November 2018
Nov 5th to
30th
I
(Pam) am going
to America with
our son, wife
and 2 small
children to our
daughter-in-laws
brothers wedding
in California, I
am leaving
Arthur at home
to look after
Lucy the dog
whilst I am
away. As I am
the one that
up-loads the
blog and does
the photo's
there will be no
blog whilst I'm
away. I have
also managed to
book myself a
whale watching
trip whilst I'm
away. Arthur
will be here to
deal with any
emails or phone
calls and will
be able to take
any bookings for
next year.
Nov
4th
I had
to work on the
water supply
today as well as
more clearing up
in the shed
although we did
manage a short
trip to Calgary,
Cailaich and
Dervaig. We were
only out for
just over an
hour but managed
to see, 2 Snipe,
Little Grebe,
Greylag Geese,
Curlews, a
Redshank,
Oystercatchers,
Rock Pipits,
Common Gulls,
Kittiwakes, 2
Black Throated
Divers, 2 Great
Northern Divers,
Shags, great
Black Backed
Gulls, Fulmars
and a Razorbill,
Mallards and on
our way home a
hunting female
Hen Harrier. The
only wild mammal
we saw today
were Red Deer
unless you count
Lucy who when
not running
around like a
mad thing spends
the day either
licking us to
death or trying
to trip us up.
Nov
3rd
New birds in the
garden today 3 starlings,
otherwise heavy rain for most of
the day although when the rain
stopped Pam saw a
White-tail Sea Eagle from
the kitchen window flying
over Loch Cuin.
Nov 2nd
A couple of hours
birding with 3 White-tailed
Eagles seen, 2 Golden Eagles and
lots of Buzzards and Kestrels.
At Killiechronan we saw 30
Fallow Deer a record for us, a
single Bar Tailed Godwit, a Teal
and a group of Goosander. We
took Lucy along to get her used
to car travel and after a walk
with Pam she was car sick on our
way home, It wasn't the walk
that did it but the cambers and
bends on Mull's roads. This
afternoon we brought in the
picnic tables as we don't intend
to sit out again this Winter and
our self-catering guests have
all gone home. Tomorrow the
weather looks horrendous so
there will probably be no
birding except through the
kitchen window.
Nov
1st
I am leading a Mull
Bird Club field trip around the
North West of Mull later in the
month so this morning I did a
dry run, litterally, as for once
it wasn't raining and I saw 50
species of birds and 3 mammals
in 3 and a half hours, not bad
methinks. The highlights were 4
Carrion Crows, ok have you
stopped laughing now, Carrion
Crows a highlight, well we
hardly ever have them on Mull so
4 is a highlight for us. 2
Brambling in the garden was
another highlight as were the
Lapwings in Laggan Bay along
with Curlews and a Dipper at
high tide, The Skylark in the
photo was a Cailaich as was the
Common Buzzard on a rock as I
was leaving. The Rock Pipits
were in a field near Lagganulva
Bay. In the afternoon we took
Lucy for a run on Calgary Beach
which she absolutely loves.
November
2017
Nov
29th
A trip out
this morning as the
house feels empty as
there is no dog to
trip over, in the
event nature and
wildlife once again
proved a panacea for
me as I saw a total of
50 species of birds
and mammals in
beautiful Mull scenery
in just 3 hours.
Shortly after leaving
home I was watching a
Golden Eagle
patrolling its
hillside territory and
watching it glide
effortly down the
valley gave me a sence
of peace and
wellbeing. The photo's
I took today are of a
Cormorant and a Shag,
one of the questions I
am most often asked on
the tours is how to
tell the difference
between them and one
way is Cormorants
(left) have flat heads
and Shags (right)
steep forheads and
this shows quite well
in the two
photographs.
Nov 28th
A sad day at Ardrioch
today, Sally our Sheltie,
unfortunately was riddled with
cancer and had to be put to
sleep. the vet told us that
apart from discomfort going to
the toilet she was otherwise
fine and had not suffered, she
had not lost her appetite and
still had a lot of energy for
her age, you would honestly not
have known there was anything
wrong with her which is why it
has hit us so hard. The vet said
the cancer was so bad she would
not have lasted to Christmas, so
that made us feel a little
better for having to have her
put to sleep. Below you will see
a picture of Sally taken only in
July for those of you readers
that have seen Sally when either
staying here or on one of our
tours when we stopped here for
comfort breaks or for afternoon
tea in bad weather. Sally will
be missed very much as she was
such a friendly dog.
Nov
27th
Sally, our Shetland
Sheep Dog (Sheltie) has been ill
for couple of weeks now and we
took her to the vets today for a
scan which proved that she had a
growth which needs fixing with
an operation and we are hoping
the growth is not cancerous.
Nov 26th
A morning out in nice
weather and we had a cracking
time, we saw 2 Otters, 4
White-tailed sea Eagles, several
Red Deer and the 2 Fallow Deer
stags shown in the photo below,
the one antlered one is a
spotted Fallow Deer the other a
dark phased one it was just nice
to see both of them. One of the
Otters was eating a rather large
fish which it finished just
before being disturbed by a
creeling boat, the early Otter
gets the catch. Waders and Ducks
there were aplenty, we have
never seen so many Mallards on
Mull as there is at the moment
and they have been joined in
good numbers by Wigeon and Teal.
All the usual Mull Waders were
seen but the highlight was a
flock of Golden Plover that flew
in to the flats at Killiechronan
as the tide receeded.
Nov
25th
Today it was
perishingly cold and after a
short trip to Calgary Bay we
decided that discretion was the
better part than valour so Pam
wrote the Christmas cards , yes
it is that time again and I
helped by watching the Rugby on
the TV. At Calgary there was
little about, too cold, although
a Common Seal kept bottleing,
probably trying to catch some
rays, good luck with that. Then
we heard Ravens always a good
sound as it alerts you to
possible goings on and in this
case it was a very brave
Sparrowhawk having a real go at
a Raven. As the action played
out a Common Buzzard probably
bored, joined in, we could not
tell which side it was on but
between them they put on a good
show which helped us forget how
cold it was, if only for a short
time.
Nov 24th
A busy day today
around the house as there was
snow on the ground so I had to
content myself with garden
birding and by a quarte to nine
I had seen the Brambling,
Siskin, Great Spotted
Woodpecker, Jay, Buzzard, Great
Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits,
Greenfinches, Chaffinches,
Goldfinches, Collared Doves,
Blackbirds and a Robin, not bad
for first light. At 10am the
Dunnocks, House Sparrows and
Rock Doves put in an appearance,
that is all the regulars
although Pam has seen the
Treecreeper a couple of times
recently. Chaffinch numbers by
10am well exceed 100 birds,
can't wait to put this into the
big garden bird count where our
record is 160 and they did not
believe that.
Nov 23rd
The highlight of today
were 4 Whooper Swans which flew
over our heads at Dervaig as we
were watching some Snipe,
Redshank, Greenshank, Little
Grebe and Goosander in the bay.
We were heading into Tobermory
to visit the tooth fairy,
dentist to most of you and to
buy a new mop stale as my heavy
handed wife had broken the
previous one, now you know why I
do as I am told, (only joking my
love.) On our way home we saw a
beautiful male Goldeneye on the
Mishnish Lochs just enjoying the
peace and quiet, then on Loch
Torr 2 Female Goldeneyes dashing
about diving, fishing, is there
a moral in there somewhere. We
had a great view of a Buzzard on
a post with a Kestrel on a
telephone wire just above it,
gorgeous.
Nov 22nd
The rain stopped so I
took the chance of a drive round
the block this morning and I had
a great sighting of a pair of
Golden Eagles flying very low
towards me and dissappeared
behind a knoll, I thought they
might reappear but to no avail
although it was still a fabulous
view. I was about to leave when
I spotted a distant bird it
looked Crow like but I was not
convinced and when it came down
below the skyline I realised it
was a male Hen Harrier and again
I had fabulous views of one of
my favorite birds as it hawked
over the hillside, still some
distace away but still
breathtaking. Other notable
sightings 2 Red Deer, 2 Common
seals and lots of Great Northern
Divers.
Nov20th-21st
A blog for Blake and Sheila
and hope it makes you all
smile.
'Down Came The Rain It
Happened Again' (Mitch Murray),
for two days 'Raindrops Kept
Falling On My Head' (B J Thomas)
at his rate we thought 'It Might
As Well Rain Until September'
(Carol King), see where I am
going with this blog. When I am
in a good mood I am 'Singing In
The Rain' (Doris Travis),
although when I'm down its more
of a 'Purple Rain' (Prince),
anyway whatever my mood it's
certainly 'November Rain' (Guns
and Roses). Oh, Oh, 'Here Comes
The Rain Again' (Eurythmics),
and we don't know 'Who'll Stop
The Rain' (Credence Clearwater
Revival), anyway for now 'Let It
Rain' (Eric Clapton). It's
certaily no good living on Mull
if you 'Can't Stand The Rain'
(Tina Turner) unless you are
'Only Happy When It Rains'
(Garbage) because the one thing
you can be sure of 'A Hard Rains
Going To Fall' (Bob Dylan) so
there is no point in saying '
Why Does It Always Rain On Me'
(Travis). One thing is for
certain come Spring there could
be 'One More Rainy Day' (Deep
Purple), then like this Spring
'No More Rain' (Kylie Minogue)
and then we would all be saying
'I wish It Would Rain' (The
Temptations). Some Photo's below
of Water which is rather
plentiful on Mull right now,
Loch Cuin and Eas Force.
Nov 19th
Egrets, now Pam's seen
two, yes we went down to
Fishnish today and guess what
there was no Egret to be seen so
off we trecked down the coast
looking for it to no avail. At
Garmony we did see a lovely
Stonechat and an equally nice
but less glamorous Robin. On our
way back I suggested we go back
to Fishnish on the off chance,
low and behold there it was in
exactly the same place I had
seen it a couple of days ago, I
was very pleased for Pam, I hope
I scored a few brownie points
for this one (no pun intended)
On our way back home we
saw 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles on
a rock by the shore, 3 Bar
Tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers,
Curlews, Wigeon, a very close
Great Northern Diver, Red
Breasted Mergansers and a really
smart male Goosander to end a
lovely and successful morning.
Nov 18th
A cold windy day but
dry so I went with Pam to
Cailaich and we watched a pair
of White-tailed Sea Eagles talon
grasping, it was an impressive
sight until 2 Ravens flew in and
broke up the courtship display.
Not content with iterupting the
lovebirds one of the Ravens
continued to harrass the younger
Eagle although on several
occasions it did take liberties
getting very close to the Eagles
very large talons. It was an
incredible watch and well worth
getting out for. As always at
Cailaich the views were
spectacular and the Highland
Cows in the rocks by the shore
were extremely photogenic, so on
Pam's instructions I obliged
even if I could hardly hold the
camera still in the wind.
Nov 17th
Egrets, I've now seen
two, yes after a few abortive
attempts I have at last caught
up with our long staying Little
Egret at Fishnish and have
photo's to prove it, bird number
141 for my Mull year list. It
was nearly a disasterous day
however as I left my binoculars
in the hide as I went to get my
camera from the car to
photograph the bird and forgot
all about them as I started for
home. Fortunately something
jogged my memory before I had
gone too far and I went back to
retrieve them and guess what
they were right where I had left
them, nearly another fine mess I
had nearly got into, no change
there then.
Nov
16th
Today the Jay was back
in the garden along with the
zillion Chaffinches and
Goldfinches, try picking the
single Brambling out of that
lot. The Wind blew high and the
wind blew low and the leaves
they all fell to the ground and
there they stayed until I got
out my trusty rake and
wheelbarrow and removed them.
Then the wind blew some and more
leaves appeared on the ground
and I thought someome is trying
to tell me something, so I left
them where they had fallen. no
dout in a few days Pam will
start complaining and out will
come the trusty rake and
Wheelbarrow.... Again.
Nov 15th
We always love a trip
to Dougies, our local store, to
stock up on goodies and a chat
with the locals, but better
still is the wildlife watching
at the end of the loch on the
way home. Greenshank, Snipe,
Curlew and Little Grebe, all the
usuals, but a special treet
today a mother Otter was trying
to curl up for a sleep on a rock
and her tiny, weeny cub
was trying to climb up
onto the rock to join her but
was too small and kept slipping
down to the bottom, after
straining, heaving and
complaining it appeared on
top and started to climb
all over the resting mum
eventually managing to sneek a
quick suckle of milk from her. I thought it was quite
funny but for Pam it was a real
AHhhh moment. To complete the
wildlife entertainment on
returning home a Sparrowhawk
flew up from our garden and gave
us a great show of flap, flap,
gluiding as it was being mobbed
by Chaffinches. Beats a visit to
a big supermarket any day.
Nov
14th
I spent the morning
out and about and saw a total of
5 seperate Otters none of which
were close enough to photograph.
White-tailed Sea Eagles were
resting up after a busy breeding
season, they will soon be
turning their attention to nest
building for next year. Red Deer
relaxing after the rut and in
the case of the stags feeding up
for the Winter. I counted over
10 Slavonian Grebes on Loch Na
Keal, twice as many more Great
Northern Divers, 6 Bar Tailed
Godwits at Killiechronan and too
many Red Breasted Mergansers to
count. In a stream near the
Beinn More parking spot was a
Dipper feeding and I was able to
watch it for some time without
either it or myself being
disturbed, fantastic.
Nov
13th
A wet day just for a
change so I did my birding from
the kitchen window and amongst
the highlights were a Jay, a
Brambling and the Great Spotted
woodpecker below.
Nov
9th to 12th
Although I have been
out and about briefly during the
last few days I have still not
been at my best so I have just
taken a few photos of some of
the birds I have seen. As always
most of my photos are pretty
useless and this included the
ones of the Gadwall we saw on
Loch Na Keal yesterday, I only
mention this as it was my first
Gadwall of the year taking my
Mull year list to 140 species.
Thanks to Jac and Mike for a
nice day out yesterday, I have
now thawed out. I would also
like to thank our neighbours,
they know who they are for
tightening a nut and keeping the
water flowing when we were away.
I hope you enjoy the photos as
today we are battening down the
hatches as we are expecting more
gales and yet more rain, I will
keep you informed.
Nov 9th
A count of 30
Goldfinches in the garden this
morning an all time record count
for the Ardrioch garden.
Nov
8th
A day at home still
feeling rough although 3
yellowhammers and a Siskin in
the garden brightened my day.
Nov
7th
I had to go to
Tobermory today to get a new
battery for our car key fob and
on the way back saw 2 Whooper
Swans on Loch Torr.
Nov
6th
I am under the weather
at the moment after coming back
from Cheshire so only out for
short periods of time for
essentials but a neccessary trip
to Salen this morning saw me
watching an Otter and a Common
Seal so the day was not wasted.
Nov 5th
We are back after a
month away visiting family and a
weeks holiday in Dorset, near
Arne. When we were at the Arne
RSPB reserve we saw a Great
White Egret imagine our surprise
when we saw one at Dervaig on
our return, a first for Mull I
think. This morning my eagle
eyed wife, Pam saw a Brambling
amongst the Chaffinches in our
garden and called me as it was a
first for me this year. There
have been a pair of Whooper
Swans on the Mishnish Lochs this
week which we saw when taking
our dog , Sally to the vets with
a stomach problem. I know how
she feels as I have picked up a
bug which is going round Dervaig
which prevents me from
travelling to far from home. The
blog is now back in business
until our next trip away.
November 2016
Nov 9th to 30th
We have been
playing the hokey kokey with the
mini bus this month. We picked the
bus up from one garage in Fort
William where the rear door had
been repaired from the accident.
We took it to another garage in
Fort William where we had bought
it and they transfered it to
another garage in Inverness to
have a makers recall problem
sorted. Eventually it was done and
a friend of ours went to fetch it
home at last but on closing the
door to start his journey home the
rear window in the supposedly new
back door shattered. On his way
home he left the bus back in the
garage in Fort William where the
accident repair had originally
been done to have the rear window
fixed. We hope to see the bus
before Christmas but I am not
holding my breath. Pam and I have
been suffering from a virus given
us by our 2 year old
grand-daughter so we have been
feeling under the weather but
during my feeling better moments I
have managed to pick up all the
fallen leaves from our garden and
cleaned all the bird feeders, the
latter being essential for the
health of the birds that visit our
garden regularly. The White-tailed
Eagles near us are still around
and will hopefully use the same
conifers to nest in next year. I
will finish this update with a
funny anecdote from my 2 year old
grand daughter. Her Mum is trying
to teach her to share and to
reinforce this has been telling
her stories from a childrens
bible. The other morning Nia was
eating some blueberries and her
mum asked if she could have one,
to which Nia said no. Her Mum said
'but Nia what did it say in the
bible about sharing' to which Nia
replied; Don't eat the apple????
Out of the mouths of children.
We had a
weeks holiday in Dorset which
we spent mainly birding,
eating and sleeping after the
exilerating if tiring time
with our grandchildren.
There is nothing
quite like time with
grandchildren to make you feel
your age even if it was great
fun.
November
2015
Nov 26th
A
really driech day with low
cloud drizzle and some
heavier rain. I had to go to
Salen today to get some bird
and dog feed and although I
took my binoculars with me
the poor weather meant that
for once I did not feel like
birding. Back at home Pam
was giving the dogs a day at
the doggie parlour, in other
words a wash and brush up to
make them feel good. They
hate this process, which
means I have to risk losing
an arm holding on to them
whilst the process is
happening. They look a lot
better though.
Nov 25th
There is very
little about the weather to
cheer us up just now
although it is better than
living in drought
conditions. I got some good
news about being 65 today,
my winter fuel payment is
coming through soon. As well
as the usual Chaffinches in
our garden we appear to be
having a Blue Tit bonanza,
not that we are complainig,
lovely birds that they are.
A single Snipe at Cailaich
Point was the highlight of
todays birding but no
wildlife photos today just a
lovely picture of Highland
Cattle also at Cailaich.
Nov 24th
Another
dreich day with a cool wind
and frequent heavy showers so
I went out to see what was
about. I have to say it was
not fantastic out there but in
some small way rewarding. I
saw 32 bird species and 2
types of Mammals, not
surpringly they were the two
types of Seal that Mull has to
offer. The White-tailed Sea
Eagle that I saw today was
trying to shelter behind some
seaweed, not to successfully
and so it looked somewhat down
in the dumps. Birds of the day
were a nice Kestrel and a
lovely pair of Goosander. This
afternoon I went to check the
filter in my dam, the water
was pouring over the top and I
nearly needed a scuba suit to
reach the filter. I disturbed
another Woodcock on my way
back to the house and a hot
cup of tea.
Nov 23rd
After the
lovely weather yesterday today
terrible, rain,rain and then
more rain, so we battened down
the hatches and stayed
indoors. Pam decided we should
take down the cot we use for
our younger self-catering
guests, you know the ones,
under two years old with
little interest in wildlife
but who can take down a cot 3
times quicker than we can.
After a hard morning cot
dismantling, Pam spent the
afternoon with Pete trying to
get to the bottom of our
computer problems, does
anybody know any 2 year olds
good with computers. I went
out wildlife watching and saw
3 Little Grebes, 2 Mallards
and a Pheasant, does anybody
know of a two year old good
with binoculars?
Nov 22nd
A beautiful
sunny day, to good to waste,
so Pam and I went for a drive
out to take in some special
Mull views. As well as the
views we had a good Otter
sighting, Great Northern and
Black throated Divers and a
fabulous Greenshank on Loch
Cuin. Back at the ranch one of
our local White-tailed Eagles
flew right past the house
giving us a very close
sighting and worrying the
birds in our garden into the
bargain. On the sheep front
take a look at these Rams
chilling out before being put
out on the hill to try and woo
the Ewes, they look like the
boys at the 'baa' before going
out on the pull!
Nov
21st
Our friends
Jaquie and Mike came round
today to give us a hand and
Mike came with me to fetch my
Adder tin sheet back home. As
a lot of of guests this year
know we did not find many
Adders and I found out that
one of my rivals on Mull had
found the sheet and was
showing his guests the Adders
before I turned up in the
afternoon. I will not mention
any names but Ewan knows who
it was??? Whilst picking up
the tin sheet we saw 3
beautiful Whooper Swans on
Loch Torr, and a couple of
Buzzards and a Kestrel. This
afternoon I disturbed two
Woodcock on our woodland at
south of the house.
Nov 20th
Being 65 is
a buggar as the medical
profession now deem it
necessary to give you
injections, so there I was
with the nurse to get a Flu
jab when she informs me I
ought to have one that
prevents chest problems for
life. This will only be a one
off injection but I could feel
ill for a few days afterwards
so to have a ready supply of
Paracetamols in, just what I
need an injection to make me
feel ill? I can also tell you
that being 65 scores you 3
points on the hospital charts,
all my vital signs scored an
impressive total of 1 but
being 65 that made them three
times worse. I have come to
the conclusion that the only
thing worse than being 65 must
be being 66, heaven knows what
needles they are preparing for
that. After the trauma Pam and
I went around Mull for a
couple of hours and it
certainly gave me a tonic,
Mull, not the Nurse. We saw
Golden Eagles, White-tailed
Eagles, 2 male Hen Harriers,
Red deer and an Otter, all
Mull's big 5 species in 2
hours, isn't Mull wonderful.
Also seen were Slavonian and
Little Grebe, Great Northern
and Red Throated Divers,
Greenshank, Redshank, Curlew
and Oystercatchers. A lovely
Dipper at Knock bridge,
Goldeneye, Teal and Wigeon on
Loch Na Keal, Greylag Geese
and obviously Herons were also
seen as was an inquisative
Common Seal. We had super
views of Kestels and quite a
few Buzzards and Pam saw a Jay
which I missed, all in all
including some spectacular
views we had a lovely drive
round.
Nov 19th
We drove back to Mull today
after a hectic and trying
fortnight going down to
Cheshire to see the family and
arrange Mum's funeral, a lot
of it she had arranged
herself. We then had to travel
back to Glasgow for my eye
operation and back the next
day for Mum's burial and a
service celebrating her life
as this was her wish. We
stayed on a few days to
support Dad and make sure he
was alright and with the help
of family and friends he seems
to be doing as well as he can
after losing his soul mate
after 67 years.
Nov 5th
November
5th and my Mum passed away,
she had lived a wonderful life
and was 91 when she died. Pam
and I have to return to
Glasgow for my Eye operation
on the 13th and we will return
to Cheshire in time for her
funeral on the 16th. Mum was
an inspiration to the whole
family and we will miss her
enormously but her humour and
sence of fun will always be
remembered and we know she was
as proud of all the family as
only a mum can be, as we were
of her. As long as my eye
surgery turns out ok, as we
all hope it will, my daily
Mull blog will be back on line
in the very near future.
Thanks to all my readers who
have e-mailed their concern
over the missing blog but I
can assure you we are both in
good health although at the
moment somewhat sad.
November
2014
Nov
30th
The last day of
November and
rainbows
everywhere
providing a focal
point for Mulls
remarkable
scenery. Pam and I
went out to
Cailaich Point
today and saw 3
more Stonechats
which was really
nice and a single
Wren on a post as
if to say look at
me, so we did. The
sighting of the
day however were
the 5 Purple
Sandpipers at a
usual winter site
Lainne Sgeir,
eagle eyed Pam
also spotted a
lone Turnstone, it
was a brilliant
spot and must have
pleased the 'billy
no mates'
bird to have
been seen. Finally
City won again so
all's well in
Arthurs little
world.
Nov 29th
A lovely day and with Pam
tired from her long jouney we
went out wildlife watching,
she was hoping to see my
Dolphins from a couple of days
ago, no such luck. We did see
12 Wigeon, 11 Lapwings, 10
Great Northern Divers, 9
Shags, 8 Common Buzzards, 7
Goosanders, 6 Red
Breasted Mergansers, 5
Golden Eagles, 4 Little
Grebe, 3 Eurasian Otters, 2
White-tailed Eagles and a
Peregrine eating his tea. We
also saw 3 Kestrels, 2
Stonechats, 2 Slavonian Grebe,
Whimbrel and Goldeneye. On
returning home the Great
Spotted Woodpecker and
Treecreeper put in an
appearance, the first
Treecreeper I have seen in the
garden since returning from
Cheshire.
Nov 28th
No birding today as she who
must be obeyed is returning
from Grandma duties and I have
to clean the house for her
return. Now where does she
hide the hoover. Found it -
now how does it work, press a
few buttons nothing happening,
switch on at plug, that's
better music to my ears.
Hoovering done, Kitchen
mopped, Squirty stuff on all
kitchen surfaces, how I have
avoided food poisoning is a
miracle, make the bed, feed
the dogs and birds and and
then go and fetch Pam. When I
arrived at the ferry and
everyone had got off there was
no sign of Pam, she and a
couple of other foot
passengers had not been
listening to instructions and
were being held hostage on the
car deck until all vehicles
had left the ferry. 20 minutes
late and she came stumbling up
the gangplank with her heavy
suitcase, it would have been
heavier if our son and
daughter-in-law had not
searched her suitcase before
she left.
Nov
27th
Went out at first light this
morning, beautiful day but
very cold. Dolphins,
dolphins, dolphins at
Calgary Bay leaping right out
of the water.............fab-u-lous.
At my next stop over looking
Treshnish Farm a Kestrel was
joined by a White-tailed
Eagle. Over the hill towards
Torloisk 2 Golden Eagles gave
me an amazing display. Other
notable birds were Goosander,
a Meadow Pipit, a Dipper at
Knock and an unexpected
Bar-tailed Godwit in Aros Bay.
Mammals seen were Rabbits, Red
Deer and both types of Seal.
Nov 26th
Worked in the shed all day
after getting up late as my
brain was still hurting from
the pub quiz.
Nov 25th
Christmas came early this
evening as Manchester City
actually won a champions
league match allthough the
other team played like Santa
Claus with one man getting
sent off and their defence
gifting us 2 late goals.
Aparently I was not the only
one watching the match. On the
bird front there were lots of
Slavonian Grebe on Loch na
Keal this morning and a flock
of Redwing at Killiechronan.
Went to the Bellachroy and
took Chrissie, our dog sitter,
out for a meal and later took
part in the pub quiz with some
very intelligent players, I
dragged my team, who often
win, down to my level and we
finished 2nd to last just
avoiding the can of baked
beans booby prize.
Nov 24th
Another day were birds were at
a premium but out and about
with my mate Alan Mullbirds
Spellman we saw a Golden Eagle
being harrased by, of all
things, a flock of Starlings.
Near by at Lainne Sgeir a
juvinile White-tailed Eagle
flew low over the rocks and
was totally ignored by the
sitting Shags and Cormorant.
Back at Dervaig no sign of the
Kingfisher but 2 Otters
cavorting in the water beyond
the salmon trap wall.
Nov 23rd
I didn't do much birding but
did go to check for waders at
Loch Cuin and see if there was
anything at Loch Torr and the
Mishnish Lochs, there were
very few waders at Loch Cuin
as the tide was out but the
kingfisher was sitting on top
of one of the large rock
beyond the salmon trap wall,
there was nothing at Loch Torr
but 2 Golden Eagles, the first
since my return to Mull, were
flying over the hills towards
Glengorm. At the Mishnish
Lochs there was very little to
be seen except for 3 Whooper
Swans which I took a photo of
with our new camera.
Nov 22nd
It is pooring with rain so I
have been doing this winters
project, cleaning out and
making space in the 'big'
shed. There are already a
couple of cars and a boat
stored in there and I need to
make room for the mini-bus. It
cleared late afternoon so on a
visit to the shop I saw 4
turnstone at Calgary whilst
looking for non existent
Purple Sandpipers and the
Kingfisher on Loch Cuin again.
Nov 21st
A cooler breezy day and numpty
Arthur was not wearing enough
warm cloths so I got chilled.
In the event I saw very good
Otter, a White-tailed Eagle
and Red Deer, lots of ducks
and waders seen with the
hightlight being 2 Goosander
at Killiechronan. 34 Wigeon
and 5 Teal were seen but by
far the biggist number of
birds of one species seen were
350 Greylag Geese at
Killiechronan with 10 Canada
Geese mixed with them.
Nov 20th
Went to Cailaich this morning
and saw 24 species, which is
about 20 more than I saw all
summer there. Highlights were
Great Northern Diver, 11
Guillemots and a single
Razorbill, a small hurry of
Kittiwakes, they were not
surrounding dolphins but a big
dog Otter eating a fish. There
were 4 Mistle Thurshes, a Song
Thrush and a White-tailed
Eagle. At Calgary there were 3
Great Northern Divers, 10
Ringed Plovers and bird of the
day a Black Throated Diver in
partial summer plumage. Back
at Dervaig no sign of the
Kingfisher, but 8 Widgeon, 6
Snipe, 14 Ringed Plovers, 3
Curlews, 2 Little Grebe, 3
Greenshank and 2 Redshank. In
the garden this morning before
I set off were 2 Yellowhammers
and a Great Spotted
Woodpecker.
Nov 19th
Arthur has left the computer
with me in Nantwich and so his
daily blog will be dictated
over the phone for the next
few days as I know that many
of our regular blog readers
have missed hearing about what
is going on in Arthurs world.
Arthur: Went to Dervaig to buy
groceries and stopped at the
end of the loch as there were
some waders there, as I got
out of the car a Kingfisher
flew off and down the river.
Waders seen were Redshank.
Greenshank and 3 Snipe.
Arthur returned to Mull today
by himself, leaving me in
Nantwich 'holding the baby'
for another week and a half. He had a
nightmare journey after
setting out at 5 am he got
caught up in a traffic
accident on the M74 just
south of Glasgow, he moved 12
miles in 4 hours, when he
eventually moved he managed to
get to Oban just in time for
the 4 pm ferry only to be told
there was a 45 minute delay in
the sailing, he had not had
anything to eat all day and
only drank one bottle of drink
as he could not go to the loo.
He made up for it when he got
home, Chrissie, our house
sitter left him his tea, 1
whole chicken, 12 roast
potatoes, 16 roast parsnips,
half a ton of carrots and
gravy. At least he now has
enough left overs to keep him
going for a day or two.
Nov 11th
My optician and friend has
just reaffirmed on how
lucky I have been and what
a brilliant job they had
done on my eyes and
although I now have new
glasses the higher
prescription I needed was
marginal considering only
7 weeks ago I was blind in
the eye. I will be
starting to birdwatch with
a vengeance next week
after I get used to the
new specs so look out for
continued blogging then.
Nov 10th
I have just been told by
an optician at the
hospital how lucky I have
been and that the surgeon
had done a brilliant job
and my eyesight, although
not quite as good as it
was, it is still fantastic
given the trauma it has
been through. A huge thank
you to all Gartnavel
Hospital, Glasgow, eye
department you are all
stars in my eyes.
Nov 7th to 9th
Hi everyone, I am nearly
back in business after my
eye scare and hope to be
given the all clear on
Monday the tenth when I go
to see the consultant in
Glasgow. As I am feeling
better I have started to
do a little gentle birding
mainly with the birds in
our garden and much to my
surprise I noticed we had
a male Blackcap on the
peanut feeders. We quickly
got out our new camera and
got some shots of the bird
and a few of the others in
our garden, boy have I
missed birding.
November 2013
Nov 30th
A very windy day
with sailing's disrupted and lots
of heavy showers, a day to batten
down the hatches and stay indoors,
which is precisely what we did.
Nov 29th
Another dull dry
day and still warm, up here on
Mull the sun is taking a well
earned holiday. I spent most of
today working on our dam which
took a bit of a battering during a
very stormy deluge in September.
Not a lot of wildlife watching
today but the Yellowhammer turned
up in the garden again today. This
evening we went for a meal at the
Bellachroy and met the new owners
Tony and Christine, they are very
nice and friendly and I am pleased
to report that the food was
excellent, so for readers who
might have been concerned that
standards might slip with new
people in charge I think we can
safely reassure you that they
haven't and will not.
Nov 28th
A dull day with
low cloud, light drizzle at times
and heavier rain as the daylight
ended. A day out for Pam and I
with our friends from next door
Nick and Catherine, it was a most
productive day with 58 species of
birds and 4 mammals seen.
Highlights included 5 Golden
Eagles, a White-tailed Eagle, A
Hen Harrier, Sparrowhawk and 4
Otters. We also saw a host of
Waders, Curlews, Oystercatchers,
Lapwing, Greenshank, Redshank,
Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and
Turnstones. On the water were
Teal, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Mallard,
Red Breasted Mergansers,
Goosanders, Little Grebes,
Slavonian Grebes and Great
Northern Divers. Best small birds
of the day were Goldcrests,
Redwings, Song and Mistle
Thrushes. The day ended on a fine
note as we were emptying the car a
Woodcock flew over our house, a
fine end to a great day's birding.
Nov 27th
Yet another dry,
cloudy but warm day for the time
of the year. John Austin a friend,
neighbour and best heating
engineer and plumber on Mull came
to check out our water supply and
fix a problem with the U V filter
which required a new bit provided
by another friend and neighbour
Nick Evans, our grateful thanks to
them both. We have a local female
Hen Harrier at the moment and I
spent a lovely 10 minutes this
morning just watching this iconic
bird hunting, it was a magical
experience. A Yellowhammer
returned to the garden feeders
today as word that I am now
regularly feeding again as winter
approaches spreads.
Nov 26th
A day similar to
the last couple and I had to go to
Tobermory this afternoon and as I
passed the Mishnish Lochs I
noticed there were more Whooper
Swans out on the water. On
arriving home Pam was in the
office buying a new computer. What
with new bathrooms, a new van and
now a new computer no wonder my
hair is falling out.
Nov 25th
Another dull dry
windless day and warm for the time
of the year. A walk with Pam and
the dogs in Quinnish wood and 2
jays were present as were 2 Great
Spotted Woodpeckers and a flock of
Siskins and we also saw a female
Bullfinch, it was a really nice
walk. We then went to Calgary art
in nature for lunch and bought a
couple of Christmas presents, yes
it is that time of the year again.
Pam was a little tired this
morning as she had been to the
Bellachroy last night with her
pilate mates and had a few drinks,
she told me she had not drunk to
much only a pint and a half of
cider and a brandy???
Nov 24th
A dry often dull
day and birds seem to be coming
back to the garden for winter
sustenance. This morning we had
Siskins and a Treecreeper joining
the regulars in or around the
feeders. There were 5 Snipe today
at Dervaig and Pam saw a hunting
female Hen Harrier when out
walking the dogs. Misty the older
of our two dogs had a new leash of
life today and walked three
quarters of their usual walk,
normally she refuses to go much
further than a third of the way
sits down and refuses to go any
further.
Nov 23rd
Another lovely
sunny day till mid afternoon when
Pam and I decided to go for a
drive round. Looking through the
drizzle we found the 2 Common
Scoters still in Calgary Bay which
was nice for Pam as she was not
with me yesterday. Also at Calgary
were 4 Ringed Plovers and some
Oystercatchers and 2 Great
Northern Divers. At Croig we saw 4
Redshanks, 3 more Ringed Plovers
and a couple of Curlew along with
a Grey Heron. Before going home we
slipped to Dervaig and were
surprised to find 2 Common Snipe,
we also saw a couple of
Greenshank, more Curlews and a
Redshank. By now the rain was
falling steadily and a cup of tea
in the warmth of the kitchen was
called for.
Nov 22nd
A lovely day at
last and a trip locally this
morning and I saw a White-tailed
Sea Eagle, an Otter, a Great
Northern Diver, 2 Common Scoters,
4 Fieldfares and a single Mistle
Thrush. It is great to be able to
get out wildlife watching again so
hopefully the blog will get back
to normal.
Nov 21st
Better weather and
a trip to Tobermory and we saw 3
Whooper Swans and 3 Goldeneye
Ducks on the Mishnish Lochs. At
Dervaig there were 2 Greenshanks,
5 redshanks and a couple of
Curlews and a Female Hen Harrier
was out hunting.
Nov 18th to 20th
Weather awful with
gale force winds and heavy showers
and some snow so more rest and no
birding.
Nov 17th
An evening with
the Dervaig bird group in a Yurt
at Calgary, this is a Scandinavian
structure with lots of candles and
a wood burning stove, very health
and safety for a wooden structure.
As always we had a great time with
lots of laughs, not least with
Pam's Chocolate and Beetroot cake,
enough said.
Nov 13th to 16th
Resting ankle
which is hopefully getting better.
Nov 12th
Ankle has swollen
up again, supermarket shopping is
not recommended for your health,
back on the sofa and medication,
birding on the back burner again.
Nov 11th
A sad day as we
had to say goodbye to a trusty old
friend, yes we have sold our van
and so we took it to Fort William
and waved goodbye to it for the
last time. On a cheerier note we
are getting a brand new one in
time for next year and it will be
equipped with running boards so no
need for my trusty stool, I hope.
After dropping off the the van we
spent an hour or more in the
supermarket doing a big shop.
Nov 7th to Nov
11th
We came back to
Mull and at last I can start and
rest my foot although it is
frustrating not to be able to
get out birding.
Nov 1st to Nov 6th
We returned to
Cheshire to spend time with
the family and celebrate my
parents 65 wedding anniversary
where all the Brown family got
together for a group
photograph, 28 in all I think
it was. Richie and Sheetal had
arranged a day out in London
for Pam and I and we went to
Camden Market, the theatre to
see One Man Two Governors, a
very funny show, and to Jamie
Olivers Italian restaurant
where we had a lovely meal. We
had a great day but walking
round London on Crutches is
not highly recommended by
yours truly, particularly
going down to underground
stations without excallators
and up to very high theatre
seats, there was a lot of
queuing in London, mainly
behind me, I have to say
people were very patient with
me.
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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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