March
2019
March 31st
A day
out with friends and we saw a Golden
Eagle, 2 white-tailed Sea Eagles, 3
Otters, Red Deer and both types of
Seal and a total of 51 bird species.
My highlight was a lovely Twite my
first of the year and a bird that I
sometimes find hard to get. Other
good birds were Slavonian Grebes in
breeding plumage, Lapwings on
territory, a Ring Plover along Loch
na Keal and a little Wren singing
its head off on top of a large Gorse
Bush. We had a Red Throated Diver at
Cailaich and there were some good
size Redwing flocks and the Skylarks
are singing on several territories,
a sure sign that Spring has arrived,
another sure sign, snow is forecast
for Tuesday and we have a tour
booked.
March 30th
Steam
cleaning the kitchen floor and watching my football
team on TV was the order of the
day interspursed with a trip to
Tobermory to get more bird seed. Pam
went sea swimming again today, I
still can't see the attraction
although she and her friends seem to
enjoy it, she is trying to make sure
she swims in every month of 2019,
don't some people have weird ideas.
On her way home over the hill road
she had a very good sighting of a
female Hen Harrier, so she was
really happy. Tonight we went Angus
MacKenzies sixtieth birthday, Angus
keeps the self-catering going for us and has become a very
good friend over the years and we
really could not do without him, it
was an excellent party.
March 29th
I went
with Pam to Calgary and Cailaich
today and we saw our first Wheatear
of the year at Calgary and some
Razorbills in the bay, I had seen
Razorbills before but it was the
first of the year for Pam. At
Cailaich Pam immeadiately spotted 2
Lesser Black Backed Gulls her first
of the year and it was just as well
that she saw them as no sooner had
she spotted them they flew off. On
our way home in a field we saw a
large mixed flock of Redwings and
Skylarks with the Redwing loking
particularly smart in their breeding
plumage. Later I went out looking
for our local White-tailed Sea
Eagles which have moved nest and
although I did not find them I did
get a great view of a Golden Eagle
in a territory we know about and as
there was only one I presume the
other was on the nest.
March 26th to 28th
Tuesday was a day for getting
the mini-van sorted for its council test,
now I know I gave it a clean up before but
we took people out in it yesterday and
believe it or not they put muddy boots on
the mats and Pam spilt some soup in the
boot, ah well it all makes work for the
working man to do. A note for Stewart Pigg
and his van window cleaning buddies, the
van windows have never been so clean, it's
a pity you are not out with me till the
middle of May, I can't guarantee they will
be the same then. Wednesday, the van
passed the test, they all do. I saw my
first Bullfinch of the year but it was so
dull even I could not recognise it as one
in the photo I took. We went for a meal
this evening with Yvonne from Focal
Point (were we get our optics from)
at the Isle of Mull Hotel, on the way home
we saw 2 Polecat/ferrets and a Tawny Owl.
The daffs in the garden are looking
particularly nice at the moment so I took
a few pics of them and also the pair of
Yellowhammers who just seem to want to be
together.Thursday a trip out to Calgary
and Cailaich which yielded little except I
saw my first Fulmar of the year and had a
great sighting of a female Hen Harrier,
there was a flock of about 12 Skylarks and
a lovely Lapwing and back at Dervaig I
took the photo of 4 Redshank. Finally our
Songthrush is singing for charity I think
he starts singing at daybreak and finishes
at dusk, if he doesn't eat soon he will
fall off his perch, either that or get a
dose of laryngitis.
March 25th
We did a practice tour run today
with the new owners and some of the staff
from the Bellachroy in the village. I have
a new alarm clock so I am always up with
the Larks or in this case a Song Thrush,
see photo below. During the day we saw at
least 7 White-tailed Sea Eagles, 3 Golden
Eagles, 3 Otters, loads of Red Deer, some
lovely Fallow Deer, Common Seals and a
single Grey Seal. The highlight of the day
were the two Golden Eagles who flew down
to a rock near the top of the hill and
started copulating, at least that's what
one guest called it, my call was a little
more basic. As we turned away from this
X-rated scene 2 Oystercatchers were also
at it on the shoreline and all this before
the noon watershed. The people from the
Bellachroy were suitably impressed as they
were with the food Pam had produced for
the day, one was overheard say it was a
gourmet tour as well as a wildlife one. I
hope today bodes well for our final season
of wildlife tours on Mull.
March 21st to 24th
Believe it or not Spring is on
the way even here on Mull, the first
Wheatear has been seen and today Sunday, I
saw Lesser Black Backed Gulls for the
first time this year. At Cailaich Point
the Auks are arriving with lots of
Guilliemots and a Puffin seen as well as
Kittiwakes and Manx Shearwaters. Hooded
Crows and Starlings are back in the garden
a sure sign Spring is on the way and I
also saw my first Wood Pigeon of the year,
we have loads of Rock Doves but not that
many Wood Pigeons. White-tailed Eagles are
either nesting or thinking of doing so and
Golden Eagles have been see mating so will
be laying soon. The Daffodils are out and
looking spectacular and along with the
Gorse turning Mull a brilliant Yellow. I
took this picture of a Rabbit in the
garden this morning, it bears a startling
resemblance to Bigwig from the Watership
Down film, well Pam and I think it does.
Finally the photo of the Starling shows
how stunning they are in the right light.
March 18th to 20th
The weather on Mull remains
somewhat miserable with drizzle and wind
on each day so I contented myself with
garden birding after Sundays day out. This
was not a terrible experience as we had
great views of Lesser Redpoll,
Yellowhammer, Great spotted Woodpecker and
Siskins as well as all the other usual
suspects we regularly see in the garden.
Today I decided to go and see if there
were any migrant birds about but apart
from Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtail little
birds were at a premium. At one of my
regular tour stops the drizzle abated and
i was treated to a bit of an Eagle fest
with 3 White-tailed Sea Eagles interacting
with each other and even talon grasping,
another white-tail had flown through a few
minutes earlier. At least 3 maybe 4 Golden
Eagles got up and gave really good views
for about half an hour before the cold
started to get to my bones as I was not
really dressed for the weather (schoolboy
error) as our son would say. At the same
stop I saw a Mum Otter with 2 small kits,
I would like to say they will be around
for the summer but last year in the same
area they were disturbed by kayakers and
went missing for most of the Summer.
March
17th
Today we were back out on Mull
doing what I like best, birding, with a
group from the BTO and the Mull Bird Club
on, what was advertised as, an Eagle day.
In total we saw 8 White-tailed Sea Eagles
and at least 4 Golden Eagles we sort of
lost count somehow. A female Hen Harrier
was seen as were Buzzards and Kestrels, 2
Otters, Red and Fallow Deer and a lot of
Common Seals. Winter visitors are now
moving into breeding plumage and these
include Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern
Divers and Bar-tailed Godwits. The real
supprise of the day however was a Barn Owl
seen in Glen Bellart, it was a very good
spot by one of the BTO members as she saw
it as we drove past. We all got a really
good look at the Owl before a White-tailed
Eagle appeared and the Owl moved out of
sight into the trees, discretion being
better than valour.
March 11 to 16th
We returned home from Costa Rica
very tired after a very long travel only
to find that the weather was evil, gale
force winds and rain and sleet quite a
contrast to the heat and humidity we had
become accustomed too. This did however
give us time to get over the holiday
without the feeling of guilt we might have
had if the weather had been nice. I took
the chance to wash the van and discovered
that it is still blue and valleted the
interior in readiness for the council test
before the start of the seaon. Pam became
a washer woman for the week but she does
assure me that she has finished the
washing from the holiday and more
importantly managed to get it dry so our
week was not entirely wasted.
March 2018
March 29th to 31st
Family visiting with very young
grandchildren and friends
dogs,
Lucy somewhat traumatised but otherwise
coped well.
March 28th
The morning was spent with
Moira, dog training Lucy, Moira is
excellent and Lucy is coming on very well
for a puppy that is a bit of a scaredy cat
and afraid of its own shadow, Pam and my
progression is less noticeable, something
about old dogs and new tricks methinks, I
think Moira has her work cut out with us,
not Lucy. This evening we went for a quick
trip around the local patch and saw our
first Red Throated Diver of the year near
Lainne Sguer at Calgary which made our
trip worthwhile. We also saw a pair of
Ravens, a much underrated bird as they are
remarkable flyers even if they are a tad
evil. The other highlight for me was the
Buzzard in the picture below, the main
reason for this is it let me get a couple
of photos before flying off, unusual for
Buzzards!
March 27th
Rain all day till a break for
half an hour before another refreshing
shower, a lovely day for a tour but hey ho
off we go. We did see lots of Waders
including Snipe, Redshank, Greenshank,
Curlew, Whimbrel, Oystercatchers and
Bar-tailed Godwit. As it was a good day
for them we saw plenty of Ducks, Mallards,
Teal Wigeon and Shelduck also Great
Northern Divers, Shags and Cormorants. One
brave Common Seal sitting out on a small
island and plenty of Red Deer. Birds of
prey were at a premium due to the weather
although Buzzards never fail me and we did
get a good Sparrowhawk sighting, A
White-tailed Eagle dilligently sitting on
eggs was a nice sight at the second
attempt, the nest not being visible in the
morning but as with all tours there was a
special sighting during the half hour
break. A pair of Hen Harriers displaying,
it was fabulous and warmed the cockles of
our hearts to know that here on Mull these
iconic birds can live in peace. One of my
guests, a goodbirder from Norfolk had
never seen a Hen Harrier before yet had
seen a Montagues Harriers in Norfolk, so
it made my day.
March
26th
Today we went to Tobermory, to
be precise the tip, we were so overwhelmed
with the experience we went twice, taking
all our old matresses and enough cardboard
boxes to fill a skip on our own, most of
them had once contained bird seed, now I
know why we have so many birds in our
garden. We took Lucy, our timid pup, with
us and I can safely say she wasn't
overwhelmed by the experience although Nic
Davis and Simon Proud did their best to
coax her out of fear of people. On our way
home we had a fantastic sighting of Hen
Harriers both male and female it made up
for the fact that for two days running
wildlife watching has been at a premium.
March
25th
No rest for the wicked as we
were both hard at work today as our first
guests of the season arrive tomorrow and
with Pam wealding the big stick I could
not get out wildlife watching during the
day. After tea as the clocks had sprung
forward and as it was a beautiful evening
we went to Calgary and then to Cailaich.
At Calgary we got these lovely sunset
photos looking out towards Tyree and Coll,
not to be outdone the Moon also put in an
appearance. On our way to Cailaich we saw
these Red Deer and could not help but stop
for a photo shoot. On our way home past
the Langamull car park a Tawny Owl flew in
front of the car and took a Vole from an
area of felled trees, a 2018 Mull first
for both of us, the Owl not the Vole.
March 24th
Working on final touches for the
self-caterers today Pam inside and me
outside although we managed a couple of
hours to go round the block and saw in
beautfull sunlight a Summer (breeding)
plumaged Black Throated Diver in Calgary
Bay, I also saw my first Gannet of the
year on Mull. Oh well back to work and dog
training.
March 23rd
My first tour of the year and
the day did not look to promising with low
cloud, rain and a stiff breeze and yes, it
was cold. I decided to go around my usual
route for a Dervaig start and in spite of
the weather which incidently did improve
as the day went on we had an incredible
day. We saw Red and Fallow Deer, Common
Seal, Rabbits and 2 very good Otters so it
was a great Mammal day. Then the birds,
particularly birds of prey, we saw 5
White-tailed Sea Eagles with 2, a male and
female, flying together and giving us
great size comparison between the sexes,
females being quite a bit larger. 5 Golden
Eagles were seen with two hunting, it was
here we also saw a Rabbit once before the
the Goldie took it and again as it was
being skinned, nature in the raw, yes, but
boy was it spectacular. Other birds of
prey seen were lots of Buzzards with a
pair making love being a highlight, Spring
is in the air, a female Hen Harrier,
Sparrowhawk, Merlin, Kesrel and a brief
Perigrine so you could say we had a
raptorous day. I was made up to see how
much wildlife was in my patch.
March 22nd
At last some wildlife watching
and a speedy tours reconoitre of our route
as I have tours to give over Easter. The
White-tailed Sea Eagles are now mostly
down on nests and not so easy to see but I
did manage to see a single juvenile bird
in flight. A Golden Eagle also seen but
distant and no Otters as the tides were
not really right. I saw a total of 48 bird
species and 5 Mammals and I had only been
out for half of the time it takes to do a
full tour but I learned a lot about where
the wildlife will be this Summer, its what
reckies are for.
March 21st
The Van test???- It Passed. I spent a lot of the day with
Lucy the dog today as we had a visit from
Moira, a local dog trainer and we learned
an awful lot and Lucy learned that she is
going to get loads of treats if she
behaves herself and does as she is told.
Shelties are naturally a little skittish
breed and at the moment when not with us
Lucy is scared of her own shadow so we
have to introduce her to more people and
dogs in a safe environment, so more
classes. This evening Lucy introduced
herself to a garden visitor which she
could not make head nor tail of, check out
the photo below.
March 20th
The day before the mini-van
inspection so it was final clean and
polish in readiness. As we had taken the
van to Devon to give it a good run,
instead of it being dark blue it was white
from all the salt that it had picked up
from all the road gritting so the cleaning
took up quite some time. There was no time
for wildlife watching today although as it
was a cleaning day I did also clean all
the bird feeders, do an Arthur repair of
the bird tables and fetched 7 wheelbarrow
loads of top soil from Mole hills to cover
all the areas where the bird feeders will
be re-hung.
March
7th to 19th
Last visit to Cheshire and Devon
to see relatives before the season gets
under way and our time will be limited.
March 6th
I had a quiet day today puppy
sitting and dealing with our electrician
because on Tuesdays Pam has uddles of
things on and is out for most of the day
in the Winter. My day remained quiet
until our friends came back at 4pm and
said they had seen a Dunlin at Dervaig,
now Dunlin are not unusual at Dervaig as
early as this so I was intrigued and we
all went down for a look including Pam
now back in between her jollies and in
spite of us thinking it was a Curlew
Sandpiper better birders than us
confirmed it was indeed a Dunlin. The
Kingfisher was there as well so not such
a quiet day as the Dunlin was a first
for me this year.
March 5th
A final full day out with our
friends before they go home and what a
great time we had with a total of 5 Hen
Harriers seen and also 5 Otters, it helped
that the tides were right for Otter
spotting. Eagle wise we saw 3 Golden
Eagles 2 flying and 1 sitting and 2
Whitetailed Sea Eagles very close. Red
Deer including stags and Fallow Deer doing
what they do best, looking pretty. Other
notable sightings were Reed Buntings, Pink
footed Geese, our first for the
year, Kittiwakes and Razorbills, a pair of
Grey Wagtails, Turnstones and a large
mixed flock of Lapwings and Golden Plover
two of my favorite Waders. The day ended
with a trip to Tobermory for a very nice
meal at the Mishdish, the restaurant at
the Mishnish pub.
March 4th
A quiet day today as we are not
used to late nights but I did manage to
drag myself out for a couple of hours to
go down to the Loch at Dervaig and a quick
drive round the block over the hill road
to Torloisk and back home via Calgary. At
Dervaig there were the usual Common Gulls,
Redshanks and Greenshanks, a Curlew,
Goldeneyes, Red Breasted Mergansers but my
today favorite were the very busy, very
close Snipe. Very little to report on my
way round the block except lots of Hooded
Crows and 2 very nice Song Thrushes. It
was near the top of the hill at Reudle I
got the surprise and brilliant sighting of
the day the Red Grouse in the picture
below standing proud in its own territory
and it was also a bit of a Diva as it just
stood there and allowed me to get my
picture. It made my day and I was glad I
had made the effort to go out.
March 3rd
We took our friends out this
morning and had a good time wildlife
watching although it was still very cold it
was only breezy and not windy so the wind
chill factor was less. On my hobby horse of
wildlife photographic disturbance we came
upon a couple photographing an Otter, the
Otter was less tham 4 metres (15 feet) away
and completely unaware of their presence and
if you look at my photo of them you will see
why. Remember it was perishingly cold and
damp but the object is to get your photos
without disturbing the subject, I was most
impressed by this duo and hope they got some
decent shots. When we saw them we did not
stop but went a couple of hundred yards
past, as they had found the Otter and we did
not want to disturb it for them, we still
had great views through the telescope
although the Otter was too far away for me
to get a decent picture which is why there
is no Otter in my photo. Other wildlife seen
today were a pair of nest building Golden
Eagles, 2, chilling before breeding,
White-tailed Sea Eagles, Red and Fallow Deer
and Grey Seals. We also saw these beautiful
Goosander, the photo was taken just after we
had seen him trying to 'pull' the female. On
our way into Tobermory this evening to watch
the 'Darkest Hour' at the Sreen Machine we
had a Hare run up the road in front of the
car, isn't it funny how some roadhogs don't
let you past, we enjoyed the view though as
we were in good time to see a very good
film.
March 2nd
My day today reminded me of the
film How to train your Dragon as
I spent time trying to train Lucy our new
pup and after a visit to the dentist to
have my troublesome tooth removed you
could say I am Toothless???? you have to
see the film. No birding today but should
be back out there tomorrow.
March 1st
Today my appreciation of what
the wildlife cameramen go through when
filming in the Antarctic went up a notch
or two as it was Baltic on Mull and with
the wind chill thrown in it was to put it
bluntly FREEZING but the sun out and we
had no snow, for once the best weather in
Britain can be found in the North West of
Scotland. Out and about today we saw 2
female Hen Harriers hunting, lots of Red
Deer and a single White-tailed Sea Eagle.
At Killiechronan there was a large flock
of Twite my first of the year also
at end of Loch Na Keal were Golden Plover,
Ringed Plover and Bar Tailed Godwit so
braving the conditions was worth while
particularly for all the ice sculptures we
were seeing. Back home inthe comfort of
our kitchen we saw one of our Brambling
back in the garden and two Treecreepers
kept us amused with their antics and I
managed a photo of one of them.
March 2017
March 31st
Back
to the dentist
for Pam and I
went to
Tobermory with
her to try
unsuccessfully
to find the
Magpie. It
rained heavily
last night and
through most
of today so
birding was at
somewhat of a
premium
although It
makes you more
grateful for
what you do
see. An
example is the
two Pied
Wagtails seen
at Dervaig on
a very high
tide and the
Heron ,
Greylag Goose
and Mute Swan
seen at Salen,
nothing out of
the ordinary
but just great
to see anyway.
March 30th
A day out with friends from
North to South Mull and we saw 66 bird
species and 4 Mammals in the day. Bird
highlights included the illusive White
Fronted Geese, 4 Common Scoter, 4 Twite,
several Skylarks, A single Gannet and a
single Razorbill. A few White-tailed Sea
Eagles, Golden Eagles, a summer plumaged
Slavonian Grebe, 3 Pink Footed Geese and
my first Wheatear and Sand Martin of the
year. Otter and Red Deer were seen well
and we ended a fantastic day at the
Hebridian
Lodge at Baliscate, Tobermory for an
exceptional evening meal.
March 29th
This is a blog of my return from
Cheshire where I have been staying with my
son and daughter-in law and 2 of my
grandchildren , one of which is 6 months
old and they are trying to sleep train
him, this is for all my readers but mainly
Blake and Sheila. I was trying to get to
sleep before my journey home but the baby
would not stop Crying (Roy Orbison) so
I got up and Drove all night (Cyndi
Lauper) to get home to my lovely
wife Pamela Pamela (Wayne Fontana and
the Mindbenders) . Back Home ( England
World Cup Squad 1970) there were Voices
in the sky ( Moody Blues) as the
birds in our garden sang to welcome me
home and there was Sally, our dog also
rushing to welcome me home Who let the
dogs out (Baha Men). It is nice to
be Home Again naturally (Gilbert
O'sullivan) to see Pam but now I'm
so Tired (the Beatles) I need to
catch up on my slumbers. So it's to bed
for me where I go to sleep ( The
Pretenders).
March 21st to 28th
I have to return to Cheshire
as my Dad is not getting any better so I
will not be blogging again this month, I
hope to start again in April, Sorry. Pam
will be left at home to hold the fort
and take bookings.
March 14th to 20th
We have spent the last week in
Cheshire as my dad has been hospitalised
again and is not at all well. We arrived
home this evening to the news that Mull is
to get a covering of snow tomorrow, Oh
joy, still Richie our son and Sheetal and
their children have come up to visit so it
isn't all bad news. I will update you on
the wildlife situation tomorrow if I
can get out.
March 13th
A BlackThroated Diver in partial
breeding plumage, this is a real treat for
us. Two year firsts for me on Mull today
Lesser Black-backed Gull and Kittiwakes at
Cailaich Point and 2 Mistle Thrushes in
our garden, the first in the garden this
year. We saw some friends who visit Mull
each year when we were out and about
today, another sign of Spring when regular
guests to Mull start arriving. One other
sign of spring seen today were our first
calves of the year also seen at Cailaich
Point.
March 12th
Spring is in the air and this
was brought home to me as dawn broke this
morning. I opened the door to let our dog
out and was met with a cocophony of sound,
my first real dawn chorus of the year. I
just stood there enthralled at the
beautiful sounds I was hearing and the
picture that was enfolding in front of my
eyes as the light appeared after its
overnight slumbers, It makes you feel good
to be alive. We had a large Toad in the
garden this morning, another sign of
Spring, as are our Daffodills, we nearly
have a host of golden ones. Britain is
known as a nation who like to queue, well
so do our Rock Doves, the ones on the
power lines are queueing, waiting for me
to feed the birds, they eat us out of
house and home.
March 11th
Any readers who a little prudish
don't read on. Today we watched as two
Golden Eagles gave us a lovely view as the
flew harmoniously around the top of a
hill. Then pulling in her wings the larger
female landed and suveyed her territory as
the male continued his impressive flight.
Suddenly the male also landed on the back
of the female and copulation took place in
front of our eyes, a priviledge to see and
not at all voyeuristic, just right place,
right time. The male then stood alongside
the female with a satisfactory look on its
face. Later we saw an adult White-tailed
Sea Eagle being mobbed by a Great
Black-backed Gull. Lots of other wildlife
seen including a Peregrine Falcon but the
Eagles were the highlights.
March 10th
Sometimes when you go out and
don't see Eagles and Otters it is not
always a dissapointing day as it makes you
look and consider more the wildlife you do
see. Today this was brought home to me
when I saw 3 Goosanders, one male and two
females, all in beautiful breeding
plumage. I could have, however I didn't,
take a photograph as I had time and
inclination to stop and admire these
glorious ducks, often overlooked as they
are just ducks, although in breeding
plumage a special almost exotic sight.
March 9th
It is not very scientific but I
can reveal that at Ardrioch Farm, Dervaig
on the Isle of Mull our Solar Panels in
the last year produced 3.2% less electric
than in 2015 which might prove that
although it was warmer in 2016 it was
slightly less sunny. No birding today as I
took the Mini-Bus for its annual council
test which it passed. I then worked on my
water supply in readiness for our son the
water expert (Heating Engineer) to come
and organise us for the up coming season.
Picture of our son Richie, back in the
day!
March 8th
A very wet morning which I spent
looking at our garden birds and counted a
record number of Goldfinches, 22 at one
time, there were also at least 73
Chaffinches. As the weather improved in
the afternoon we went for a walk with
Sally, our Sheltie. On the walk we saw
lots of pools of water with Frogspawn in
them, the photo below shows one of the
better ones. Nearing our car on our return
we saw a hunting Hen Harrier back on
breeding territory, the first time I have
seen one here since the snow storm that
put a stop to them breeding here last
year. A bit of good news for this
endangered breeding bird in Britain. Pam
took a photo of our regular Treecreeper
today, see if you can spot it? it is there
I promise.
March 7th
As I was watching the birds in
the garden this morning I noticed a
beautiful male Yellowhammer appear from
behind the Daffodils, of course the camera
wasn't handy so I had to go and find it.
Finding things in our house is a usual
occurance as I have a tendency of putting
things down anywhere. When I had found the
said camera of course the bird was gone,
but no, there it was on the seed feeder
and I did get a resonable photo, on
checking the photo I noticed Mrs
Yellowhammer was also in the shot, then it
occured to me he had taken her out for
mothers day.
March 6th
Today we
took all our neccessary paperwork to the
council offices in Tobermory to be
scanned so that our mini-bus inspection
can go ahead as planned on Thursday,
then we are geared up for the start of
the season. With the coming of the
longer days one or two White-tailed
Eagles will have started laying eggs,
also though Winter birds are still with
us and Pam and I went to a night roost
for Great Northern Divers this evening
and counted at least 55 birds in total
and they were still arriving when it was
getting to dark to see properly. This
was a fantastic sight and in its own way
but different to a Starling murmeration,
lots of the same species seen together
in the wild at the same time. The photo
shows the first group of 9 birds which
were there when we first arrived.
March 5th
I had to rely on my garden birds
for my wildlife fix today as I was still a
bit off colour but with 18 species of
birds visiting daily at the moment this
was no great hardship. Species seen today,
Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Goldfinches,
Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Siskins,
Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Robins, Great
Spotted Woodpeckers, Treecreepers, Jays,
Starlings, Hooded Crows, Yellowhammers,
House Sparrows, Rock Doves and Collared
Doves.
March 4th
A trip around the block today
and a good Otter sighting catching and
eating fish. It was a good day for Mammals
as I saw both types of Deer and both types
of Seal as well as the Otter. I spent the
afternoon watching sport on the TV as I
was feeling under the weather.
March 3rd
I went out for a short drive
this afternoon and stopped to look at our
local White-tailed Sea Eagle nest and both
birds were there one on either side of the
nest like two sentries on duty. Red Deer
on the hill at the rear of our house and
Yellowhammers in the garden were other
highlights today. I am seeing more
Shelducks now a sure sign that Spring is
fast approaching and Snipe numbers at
Dervaig although still high are less than
they were.
March 2nd
In our garden this morning I
counted 18 Goldfinches, this is a record
count of this species in the garden and
the photograph is of just one of them. I
also took a photograph of our 2 resident
Hooded crows and although they have evil
habits you have to admit they are a very
smart bird.
March 1st
I had to take the mini-bus to
the garage in Tobermory today for its
annual service and its first MOT? it
passed. I did little in the way of
wildlife watching but I heard it through
the grapevine that there were Orcas seen
off Cailaich Point today, the story of my
life you can't be in two places at the
same time. An unusual comment for my blog,
Moles Mull Moles must be really hard as
the top soil does not go down very far and
judging by the number of Mole hills on
Mull they still seem to be thriving here.
March
2016
March 30th
Out again today in
similar conditions to yesterday but
today we saw an Otter which we watched
for about half an hour, my guests were
delighted, I was delighted for them.
Some of our Golden Eagle sightings today
were awsome, yes, we saw more than one
and even I a wildlife tour operator of
too many years to mention was thrilled.
A fly by Peregrine falcon was a bonus on
the day and we saw 2 White-tailed Sea
Eagles, one on a nest the other one, the
one in the photograph, on a post. I was
delighted with my first Wheatear
sighting of the year taking my Mull year
list to 101 before the end of March.
Mammals seen today as well as the Otter
were both types of Seal and both Red and
Fallow Deer including a very impressive
Red Deer stag. A mention for two of
Mulls unsung heroes without which Mulls
main species would suffer, I am talking
of Meadow Pipits and Rabbits, they are
on land what Plankton is in the sea and
there presence here cannot be
understated.
March 29th
A good tour today in
cool showery conditions and I saw my one
hundreth bird species of the year on
Mull with Sand Martins returning and
hunting over the estuary at
Killiechronan. Brilliant views of a
Golden Eagle interacting with 2 juvenile
White-tailed Sea Eagles near the Golden
Eagle nest site was probably the
sighting of the day although a Hen
Harrier (a bird one of my guests
particularly wanted to see) seeing off a
very close Golden Eagle ran it
close. Early in the day we saw a lovely
pair of Grey Wagtails and a Dipper and I
managed a nice picture of a Teal my
favorite Duck. The day ended with a
Black Throated diver in full breeding
plumage, this sighting would have had
Chris Packham rubbing his thighs, I
resisted, not a good look in front of
guests.
March
28th
The last day of the
family visiting and so we walked to the
Old Byre up the road from us so that Nia
could play in their outside play area,
as you can see Nia had a great time in
the play house. Richard and I played
Table Tennis, he won and as his prize he
paid for the tea. Thanks to Ursula and
her staff for the excellent tea and then
Nia attached Sally, her husky to the
buggy for the return jouney.
March 27th
Today we all went for
a drive round North Mull, the photograph
is of me and Grand Daughter Nia
Discovering Mull together, I am the tall
one.
March 26th
Today was a walk in
the park, Aros Park at Tobermory to be
precise and I took couple of pictures of
a Rhododenron bush in flower and the
lower end of the higher waterfall as I
awaited the arrival of the rest of our
tribe.
 
A day with our
youngest grand daughter on a very windy
Calgary Beach this morning, she loved
it. Tobermory this afternoon and an
excellent meal at Am Birlinn this
evening with our son and daughter-in
law. Thanks to the lovely Chrissie for
baby sitting, we truly don't know what
we would do without her.
March 24th
Day out in Oban as we
were meeting family coming for a visit
so no birding today.
March 23rd
The beginning of the
end of Mulls dry spell with cool breeze
and some showers, certainly a thermols
day and for once I was wearing the right
clothing. My lovely guests today wanted
anything I could find them but with
three specific requests, Otter, Dipper
and Hen Harrier. After a slow start with
only Red Deer and Common Seal of Mulls
major species seen and cooffee break
over the tour took a turn for the better
with a very good Dipper sighting,
Brownie points for me then ( excuse the
pun.) We then saw a White-tailed Sea
Eagle at its nest site but so far away
it took my guests several minutes to see
it even through the scope. At our second
comfort break just as we were about to
leave one of my guests spotted a large
bird, medium sized really, which turned
out to be a Male Hen Harrier, specific
request number two. The beautiful bird
gave us a great fly past as it hunted
over scrub, moorland and trees and my
guests were enthralled, as was I. On to
lunch stop and it started to rain, so we
waited for a few minutes to see if it
was going to stop and during that time I
spotted an Otter going out for its own
lunch not being put off by the
deteriorating weather, specific request
number three, job done. As if by magic
it stopped raining and we watched the
Otter eating a fish on a small island as
we ate our sandwiches and drank the very
welcome, very hot, homemade Carrot soup.
Then one of my eagle eyed guests spotted
another large bird and this time it was
large, a White-tailed Sea Eagle flying
towards us right over a Golden Eagle
nest territory and sure enough the pair
of Goldies got up on cue to see off the
intruder, another good show. At our
second to last stop we saw lots of sea
birds including a very good sighting of
an Arctic Skua, my first of the year.
Shortly after we went back to Ardrioch
for afternoon tea and cakes in front of
the Aga, to thaw out and as we drove
into the yard there to greet us on a
tree by the gate were a pair of
Treecreepers, not a bad way to finish a
day where 55 bird species and 5 Mamals
were seen. We saw a lot of Goosanders
today and I managed to get a photo of
one, sorry for the long blog but it was
great to be out watching wildlife again
on this magic Island.
Today was a red
letter day for me at last I finished my
winter jobs with the old heating oil
tank taken to the tip and new chicken
wire put on the back steps to prevent
slipping on the wood. These jobs were
completed thanks to Nick our friend and
neighbour who took the tank to the tip
in his trailor and gave me some staples
to enable me to finish the steps.
Earlier in the day I had gone to
Tobermory to buy some staples and get
Easter eggs only to find, numpty that I
am I had left my wallet with all my
worldly goods in on the kitchen table at
home. Pam gets exasperated by me
sometimes, I am beginning to see what
she means. Out and about again tomorrow
so back to Mull wildlife reporting.
March 21st
Welcome to the crazy
world of Arthur Brown and he brings you
fire, well were theres smoke theres
fire, or so they tell me. No chance to
go wildlife watching today so to get you
thinking here are two more smoke and
fire recordings (Smoke gets in your
eyes) and (Light my fire) by the Doors,
can you think of any more, I must admit
I'm struggling.
And the prize of extra Lemon Drizzle
cake on their tour goes to Blake &
Sheila May for their 'Songs for Swingin'
Arsonists'
Dear Arthur and Pam,
Just a few suggestions for the
collection. If 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes', you
may end up with 'The Tears of a Clown'
(Smokey Robinson and the Miracles).
Alternatively, if you create an Eternal Flame
(The Bangles), you may need to call out the
'Fire Brigade' (The Move). However, if you can
move your bonfire a bit closer to the Loch,
you might manage to create 'Smoke on the
Water (Deep Purple, 1973). They had
previously recorded a track called
'Fireball' in 1971 incidentally
I take it you've now become a qualified
'Fire-starter, twisted fire-starter'
(The Prodigy) Just make sure it doesn't become
a 'Funeral Pyre' (The Jam) and that you don't
start 'Burning Bridges' (Status Quo) or even
worse 'Burning Down The House' (Talking
Head)s. Still, I suppose it's just a 'Burning
Love' (Elvis).
Sorry ! Used to play in a rock
band. Still in therapy.
Looking forward to seeing you on Wed. 11 May.
Very best wishes until then,
Blake and Sheila May.
March 20th
A four hour trip out
today with 52 bird species and 4 mammals
seen with the highlights being Golden
Eagles, Hen Harriers, Black Throated
Diver, Siskin and the Devaig Kingfisher.
We saw the local White-tailed Sea
Eagles, one on the nest and one perched.
We then went to Dervaig and saw the
Kingfisher along with Snipe, Greenshank
and Redshank. At Cailaich we saw a
Lesser Black-backed Gull my first one
this year on Mull and at Calgary the
Black Throated Diver. There followed our
very good Golden Eagle sighting with 3
seen in total and the first of 2
Kestrels and a female Hen Harrier. The
Siskin seen was in our garden as was
this Dunnock in the picture below, a
bird often overlooked.
A dry day and I did
very little as I was saving my energy
for our night out at the new Italian
restaurant, Amoretto at the Mishnish, in
Tobermory. The food was excellent and
the service just right and all in all we
had a very nice evening, on tonights
experience we can fully recommend the
resaurant to guests visiting Mull this
summer. The evening was completed when
on our way home we had a very good view
of a Barn Owl which flew into a tree in
the Old Graveyard at Dervaig, what a
treat.
March 18th
We have a couple of
friends visiting and I (Pam) took them
on a planned trip which is why Arthur
was digging his hole under pressure and
was too tired to come out with us. At
our first stop our friends were
delighted when our local White-tailed
Sea Eagle flew right over our heads as
they particularly wanted to see Eagles.
Later they were also to be even more
delighted when towards the end of the
trip we found a pair of Golden Eagles
displaying and landing on the hill side
to feed then flying again when 2
White-tail Sea Eagles flew throught
their territory. Also during the day we
saw a hunting Merlin and a pair of loved
up Kestrels going in and out of their
usual nest site, sitting close in a tree
and flying up in the sky together on the
thermols. We also enjoyed the smaller
birds, Song Thrushes, Dipper and a Tree
Creeper in our garden when we returned
home.
March 17th
Well there I was
Digging a hole, a hole in the ground,
So Big and sort of Square,
actually it was the cattle grid and I
was cleaning it out for the first time
in 15 years this was due partly to stop
the neighbours sheep giggling as they
trotted across the grid which was
completly full. It took a full 60 barrow
loads to empty the grid and as I was
under pressure to complete the task so
that we could get vehicles in and out I
was completly knackered by the end of
the day and so was not able to do any
wildlife watching, in fact I was no
longer up to much at all.
 
A trip to the nurse
for a jab, not my favorite past time and
I had to pay for it, still I can now go
to as many places around the world as
Pam as she was already covered. As I had
to also go to Craignure on business I
took the opportunity to go home via Glen
More, not a short-cut then. On a tour
for myself I saw a beautiful Male Hen
Harrier, White-tailed Sea Eagles, and
some Red Deer and Seals but no Otters.
There were, around the Lochs, some Ducks
and Waders including this lovely Curlew
one of our many guests favorite bird,
particularly its call.
March 14th & 15th
Pam writing the blog
today, Arthur is still busy working
around the house emptying the old oil
tank ready to send it to the tip, he
managed to hurt is back, the numpty he
forgot to put his back belt on! The
drive ways are looking very good now and
he has made plenty of parking space for
guests coming on the tour and campervans
who can stay over night before there day
out with us. Inch
Hame is now ready to welcome our
guests for the summer. This
has been my winter project, painting,
making Roman Blinds, shampooing the
carpets and generaly having a good
spring clean. I am now Spring
cleaning The Sheiling and yesterday I
saw the Jay from the window trying to
work out how to get nuts out of the
feeder. My friend Catherine and I (&
Sally) have started walking again mainly
the woodland haul routes whilst the
ground is so wet, the veiws from the
high vantage points and close Eagles in
the hidden valleys are
wonderful.
Yesterday whilst walking to the village
our local WTS Eagle was flying high
above me. The other day I made the first
of many Lemon Drizzle cakes of the
season and we are looking forward to
welcomeing all our tour and
self-catering guests for this summer,
lets hope it's going to be a good one.
March 13th
A much better day but
it was a late start after a lovely
evening out at Andy and Helen Mortly's,
if you visit Mull this year look out for
their excellent artwork often on show at
the Calgary Carthouse gallery. Pam and I
went for a drive this afternoon and were
very surprised at the amount of vehicles
on the roads of Mull, possibly the
better weather brought a lot of locals
out of their winter hibernation. Two
notable wildlife sightings were the cute
young Red Deer seen at Killbrennan and a
beautiful Black Throated Diver starting
to come into breeding plumage seen near
Calgary Bay, it was my first Black
Throat of the year.
March 12th
The monsoon continued
for most of the day but during a short
break we, that is Pam, Myself and Sally
our dog, went over the road for a brief
walk. Birdwise it was quite proffitable
as we saw several Redwings in the trees,
my first Grey Wagtail of the year and
Sally disturbed 3 Woodcock sheltering
under a Gorse Bush. On our way back we
saw a very nice Kestrel and a Great
Spotted Woodpecker and there was a
Siskin in the garden today. Just an
observation, there are an abuntant amout
of Snowdrops out on Mull this year, the
photograph below was taken on todays
walk.
March 11th
The
only wildlife with smiles today were
Ducks and you could say they had an
awful lot to be pleased about, rain that
is, yep it rained all day and night and
as I write this blog on the 12th it is
still raining and forecast to last for
most of today, it is a good jod we have
our daughter and son-in-laws 2 Kayaks in
the shed. I put new Chicken wire on our
wooden ramp today to make it not so
slippy for our guests and our toddler
Grand Daughter who is visiting over
Easter, now my Knees are sore and my
legs ache. We went to Salen yesterday
and saw a juvenile White-tailed Eagle
who obviously has not yet learned that
Eagles don't like to fly in the rain, if
it stays on Mull it will soon learn???
March 10th
Not a lot to report
today as we spent the day in and around
Tobermory, Pam doing leaflet drops at
hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and
self-catering properties. I in the
meantime took the mini-bus to have its
annual Argyll and Bute council
inspection ????, it took 10 minutes,
nuff said. I then had some Wildlife
stickers put on the van to basically
spell out what we do, we think they have
turned out well, what do you think? We
did see a pair of Dippers at Aros
Bridge, see how I managed to get at
least one bird species into todays blog.
March 9th
A nice day with light
winds and some warm sunshine and a day
out with friends for a dry run for the
seasons up coming tours. When asked what
they would most like to see they both
said Hen Harrier which is somewhat
unusual but I had to try. After a few
stops at my known Hen Harrier sites
without success we eventually found one
hunting at our coffee break stop. This
proved to be a very productive spot as
we had also found a kestrel and Red Deer
stags here shortly after we had arrived.
A distant flying White-tailed Sea Eagle
and Golden Eagles were then seen at our
next stop with 2 more Kestrels and a
Buzzard. More White-tailed Sea Eagles
were seen including a close juvenile
which we spotted when watching a mum and
2 cub Otters playing. On we went to look
for Peregrine Falcon and found one, my
first of the year on Mull and some
Barnacle Geese. On our way back home we
saw a couple of regular Mull
visitors and now friends Chris and
Jenny, they were obviously watching
something on the hillside so I stopped
for a blether and Jenny pointed out the
female (Ringed tail) Hen Harrier hunting
so my friends with me on the tour run
were really pleased to end our outing in
such a fashion. Other notable sightings
were Snipe, Lapwings, Redwings, Mistle
Thrush, Rock and Meadow Pipits and
fantastic Goosander. I nearly forgot in
this wildlife bonanza that both types of
Seal, Common and Grey, were seen as were
lots of Great Northern Divers and some
close Slavonian Grebes. A total of 50
species were seen on a lovely day out
and the views wern't bad either.
 
A dull day with
showers although it was quite bright in
our garden today with the return of two
favorites the Great Spotted Woodpecker
and a pair of Yellowhammers. I managed
to get a nice photo of a Redshank at
Dervaig as I was unsuccessfully looking
for the Kingfiher. On a walk through
Fishnish forest looking for Crossbills
again unsuccessfully, I spotted a
juvenile White-tailed Sea Eagle floating
over the woods. After I had power walked
back to the mini-bus I went looking for
Otters and Red Throated Divers, you
guested it unsuccessfully but I did see
this lovely Dipper on the burn at
Lagganulva, so all in all I had a great
day.
March 7th
Today I had to go to
Tobermory Council Offices to take the
paperwork for my upcoming mini-bus
inspection by the council on Thursday. I
took the opportunity to check if the second
winter Iceland Gull was still present in
the harbour, and it was, check out the
photo below. Pam & I took Sally for
a walk through where West Ardhu
forest used to be, the track is still
there but with the deforestation in
parts it has become somewhat of an
obsticle course. On the walk we saw a
Sparrowhawk and Hen Harrier.
March 6th
We had a visit from
our local Treecreeper this morning and
on our way to to Quinnish for a walk
with Sally our dog we stopped at the end
of the Loch at Dervaig for a quick look.
There were a total of 11 Snipe,
Redshanks, Greenshanks and several
Little Grebes and the Kingfisher was
also seen. The walk was a little slow as
we kept bumping into folks we knew and
stopped for a blether. On a drive out
later we saw 2 seperate White-tailed sea
Eagles on their nests and a Raven gave
us a spectacular aerial display.
March 5th
I have little to tell
you about today except I was Pam,
Catherine and Sally (the dog) chauffeur
as I took them to the start of there
walk from West Ardhu to Langamull car
park, a distance of about 4 miles. The
walk took them on the new forest track
at the back of Ardrioch and they saw 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles, 2 Buzzards, a
Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and some Red
Deer. They were particularly taken with
the views and at one point they could
see the islands of the outer Hebridies.
March 4th
We took the Mini-Bus
back to the garage at Fort William today
and it turned into a sort of Hokey-
Cokey type of day. We took the Bus right
in, we have put it right, so we took the
bus back out, then the warning lights
came on? So we took the Bus back in,
eventually they fixed it and so they
took the Bus back out for a test run,
then to our great relief they brought
the Bus back in and so we took the Bus
back out, this time the warning lights
stayed off and we could come home. Many
thanks to Ann at the garage whose good
humour kept our spirits up and the
coffee was a God send.
March 3rd
We took a friend,
Bobbie Parks, from Cheshire out today
and saw no less than 5 Otters and I took
a photo of one eating a fish, please
don't look if you are at all sqeamish or
vegetarian. Both types of Eagles were
very active today with 7 Golden and 6
White-tailed Eagles seen well with 3
Goldies and a pair of White-tailed Sea
Eagles interacting together for half an
hour. Other birds of note were Black
Guilliemot, Slavonian Grebes with 9 in a
single flock and Great Northern Divers,
these last three species were all lifers
(seen for the first time ) for our
friend.
March
2nd
The local house
builders are moving at a tremendous
rate, yes our Dervaig White-tailed Sea
Eagles are building up their nest very
quickly. It does help with building if
you have a 'build base' on your doorstep
which is exactly what our pair of Eagles
have with all the de-forestation. All
they have to do is fly down from their
nest pick up a large or small branch or
a large or small stick, place it in the
right spot, check your handiwork then go
get another branch or stick. When he
returns to the nest the male bird will
probably find he has put the first stick
in the wrong place and have to change
it, well that's what tends to happen in
our house. Never the less building is
now nearly complete and there appears to
be loving harmony in the air, I predict
egg laying in the near future.
March 1st
More of a day for
birds than a birding day today as this
morning I had a major cleaning blitz on
all the bird feeders, an important job
to help stop or prevent the spread of
disease. I went out birding this
afternoon and a short time after I left
home the heavens opened and it rained
for well over an hour which forced a
change of plan and I went to Tobermory
instead. A brief trip round the local
area after the rain had stopped and I
saw Buzzards, a lovely Kestrel, a
White-tailed Eagle admiring its own nest
building, Lapwings and a fairly large
flock of Mistle Thrushes. My best
sighting however were the pair of large
Red Deer stags close to the road, they
would have made a nice photo except a
car came along just as I spotted them
and I had to move on.
March
2015
March
31st
Gale Force Winds all day not
fit to be out. March
certainly out like a Lion.
March 30th
Another
very wet day on Mull but
alright for the ducks so I
took a couple of photos to
show you there is some
wildlife OK with the
weather. Two mammals also
not affected by the rain are
Otters and Seals both of
which I saw today and the
Otter was in danger of
getting overweight with the
amount of fish it was
catching. My bird of the day
was a Kittiwake, my first on
Mull this year and I have
now seen 99 species on Mull
this year, only one more
needed but only one more day
to reach my target of 100
before the end of March.
March 29th
A walk to Langamull
with Pam today, it was a nice walk but
we did get a little wet as it poured
down on our way back. What harm can a
little rain do you, Atishoo? apart from
giving you a cold. Out early this
morning and got a couple of pictures of
a Buzzard and a Greenshank, a nice start
to the day.
March
28th
More gales from the
west but our friends were able to get a
ferry home although some were cancelled.
I spent a good part of the day tidying
up the yard in preparation for Easter. I
did go out and about but saw nothing new
for my year list. Don't forget to put
your clocks forward this evening.
March 27th
Up early and back to
Tobermory for a haircut at 9am, It took
no time at all as I followed Catriona
the owner of the hairdressers all the
way into Tobermory, it was like trying
to catch Lewis Hamilton, everyone got
out of our way, they obviously know her
car. After my haircut I had to wait a
couple of hours before a trip to the
dentist for a large filling, not one of
my favourite pastimes, so a bit of
birding to take my mind off the dreaded
needle and drill. I thought I would give
the Tobermory Magpie a try and unlike
last year I found it almost immeadiately
which was a relief. At the sewage
outfalls I found a really nice Iceland
Gull which took my mind off what was to
follow. Dreaded deed over I gratefully
went home to lick my wounds and
generally feel sorry for myself.
March 26th
I nearly had a sence
of deja-vu as we woke up to high winds
and our mini bus was due in for its
re-arranged council test, fortunately
the ferry ran and the council mechanics
were able to get across from Oban. I
went for a walk into Aros Park to get
out of the wind during the inspection
and saw little in the way of bird life
which was also sheltering. Getting back
to the bus to find it had passed its
test I drove home and hunkered down
hoping for a better day tomorrow.
March 25th
Another day out with
our friends, this time down to the deep
south of Mull. We saw 4 types of Goose,
Barnacle, Canada, Greenland
White-fronted and of course Greylag. I
had 2 new birds to add to my Mull year
list, some beautiful Golden Plover in
breeding plumage and a pair of Eider
Ducks. Bird of the day had to be the
male Hen Harrier which was displaying,
rising up like a large butterfly before
plunging down again, we watched this
behaviour for a few minutes totally
enthrawled before it dissapeared. If it
were an audition this would have been a
great one for British's National Bird
for which it is on the short list.
March
24th
A day spent at home
but I did manage to get out for a short
while to look for a local pair of
White-tailed Eagles and by local I mean
close to home. I found them, now we need
them to try amd breed. An observation,
the Moles on Mull seem to have had a
good winter with zillions of new Mole
hills appearing every day. The good news
about the mole hills is that we have
bought some fruit trees and will use the
soil thrown up by the Moles to plant
them.
March 23rd
A day of sunshine and
brief squally showers, we went out with
friends and had a great day out with a
White-tailed Sea Eagle being mobbed by a
Buzzard and 2 Golden Eagles giving us a
lot of fun at lunch time. A Red Throated
Diver in breeding plumage very close, I
got out my camera and it dived,
reappearing miles away. We saw my first
Wheatears of the year and a couple of
Hen Harriers in diferent locations. A
total of 54 bird species were seen and 3
mammal species. Bird of the day was a
Sparrowhawk which gave us a spectacular
displaying display for about 10 minutes,
it was awesome and something we will not
easily forget. Yes dear!! on my way,
forgotten it already???
March 22nd
Out and about early
this morning and although I did not see
much apart from a Red Deer trying to use
my car to commit suicide I did manage to
find the new nest spot for a pair if
White-tailed Sea Eagles. The new site
was neccessary as their originally
chosen tree fell down as there has been
considerable de-forestation on Mull, the
Eagles are blaming the forestry cuts.
Before lunch Pam and I took the dogs for
a walk at Quinnish and amongst the small
birds we saw was a small flock of Long
Tailed Tits with some carrying nest
building material, it seems like Mull's
building programme is in full swing for
the locals but watch out those migrants
will soon be upon us, some Wheatears
have already been spotted and a Sand
Martin was seen at Dervaig yesterday
afternoon.
March 21st
Back from our travels
yesterday afternoon and as we approached
Craignure on the ferry we spotted a lone
Guilliemot not over exciting but my
first of the year. Today I went out and
about and saw three new birds for my
Mull year list a Grey Wagtail at Aros
Bridge, a Whimbrel at Salen and a small
flock of Razorbills on Loch Tuath. In
all I saw over 50 species of birds and
mammals in 3 and a half hours. There
were also signs that Spring is upon us a
lovely Highland calf and a Ewe being
motherly to her new lamb. Warning
over 18's only, as I was checking one of
my Golden Eagle sites an large female
flew in and landed on some rocks,
regular visitors will know them as the
rocks that look like a letter B on its
back, just after it had landed its
partner already on the rocks jumped upon
it and I will leave the rest to your
imagination, lets just say David
Attenburgh would have been in his
element.
March 11th to 20th
Grandchildren Watch.
March 10th
A morning spent out
and about with plenty to be seen
although nothing new. A great sighting
of a Golden Eagle effortlessly holding
in the strong to gale force winds. A
pair of White-tailed Sea Eagles,
canoodeling, its time they got a nest.
An Otter on territory, sprainting and
rolling before it went into the sea for
an early lunch. There were lots of the
usual ducks and waders including the
Bar-tailed Godwit at Killiechronan.
March 9th
Awful weather again
and as our minibus is due for it's
annual council taxi/private hire
inspection I spent the morning washing
and valeting the bus. As you can see Pam
sneaked out and took a picture of me
with a cleaning cloth in my hand as she
says it is a very unusual occurance.
Note the concentration!
March 8th
A much nicer day so
Pam and I went out and as a lot of birds
had the same idea we saw over 50 species
including 4 new ones for my Mull year
list. We saw our first Pied Wagtail of
the year at Calgary Bay, a Jay at
Killiechronan, 2 Gannets flying up the
Sound of Mull and 2 Common Crossbills in
Fishnish Wood. Thrushes were seen at
several locations, Redwing, Fieldfare,
Mistle Thrushes in good numbers and Song
Thrushes as well as lots of Blackbirds.
We had a great sighting of a Golden
Eagle which I took a photo of but it was
too far away by the time I had found it
in the camera lens and is not good
enough to put on the blog. We also saw a
White-tailed Sea Eagle near a nest site
which could mean they have already laid
eggs.
March
7th
Monsoon weather, high
winds, driving rain, flooded roads, the
Dervaig reed bed flooded, we just made
it to Dougie's shop and back, closed the
doors and watched the weather from the
comfort of our kitchen.
March 6th
A bird which is now
breeding on Mull which we can really do
without is the Canada Goose, it is a
lovely bird to look at but breeds like
rabbits and today I counted 27 on one
field at Killiechronan which will not
please the farmer there as he also has
to put up with the largest flocks of
Greylag Geese on the island. On the plus
side some of our White-tailed Sea Eagles
are very partial to goslings, so the
Goose increase might help take the
pressure off some of the other Eagle
prey. On my way home this morning I took
a photograph of these two Oystercatchers
looking very smart in their new breeding
plumage.
March 5th
There has been a
distinct change in the weather, The gale
force winds and driving rain are a lot
warmer today. A pair of White-tailed
Eagles and a Buzzard flew over our
woodland this morning and with the
warmer weather Red Deer are appearing
everywhere, including some very nice
stags, where do all these animals hide
in the cold weather now that so many of
Mull's Spruce forests have been felled.
We went out for a meal at the Bellachroy
with a friend David Cole and had a
lovely meal, I had a curry which was
really tasty and I can fully recommend
our village pub.
March
4th
Today the sun came
out and so did the mammals, i saw 3
Otters today, the Seals were back
basking on islands and there were Red
Deer everywhere. Incoming Skylarks and
Meadow Pipits were feeding up furiously
and I got a new bird on Mull for the
year a Bar-tailed Godwit at
Killiechronan. Spring is certainly in
the air as Great Tits and Chaffinches
are calling all over the place as they
set up breeding territories before the
influx of Summer breeding migrants
arrive, the wonderful dawn chorus will
soon be upon us.
March 3rd
As you all know times
are hard and getting through the winter
without guests is becoming something of
a stretch, so me and a couple of mates
took on a cleaning job today. Now this
old bird knew what she was doing, she
hadn't had cleaners in for over 3 years
and the place was disgusting, still
needs must and together we got to grips
with the job. Now although I say it
myself we did a pretty good job we
cleaned and even changed her bedding, so
you can imagine are supprise and
dissappointment after checking our work
the old dear flew off without paying.
March 2nd
Another day of
showers but there were some signs of
Spring on an afternoon walk. We saw some
Frog Spawn in a ditch, Willow Catkins,
and another pair of White-tailed Sea
Eagles getting all loved up, the third
seperate pair in three days. Then there
was a hail shower and I took a picture
of a gorse bush with a few yellow
flowers showing Spring and white hail
stones showing winter is not over yet.
As darkness assended so did the snow,
with the snowplough going past the end
of our drive.
According to the BBC
weathrman today was the first official
day of Spring, if it was it was a
freezing cold one. I did not venture out
today but had a real treat in the garden
when a male Sparrowhawk came in and
landed on our weeping pear tree, it
stayed a few seconds before going for a
small bird sitting inside the tree. The
bird, a House Sparrow, flew out of the
back and the disgusted Sparrowhawk
reappeared out of the tree to sit for
several seconds on the top with a
disgruntled expression. Todays results
House Sparrow 1 Sparrowhawk 0, nice to
have a home win for a change.
March
2014
March 31st
A warm day and we were waiting for
our new carpets to arrive, nothing?
coffee time, nothing? noon, nothing?
Pam got hold of carpet man, he had
forgotten to put us in his diary and
could not get till next week, whoops
I thought April fools day had come a
day early as the volcano that is Pam
erupted. I thought she needed to get
out of the house, if we could find
the door through piled up furniture,
so we went for a couple of hours
local birding and saw some Wheatear,
Pam's first this year which calmed
her down and several Great Northern
Divers some coming into breeding
plumage and
4 Razorbills.
Returnng home we bumped into a
friend, not literally, who told us
some amusing tales of her time in
the police force and brought us up
to date with the White-tailed Eagle
happenings as she was part of the
Mull Eagle watch team last year and
so with Pam's humour now fully
restored we returned home.
The new 3 piece suite is due
to come tomorrow, I hope it
arrives!
March
30th
Mothering Sunday and the weather is
nice if breezy for a busy day. We
made the food and drinks for my
trip, I phoned my Mum to wish her a
happy day and just as we were about
to leave the house at 8-45am the
phone rang, it was the other guide
from the cruise ship in distress one
of the guides had not turned up. Who
had forgotten to put their clocks
on? it was us, rally driving into
Tobermory we were only half an hour
late and Pam got away with it as she
is normally there 3/4 of an hour
befor the bus leaves and so she
still arrived in time. My guests
were lovely and not one of them
complained and in fact thought
it quite funny. They were rewarded
with fantastic Otters a mother and 2
cubs, the cubs were enjoying the
warmer weather by indulging in a
long play fight while mum calmly
went out for a bit of peace and
quiet and an uninterupted meal. A
very good Golden Eagle sighting and
a total of 3 White-tailed Eagles one
on a nest and plenty of Red Deer and
Seal sightings so my guests were all
very pleased with their day, thanks
to all of them for being so
understanding of our forgetfulness.
By the way great view of a Black
Throated Diver today.
March 29th
It was an unusual day for me no
wildlife watching at all because we
are having new Carpets fitted on
Monday and so it was all hands to
the pump in readiness for his
momentous event. First we had to
move furniture, then take up the old
carpets and underlay and then look
for little nails and pull them all
out and finally get the underlay
which was stuck to the floorboards
up, not an easy task. I have a tour
tomorrow and Pam is guiding a bus
trip with people off a cruise ship
and we have to be in Tobermory by
9-30am. Don't forget to put your
clocks on an hour this evening and
so very tired we went to bed.
March 28th
Another lovely day with views to die
for and I went and did a dry run for
this years tours to see what was
about on my route, this might seem
strange to some readers but this
year I have to go round the route
the opposite way to previous years
as the council in their wisdom have
closed Salen toilets. This is
a forward thinking move as Mull as
regular visitors know is inundated
with toilets all over the island?
NOT. The council think all our
visitors love going behind trees and
bushes? I don't think so. Thinking
of our guests comfort we can still
have comfort breaks in the morning
and at lunchtime by reversing our
tour. So after another council rant
back to todays trip and I saw 5
Golden Eagles, most of them distant
but the one at the end of the day
was reasonable. I had 4 White-tailed
Sea Eagles the one in the picture
flew right over the van but way up
high giving great views through
binoculars if not through my pitiful
camera. A Hen Harrier, a long way
off, at my first stop seen with 2
Golden Eagles and some Red Deer, 3
Red Deer stags were viewed when I
stopped for morning coffee. Only 1
Otter seen today but it was a very
good one fairly close and fishing as
it travelled along, unconcerned as
the wind was coming into my face so
the Otter could not catch my scent.
I saw my first Lesser Black-backed
Gull on Mull this year taking my
year list up to 98 and finally I got
a reasonably photo of a Greenshank
which was completely still, unusual
for this gorgeous wader.
March 27th
A gorgeous day and what was I doing
taking my new mini-van of 4 weeks to the
council garage so that it could be
inspected by their mechanics to make
sure it was up to scratch for private
hire. The clue here was It is NEW,
hardly used, you don't even have to have
a MOT test for 3 years, however Argyle
and Bute council need to make sure it is
road worthy. Ah well as they say in the
song it all makes work for the working
man to do. Just for your
information........ IT PAST??????? On my
way home I saw my first Wheatear of the
year, hey good news Spring is just
around the corner???
March 26th
A lovely day and a brief outing just to
see what was out there and I managed to
see 3 White-tailed Eagles, an Otter,
several Common Seals, Red Deer, at least
6 Great Northern Divers and the Lapwing
and Iceland Gull pictured below.
Another cool but mainly dry day with
just a hint of wetting rain, you know
the type that you can barely feel but
ends up making your glasses and optics
wet through so you spend as much time
wiping them dry as you do birding. A
trip out this morning brought 30 species
of birds but no raptors at all, they
must have been sitting at home wiping
their eyes as the fine mizzle continued
to fall. Birds of the day 15 Redshanks
at Dervaig a large count for this spot,
4 Wigeon and a Greenshank here as well.
A Ringed Plover at Croig and 2 Gannets
and to end the trip a Red Grouse and a
Great northern Diver. We saw 17 species
of birds in the garden today with Pied
wagtail, Yellowhammer and 2 Great
Spotted Woodpeckers being the more
unusual although they are becoming
regulars.
March 24th
We took our van to Tobermory today to
have it personalised for Discover Mull
and the result is in the picture below,
we hope you like it. Many thanks to KFT
in Tobermory for their help and
expertease in producing the final look.
While they were working on the bus Pam
and I went for a walk in Aros Park which
was quite productive as Pam saw her
first Jay of the year and I saw my first
Goldcrest of the year so we both had
something to be pleased about bird wise.
March 23rd
After early rain it turned out nice with
some much needed sunshine. We are
clearing the decks at Ardrioch for some
new carpets and a three piece suite this
means moving furniture and throwing out
our old three piece suite of 30 years
standing, it is like saying goodbye to
anold friend. As we work I look out at
the gorgeous weather thinking I would
much prefer to be out there instead of
stuck in here. To match the sunshine a
splash of yellow appeared on our
feeders, a Yellowhammer, it has stayed
away for quite some time. We did manage
to get out for an hour late in the day
and saw 3 golden Eagles, a White-tailed
Sea Eagle,11 redshank at Dervaig and 3
Red deer stags amongst other things. We
are hoping to get our new van dressed up
tomorrow ready for the season if the
weather holds, look out for pictures
coming soon.
March 22nd
The day of the Bird Club outing and 17
of us met in the Dervaig Community
Centre car park, the weather was better
than forcast with only the occasional
squally hail shower during which the
temperature dropped by 2 degrees. We saw
Red deer and 2 Otters but it was birds
we were after, the clues in the name of
the club. During the day over 40 species
of birds were seen and here is a list of
the highlights. Golden Eagle, Peregrine
Falcon, Kestrel, Buzzard and Hen
Harrier, we also saw 2 Red Grouse and a
Great Northern Diver. Gulls seen
included both Iceland and Glaucous Gull
the latter being my first of the year so
I was well chuffed, little birds of note
were Treecreeper, Stonechat and
Long-tailed Tits which I missed as I
arrived late at the start point. I am
now writing 100 lines I must not be
late.
The weather is turning colder and as I
write this blog it is the morning of the
22nd and the lawn outside is covered in
hail stones and in an hour or so I am
leading a bird club outing around North
West Mull, my local patch. I digress so
back to the 21st and I decided to go
around the route I intend to take
tomorrow but much quicker, the weather
was windy and cold so there were few
little birds about and the Eagles were
either hiding and or more probably
nesting so I did not see any of them
either, looking good for tomorrow I
thought. In the 3 hours I was out I did
see my first Gannet of the year, all 3
Divers and a very nice Kestrel in a
total of 31 species seen. This evening
we went to a very interesting talk on
the effects of Mink on breeding
populations of Sea Birds, Waders, Gulls
and Terns on the small islands around
Mull and it is devastating. It can only
be reversed by small scale intervention
or very costly trapping and killing of
Mink. What we saw on the slide show was
horrific as most of the birds killed by
Mink and it ran into the thousands were
not eaten, at least the Otters that
killed did eat them. I have sympathy
with any activists who want to see Mink
Farms irradicated but letting them out
to reap such carnage on our fragile
wildlife is certainly not the answer.
March 20th
Last night it rained and this was not a
shower but 8 hours of relentless rain,
it continued untlil after lunch although
not as heavily and then the sun came out
and for the rest of the day it was quite
spring like. Our morning was spent
spending again, this time on new
carpets, we had to stay in and choose
carpets as we have not renewed any since
we arrived at Ardrioch and Pam thinks it
is about time we did, so now we need as
many guests as possible or our borrowing
will be resembling the governments and
Pam will be putting austerity measures
on me. There was little time for
wildlife watching today with mainly
Waders and Gulls seen on a short trip
out this afternoon.This evening Neil
Morrison from MacGochans in Tobermory
put on an excellent evening of food
tasting and drinks from this years menu
and if it remains as good as it was last
night we can fully recommend it for
anyone staying in or around Tobermory.
Although it was not on last night they
assured me that for real ale drinkers
the Tobermory beers will be on draught
in the pub in the summer. So you
see there is always something for
everyone to do on rainy days in
Tobermory, the Whisky Distilery at one
end of the car park,MacGochans, in the
car park and for those who like their
drinks from a mug there is the chocolate
shop just outside the car park, with
everyones needs covered and great views
what more could you ask for? 'Staying at
Ardrioch' Pam has just shouted, oh well
you cannot please everyone.
March 19th
A dull mainly dry but very windy day and
our friend David Cole came and took me
out on a days birding. We saw an Otter,
Seals, Red Deer including stags and some
Rabbits, what about the birds I hear you
thinking, well we saw lots of them as
well including both White-tailed and
Golden Eagle. Today however was not
about how many species we saw but the
quality of the species we saw, 2 Red
Grouse not common on Mull, all 3 Divers
including my first Black Throated Diver
of the year and a pair of beautiful Grey
Wagtails. At least 40 bird species seen
on a great day's birding even though I
finished the day feeling extremely cold,
it is true and today proved it. It is
not the weather that counts it is the
unsuitable clothing, next time I will
take a coat and gloves. Thanks a lot to
David it was my best day out so far this
year.
March 18th
The weather was a lot better than
forcast but I had to clean all my bird
feeders before I could think of going
birding. This is a very neccessary job
as it prevents desease spreading through
the bird species that use your feeders.
After lunch I went out and about locally
and almost as soon as I left home the
sun went in and it became cooler,
windier and drizzly. Shortly after I had
set off I saw a White-tailed Sea Eagle
being harried by a Hooded Crow, the bird
flew off in the direction of Ulva and I
gave chase in the car, now I was not
holding back but the Eagle effortlessly
kept its distance in front of me, the
speed these birds achieve without
appearing to do much more than float on
air is amazing. Continuing on in the
mizzle I spotted a Kestrel, Buzzard and
some Red Deer but my sighting of the day
was the Purple Sandpiper at Lainne
Sgeir, I hope we see some their on
Saturday as the bird club outing is on
the North West of Mull.
March 17th
A better day and I washed the new van so
that we can decorate it ready for the
upcoming season. Pam and I are still
feeling the effects of our colds, or in
my case serious Man Flu, so one job a
day is all we can manage so when Pam
told me to take some old furniture to
the Tobermory tip I put in a stong
objection. On my way home from the
Tobermory tip I saw a White-tailed eagle
being mobbed by a Buzzard, picture of
the Eagle below Buzzard picture was
rubbish, the Eagle disturbed a Mallard
and I was able to get the picture as it
flew off. At Dervaig there were 12
Redshank, a good number at this spot
also Curlew and Oystercatchers at this
location.
A very driech day but
needing to find some wildlife to put on
the blog we dragged ourselves out and
set off towards Salen. We were
underwelmed to see a small flock of
Starlings and then wow a Hooded Crow, I
bet I had you going there. Things got
better at Aros Bay with Wigeon, Curlews
, Oystercatchers, Herons, Red breasted
Mergansers, a Goosander and 2 Great
Northern Divers. At Loch Na Keal we
could hardly see anything due to low
cloud and misty rain but there were 2
very close Shelduck and we think we saw
a White-tailed Eagle. The weather by now
was impossible but we did manage to see
some Red Deer, a White-tailed Eagle
flying in the mist and 2 Otters as the
weather improved. We arrived home tired
but with at least something to blog
about.
March 15th
We have arrived home with me with severe
Man Flu and Pam with a slight cold, she
is actually feeling and looking worse
than me. Misty our older dog is limping
after battling with briars in the wood
while we were away, she doesn't limp
half as much when she thinks we are not
looking. It is nice to be home again and
both our Woodpeckers have paid us a
visit and Chrissy who has been looking
after everything for us left food for us
so we can now rest and recuperate. A
special mention to our son Richard,
thanks for everything and by that I mean
the Colds and Man Flu, at your age you
don't need to share everything with your
parents.
March 5th to 14th
Pam and I are away from Mull visiting
family before we get busy during the
summer, we came down in the new mini-bus
to give it a good run and show my Dad.
We have left our lovely friend Christine
looking after Ardrioch and the dogs, who
adore her, while we are away, but you
can still get in touch with us via email
as we have taken our laptop or you can
phone on our mobile (number above) if
you require tour or self-catering
information. I will resume my Mull blog
on returning to Mull on Friday 14th
March. By the way as I sat on the sofa
in our son's livingroom a cousin of the
Tobermory Magpie flew past waving
sarcasticly at me, I was furious but at
least I know what they look like now!
March 4th
Merlin today, no not the magician, the
lovely little bird of prey, it was a
female and it flew right in front of the
new van, casting an admiring glance at
it as it flew past, I was certainly
admiring this gorgeous little raptor.
Another good sighting today was a flock
of 20 Skylarks, I tried to take a
picture but the little blighters kept
flying off just out of my camera range.
Returning home Pam told me the
Yellowhammer had returned to the garden
feeders always a nice bird to see.
March 3rd
We went to Tobermory to inform the
council about our new bus to get an
updated private hire licence, we then
went to see the chap who is doing the
logo and design pictures for the van, it
should look really good. I went out this
afternoon and saw both types of
Deer,including this lovely pair of
almost black Fallow Deer, a Golden
Eagle, Great Northern Divers and a pair
of Red Throated Divers. I have noticed
in the past few days that we were seeing
less Great Tits in the garden and today
I found out why, in several areas around
north Mull Great Tits are out their
staking their claim to territories, this
is the first real sign I have seen in
the bird population on Mull that Spring
is nearly upon us.
March 2nd
A dull cold day and we went out for a
drive to get used to the new bus, we
were not particularly looking for
wildlife as we were more concerned with
not scratching the bus but we could not
miss this pair of Golden Eagles which
were displaying to each other right
above us. We were able to stop and get
photo's of the birds which appear below,
unfortunatly due to the dull conditions
there is very little colour on the
pictures but we had fantastic views.
March 1st
A nice day for travelling and we went to
Fort William for the day. The bad bit
was one and a half hours of supermarket
shopping, the good news we have a brand
new mini-bus. No birding today but we
have heard a Stork has been busy and we
welcome little Jack into this world and
congratulate our friends and proud
parents David and Catherine very best
wishes to you all, we were delighted to
hear your news
March
2013
March
31st
Happy
Easter to all my blog readers and a lovely
cold Spring day with a strong breeze and an
hour less sleep, a great day for our first
tour of the year and what a good day out it
was with 52 birds and 4 mammals seen. The
highlight was an unexpected Sandwich Tern in
Calgary Bay and a Lesser Black backed Gull
at killiechronan, both year Mull ticks for
me. White-tailed Sea Eagle and Black
Guillemot were life ticks for 2 of our
guests which is always nice. Other notable
birds were Golden Eagles, Goosanders,
Bar-tailed Godwits, Razorbills and
Guillemots. A very nice day enjoyed by all
and I can't wait for my next tour on Tuesday
who knows what will turn up.
March
30th
A
bright sunny day and a day when Ardrioch
lost an old friend, the rally car which has
been in our shed since crashing out of last
years rally has been taken away as have most
of its accessories, the shed looks quite
empty now it has gone. It was also a day for
renewing our acquaintance with our feathered
friends in the garden including our Great
Spotted Woodpecker which put in a starring
appearance. Personally I really like to see
the Dunnocks an unassuming but pretty little
bird which I have taken a great liking to.
March
11th to March 29th
We
have been away for 3 weeks to visit Parents,
Children and Grand Children, Sad to report
that Pam's dad passed away on monday the
18th March and we had the funeral on
the 28th. He like so many older people
developed a chest infection in the cold
weather and failed to recover. He died quite
quickly and very comfortably and it was good
for Pam that she had seen him before he took
ill and was with him when he died. Obviously
this has been a trying time for us and Pam
in particular but we are now back home and
it will be business as usual with
self-caterers coming in on Saturday and my
first tour next week. Many thanks to all
those who sent condolences, Pam said it was
a great comfort to her and that she was
pleased her dad was so well thought of. The
blog will return to normal tomorrow.
March
10th
A
lovely cold Spring day and Pam and I
demolished a bathroom in preparation for the
new one going in before the start of the
season. We will soon be invaded by builders,
electricians and a firm of very, very good
plumbers and heating engineers from Nantwich
in Cheshire, R.J. Brown heating and
plumbing. By the way did I mention he is our
son.
March
9th
A day
similar to yesterday weather wise and a new
bird for my year list as I saw my first
Gannet of the year just off Calgary Bay.
Another sighting of interest for me were a
pair of Wood Pigeons at the end of our
drive, now I know we get more than our fair
share of Rock Doves but these were the first
Wood Pigeons near our house that I have seen
in the 10 years we have lived here at
Ardrioch.
March
8th
A
dull, dry windy day and cold, I went out to
try and find some new little birds for my
Mull year list but no new ones although I
did see a very nice Treecreeper and had a
lovely long chat with friends Jenny and
Chris. In the afternoon as I was watching
the birds in the garden a pair of Ravens
flew over and a Sparrowhawk flew through.
March
7th
It
actually rained today in the morning with a
dull dry afternoon. A BTO meeting at our
house this lunchtime when we gave some new
volunteers their breeding bird squares, as
we were chatting after lunch a Siskin turned
up on my feeders my first of the year on
Mull and the a White-tailed Eagle flew over
our garden being mobbed by a Buzzard.
March
6th
A
breezy cool day and a quiet day all round as
we continue our preparations for the new
season. On a trip to the bottle bank and
local shop which is brilliant, the shop not
the bottle bank I saw 2 Snipe in gorgeous
summer plumage on the Loch Cuin mud flats,
there were 4 Redshanks associating with
them.
March
5th
A
quiet calm day with little to report as we
spent the day in Oban as the van was having
it's annual council test, it passed. Pam
spent a long time shopping for baking goods
and will soon be baking her home baked
biscuits and famous Lemon Drizzle Cake, so
we are nearly ready for our wildlife tours
to start, on a personal note I can't wait.
March
4th
A dull
cold breezy day and a trip around the island
seeing 70 species of bird and 5 mammals.
Otters, Deer, both Red and Fallow were seen
but no hares today. Both types of Eagle were
seen as were 3 Ring Tailed Hen Harriers and
I managed my first Jackdaw of the year on
Mull. Highlight birds of the day were 8
whooper Swans, a Common Scoter, a pair of
Goosanders, Golden Plovers and a Great Scaup
my second new bird of the day and a Mull
rarity. Just to show how cold it gets on
Mull in winter even the sheep wear jumpers.
March
3rd
The
dry weather continues and I had to go and
give the van a good wash and shine at the
car wash in Tobermory in readiness for its
council test on the 5th. Yesterday it had
some of the Discover Mull stickers renewed,
many thanks to Steve Davis who made a great
job of them. Golden Eagle and Red Deer seen
on my way home and some nice very close
Goldeneye ducks on the Mishnish Lochs.
March
2nd
A dull
day with a small amount of rain but not
enough to write about, so I won't dwell on
it. A good Otter today fairly close to
Ardrioch seen on a walk with the dogs. We
have the gardeners in at the moment digging
up our lawns and pathways, it does mean we
are getting a lot of top soil which I
am collecting and putting in a large pile.
If I was not a wildlife lover I would put
traps down to catch these perishing Moles.
March
1st
After
a misty start the day turned out to be a
gorgeous Mull Spring day, a day to really
take in the breath taking views, so that is
precisely what we did. It is really amazing
to be able to go out and see just how
amazingly beautiful The Isle Of Mull truly
is, as the poem says 'The Island of Mull of
Isles the fairest' and today you could
really see where these sentiments came from.
On the bird front as well as both types of
Eagle we saw a pair of Goosander, a pair of
Dippers and 3 Bar-tailed Godwits.
March 2012
March
31st
Weather
heavy overnight and morning rain, sunny
afternoon, very windy - A walk through the
forestry land down Glen Bellert today and I
had very close views of Common Crossbills,
unfortunately I did not have the camera with
me. In the tops of the trees were some
Lesser Redpolls the first time I have seen
these lovely birds this year. Pam spent the
day making wedding cakes for our sons
wedding later in the year they looked really
good when they came out of the oven .
March
30th
Weather
showery, cloudy and cooler - Just a short
trip out today to look for a Red-necked
Grebe, I did not find it but did see some
very nice coastal birds in the mist. I got
rid of our old tractor today so we will have
more room in the big shed for when the sheep
start lambing.
March
29th
Weather
cloudy with a light cool breeze - A tour
today and we started with Peregrine Falcon
not a bad way to start a tour, 2 Otters. the
Pied Billed Grebe, Common Seal, Wigeon, Teal
and Curlew soon followed, it was all going
too well and little else was seen the next 2
hours apart from Herons, Great Northern
Divers and Slavonian Grebes. At lunchtime we
saw Lapwings and a Wheatear and 4 newly
arrived Sand Martins and a little later a
group of Red Deer but the bigger birds were
still eluding us. As we were getting a
little concerned we spotted a Female
(Ring-tailed) Hen Harrier on the hill in
front of us and it gave us some good views
quartering the hillside before it was joined
by another female and they flew away
together. Feeling much better we went on and
after stopping to look at a Buzzard and
Stonechat went to look for Golden Eagle, we
were in luck this time as Pam spotted a
distant bird flying fast and straight, the
Eagle came really close to where we were
parked on a hill track and was joined by its
mate and gave us a fabulous matinee
performance. A kestrel was startled by the
proximity of the Eagles and before the day
ended we had seen a White-tailed Sea Eagle,
a good but distant view and 4 Snipe and 5
Redshank. All in all a great day of wildlife
sightings on Mull.
March
28th
Weather
cloudy calm but with great viewing light - A
male Hen Harrier, a Golden Eagle and 2 Sand
Martins at a single stop today, the Harrier
was being mobbed by 2 Hooded Crows. A flock
of 6 Crossbills seen flying over and a
single female sitting in the top of tree was
another good sighting today. In the morning
an Otter and 2 White-tailed Eagles were seen
as were 3 separate pairs of Shelduck and 3
great Northern Divers which are starting to
get their summer plumage. Finally our
Sparrowhawk was sitting in the ornamental
Weeping Pear Tree in the garden this
evening, it still is not catching much in
our garden but the little birds are probably
getting traumatized. The views today were
fantastic.
March
27th
Weather
a beautiful spring day - I hope you all
altered your clocks last night, I did but
the wrong way so had to go round them all
again idiot that I am. We took the dogs on
a long hike today as the weather was so
nice, it really does give you a new leash
of life to be out and about in the
countryside when the weather is this good.
The views were wonderful and Pam remarked
at one time that she almost felt you could
reach out and touch the houses on Coll, a
bit of an exaggeration as they were at
least 5 miles away at the time. We saw 3
White-tailed Eagles, 2 of which flew right
over our heads, 2 very close Mistle
Thrushes, a beautiful brick red male
Crossbill and 5 Ringed plovers on the walk
as several Skylarks serenaded us from
above, wonderful.
March
26th
Weather
after early rain a dull, cloudy day with a
breeze - I took Pam to see the Pied Billed
Grebe today as she had not seen it before
and it was the first one she had seen, I
managed to get a few photo's of the bird
and hope they are good enough to put on
the web site and you can all see what the
fuss has been about. On our way back home
we saw 2 Otters feeding and a couple of
female (Ring-tailed) Hen Harriers always
nice birds to see. Dave A B Cole, a friend
of ours who regularly comes to Mull, took
these pictures of the Pied Billed Grebe
and a hovering Buzzard, he also put up a
'Night cam' by our entrance to see if we
could get a picture of the deer jumping
the cattle grid at night. Although we
didn't get the deer we did get some
photo's set off by a rabbit, sheep and the
early bus which we thought you might like
to see as it shows Dervaig in the dispense
between 6 and 8 o'clock in the morning.
March
25th
Weather
another great spring day with hardly any
breeze - A real wow factor to the tour
today as we saw 6 Golden Eagles, 4
White-tailed Sea Eagle, 2 Peregrine
Falcons, 3 Kestrels, at least 8 Buzzards,
2 Otters, Red Deer and Common Seals. To
top this list we also saw the Pied Billed
Grebe giving more visitors to Mull a
sighting of this rare bird and it was a
closer encounter than the one we had on
the 25th. The views today were special as
are the Daffodils appearing in a garden or
field everywhere on North Mull, lovely.
March
24th
Weather
exactly the same as yesterday - we went to
Tobermory to do a leaflet drop in the
hotel and guest houses today and although
not birding managed to see 3 Golden
Eagles, a Peregrine Falcon, a Kestrel and
several Buzzards, we also saw a few Red
Deer and a big stag, hopefully the
wildlife will remain this obliging for the
rest of the summer. We are having the
outside of the house and
self-catering painted at the moment
and it is starting to look spick and span
for all our summer guests and in the next
few days our Daffodils should be in full
bloom as a fine surround to the newly
painted house, pictures when it is all
finished.
March
23rd
Weather
Cloudy, dry, calm but warm - A tour today
with Hen Harrier, Golden Eagle,
White-tailed Sea Eagle, Otter and Red Deer
all being seen. The highlight for me
though was a Pied Billed Grebe seen in
Salen Bay a first time bird for me and
only the second recorded in Argyll, a red
letter day. We saw Stonechats and Gannets
as well today both seen for the first time
this year, and we had very nice views of
both types of Seal. It was great to be out
with a good group and their spotting
skills were most appreciated.
March
22nd
Weather
Scorchio, well that was what it seemed
like, sunshine and hardly any wind hoorah
- Maintenance work for most of the day,
boring but I did manage a short trip out
with Dave a friend of ours who regularly
comes up to Mull. We went to Cailiach
Point where we saw my first Wheatears of
the year mixing with Pied Wagtails, Meadow
Pipits and Rock Pipits, it is great to see
the first Spring migrants return and I
look forward to more arriving soon.
March
21st
Weather
dry, some sunshine but very windy and cold -
A tour today and it proved a very good
raptor day with some fantastic views of
White-tailed Sea Eagles and Golden Eagles.
It was not just seeing the Eagles that made
it such a good day but their inter action
with other birds of prey Buzzards, Kestrels
and Peregrine Falcons that made the day
special. The other notable sighting on the
day was the Pink Footed Goose still with the
Greylag Geese in the Calgary area,
March
20th
Weather
cloudy drizzle most of the day, windy - A
truly lazy sunday until we took the dogs for
a walk in the afternoon, we saw a very nice
Arctic Hare, a Great Northern Diver,
Kittiwakes and very little else of note.
Last night we went to the Bellachroy Inn for
a meal and very exciting it was too as Pam
managed to set her hair on fire with the
flame from the candle on the table, I was
able to put her out before any real damage
was done but the singe smell remained for
some time. by the way the meal we had was
excellent as usual.
March
19th
Weather
wonderful sunny and warmer - We had to go to
a Wild
Scotland meeting in Tobermory this
morning as we are members of this important
group of tour businesses which operate in an
ethical and sustainable way to ensure all
guests get to see the wildlife Scotland has
to offer, its Scenery, Geology and History
without undue disturbance or destruction of
sensitive sites. We currently have 130
organizations throughout the whole of
Scotland who have to sign up too a code of
practice which they must adhere to. We are
all indebted To Caroline Warburton who runs
the organization for us, keeps us all on the
straight and narrow and helps make Visit
Scotland realize the fact that we do have a
wonderful rural habitat and wildlife to
share with you all here in Scotland as well
as Tartan, Whisky and Golf.
March
18th
Weather
overcast with cooler breeze and some rain,
hail - A trip today with great guests who
put up with the weather with great
fortitude. On the tour we saw 7 Snipe which
was a good number for a tour, 2 brilliant
and close Red Deer stags also Fallow Deer.
Birds of prey seen were 3 White-tailed
Eagles, 2 distant Golden Eagles, 2
Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels, 2 Hen Harriers and
numerous Buzzards. My bird of the day was a
Lesser Black-backed Gull the first reported
on Mull this year, I almost forgot the Otter
seen at lunchtime which all the ladies
enjoyed as always. Tonight we went to the
bird club meeting where we had a very
interesting talk about the Eurasian Beaver
re-introduction programme at Knapdale and
what effects the Beavers were having on the
landscape, it was not only interesting but
enlightening as Beavers were hunted out in
Scotland 400 years ago. It remains to be
seen if at the end ot the trial in 2013
whether Beavers have a future in Scotland or
not, the jury is out.
March
17th
Weather
another beautiful early spring day - Oh to
be out and about but chores get in the way,
work on the dam this morning and clearing up
the yard this afternoon in readiness for
self-catering guests. Pam spent the morning
spring cleaning the Shieling which has had
new lights fitted in the bathroom. We had a
large bonfire today, most of the stuff
burned was out of the garden with a fallen
tree a d broken branches being the main
part, it produced a really good blaze. We
had our first Pied Wagtail in the garden
today and also a very persistent Buzzard
kept flying over.
March
16th
Weather
fantastic wall to wall sunshine but still a
breeze, cool - The Brambling was on the
peanut feeders first thing this morning the
first time I have seen it in 3 days, I was
beginning to think it had flown away. On a
short trip out today we had some great views
of Lapwings and I managed to get a picture
of one through the telescope. Another
favorite bird of mine which we saw were Teal
and I took some pictures as I had not got
any that were very good and this one
although not great is the best of the bunch.
March
15th
Weather
another good day but cloudier than yesterday
- Up and out at dawn today hoping to see
Owls but only got one fleeting view of a
probable Tawny Owl but too brief to identify
although I did hear at least 3. In the field
where the cemetery is at Calgary I saw 38
Red Deer hinds with calves. At first light
there was a White-tailed Eagle in a usual
sitting place but no sign of the mate.
hopefully they are laying.
March
14th
Weather
Blue skies nothing but blue skies, which
certainly makes a change from what we have
been getting lately - I took the van to have
some new rear brake pads fitted in Tobermory
this morning and while I waited I went for a
walk through Aros Park. I was there for 2
hours and saw 18 species of birds, I could
have seen the same 18 species in 10 minutes
in our garden but I would not have got in
the exercise. After lunch I went out to see
if I could find any local Dervaig wildlife,
much better 3 Greenshank, a Golden Eagle, a
White-tailed Sea Eagle, 3 Otters, a Great
Northern Diver, 2 Shelducks, a Curlew and a
Shag with a nice breeding tuft. As well as
the wildlife the scenery was much nicer as
well with great views of snow covered hills.
Thanks to Nigel and Nancy for their nice
e-mail about their tour on the 6th it is
always good to get positive feedback about
the day particularly as it was my first tour
of the year.
March
13th
Weather
windy with some heavy squally showers, cold
- We took the dogs for a walk on a new
forest track at Langamull this morning and
once again saw Crossbills. In the garden
this morning we saw one of the long staying
Bramblings we are beginning to wonder how
long this lovely bird is going to stay with
us. After the walk we again went to look for
the Golden Eagles which are relatively close
to Ardrioch and they obliged with a superb
pair bonding display , at times they were
flying below us and we could see all the
colour on the backs and tops of their wings
- fabulous.
March
12th
Weather
sleet, snow, low cloud and cold and damp -
Not the best day for a tour but we did
manage to see some Highland Cattle through
the sleet. We also saw an Otter, Fallow
Deer, Common Seals, lots of Ducks with Teal
being my favourite, Curlews and some very
close Bar-tailed Godwits. I think the
highlight for everyone was the hot home made
Carrot Soup and sandwiches eaten in front of
the aga in our kitchen at lunchtime watching
a persistent Sparrowhawk flying through the
garden and not able to take a single bird
off the feeders.
March
11th
Weather
back to a bit of everything - We took the
dogs on a walk we have not been on before
and saw a Crossbill and heard many more. In
the afternoon we went out looking for Golden
Eagles and found a pair which flew very
close to us giving some very nice views. We
also saw 2 very close Red Deer stags and
another Arctic Hare which was a nice
sighting as we had not seen one in this area
for a couple of years.
 
March
10th
Weather
gale force winds, rain, sleet, hail with
some sunny breaks if you could stand up in
it - Not a day for going out today so we let
the birds come to us. A white-tailed Sea
Eagle flew over our shed this morning giving
Pam a bit of a shock, a Buzzard flew over
the garden calling as it circled on its way
and a Sparrowhawk flew through the garden
scattering all the small birds in all
directions, not bad for a day in.
March
9th
Weather
Heavy squally showers, very windy - the wind
has driven some birds into the shelter of
Calgary Bay today enabling me to see my
first Kittiwakes and Razorbills of the year.
Once again Pam has been playing her favorite
game 'little bo peep' as 2 of our new ewe's
had gone missing, taking the dogs she walked
all the way around our property and found
them in the wood by the gate waiting to be
let in, typical.
March
8th
Weather
a little bit of everything from sunshine
(not much) to heavy rain with wind thrown in
- Firstly I forgot to mention the Mountain
Hares we saw yesterday, they were beautiful
and when they spotted us they were off like
a shot. Today our nearest pair of
White-tailed Sea Eagles were sitting on a
hillock just up the road from here looking
miserable as it was raining at the time,
either that or they had just had a row. A
family of Whooper Swan turned up at Dervaig
this morning 2 adults with 3 Cygnets and out
and about today I saw 2 Otters and some Red
Deer including 2 Stags.
March
7th
Weather
cloudy, windy feeling cold in the wind - Pam
and I spent a very cold but really enjoyable
couple of hours watching Fulmars at Cailaich
Point today. Fulmars are tube nosed like the
Albatross from the southern hemisphere and
just like the Albatross are incredible
fliers, it was a joy to sit and watch these
birds using the wind to glide past the
cliffs and land lightly on prospective nest
sights, bit like watching the Red Arrows but
not in formation. I managed to get a couple
of photo's to show you a little of what we
were looking at, I hope it wets your
appetite to get out watching wildlife
whenever you get the time. By the way we did
not feel the cold until we returned to the
car that was how engrossed we were.
March
6th
Weather
cloudy mainly dry but with a cool wind - Our
first tour of the year and we had brilliant
Merlin a first for all our guests, my first
one this year and as we only see a few each
year it was a great start. We saw at least
14 Buzzards but as we saw so many we lost
count, 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles and 3
Golden Eagles and 2 Kestrels in a good
raptor day. Mammals seen were Red Deer
including a very nice stag, Fallow Deer,
Common Seals and 4 Otters with 2 playful
cubs being the highlight. Other notable
sightings, Goosanders, Shelducks, Wigeons,
Goldeneye, Little Grebe and a pair of
Lapwing on territory. A bird we missed from
yesterdays blog a Carrion Crow with Hooded
Crows only the second one we have seen on
Mull.
March
5th
Weather
Cloudy, but calm great light for wildlife
watching - I went for a trip out and in the
early morning watched 3 White-tailed Sea
Eagles a pair and a single bird in their
territory, the pair look besotted with each
other. I then went to an area where we have
breeding Fulmar and spent half an hour
watching a fly display by these wonderful
birds, I also watched a couple of Meadow
Pipits trying to outdo each other in
parachute flying. On the sea here I saw a
Great Northern Diver and a Guillemot, the
first one of the year for me. I went home
and picked up Pam and during the rest of a
fantastic day we saw 2 more White-tails, 6
Golden Eagles and 2 Otters one being watched
enviously by a Grey Heron as it munched on a
fish it had just caught.
March
4th
Weather
cloudy, calm, warm with a slight sea fog or
haa coming in this afternoon - Hi folks we
are back after visiting Parents, Children
and Grand Children in England. While we were
in Cheshire we picked up a new Barn Owl box
made by Neil Gallimore, a previous guest on
our tours, who on hearing of the fate of the
old box very kindly made a new replacement
box to go in the tree. On returning home
yesterday evening I rang Andy Mortley a
local artist and a friend of ours who put up
the original box and told him we had a new
box. Today Andy came round and we placed the
new box in the tree where the original box
had been and put a second box in a tree
close by as you can see from the pictures
below. Many thanks to both Neil and Andy and
let us hope that the Barn Owls on Mull
appreciate their efforts and use the boxes.
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This is the web
site of Pam & Arthur Brown,
Ardrioch Farm, Dervaig, Isle of
Mull. PA75 6QR
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