A wet start.

My first tour in August was a really wet one with low cloud, it should have been a shocker. We were straight in with one of the adult WT Eagles sitting in a tree with the youngster - awesome.

I was busy telling the guests what to look out for when you are looking for Otters and I lifted the bins to scan the loch...there was an Otter straight away! We moved a bit closer to watch it fishing and while watching that another one swam past. We got superb views of one on the shore too.

A brief view of another 2 Otters kept us going before the guests went to photograph a Common Seal that was hauled out on the rocks. Yet another Otter swam into view near the seal! No sign of any Adders or Golden Eagle but we did have a female Hen Harrier while we had lunch.

The rest of the afternoon was a washout but we finished the day with cracking views of an adult WT Eagle...

...and a couple of Sparrowhawk.

End of July.

A bit of an update on the patchwork challenge - there is only one to add and that was Grey Wagtail so 101 species and 125 points. The year list stands at 136.
A bit of a tough day with most things a bit hard to come by but all the Mull favourites were seen. We only got a brief view of the young WT Eagle at our first stop but it was long enough for everyone to get a view. Our next stop produced a couple of RT Diver that were fishing just a few yards from the shore.

Two nice birds though.

There were plenty of waders to see with Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Golden Plover all seen in the morning. A couple of Whinchat were found while we waited for the Golden Eagles to appear. The Whinchats must have been migrant birds as I haven't seen or heard them for about two weeks. An Adder was well watched and the Goldies finally appeared but they were distant. We had nice views of a few Linnet, Mountain Hare and Skylark. The best sightings of the day came on the journey back - superb views of a male Hen Harrier...

...and a cracking encounter with an Otter.

One in the hand.

A bit of a search around for WT Eagle finally paid off at the start of this tour when we located an adult bird sitting in a tree.

We were lucky enough to come across an Otter at our next stop and we watched it eat it's catch...

...before it made it's way up a stream, through a culvert and off into the holt - awesome. A distant view of a Golden Eagle followed that and a cracking view of a male Hen Harrier - that would be enough for most people but there was more to come.

An Adder performed very well...

...and the kids on the tour captured a Common Lizard.

We viewed the Common Tern colony that had at least six youngsters in the group. A good view of a Red Deer stag was appreciated...

...a single Mountain Hare was seen and the best Buzzard sighting was a poser.