Fledge.

Thursday the weather was a blistering 24 degrees all day! After the longest wait ever the Swallows finally fledged some youngsters. Here are 3 of the five that were sitting around.

The tour was always going to be a difficult one in the heat but we still managed a good one. The Short-eared Owls are not as easy as they were but we managed to get a single, adult, bird flying around to add to the juvenile that I saw on the way to pick up the guests.

While watching the owl a male Hen Harrier flew past and caught something in the long grass. It wasn't close enough to see what it caught but the feathers that the bird plucked out gave it away as a bird. With the prey half plucked the Hen Harrier flew off to deliver it to a youngster.

Distant views of both types of eagle were had before we were moved on by flies. A Great Skua was seen flying up the loch while viewing some Common Seals. Another 2 Golden Eagle were seen at lunchtime but, once again, they were distant and brief. The Adder made up for the lack of birds in the sky - we could have missed things as we were looking at the ground! A young Adder was the big interest as it posed quite nicely.

The pile of adult Adders were seeking the shade in the high temperature and there were no Slow Worm on show. The usual suspects in the afternoon with a good sighting of Mountain Hare but the star of the show had to be the dust bathing Skylark.

We did manage to find a Slow Worm on the way back but it was in the talons of a Buzzard!

There was not a sign of an Otter through the day but the WT Eagle chicks provided the usual bit of entertainment. A great day out but too hot for me and the wildlife!