but we
still could not find them or how
they are getting in and out, it is
most odd. A local friend of ours
saw them jumping over our cattle
grid , which is where we thought
they were getting in but there
were no footprints in the snow
anywhere near the cattle grid and
no sign of Deer except tracks that
appeared to go nowhere - The
mystery deepens as does the
snow.
Jan 7th
Weather after
another small dusting of snow
during the night it has been a
pleasant day - There is a mystery
at Ardrioch at the moment, it is
the case of the invisible Red
Deer. As readers will know we have
fenced Ardrioch to keep the Deer
out but at least 2 are still here,
we know this as their foot prints
are in the snow, and it is
rumoured that they have been seen,
but not by us. We have tried
tracking them, we have searched
for them, we even have nightmares
about them, but we cannot find the
dratted creatures or where they
are getting in. I will keep you
updated on this particular drama
as it unfolds, As we were out
looking for the Deer this morning
a Hen Harrier flew over the farm,
as did a Sparrowhawk and we
disturbed a Buzzard and as i write
this there is a Tawny Owl in the
garden. Log in tomorrow for the
continuing saga of the invisible
Deer.
Jan 6th
Weather more snow
off and on with more wind -
Replenished the bird feeders
today, have any of you got
Chaffinches in your gardens or do
we have them all, now I know they
are very beautiful but enough is
enough we must have 200 in the
garden at any one time at the
moment, hey ho a single Brambling
has turned up, for the uninitiated
this is the Chaffinch of the north
a fairly scarce winter
visitor here.
Jan 5th
Weather snow in
the morning but it had all melted
by the afternoon - I saw my first
White-tailed Eagle of the year
today sitting looking a bit
disconsolate sitting on a small
hill in driving sleet. Teal my
favorite duck were in Aros Bay and
looking particularly splendid
despite the weather, other ducks
seen here were a pair of Red
Breasted Mergansers and some
Mallards also a couple of Mute
Swans.
Jan 4th
Weather warm and
damp - Pam had to go to Craignure
today on bird club business so I
went with her, we had travelled
over 1800 miles over the Christmas
period and the car had run
perfectly, 20 miles on Mull and it
broke down, thanks to Alan
'Mullbirds' Spellman for giving us
a lift home. The car is now in
Mackay's Garage in Tobermory
having tests, we have not heard
yet how expensive it is going to
be, luckily we still have the mini
bus.
Jan 3rd
Weather beautiful
from Cheshire to Argyll then snow
and heavy rain - We travelled back
to Mull today from family visits
over Christmas and New Year and
only just got through Dalmally
before the road was closed because
of snow. The dogs were not happy
that we had left them behind and
although they were pleased to see
us they were also very grumpy for
most of the evening. Ardrioch had
not fared too badly during the
very cold weather while we were
away and luckily we only had one
burst pipe, thanks to Chrissie and
Mike for looking after everything
whilst we were away.
Jan
1st
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR GUESTS
AND FOLLOWERS OF THIS BLOG
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