Hard to beat.

It was one of those days that will be hard to beat. As I left the house I caught sight of a Red Deer stag so I took a couple of snaps.

As I collected the guests for the day the first thing we saw were two WT Eagle. We headed off to get a better view but could only find one bird so we hung around until the other one appeared - it flew right overhead! A search for Otter was, initially, fruitless but we picked up the usual RB Merg and GN Diver before finding the elusive mustelids. The Otters swam along the shore in front of us but they were a little bit put off by the traffic going past.

A pair of Hen Harrier were seen briefly as we looked for the stag I had seen earlier and then another two female Hen Harrier were seen soaring. a change of location produced a large herd of Red Deer but a Golden Eagle took our attention away. While watching this soaring bird another Goldie was seen distantly and yet another came a bit closer to check us out!

We could have finished the day at this point but we hadn't had lunch yet. Another WT Eagle was seen...

...but it was on a Golden Eagle territory - the Goldie wasn't happy about that so we got awesome views!

We went in search of some of the smaller birds in the afternoon and got cracking views of Redwing...

...Golden Plover...

...and Reed Bunting.

A Mountain Hare was seen but there was no sign of the Barnacle Geese which may have headed back north now. What was supposed to be a quick look for Black Guillemot was scuppered by this sighting.

Normally you would be happy to see something like that from land but the four Bottle-nosed Dolphins had other ideas!

They came closer and closer to the shore and then started leaping around.

I'm not sure who had the most fun - us or them.

There was no way that this sighting could be topped so we headed back to base with big grins. We still managed to pick up another six Otter on the way back too - here are one of the groups of three that we found.

I've got no chance of beating that day but I'll probably get close.

Showtime.

Saturday was another warm day. Showtime....2 Red-throated Diver were picked up and as we viewed them a Cuckoo landed on the wires close by! While viewing the WT eagle chicks we picked up one of the adults flying in being mobbed by a Buzzard!

We followed that up with an Otter. We must have spent about an hour watching this one fishing and coming ashore.

The usual heap of Adders were admired while we also picked up at least three Hen Harriers. A bit of butterfly chasing gave us Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Chimney Sweeper moths and Dark Green Fritillary.

We picked up the usual Whinchat, Stonechat and Wheatear trio before attempting to take a break. As we admired the views across the sea the shout went up for dolphins. A mass exodus from the motor to watch at least 7 Bottle-nosed Dolphin cruising along with the occasional leap out of the water.

As they drifted from view we decided to try to catch them up again with the hope of closer views. We did relocate them but sadly they had moved further offshore. While looking for Mountain Hare we came across an adult Lapwing that was alarm calling - we nearly missed the youngster sneaking away from us!

A couple of Mountain Hare were in the vicinity too but only one stuck around for photos.

As we turned to head back we picked up a male Hen Harrier hunting at the back of the field. We watched it starting to make it's way across the field as we headed down the road and managed good views and a few photos. We got a second chance with the bird hunting at the side of the road and then we lost it. We'd stopped on a high point to attempt to relocate the harrier again but there was no sign until it burst out of the Iris bed to give another cracking view.

There were plenty of other highlights - Red Deer, another WT Eagle, Common Seals with pups - but a bit of nature in the raw had to take top spot for the day. What was it? Two Herring Gulls, one was trying to kill the other for some reason.

The bird that was in trouble managed to escape it's torturer and headed for us as a point of safety. A guests comment at the end of the day..'That's one of the best days out I've ever had'. You can't argue with that!

Lunga.

Wednesday I'd planned a trip to Lunga. As I headed out into the sunshine an Otter was fishing offshore. Once on board the boat for Lunga we left the pier and headed straight for four Bottle-nosed Dolphin - awesome.

A Great Skua flew over the boat as we headed for open water. A few Manx Shearwater, a RT Diver and the usual auks. Two Arctic Skuas put on a good display when we arrived at Lunga.

A quick round up of the photos. Plenty of Rock Pipits to be seen.

The Twite were obliging.

Wrens were as bold as brass.

Northern Wheatears were out in force with plenty of young birds around too.

The auks are not difficult to photograph so I started with the Common Guillemots. A few had small young while others were sitting on eggs.

The bridled form of Guillemot are easy to find and quite striking up close.

Shags are nesting in any space big enough for them. I just love the eye colour on these birds.

The razorbills are equally striking no matter which angle you look at them from.

There were plenty of Puffins bringing Sand Eels in and plenty posing for the usual portrait shots but it was nice to get the odd shot of a bird showing off in charismatic style.

The Grey Seals were hauled out on the rocks as we left the island.

We were treated to more stunning views of the dolphins as we got back to port - a cracking day out.