October 2018
Oct 26th to
Oct 31st
We
had friends
from Cheshire
up for a long
weekend and I
am glad to say
they brought
the good
weather with
them which was
nice as we
could go out
walking and
birding. On
their first
full day we
went to
Tobermory to a
talk at the
inaugural book
festival which
was a great
success and I
hope continues
in future
years. We went
to an
extraordinary
talk by Adam
Nicolson
author of the
book The
Seabird's Cry
and some of
what he had to
say about the
plight of the
worlds
seabirds did
not make for
an easy
listen, we do
need to act
fast if we
want to save
and protect
all of the
worlds
wildlife not
just its
seabirds, we
all need to
take
responsibility
for their
plight and
future
survival. On a
happier note
we went
walking and
birding
locally for
the next two
days in
glorious
weather and
enjoyed seeing
not only great
wildlife but
also fabulous
views and
stunning
scenery.
Wildlife wise
there were 5
juvenile
White-tailed
Sea Eagles at
Cailaich
Point, we also
saw a
Peregrine
Falcon,
Sparrowhawk
and Kestrel
here as well.
In and on the
sea were Great
Northern
Divers, Shags
and Grey
Seals. At
Rheudle we had
a very good
sighting of a
Golden Eagle
being mobbed
by a Hen
Harrier with
Raven
occasionally
joining in. At
Laggan Bay we
found this
Otter being
harased by 4
Hooded Crows
(see photo
below) At the
Salmon
Hatchery we
saw a Carrion
Crow, a first
for Pam this
year as well
as Turnstones,
Redshanks,
lots of mixed
Gulls and Teal
plus another
Otter. On Loch
Na Keal and
Loch Tuath we
saw Red
Throated
Diver, Black
Throated
Diver, Great
Northern
Divers,
Slavonian
Grebes, Black
Guilliemots,
Red Breasted
Mergansers and
Cormorants. In
the garden at
Ardrioch we
now have 2
Brambling
interspersed
within the
Zillions of
Chaffinches,
regular visits
from Great
spotted
Woodpeckers,
and still a
few Siskins,
Yellowhammer
and
Treecreepers.
It was a great
weekend with
our friends
with lots of
laughs and
they even sat
and watched
most of my
fuzzy photos
of our trip to
Svarlbard
which lasted
for so long
their eyes
glazed over
but for us it
brought back
some lovely
memories.
Above on our trips
out and about are 4
White-tail Eagles sitting on
top of a cliff, an Otter
trying to eat whilst being
harrast by 4 Hooded Crows, a
view of Loch Frisa with the
snow on the hills, a Song
Thrush, 2 Slavonian Grebes
and Pam and Lucy with our
good friend Sue. Below are
some birds we have been
seeing regularly in our
garden. Yellowhammer,
Redwing, Great spotted
Woodpecker and Brambling.
What a driech week,
low cloud, rain, drizzle, winds,
breeze, more low cloud, more
rain, get the picture. My week
has been a bit like the weather,
4 new tyres on the car, very
expensive, a new washing
machine, more expence, a filling
at the dentist, painfull, paid
for a load of heating oil, more
painfull, get the picture. On a
happier note a very happy wife,
she has a new washing machine,
unhappy wife, 3 weeks of washing
to catch up on and its raining.
Problems with the water supply
have hopefully been sorted out
although its a good job I bought
a pair of waders last year, not
for fishing. A trip to the tip
with old washing machine and
fridge, isn't my life exciting.
Birdwise, at last, I can imagine
readers thinking, a Little Egret
turned up in Dervaig, it could
be the one from Bunnessan, who
knows? Thanks to Moira and
Cheryl for the call. One of our
Great Spotted Woodpeckers has
returned as have Yellowhammers,
and a Wren joining the zillions
of Chaffinches and other
regulars in the garden also a
Hen Harrier and Sparrowhawk
regularly fly over or through
the garden so Chaffinches
beware. We have some winter
Thrushes in our woodland at the
moment so the inclement weather
shouldn't be too much of a
surprise. Our Red Deer hind
which has been in the wood all
by itself might have jumped out,
our neighbour helping me out
with the Deer fencing where a
tree had fallen across it
thought he heard it jump the
fence as he was waiting for me
to return with fencing tackle,
personally I am not convinced,
will keep you informed. I am
looking out of the window to try
and see some birds, blimey its
driech out there.
Oct 16th & 17th
More clearing and some
birding to report and the
possibility that two nutcases
are out and about on Mull. First
the birding, Pam and I went to
Bunnessan to look for and find
the long staying Little Egret,
now I know they are now common
in the south of England but they
are still rare on Mull hence the
trip and also it is another bird
for my Mull year list. Whilst in
the south we took in Fidden and
saw 2 Skylarks, 3 Golden
Plovers, 5 Tufted Ducks, a field
with 27 Lapwings and a flock of
35 Barnacle Geese passing
through not a bad result for a
long drive we thought. Now the
two nutcases both seen swimming
in the sea on the afternoon of
the 17th, just by chance one
looked remarkably like my wife,
Pam and the other looked a lot
like one of her best friends, if
you happen to see these two
ladies stay well clear or you
could be invited to take a dip
with them, not recommended. (ps:
You don't know what you are
missing, a little cold when we
got in but wonderful, we swam
for 40 minutes. 2 cups of hot
tea are recomended when I get
home. Pam)
Oct 13th 14th & 15th
Not much in the way of
wildlife to report
as I have been busy
Autumn cleaning, yes it was a
new one on me as well but you
know what its like gents (she
who must be obeyed). Anyway I
have been clearing out the small
shed and finding things we
didn't know we still had and
will come in usefull and the big
shed making room for our
vehicles in the winter. Just
when you think you are on top of
the job the water supply gives
me problems and I take a day
fixing it, who says I don't have
anything to do when not out on
tours. A trip to Oban this
morning as Pam needed next years
diary as she has so many early
self-catering and tour bookings
she was worried she might double
book, whilst we were there I
bought a new pair of walking
shoes as the ones I had had a
split in them and this is not
great when walking in the rain
which we have to do quite a lot
up here in the north west of
Scotland. Bird news-The
yellowhammer has returned to our
garden and today the 15th we
managed at last to catch up with
the Cattle Egret which has been
in the Dervaig / Calgary area
for at least a week. Talking of
returning species Alan (Mullbirds)
Spellman has returned from his
now annual migration to
Australia check out his web-site
for some great pics of Aussie
birds and happenings on Mull.
Oct 12th
Pam and I went looking
for a Cattle Egret reportedly
seen in the Dervaig area,
without success. We did however
see male and female Hen Harrier,
White-tailed Sea Eagle, Red
Deer, a Sparrowhawk and at
Calgary Bay a Common Scoter and
Black Throated Diver. Then it
was back home to shed clearing
and finding out I need to work
on our water supply after the
recent gales and monsoon rains,
particularly as more is
forecast.
Oct
11th
A day at home starting
a major sort out in the sheds
before winter sets in.
Oct 10th
What a difference a
day makes as it was a beautifull
day and calm out of the wind on
the East side of the island
where we were on a trip out with
friends. They have been staying
with us for a week and give me a
list of birds they have yet to
see on this stay on Mull and we
managed to find 7 that they had
not seen earlier. Great Northern
Divers, Black Throated Divers,
Golden Eagle, Reed Bunting, Ring
Plover, Turnstone and Redwing.
We also saw the Sparrowhawk in
the photo and the Bar Tailed
Godwits as well as a brillian
male Hen Harrier, Red Deer
rutting and a feeding Otter and
Porpoise, all this in a total of
53 bird species and 5 mammals
seen in the day. This evening
our friends Meg and Stephen took
us out for a very nice meal at
the Am Birlinn restaurant as a
thank you.
Oct 9th
Did I mention it has
been raining a lot on Mull
lately, check out the photos
from yesterday at the bridge at
Dervaig.
Oct 8th
Our
last tour of 2018 so as we had
room Pam came out with me
which was just as well as the
weather turned wet and windy
again after a brief lull at
the start of the tour. We saw
a field full of Red Deer with
a young stag in charge, well
he thought he was but when the
hinds are ready to mate he
will certainly have been
usurped by a larger more
experinced stag. White-tailed
Sea Eagles were seen both
sitting and flying and 2
seperate Otters seen fishing.
Other birds of note on todays
tour were Slavonian Grebe,
Great Northern Diver, Siskin
in our garden when we went
home for afternoon tea as the
weather had turned really
nasty. Photo of the day was of
a Dipper near the coast as the
burn was in flood and it could
only search for food in the
estuary where the burn goes
into the sea.
Oct
7th
the monsoon season
continues up here on Mull and as
it was the morning after the
night before I just got myself
prepared for the big match
between Liverpool and Manchester
Cilty, with me at one end of the
sofa and Nick my mate and
Liverpool fan on the other. The
match was a bit of a damp sqid
although my 2 year old grandson
could have taken a better
penalty.
Oct 6th
A day out with friends
and a rare opportunity to go to
the deep south of Mull and to
find some birds we rarely see in
the north. Rooks, Jackdaws and
Tufted Ducks were seen and we
also saw some Golden Plovers my
particular favourite sighting of
the day. We saw White-tailed Sea
Eagles, 3 Hen Harriers includin
2 males, 3 Otters, Red Deer and
a Hare so it was a very
productive day. Teal were seen
and Wigeon which proves autumn
is moving on and are wintering
species are returning. We saw 3
male Eider Duck looking
resplendent in their new plumage
although we did not see any
Baracle Geese which would have
been nice but they obviosly are
still finding plenty to eat on
their journey south. An evening
out at our friends and
neighbours this evening and a
very enjoyable meal and lots of
laughter ensued, many thanks to
Nick and Catherine our hosts and
we hope Jaquie soon feels better
as she was in some discomfort
tonight.
Oct 5th
No rain today was
forecast so I mowed the other 2
lawns which I had not mown in
October although I still got wet
as the forecast was not
completly correct as there were
3 heavy showers. I went for a
drive round the block with Pam
this morning and ended up at
Cailiach Point where we saw
Fulmar, Kittiwake, Gannets and
Guilliemots and a very late
Puffin. Earlier we had seen a
Sparrowhawk which flew across
the road in front of us and a
White-tailed Eagle which flew
over the vehicle, we also had 3
Kestrels which seem to be doing
very well on Mull at the moment.
In the garden we are still
seeing lesser Redpolls and a
Wren put in an appearance this
morning.
Oct
4th
Today it rained
incessently so I stayed in and
rested, its raining, its
pouring, the old mans snoring.
ZZZZZZ
Oct
3rd
A tour in low cloud
rain and breeze not the most
promising weather for a wildlife
tour. An Otter at our first stop
did me a real favour as it took
a lot of the pressure off for me
as it was at a stop I don't
often get Otters. Snipe,
Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwits,
Curlews and of course
Oystercatchers were the waders
we saw today and birds of prey
seen included Kestrels, Buzzards
White-tailed Sea Eagles and a
spectacular male Hen Harrier
towards the end of the tour as
the mist lifted and the rain
stopped. We saw 3 Red Deer today
and they were nearly the last
thing we saw on todays tour, I
really thought it was going to
be the first tour of the year
when we did not see any Deer, to
my great relief it wasn't.
Oct 2nd
A trip to the dentist
which means another trip to
Tobermory and I felt a little
bit like the invisible man as
they had not got me down for an
appointment, now I know I am
prone to making mistakes but
would anyone put a trip to the
dentist in their diary unless
they had been given one, I
certainly wouldn't. To be fair
to the dentist she did see me as
it was only a check up although
I have to go back soon for a
filling, oh joy. Back in the
shed when I got home with my
mates, thanks for the help boys.
No rain today, now that is a
suprise, so I was able to mow
the big lawn this afternoon
although there wasn't much grass
to cut but I managed 5 full bags
of leaves, great for the compost
heap.
Oct
!st
I went with Pam to
Tobermory to pick up her
engagement ring from the
jewelers, it has been away for
repair and she had felt lost
without it, the ring not me. I
can understand as she has been
wearing it for 47 years so I
can't say it hasn't worn well,
unlike me. I also made a start
on clearing the big shed which
involved a trip to the Tobermory
tip, we leed such exciting
lives???
October
2017
Oct 5th
I (Pam) did the tour
today with a couple
of good friends and
3 'men behaving
badly', the weather
was supposed to be
fine all day but it
could not resist a
few short showers
thrown in but it did
not stop us having a
good laugh all day.
We had quality
sighting today
rather than
quantity, an Otter
was running over the
tops of the rocks on
the islands
appearing and
dissapearing but
around for quite a
while. The Red Deer
rut is underway now
and stags were
roaring on the hills
as they gather their
does into small
groups. 2
Golden Eagle
sightings, the first
very close and the
second was a pair
hunting and catching
prey, we could not
identify the largish
bird that was
carried away in the
ealges tallons. A
lovely skein of 16
Whooper Swans flying
south for the winter
went right over our
heads and to finish
the day a beautiful
female Hen Harrier
hunting back and
forth infront of us.
Oct 1st
What do
you do when you have
a Wildlife tour
booked and the
forcast is for 40
mph winds and heavy
rain? Send the wife
out, of course. So
with a smile on my
face I set out with
a hardy group and
soon found our local
juvinile White-tail
Eagle sitting back
in his nest, on
seeing he was being
watched he stepped
out onto a branch to
give us a better
view. In the early
part of the day we
saw Gooseanders,
Merganzers, Curlew,
Whimbrel, Mallard
and Red Deer before
the rain set in. We
found an Otter
feeding in a
sheltered bay, as it
dissapeared behind a
rock to eat some
food for the second
time I was wondering
how long we would
have to stand in the
rain for it to
appear again, then
turned around and
all my guests were
getting back into
the mini-bus, that
answered that
question. For the
next 4 hours the
wind blew and the
rain came down whole
water and everything
kept there heads
down. I did see a
Slavonian Grebe, but
nobody else did, so
I showed them a
picture in a book,
this could be the
way I thought, a bit
like 'Bullseye',
'this is what you
could have seen'.
Morning coffee and
lunch were had in
the bus and around 3
pm it started to
clear up and a
couple of buzzards
and kestrels began
to fly, eventually
we got a Golden
Eagle hunting along
a ridge, brief but
close, and right at
the end of the day
we found a Brent
Goose in Calgary
Bay, a first for one
of my guests on the
tour and for Arthur
this year and he
went out and took
the photo below.
October
2016
Oct 21st to 31st
Away
visiting family and
getting to have a great
time with my Dad, Brothers
and Sister and their
families and our children
and grandchildren the
girls are now ten, eight,
six, two and our new
grandson 2 months.
Oct 1st to Oct 20th
Cleang a Burn (stream)
which has 12 years growth
is no picnic, take it from
me, one who now knows.
Thanks to Nick for his
help with Machete and
Chain Saw. Not much
birding, no time, but did
manage to go and look for
a Great Grey Shrike,
missed it but got great
views of a female Hen
Harrier, we saw a male
today the 20th. We had the
first Brambling reported
on Mull this Autumn and
another first for our
garden, a Grey Wagtail,
Treecreepers and
Goldcrests have also
visited. Maintenance to the
house continues and will
be complete before
Christmas, I hope, as will
the painting, the house
not on canvass. The blog
will be intermittant at
the moment as the van now
repaired from its accident
has been recalled by the
manufacturers for a fault
so remains in hospital
(garage) but will
hopefully be home before
December. I am looking
forward to several booked
appearances at the
dentists for root canal
treatment, I just can't
wait!!! Until my next
posting some pictures
taken of some of the birds
mentioned in the blog and
others seen during this
time.
October
2015
October
Pam and I went to visit our
family prior to going on our
long awaited trip to Botswana
and the Ocovanga Delta,
unfortunately my elderly Mum
was in poor health and being
well taken care of primarily
by my dad and wonderful sister
Jen. The family insisted we
still go on our holiday and
enjoy ourselves which we
did. We went camping in
Botswana mainly out in the
bush with 6 other guests.
We had a terrific guide
Ngosi and three other
helpers who moved the
tents, cooked the food and
washed our clothes and
bedding, they were
amazing, making the
experience one we will
never forget. We saw all
the wildlife we wanted to
see as well as over 210
species of birds, to say
we thoughly loved the
holiday and our Botswana
experiece would be an
under statement. The
temperature was the only
downside of the holiday
with teperatures reaching
over 105 degrees
fahrenheight which was
certainly a challenge for
Pam. We spent 16 days in
Africa and the people were
truly inspirational and
the Black and White on the
Botswana flag signifies
racial harmony and that is
just what we got. The
photos below are just a
taster of the animals and
birds we saw on the trip,
we hope you enjoy them.
October 5th onwards
There will be a
break from the blog for a while as
I need to rest my eye that was
injured last year so no birding
for me for a while. Hope to be
back in business soon. In
the meantime just a few Photos for
you to enjoy. Thanks to all our
guests who send us their photo's.
Micheal & Jo
Lovemore were on a tour with
us in September and took
these great photo's of a juv
WTSE
 
Our good friend Alan
Spellman from Mullbirds
always likes to show Arthur
how to take a good photo,
here a Whitethroat and
female Redstart
Regular guests
Meg & Stephen Davis send me
some super photo's, the Dolphins
were seen from Calliach Point in
June, Dipper and Willow Warbler
are amongst some of our
favorite small birds and the
Redpoll was taken below the
feeders at Ardrioch when they
were staying with us.
This Fulmar and Wheatear
were taken by Pete Lathem,
he and wife Jenny have been
friends for many years and
help us with our house
sitting.
A day out
with Meg and Stephen, two
regulars who stay in the
self-catering every autumn and
our now very good
friends and we
always have at least one day
out birding together. Today
was a wonderful one as we saw
and photographed a Little
Egret on Mull, I think it is
only the 3rd one reported and
the first with a photo. Other
notable sightings today were a
raft of about 250 Eider Ducks,
4 Great Northern Divers one in
breeding plumage, a Red
throated Diver, Golden Plover,
Linnets , my favorite bird and
a couple of Skylarks. As usual
we saw Golden Eagle and
White-tails and also a Hen
Harrier interscting with
Buzzards. Well over 50 species
of birds were seen although we
did not start counting till we
had been out for over an hour.
Thank you to Meg for the
flying Egret and the Eider
Ducks photo's
Oct
3rd
The drive
back included our usual
brilliant breakfast at the
antiques centre just out of
Doune on the Callender Road.
Thanks to Cal Mac staff for
squeezing us onto the 2pm
ferry, literally.
Oct 1st-2nd
Still off
island visiting family.
October 2014
Oct 14th
We have just become proud
Grand Parents for the 4th time
and all four are girls,
welcome to the world little Nia
Alia Brown our son and
daughter-in-laws first child,
congratulations to you all.
Pam is overjoyed as she was
able to hold little Nia within
20 minutes of her being born,
I don't think the smile has
gone from her face since. I
will update you on goings on
on Mull when we return.
Oct 6th
I have just been given some
very positive news regarding
my eye problem by the
consultant, so unless I have a
relapse things are looking
good for the Discover Mull
wildlife tours continuing next
year. Many thanks to all my
readers for their best wishes
and concern over my eye
problem, your good wishes kept
me going through my darkest
times but now as I can see the
light and birds again I hope
to keep you all up to date
about the wonderful Island
that is Mull. One more group
of people I would like to
thank, the doctors, nurses and
all the staff at Gartnavel
Hospital who got me through my
ordeal in such a friendly and
very efficient way, their care
kindness and indeed humour
could not have been bettered.
To all the taxi drivers we
used you were all brilliant
and chatty, thanks to you all.
Finally to the staff at the
West Park Hotel you should all
be very proud of the good
humoured way you look after
your guests, you made what
could have been a traumatic
stay, a lovely experience.
Oct 5th
Winds and light showers, rain
in the afternoon. Regular
guests Meg and Stephen on the
tour today so plenty of help
with the spotting. We saw
absolutly nothing for the
first hour which was a bit
worrying but once we found
some Eagles flying they kept
appearing with 3 White-tails
and 4 Golden Eagles seen
during the day. At lunch time
we picked up an Otter but it
soon dissapeared in the choppy
water only to be found a
little way down the coast
about half an hour later and
again entertaining us whilst
we had lunch. Seals, Fallow
Deer, Redshank, Greenshank,
Turnstone, Teal and Black
headed Gull were all seen.
Towards the end of the day we
found a herd of Red Deer being
watched over by a magnificant
Stag who was keeping a young
stag away from his hareem.
Thanks to Meg for this photo
of a young Fallow Deer seen
today.
Oct 1st
The early morning rain cleared
to a sunny but windy day and
as I (Pam) was driving to my
friends for swimming today a
Sparrowhawk flew across the
road in front of me, further
along I was delayed as I
watched a pair of Golden
Eagles seeing off a White-tail
Eagle. It was a brilliant day
for a swim as the sea is it is
at it's warmest at this time
of the year (ok I know you
don't believe me) there were
big waves and we giggled and
laughed like teenagers as they
crashed over us. As I looked
over head there was another
White-tail Eagle, a Golden
Eagle and 2 Buzzards flying in
the wind we also had a Heron
fly close by. As I drove home
the Ravens and Hooded Crown
seemed to be dancing in the
wind as they flew.
October
2013
Oct 26th to 31st
On our way to at
our daughter, son-in-law, and
grandchildren in Brixham we
stopped off at the hospital in
Torbay and so I arrived to play
with my grandchildren on crutches.
Even though extremely handicapped
I really enjoyed my time with the
family and never stopped reminding
Pam she had made me walk on a very
bad ankle exacerbating the injury,
you have to take sympathy when you
can get it. Pam has a special
birthday coming up in December and
has started working her way
through a wish list of things she
wants to do. So far she has been
swimming in the sea and trying to
cripple her husband but now she
wanted to go Kayaking with our
son-in-law Simon. So on a very
cold day they set off on a 5 mile
trip up the river Dart in windy
conditions, she loved it although
she got very wet and cold. What is
it with my wife who for all our
married life has hated sports and
now approaching 60 takes up the
extreme versions.
Oct 19th to 26th
We went on holiday
to Wareham in Dorset visiting RSPB
reserves, gravel pits and Brownsea
Island. We had a great holiday
with a lot of walking and birding
with me in my newish boots. By
Tuesday evening my right ankle
started hurting and it got a
little worse on Wednesday and by
Thursday lunchtime on Brownsea was
very painful indeed. I mentioned
this to Pam, my sympathetic wife.
Full of compassion for my plight
she told me as we had not been to
Brownsea before we should at least
go round the National Trust half
as we had done the Dorset wildlife
half in the morning and so with
gritted teeth I bravely soldiered
on another 2 miles.
Here is a small
selection of our holiday photo's
showing birds and mammals we do
not normally see on Mull.
Oct 16th to 19th
We went to
Cheshire to visit family staying
with our son and daughter-in-law
Richie and Sheetal.
Oct 15th
This was our last
tour of the season and the last
for our trusty van as we have
ordered a new one for next year.
Today it was so sunny and warm
that I nearly expired in my
thermals as the temperatures
soared to 20 degrees and the
clocks for winter go back soon.
Today's tour was a Red Deer rut
fest with roaring Stags, running
stags but unfortunately no
fighting stags, as the pretenders
were all wimps, who when
challenged by the resident stags
turned tail and ran away. We had 4
Otters again today with lovely
sightings of a mother with 2 cubs
playing on the last bit of rock
available as the tide came in.
Congratulations to David and
Catherine a lovely couple on a
belated honeymoon, I sincerely
hope they enjoyed their wedding
present.
Oct 14th
A trip to
Tobermory in unseasonably warm
sunny weather and another look for
the Magpie which is apparently
still hanging around. This was my
third attempt to see this bird and
my third failure, however we did
see lots of winter Thrushes taking
advantage of the abundance of
Rowan berries and as we watched
them a Peregrine Falcon flew
across the Tobermory cemetery in
the direction of the golf course.
Last evening before dark a short
trip out provided a very close
view of a female Hen Harrier, Pam
was well chuffed
Oct 11th, 12th,
13th
Mull Car Rally
weekend good luck to them all and
the weather is marvellous. The
picture is of our son's rally
friends up for the rally
unfortunately Richie could not
join them this year.
Oct 10th
Another windy but
dry day cool in the wind but
warmer in the sunshine. Great
Eagles and Otter again today as
well as lots of Red Deer in their
rutting parks but birds of the day
for me had to be the 21 Whooper
Swans at Killiechronan and the
very close Common Scoter at
Cailaich Point. At last autumn
migration is starting, more gales
please, you never know what might
get blown in.
 
Oct 9th
A day of near gale
force winds and heavy squally
showers not the best day for
wildlife watching but in our case
today it was probably the best day
out for the Mull big 5 we have had
all year. We saw several
White-tailed Sea Eagles 3 of them
together at the end of the day one
turning right over being mobbed by
a Buzzard and the other 2 talon
grasping. 3 Golden Eagles very
good for quite a long time but not
as close as the White-tails. An
Otter for 30 minutes in and out of
the water but it was so rough it
never went more than 20 yards into
the water so we had unbelievable
views. 3 Hen Harriers, again the
one near the end of the day, a
male was probably my second best
sighting of Hen Harrier this year.
Finally lots of Rutting Red Deer
and also Fallow Deer and to add to
these sightings a Sparrowhawk, 2
Kestrel and a Great Northern
Diver.
Oct 8th
A wet day and Pam
and I went to Tobermory for
haircuts, I pay for the search fee
and in Pam's case she sees the
tint fairy as well. As it was
still persisting down we treated
ourselves to lunch at Glengorm
where I had a fantastic beef
Chilli con carne, if you like
chilli this comes highly
recommend.
Oct 7th
The weather was so
bad when the tour started I was
asked if we ever cancelled by a
guest and she must have wondered
why not by mid-day as we had only
seen Wigeon, Teal, Curlews,
Whimbrel, Little Grebe, Greylag
Geese and several Buzzards. The
rain stopped for most of the
afternoon and we saw Common Seals,
3 Otters one really close, 2
Golden Eagles, 3 White-tailed
Eagles again one very close being
mobbed by a Hooded Crow, Red Deer
and a brilliant if brief view of a
female Hen Harrier also being
mobbed by a Hooded Crow, boy do I
love Hooded Crows always there
when you need them. Bird of the
day a Rook at Ulva Ferry, an
unusual sighting here. In answer
to her question, no we never
cancel it is wildlife and it never
ceases to amaze me.
Oct 6th
A dull calm day
and I spent a lot of time in the
garden mowing lawns and tidying up
not my favorite occupation but it
has to be done sometime. My mother
used to tell me don't put off till
tomorrow what you can do today, I
am not too sure she was right as I
have better things to do with my
time than gardening like WILDLIFE
WATCHING.
Oct 5th
A beautiful calm
morning and I was out before first
light and apart from a
Woodcock I did not see
anything I don't see most days. It
was just great to be out and about
with no one else around and as I
stood watching an Otter fishing in
glass calm water and the eerie
calls of a pair of Red Throated
Divers I thought to myself how
lucky I am to live in this magical
place.
Oct 4th
A damp day and so
I took the van to Tobermory and
gave it a good clean, after the
busy autumn it deserved it. We are
thinking of getting a new van for
next year but we have not
completely decided yet but this
van has been very reliable up to
now and we don't want to keep it a
year too long which is what we did
with the Landrover.
Oct 3rd
It is dull and a
little damp at the moment but so
warm and I spent the morning
birding. Although I did not see
any new birds for the year I had a
good time trying. The wildlife I
did see was beautiful and Mull as
always left me feeling relaxed and
grateful that we live here. Only
three more tours booked and of
course the Mull car rally to come
next weekend and then we have the
Island back to ourselves. We will
miss our guests but will hopefully
see some of you again as you chill
out from your stressful lives on
this wonderful island paradise.
Oct 2nd
A very dull dry
breezy day and we started todays
tour with a female Hen Harrier,
followed by a White-tailed Eagle a
2 golden Eagles and all this in
the first half hour. Wigeon,
Curlews a Redshank and Whimbrel
were then seen before we went for
coffee and 3 Otters. There was a
bit of a lull then just before
lunch a juvenile White-tail flew
right past us and then at
lunchtime another very close
Otter, a juvenile Golden Eagle and
a Red Throated Diver. Red Deer
were seen in the afternoon and
Goosander, Gannets, Cormorants,
Shags, kittiwake and an Arctic
Skua my first of the year. The
season is ending on a high note
with good weather, good birds and
lovely guests, I must admit I love
my job most of the time.
Oct 1st
A mainly dry but
windy day and Pam, Jacqui and Mike
went out on the Whale watching
boat, I chickened out and stayed
at home and checked out my photo's
from yesterday. They enjoyed their
trip but apart from 3 Arctic
Skuas, lots of Gannets and some
Porpoise they did not see a lot,
they said that the views and light
had been great and anyway both Pam
and Jacqui enjoy being out on the
water. I stayed in and caught up
on some much needed rest as I had
not slept very well the night
before, ZZZZZZZZZ
October - 2012
Oct 31st
Weather nice warm
morning rain after lunch - I went
to Calgary and Cailaich this
morning and saw 12 ringed Plover
at Calgary and about 30 Gannets
and 50 razorbills and even more
Kittiwakes at Cailaich, this is
more than I ever saw there during
the summer, very strange.
Oct 30th
Weather more of
the same - Did not do much today
but sad to report a Whooper Swan
with a broken wing at Dervaig, the
appropriate organizations have
been informed.
Oct 29th
Weather sunshine
and heavy showers all day windy
- White-Fronted Geese in
field with Greylags at
killiechronan, 2 Iceland Gulls at
the Salmon Hatchery. Manchester
City won again, all's well in
Arthur's World.
 
Oct 28th
Weather dry but
cloudy and fairly warm, rain in
the evening - Great sightings of
Otters, Red Deer, Fallow Deer,
Grey Seals, Common Seals,
White-tailed Eagles, Golden
Eagles, Hen Harriers, Black
Throated Diver, Snow Buntings, Bar
Tailed Godwits, Grey Herons,
Curlews, Wigeon, Turnstones,
Ringed Plover, Kestrels, Buzzards,
Peregrine Falcons and lots more.
Just another fantastic day of
wildlife on the wonderful Isle of
Mull.
Oct 27th
Weather frequent
heavy showers - Late birds today
and new arrivals , we saw a
Lapwing at Cailaich this morning
the first I have seen for some
time and later a late Swallow was
seen so autumn is clinging on.
Winter is on its way however as a
Family of Whooper Swans flew into
Loch Cuin and too tired to eat
immediately put their heads under
their wings and went to sleep. We
saw 4 Snow Buntings at Reudle
today in separate pairings.
Oct 26th
Weather cloudy -
Another good day with a great
display of interaction as a pair
of Golden Eagles saw off an
intruding White-tail Eagle out of
their patch. We had good views
today of Great Northern Divers,
Goosanders, Slavonian Grebes and
Hen Harriers which we have been
seeing all week and the Snow
Buntings were also seen again
today. A Barnacle Goose was seen
in with a group of Greylag Geese
and an Otter put in a very brief
appearance, some times you wonder
how they can disappear so quickly.
Oct 25th
Weather Rain in
the morning then warm Sunshine,
guests were shocked and so was I -
Whimbrel at our first main stop
and Snow Buntings again, I got
pictures this time and a Great
Northern Diver in summer plumage
were the highlights of another
great wildlife watching day,
Eagles and Otters and the Red Deer
rut also seen. It is good to be
out and about again and I just
discovered I have hit my 150 bird
species on Mull target with the
Snow Bunting.
Oct 24th
Weather cloudy
with rain in the morning improving
as the day went on very, very
windy - Another good day with a
lot seen when we were able to
stand up without being blown over.
We saw late Gannets, an Arctic
Tern, Whooper Swans, a Merlin, a
Sparrowhawk and a Great Skua and TARRAH
a first for a Discover Mull Tour SNOW
BUNTINGS.
We also saw Eagles and Otters
et al.
Oct 23rd
Weather Cloudy but
no rain we are worried about
drought - The first tour since the
1st and all Mull's speciality
species were there to welcome us
back. We had brilliant Eagles,
Otters and Deer as well as Hen
Harriers and Seals. our guests
were well impressed all they had
expected to see was rain, I wonder
why?
Oct 19th
We have had a lot
of rain since returning to Mull
and so we have not been out and
about much, just having a good
rest after the busy season and the
weddings. Our regular guests will
be pleased to hear that I have
been busy making lots of home-made
chutney for the tours next year
with some apples picked from my
Dads garden. I have managed to get
a nice photo of Arthur and I in
our finery at the English Wedding
for you to see, with Richard,
Sheetal, Ram (Sheetals father) and
Gul (mother) out side the very old
part of Baddiley church.
We will be doing a
few tours again next week for the
half term so lets hope it stops
raining.
Oct 8th
After a couple of
days rest when we managed a nice
walk with the grandchildren our
son had his second traditional
English Wedding at Baddiley Church
near Nantwich.
Richard and his
groomsmen left for the church in
an old jeep and the bridesmaids
were Sheetals sister, Shalini
Mehta and our 2 granddaughters
Lauren and Emma who were very
exited in their 'princess
dresses and gloves'.
Some of our
guests saw the wedding cake in
the making and asked to see
photo's, well it made
it down to
Cheshire safely and was
decorated with real orchids to
match the brides bouquet.
The whole day
was wonderful and went without a
hitch, the highlight of the
evening was the
dance when we
had 'bollywood' music - the
floor was bouncing.
Oct 5th
Today our son
Richard has his Sikh wedding to
beautiful Indian girlfriend
Sheetal. This has taken place at
the Guru Nanak Gurudwara,
Warrington. Many of our guests
have asked to see some of the
photo's, especially Arthur as you
have never seen him before. We had
a wonderful ceremony, the people
at the Sikh Temple were very kind
and helpful to us and all our
guests were very respectful of the
Sikh traditions. After the
ceremony we were given a
traditional vegetarian lunch at
the Temple. There were some
beautiful outfits worn and
everyone enjoyed the day.
On Saturday there
will be a traditional English
Wedding.
 
Oct 2nd
We are off down
south today for our son's
Wedding so there will be no
updates for a few days. We
thought we would leave you with
some familiar images from a
'Discover Mull' tour.
 
Oct 1st
Weather cloudy and
calm just how I like it - Perfect
weather for wildlife watching and
we saw Mistle Thrushes, Stonechat,
Wigeons, Red Breasted Mergansers,
Oystercatchers, Curlews, Slavonian
Grebes, Red Throated Divers,
White-tailed Sea Eagles, Otters,
Golden Eagles, Red Deer at Rut and
finally 5 yes 5 Hen Harriers,
check out the photo's.
 
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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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