Friday 31 May 2013

Moysies day out.

It's a bit difficult to get people excited about Black-headed Gulls but I get less sightings of them than either of the eagles!
With the Moyes family on their annual trip to Mull and out on a wildlife tour you can be sure they will find something good. With all the guests on board we started with a WT Eagle at the nest and then straight onto an Otter. Just as the Otter was moving off another WT Eagle soared into view.
A Pied Wagtail kept it's eye on our antics - no doubt it will have a nest nearby.
The Golden Eagles put on a good display which ended up with both birds perched on the skyline.
The keen eyes of Ben were quick to find the Wood Warbler in the leafy trees...
...and once again the young lad was quick to pick out a pair of Hen Harrier circling above the trees. Having someone keeping their eyes open makes for an easy day of spotting! We'd seen lots of Razorbill, a few GN Diver, Guillemot, Crossbill, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat...the list just goes on. Another WT Eagle was located just as we found a male Hen Harrier - what do you go for? The eagle flew off and we manged to catch up with the harrier again - whoop! A Mountain Hare was seen on the heather covered hillside. At our last stop of the day we caught up with a flock of Whimbrel and Ben finally got his reward for the day when he found a lone Tree Sparrow - awesome!

Thursday 30 May 2013

Cone munchers.

I tried a few different settings on the camera and managed to fluff most of the shots but the sightings remain the same. A couple of Golden Eagle were seeing off this WT Eagle at the start of the day.
All the favourites were present with 1 Otter seen, several GN Diver, male Hen Harrier, Whimbrel, a WT Eagle at the nest where we had a young Golden Eagle being chased by a Raven.
An Adder was difficult to spot but we all seen it, a Slow Worm was found in the middle of the road and plenty of other stuff. Just after the guests had left this chipper chap turned up to munch some cones - a Common Crossbill.
The following day we got straight into things with a Brent Goose being found feeding on the tide line.
There were Ringed Plover and Dunlin on the beach, GN Diver in the bay and a Snipe dropped into the Iris at another location. A superb Red-throated Diver in summer plumage performed well while we had lunch. A male Common Crossbill was seen having a bath in a trickle of water.
A day flying Pipistrelle Bat was a good find...
...and it was nice to see the pale Buzzard again.
WT Eagle, Golden Eagle and Otter were seen in the afternoon plus Red Kite and Wood Warbler.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Tiger.

A few Dunlin were wading in the shallows while I waited for the guests to arrive.
An Otter was found while we watched a couple of GN Diver at our first stop.
There wasn't much action from the WT Eagle nest but we fared better with the Golden Eagles as both birds were seen, one with a Mountain Hare, and the chick was seen too. The Wood Warbler looked superb in the sunshine...
...and just as good in the shade.
An Adder was doing it's best to stay in the shade and a Golden Eagle gave us a fly past but I wasn't quick enough with the camera.
The Green Tiger Beetle was easier to get to grips with.
 Plenty of other stuff was seen - Cuckoo, Whinchat, Whimbrel, Dunlin etc before we caught up with a couple of Twite. One of the birds was sporting some colour rings so the details have been sent in and we'll await a reply.

Monday 27 May 2013

Funky.

There are quite a few photo in this one so I'll not have too many words. We started the day in fine style with a male Hen Harrier overhead.
A few GN Divers, a nice Whinchat, a Razorbill and four Otters came next.
While watching the Otters a Willow Warbler was singing in a bush next us.
A posing Skylark at the side of the road.
Two Golden Eagles were seen while we watched the WT Eagle near it's nest. Another two Golden Eagles were seen at their nest site.
A walk in the woods gave us superb views of Wood Warbler...
...and some funky looking Red Deer.
A WT Eagle flying across the loch was a good find while a Whitethroat posed in a bush.
Whinchat, Adder, Cuckoo, Turnstone, Dunlin and Sanderling were all seen well.
A Hen Harrier tried it's best to get it's photo taken but I wasn't up to the job!
A Mountain Hare was having a stretch.
Four Lesser Redpoll were feeding on the grassy part of the shore...
...while five Twite flew over with a couple of them landing on the wires.

Friday 24 May 2013

Water.

A trio of Otters were spotted on the way to pick up the last of the guests for the day. We didn't stay for too long but we got good views of them.
A few showers came through in the morning but it didn't spoil the views of the WT Eagle but it was a bit more difficult to get the Golden Eagle at the nest. We also managed to relocate the three Otters along the way and got a bonus dog Otter at the same location! An Oystercatcher on the nest must be close to hatching the eggs so these views will be more difficult to get when the chicks are on the go.
A search in the woods meant we could hear Wood Warbler singing but it was a bit too windy to locate the bird. Cracking views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker were had though. Lunch provided some good views of a male Hen Harrier, an Adder, 3 Golden Eagle and a superb Whinchat.
Buzzards had been a scarce in the windy conditions but we did get good views of a bird hunting beside the road.
The waders are still showing well so, as usual, good views of Turnstone...
...Dunlin...
...and Ringed Plover.
On the run back to drop the guests off the tide was a bit higher so the Eiders were quite close. There were two males...
...and a single female.

Thursday 23 May 2013

Crossbill.

Just before the guests turned up for the tour I had a male Common Crossbill singing at the top of a conifer.
First stop for the day was for Golden Eagle - tough to see on the nest but it did the right thing and flew over the top of us!
An Otter asleep on the shore was next up and then views of the WT Eagle with it's chick on show too. Not a  bad start to the day. A female Hen Harrier was seen by a few and a couple of Stonechat and a few Red Deer were seen too. A male Hen Harrier was seen by all at the next stop and the Adder was sheltering from the stiff breeze.
Plenty of waders still to be seen on our travels with the usual Turnstone, Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A couple of Whimbrel were seen at our last stop of the day...
...three Golden Plover were difficult to pick out...
...but the two Mountain Hares were a bit easier.
Two Twite were flighty but we got decent views with a bit of patience...
...and I'm not sure what you will make of this bird! Any ideas?