The wrong day?

A trip to Lunga was good in some respects and bad in others. Maybe I was there on the wrong day! The Shags provided good opportunities for photos and they seemed to have plenty of nests with youngsters.

The Puffins performed for the crowds which always puts a smile on your face but I saw very few birds bringing fish to the burrows.

The Kittiwakes appeared to have done well with most of the nests having two chicks and the rest just a single youngster.

Guillemots didn't seem to be doing very well either despite there being plenty of birds...

...with the bridled variety looking particularly dapper.

I only spotted a few chicks in the seething throng.

There was no sign of any Razorbill youngsters but there were plenty of adults around but I never saw any of these birds with a fish either.

Some of the Puffins were still digging burrows!

A few Arctic Tern were seen among the more numerous Common Terns while the Great Skuas patrolled the skies.

The annual trip

Joy and I had our annual trip out to Staffa on a nice sunny day. Not too many Common Seals on the way out but there always seems to one that will pose for a photo.

A couple of RT Diver were seen and quite a few GN Diver but nothing that exciting until a Great Skua flew past the back of the boat.

There were plenty of Manx Shearwater sitting around on the sea...

...and we saw the Royal Navy HMS Exploit training patrol vessel out on an exercise.

All the usual stuff was seen around Staffa - Black Guillemot, Common Guillemot, Razorbill, Eider, Twite on Staffa itself and plenty of Shag.

The Puffins were still being a bit shy so they didn't come ashore but we got good views all the same.

Stuffed

Another cracking day on Mull - clear skies and plenty to see. A Common Sandpiper was a fresh arrival so we had to stop for a look.

A Shag was posing on the rocks as we drove past.

A couple of WT Eagle showed well over the ridge before they drifted off into the distance.

They may have drifted off because of the appearance of a Hercules aircraft that was doing low flying manoeuvres. It wasn't too long before a Typhoon was flying in the same area - not wildlife but pretty spectacular!

We had the good fortune to watch an Otter for half an hour as it made it's way along the shore.

The Tawny Owl was in it's usual place - is it stuffed?

Two Golden Eagles were seen at lunchtime while a hunt around for Adders was successful but they took a bit of finding. Some are easy to see...

...while others are a bit more cryptic.

I've seen quite a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls but none close enough for the camera.

There are plenty of Northern Wheatears about now...

...but a small flock of Golden Plover were capturing all the attention.

A single Twite was seen but only briefly and the find of the day was this Snipe at the side of the road!

Dodging showers

The weather forecast says there will be passing showers - how long does a shower last? A couple of minutes, an hour...or two, well, it's just relentless with barely any time between them. I don't let it stop me going out but it does slow me down a bit. The best I managed on such a day was a few photographs of a pair of Curlew setting up territory.

The Stonechat pairs seem to be well up this year so you never seem to be that far from a singing male at the moment.

A couple of Otters were having a scrap on the other side of the loch to me as I sat out another shower - it wasn't too long before they were feeding side by side!

I'm guessing this Shag wasn't too impressed with the weather either - it didn't even bother surfacing properly!

I hit lucky in more ways than one as a clear spell came in I could see a large bird sitting in a tree. I took a few shots from too far away before moving in a bit closer. The White-tailed Eagle wasn't to bothered as I pulled up next to it - very impressive!

Not too far away from that was another WT Eagle was carrying some food as it flew past.

After all that excitement it was back to the small stuff - plenty of Rock Pipits displaying, the Meadow Pipits doing their thing and still only male Pied Wagtails.

Close encounters of the furry kind

A trip out to look for Otters in decent light was reasonably productive. Riding shotgun with Doc it wasn't too long before we came across our first Otter. A squad of Oystercatchers kept their distance...

...and a Shag kept it's eye on us...

...as the Otter swam by.

Another otter was seen in the distance and heading our way - it wasn't too long before they were together and they headed for the holt.

Another Otter was seen a bit further along and this one had an obvious kink in it's tail. With high tide fast approaching it was no surprise that this one headed into a holt too. A well marked Rock Pipit was flitting along the shore as we headed back to the car.

A few Slavonian Grebe were seen on the loch with just one of them coming close enough for a shot.

A Dipper was seen keeping a low profile behind a rock...

...and a flock of Teal were hugging the shoreline on the high tide.

We had lunch beside a 30 strong flock of Curlew...

...a Sparrowhawk landed on a post right next to the car so there was no chance of getting a photo of that while the Golden Eagle was a bit too far!

White-tailed Eagle, another Sparrowhawk, two more Otters that were a bit distant were all seen before we managed some close encounters of the furry kind. We spotted an Otter heading for shore with a crab but it hid itself away in the rocks to eat it's catch. A bit of patience and it was back out fishing again then back to shore and into the rocks. Back into the water again and then it brought a crab onto a rock - much better!

It certainly had a good spot for catching crabs.

Splash

A quick trip out produced a few sightings. This drake RB Merg doesn't look too impressed as the female bird causes a bit of a splash.

This bird was fishing in the shallows - you can see there is a thin film of water covering the bird before it even dives...

...and you could be excused for mistaking this for an Otter.

No mistaking the Shag when it shows well though.

There was an Otter fishing a bit further out but it never came any closer.

A flock of Curlews were feeding in a field and it was nice to see the whole bill disappear as they dug for worms.

Not a great deal of variety on the feeders at home but it does give you a chance to get a bit closer to some birds - Great Tit...

...and the stunning Coal Tit are two good examples.