April so far

Without any internet connection at home it has been difficult to compose a new post. Facebook is so much quicker and easier to manage that is where most of the photos have gone - you don't need to sign up to view that so don't be put off.
A quick update while I have an internet connection - a Yellowhammer in the garden was a treat.

As you can see the GN Divers are coming into breeding plumage and preparing to leave our waters.

There are quite a few Pheasants wandering along the shore - it looks weird with the sea in the background!

A nice size comparison between WT Eagle and Golden Eagle.

The Redshank are starting to move away from the shore and search out a nesting area.

Plenty of Stonechats around but none on the nest yet but it won't be long.

I had eight Whooper Swans pay a visit last week - they will probably be the last until they return in the autumn.

I had an early run out and watched the sun rise while an Otter swam around in the loch and a WT Eagle drifted past - awesome!

The Crossbills are still showing well with the young bird being the most photographed.

The Red Deer stags have been popular but not with the motorists.

The migrant birds are starting to appear with lots of Northern Wheatear, Chiffchaff and the delightful Barn Swallows all putting on a show.

End of August

A quick round up of what's happening at the end of August. Despite the Golden Eagles having a poor breeding season there are still sub adult birds around to show the different plumage.

There seems to be quite a few Grey Wagtails now.

Plenty of Buzzards on show as the youngsters are now venturing out.

The hirundines are starting to gather before their migration south so Swallows and House Martins perched together is nice to see.

There are a few Little Grebes starting to appear on the sea lochs.

Stonechat - just stunning.

This Buzzard was drying off and allowed a close approach.

There doesn't seem to be that many Linnet or Twite around but you can always rely on a Skylark.

The Adders should continue to perform until we have a cold snap.

A variety of waders around at the moment with Redshank, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Curlew, Knot and Dunlin.

We had two attempts at getting this Golden Eagle but it was worth the wait.

The Otters are continuing to be elusive at the moment - some sightings but nothing close enough for photographs. There are plenty of gulls around as the Mackerel...

...are chasing whitebait onto the shore.

It does mean that the WT Eagles are trying to get in on the act too.

PWC - species 102, points 127. Year list 141

Newcastle

A trip to Newcastle had to include a bit of birding. It was nice to catch up with a few old faces (you know who you are). We don't have Moorhen and Coot on Mull so it was nice to catch up with them. Plenty of Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Stonechat, a couple of Common Whitethroat...

...and a nice Whinchat.

A flock of about 70 Lapwing had 25 Dunlin and a single Black-tailed Godwit sharing the space.

There were five Snipe close by while an Avocet fed in the shallows.

Little Egret is a regular sight in Northumberland now but it's been a while since I'd seen one.

These Swallows have already featured in Ipin's blog so it was nice to see that they were still there but definitely ready to go.

Just outside the hide we could see 7 Ruff but there was only one close bird and that was hard to see!

A Caspian Gull a bit further up the coast was a must see bird.

Eider ducks were plentiful in the harbour...

...as were the Starlings.

Plenty of other common birds were seen so it wasn't a bad haul for  a couple of hours in the field. Got to have an Oystercatcher in because it'd be rude not to.

The reason for the visit to Newcastle was my daughters wedding so the father of the bride has to be there!

A bit fishy

A cracking bird to start the day was this migrant Whinchat.

The swallows at the house have left already but there are still birds feeding young in the nest and others that are almost ready to make that epic journey to Africa.

We had a real treat while looking for the WT Eagles. A young bird was seen to fly off while another two birds circled over the ridge and when we just about to go an adult bird put in an appearance delivering a fish to it's youngster - awesome!

With all the sprats in the shallows the Grey Herons are having a field day.

A particularly tatty WT Eagle was frightening the life out of the gulls - no surprise when you see the size of that bird.

Plenty of other stuff to see through the day. Hen Harrier and Adder spring to mind but this Common Frog was a bit of a bonus.

Catch of the day had to go to the Heron that speared this flatfish. You could hear the splat as it caught the fish then it flew down to some deeper water for a bit of lubrication.

Different

An impromptu tour made up for a bit of a different day. The target was to find an Otter to photograph and then any species of fauna in front of the camera. We started off with a nice Common Seal...

...just before we bagged a couple of Otters.

We managed to stumble across a Spotted Flycatchers nest with four chicks - luckily we had already got photographs of one of the adults so we left pretty quickly.

A Black Guillemot was watched as we had a cuppa.

Next on the hit list was a Peregrine chasing a Rock Dove that wasn't captured on the camera but the falcon put on a good display.

 A couple of WT Eagle were seen, Whinchat and a newly fledged group of Swallows.

 A Red Deer hind didn't want to wander off so it had to be photographed.

A Yellowhammer gave us the run around but it made for some interesting flight shots.

We couldn't find an Adder but this Common Lizard was abit of a performer.

 We waited over an hour for a Golden Eagle to take to the air but it never obliged so we headed off to the Tawny Owl site instead - a great day out with a few different things seen.