It's all about the guests

This post covers three different tours where we seen pretty much the same stuff but I don't always get the chance to get photos. The guests come first so it's only when everyone has seen whatever we are looking at that I can get a chance to take a photograph. The Common Snipe is always a popular sighting - plenty of them doing sentry duty.

The WT Eagle sightings have been awesome but that's no surprise with a bird that size!

We managed to see Otter on two of the three tours and there are still some GN Divers hanging around.

The Hen Harrier sightings are getting more frequent as the male bird are starting to work harder to feed the chicks.

Most of the Golden Eagles appear to have failed down the SW of Mull but the adults can still be seen flying around.

Another lingering bird is this Pink-footed Goose.

There appear to be very few Linnet and Twite around this year so it was a real delight to find this singing male Twite.

White

We had 5 Common Scoter and a couple of Common Tern to get us off to a good start on this tour. There are quite a few Curlew that are keeping an eye on their chicks so it was no surprise to find this bird calling to the young.

We had a brief view of a Golden Eagle and decent views of the WT Eagle but things went a bit quiet for an hour so the likes of Stonechat and Meadow Pipit fill in the time. A single white Bluebell was admired along the way.

A distant view of a tatty looking 2 year old WT Eagle was followed up with a close Golden Eagle...

...but as that bird disappeared a 3 year old WT Eagle drifted into view!

A couple of Cuckoos were seen while we had a look at the Tawny Owl and a single Whinchat was spotted. There are plenty of Redshank around but I haven't seen any young yet.

A chipping Snipe was heard and then located on a gate post.

Good views of Mountain Hare, plenty of Common Seal, an Otter and lots of Red Deer too.

A taste of winter

The usual suspects were seen in the morning with the GN Diver and Sedge Warbler being the highlights. It's surprising how many people know of the Curlew and they have heard them too but getting a good look at one has eluded them. It is a stunning bird.

A WT Eagle gave us a superb fly past...

...a Redshank was keeping a look out for danger...

...and there were some superb views of Golden Eagle too.

We found an Otter sleeping on the shore, plenty of Dunlin and Ringed Plover, Mountain Hare and a taste of winter with the Whooper Swan.

Fed

Another classic view of WT Eagle to start the day.

There appear to be less adult GN Diver now while the juvenile birds still remain. An adult that was close to shore had caught a crab...

...broke off the legs...

...and then swallowed the body - great to watch.

Through the day we had sightings of Cuckoo, Whinchat, Golden Eagle briefly and a Snipe on a pole. It was quite windy while we looked for Mountain Hares but we found a few sheltering among the rocks.

While looking for the hares we almost trod on a couple of Dunlin!

A surprise find was a very obliging Whooper Swan - this bird actually swam towards us like it was looking to be fed.

We finally found an Otter at our last stop just after we had a young WT Eagle fly overhead.

Goose step

An earlier start gave us the opportunity to get a good view of a male Hen Harrier - not all of the guests were on board at this point.

The Eider are still hanging around the loch side and I'm sure it won't be too long before we start seeing some ducklings too.

A few of the Curlew have hatched young now so the sight of a bird on sentry duty is becoming a regular sight.

The Ringed Plover managed to hatch 3 of the eggs but this one must have not developed.

A couple of Cuckoo had been seen through the day while the Buzzards played hard to get - it's usually the other way round! A Buzzard did pose for a photo though.

Best sighting of the day had to be the Rock Pipit feeding one of it's young.

We saw an obliging Mountain Hare...

...singing Skylark...

...and a Lapwing chick trying to do the goose step!

A couple of Golden Eagle, Otter, another Hen Harrier sighting and a Dipper to finish the day.

Duck

The White-tailed Eagles can give you a good start to your day so when we found a bird perched in a tree we soaked up the image of a stunning bird. The bird started calling and it wasn't too long before it's partner came into view carrying a duck which it took straight to the nest.

After the bird had delivered the food it perched at the top of a tree to dry off after it's morning dip.

Plenty to see along the loch with the Eiders and GN Divers being the highlights. The Tawny Owl was on his usual perch in the barn - I could get round to thinking he's stuffed!

We did see a couple of Cuckoos in the afternoon plus Mountain Hare but top marks go to the Lapwing for presentation.

An Otter put in an appearance at the end of the day but I missed the opportunity of getting some snaps while it was on the shore.

We had saved the Golden Eagle for the afternoon and they performed well but they were outclassed by the male Hen Harrier.

Catch up part 2

The Common Sandpipers are starting to settle down in their breeding sites - but not on this boat!

Common Snipe can be seen keeping an eye on their breeding sites from a high point.

We are seeing Otters pretty much every day but I haven't managed to get any photos until this one came to check us out before heading into it's holt.

It was nice to get a good view of a Whinchat as the numbers of these birds are still down.

Most of the Golden Plover are close to breeding territory but this one is still on holiday at the beach!

The last of the migrants have arrived but I'm sure the numbers are down on last year - only a few Spotted Flycatcher.

There are terns around but I have only seen Common Tern up to now.

The Mountain Hares are performing well on the good days but they can be difficult in poor weather.

The Golden Eagles are starting to feed young now so there should be some good showings from them.