Too much

Lots of photos in this one so I'll not do too much writing! Nice weather again and plenty of close sightings on this tour - Swallows are everywhere now.

There had been rain overnight so it was no surprise to find a Dipper at the mouth of a stream.

This 2 year old WT Eagle gave us a nice fly past...

...and a pair of Golden Eagle were flying around...

...above an adult WT Eagle.

We saw plenty of GN Diver but some of the views were like this!

A Greenshank was a surprise find as I haven't seen any for a couple of weeks.

Finally we have a few waders arriving - Dunlin on the beach.

We also picked up a Sedge Warbler singing on the fence.

A Black-tailed Godwit flew off...

...as this Brent Goose wandered down to the sea. This bird was ringed on 21st March at North Bull Island, Dublin.

Plenty of Rock Pipits to be seen...

...and the Lapwing chicks have hatched.

I've not had Rock Dove on the blog for a while so here it is.

There are not too many Golden Plover around at the moment and this single bird was very confiding.

Skylark - I'll say no more.

Corncrake.

A trip over to Iona with Doc to have a look for Corncrakes was quite productive. The day started off with rain but it was supposed to get clearer as the day went on. In cool and breezy conditions there was not a Corncrake to be heard! Things did improve but there were a few distractions along the way...Sedge Warbler ...

...Pied Wagtail...

...and some cracking views of Corncrake!

Other delights were some splendid Jackdaws...

...and plenty of tourist Corncrake - Song Thrush.

We spent a fair bit of time trying to track the Corncrake through the grass...

...watching them disappear into clumps of grass...

...and hiding in the brambles.

You could see them watching you...

...but they were showy too.

They may have stood in the open...

...but when they were face on they were surprisingly hard to pick up.

But how do you find the elusive Corncrake?

Just wait for them to start shouting!

A couple of Starling families were housed in the walls and not fussed by the passing humans.

A trip out to Staffa with Davy Kirkpatrick was well worth it. A couple of year ticks on the way there - Manx Shearwater and Purple Sandpiper plus a few Twite, Black Guillemot, Puffin...

...and a superb Great Skua.

Bad weather birder.

Another pleasant day up here with grey skies, wind and rain. A trip to Iona for Corncrake was on the cards but the weather wasn't the best. If you don't look you won't see - I'm up for that. Two Sandwich Tern were a year tick so that was a good start.

A Sedge Warbler singing in the rain was another year tick...

...and I saw a Corncrake in the first 10 minutes, another year tick. It wasn't a 'showing well' day for Corncrakes but I thought I should give it a shot. A Rook posed in the rain...

...a Peregrine flew over...

...I got very wet and managed to see three separate Corncrake and got three photos, none were any good! I did concentrate on looking at the birds rather taking photos though.

Good views of Gannet...

...Razorbill and Guillemot on the way back.

Not a bad effort on a poor day.

Baby everything.

Wednesday was another sunny one with less wind so it was a little warmer. Stunning views of a Dunlin in the morning...

...was quickly followed by a Lapwing with two chicks - I managed a snap of one of the youngsters.

A male Hen Harrier was a good one to pick up but it was all too brief unlike the Mountain Hare that was sleeping on the beach.

Three pairs of Greylag Geese with goslings continued the baby theme. A WT Eagle was next up but we were struggling for a place to stop without blocking the road. A Sedge Warbler was an added extra when we stopped.

Lunchtime gave us a few small birds with Goldfinch, Siskin, Chaffinch, Swallow, Meadow Pipit and Song Thrush all showing well. A family party of Greenfinch provided some entertainment...

...and a Blue Tit was feeding young.

Next up was a fly past Red-throated Diver and then a male Hen Harrier.

As the harrier moved off a Golden Eagle came over the ridge in the same view before it sailed over the top of us - awesome. An Otter picked up by one of the guests showed well before swimming off. We found a Mistle Thrush that was collecting food for it's young...

...and an Eider with 5 ducklings.

The weather had changed a bit and there was some light rain that didn't put off the Short-eared Owls. We had one sitting in the grass but the two that were tussling made for a cracking finish to the day.