Never a dull moment.

I'm playing catch up again so it's photos from a couple of tours. The first day we didn't get Golden Eagle but it was one of those calm, humid days - not really the best weather to see big birds flying around. The rest of the day was fine with a good sighting of a Northern Wheatear and Common Sandpiper wandering around on the grass.

The Adder showed well but there was as much interest in this Common Blue butterfly!

Hooded Crows are very common and they are an interesting bird to see for people from further south. They do get mistaken for other birds but they will always catch your eye.

We paid a visit to the WT Eagle nest and found the youngster had fledged but there was an adult present. The Otter was a bit elusive through the day but we eventually got a good sighting of one.

The following day was a bit wet to start with but it soon cleared. I had spotted an Otter on the way to pick up the guests but there was no sign of it on our return. I did see a Lesser Repoll sitting on some wires.

There was no sign of the young WT Eagle but there was an adult present at the nest. A decent number of Red Deer were seen and we got a fleeting glimpse of an Otter. The weather cleared up and after viewing the Common Seals we managed to get some good sightings of an Adder. A WT Eagle appeared over a close ridge and landed on the top but this was in the middle of a Golden Eagle territory! It appears that the WT Eagle saw one of the Goldies sitting by a carcass and thought it might get a share but the Golden Eagle had other ideas - you can see the Golden Eagle has a full crop.

The WT Eagle didn't hang around and flew straight over the top of us.

We finally caught up with an Otter at the end of the day but it brought it's catch onto the back of a rock just out of sight for us - that's wildlife for you.

Twisted.

A day off with other things to catch up on kept the wildlife sightings to a minimum so the best I got were a couple of Lesser Redpoll on the fence at home. I presume this is the male...

...and this is the slightly duller female.

The following day I managed to twist my ankle just before setting off on the tour!! Needless to say it was a painful day but the sightings were good and the photos were almost non existent. After getting good views of the WT Eagle on the nest we found a Pied Wagtail perched on the fence sporting some rings...

...the details of that have been sent off and we'll see what comes back. Good views of the Golden Eagles and a Cuckoo were had but after setting the scope up I spent more time trying to keep the weight off my ankle. Three Otter were well watched before headed into the woods for Wood Warbler - cracking views but a slow walk. Another Golden Eagle was seen just before lunch...

...about 15 Common Tern and before the end of the day we'd had another two Golden Eagle, Whinchat, Adder and a single Swift.

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.

SE Owl.

With more poor weather to contend with a decision was made to go for Golden Eagle first - one bird was seen sitting on the nest. Next up we were tipped off about a Short-eared Owl sitting by the road. We missed it on the first pass but found it when we backtracked.

We couldn't find any sign of Otters so we checked out the WT Eagle and then headed back along the road. A Red Deer stag was seen grazing in a field before we got lucky with 2 Golden Eagle in flight.

A bird on a post wasn't the hoped for Tree Pipit but just a Meadow Pipit.

The clear spell we had was brief but we still added Hen Harrier and Whinchat to the list. A single Lesser Redpoll was nice to see as the rain came back in.

The good thing about the poor weather is that it grounds the migrating birds so a mixed flock of Dunlin, Turnstone and Sanderling was a nice find.

A flock of about 30 Whimbrel were seen too.

The weather started to clear at the end of the day but the wind was still blowing hard. Lapwing on the nest...

...good numbers of Rabbit...

...and a few Linnet were seen.

On the trip back a pale-eyed Common Buzzard was seen in a field...

...and a fly past WT Eagle with a Raven giving chase finished the day off nicely.

Cuckoo.

Just before setting off to pick the guests up for the day I had a good view of a Cuckoo sitting on a fence post. Two Otters were seen at the first stop but we had other guests to pick up. With everyone on board we headed back to one of the Otters for better views.

A couple of Razorbill and GN Diver were seen while watching the Otter. Probably the same Cuckoo I had seen earlier was perched on another post as we drove along the road.

The weather conditions were pretty poor but we managed to see one Golden Eagle on the nest and another bird perched close by. A WT Eagle sitting on the nest was overshadowed by a male Hen Harrier that gave good views. A few Buzzards had been seen along the way but one perched on a rock was worth stopping for - it didn't stay for long.

While searching for Adders in wet conditions a Golden Eagle gave us some cracking views.

We spent the afternoon looking for some of the smaller birds and hit lucky with a couple of Lesser Redpoll...

...and a few Yellowhammer.

Four Whooper Swan were seen from a distance so we went for a closer look.

While peering at some Turnstone and Ringed Plover a couple of Twite flew in and landed right next to us - awesome.

A few Dunlin, a single Snipe, Lapwing on the nest and a single Mountain Hare were all very good to see and the last sighting of the day was a summer plumage Great Northern Diver.

A shot in the dark.

An early run out was always going to produce a few things but I never expected to get photos too. They are not pretty but it did work - a cracking male Merlin to start the day.

I stepped out of the motor to get a better look at a few Mergs and two Hen Harrier appeared...

...along with a few Raven.

Great Northern Diver, can't help but point the camera...

...quite a few Little Grebe around...

...and a squad of Lesser Redpoll.

It's surprising how different each bird looks.

Less red on the head and a yellower bill...

...and a pink flush for this one.

The Blue Tit didn't want to be photographed so this was the only capture.

An Otter put in an appearance just as the sun appeared from behind the hills. The Otter was on the move so I was lucky enough to get a couple of shots as it came out, briefly, on a point of land.

Back to the Mergs after that. The male birds are looking good now...

...so there is plenty of displaying going on.