Phwoaaaaarrr!!!

Sunday was a day off for both of us so we headed for Iona to have a look round the Abbey. There is some scary stuff in there!

We had a look at the Glaucous Gull...

...before heading off to Staffa. A Great Skua was trying to turn a Gannet into lunch on our way out.

There were plenty of Manx Shearwater, Razorbill, Guillemot to see and the Puffins put on a good show so we all went home happy.

Monday the weather was a bit drizzly to start with but it soon cleared. The young WT Eagles were just lying on the nest looking miserable in the damp conditions. We had picked up an Otter earlier but it was a bit elusive so it was nice to get good views when we returned to the same spot. A Short-eared Owl put on a good performance for us too. The camera didn't come out until later in the day but it was well worth the effort. A female Hen Harrier was spotted mobbing something in the distance by one of the guests. A bit of a look round located a Golden Eagle sitting in a tree but it didn't stay for long. The Goldie gave us a fly past and disappeared but the Hen Harrier told us it was still there!

A bit of a wait and the Golden Eagle appeared over the trees at close quarters - phwoaaaaarrr!!!

The Hen Harrier was not happy with the presence of the bigger bird - awesome encounter!

There was no way of topping that one but we did manage to keep up some of the excitement with the likes of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Whinchat, Wheatear, a male Hen Harrier and a Mountain Hare.