Magic

Well it's the usual quiet spell at Christmas - I managed to get a photograph with some snow on just before it disappeared. Merry Christmas to you all.

A trip out with Doc saw him trying some unusual parking in the middle of the road so I could take a few snaps of the Buzzard having some breakfast.

The Black-throated Diver is still hanging around in the same area but it never seems to be close enough to shore for a good shot.

A great find in December was a juvenile Greenland White-fronted Goose - I can hear the gasps of excitement - but it really is a good find on my patch.

I didn't notice this WT Eagle was sporting a satellite pack until I looked through the photos. It was a bird released on the East coast of Scotland in 2008 and has now set up territory on Mull.

We watched this Otter from a distance, he knew something was up but couldn't figure it out so he just disappeared. I'm pretty sure it's magic.

Divers

A quick run down of the three divers regularly reported around the shores of Mull.
Red-throated Diver is the smallest of the three, thin upturned bill, very grey with a lot of white round the throat in the winter...

...while in the summer it is still a grey bird but it has a small red patch on the throat.

Black-throated Diver is the rarest of the three divers around Mull with only a few birds seen through the winter and the odd one on passage. As you can see it looks thicker set than RTD, very dark looking with a white patch on the rear flank and 50/50 black and white down the neck.

In the summer the white patch on the rear flank is still visible, the back has a checkerboard effect while the throat has an obvious black patch bordered by black and white stripes.

Great Northern Diver is the commonest of the three but only in the winter as they head back to Iceland/Greenland to breed in the summer. This is a large, thick set bird - it does stand out, even at a distance. Heavy billed, thick necked with an obvious broken collar showing at the base. The lump on the head is usually quite prominent too.

Just before these birds head off for the summer you can see them in breeding plumage. Checkerboard back, black head and neck with a small black and white patch on the throat and a large patch of black and white on the nape.

Three stunning birds though!!

Never a dull moment

The forecast had said the weather was going to improve through the day so I headed out for a look about. A couple of Otters were seen but I wasn't keen on hanging about as there were other things to see. The pale Buzzard was in posing mode.

It looks like the Black-throated Diver is going to spend the winter here so hopefully it will stick close to shore.

The Red-breasted Mergansers are almost finished moulting into fresh plumage - looks like it's an itchy process!

There are not that many Great Northern Divers about yet but I did see five through the day.

A Stonechat sitting on the fence - I couldn't help myself.

The local pair of WT Eagle were loafing at a favourite spot...

...and despite the heavy showers there was still an Adder basking not bad for the end of October.

Not the best of photos but this is the flock of Greenland White-fronted Geese - 23 birds in total.

A Hooded Crow in the sunshine - what can you say?

Dark days

A short run out in the morning and another in the afternoon - the overcast weather continues. A female Hen Harrier provided a great start to the day.

A Sparrowhawk was spotted wheeling over the forestry but by the time I had stopped it was fairly distant - good to see though.

I spent a bit of time watching the Hooded Crows breaking into shells on the shore. An interesting way to pass the time. No photos of the action, just some shots of them in the trees - blinkin' useless!

Even the Raven didn't want to play.

A Curlew was making it's way along the shore...

...while I watched a Black-throated Diver on the sea. I wonder if this is the same bird that I photographed at the back end of September.

A pleasant half an hour was spent sheltering from the wind while waiting for a couple of Little Grebe to put in an appearance.

Starlings at the side of the road, who could resist?

I was on a mission in the afternoon but I saw an Otter on a rock as I went past - 'that'll be nice on the way back' I thought. Not a sign! A nice Shag drying it's wings...

...and a couple of Goldfinch on the wires.

Parapet

A very windy day with showers kept the expectations low so we set off to find anything that was brave enough to put it's head above the parapet! The Ringed Plover were roosting on a sheltered bit of shoreline so we got good views of those.

A diver was seen from a distance so when we got closer to get better view we were delighted to find it was a Black-throated Diver.

Cracking views of an obliging Sparrowhawk...

...and a Dipper at the mouth of a burn.

Plenty of common birds were seen along the way including a view of a Reed Bunting but a distant male Hen Harrier provided a nice distraction. All too soon the bird was out of sight - a stroke of luck meant we bumped into the bird again at close quarters!

Lunchtime saw us getting views of a distant Golden Eagle that looked like it was going to come closer before it drifted off again. Ten minutes later we heard the Ravens sounding the alarm as two Golden Eagle flew overhead while another circled lower down.

The WT Eagles had been elusive in the morning so it was nice to catch up with this adult bird sitting in the conifers.

The one thing we needed to complete the day was an Otter - we weren't disappointed. One was spotted fishing in the shallows, eating it's catches and making it's way towards us.

A slightly larger fish was caught and it was taken onto a seaweed covered rock right in front of us!

The day isn't over until everyone has been dropped off so another Hen Harrier was seen, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Greenshank, Wigeon and plenty of Red Deer to round the day off nicely.

Divers

A cracking start was had to this tour as we picked up all three divers. We had a look for Red Deer in misty conditions and found a few. A couple of Curlew were along the shore...

...while some Eiders and a single RT Diver were further out. The next diver we found was in bad light so we moved along and discovered it was a cracking BT Diver.

Next up was the GN Diver which showed well enough and an Otter on the rocks rolling about. Not a bad start to the day. Next up was a Pipistrelle Bat, with a youngster, clinging to a wall. If you look carefully you can see the youngsters feet either side of the tail.

The usual waders were still about and cracking views of two Golden Eagle were had while we had lunch.

A single Adder was seen by me but nobody else seen it as it moved off quite quickly. Ravens are being seen in good numbers at the moment and it was nice to get two perched up at the side of the road.

We only got a brief view of a WT Eagle but at least everyone seen it. Mountain Hare showed well...

...and a Pink-footed Goose was found amongst the Greylags.

On the return journey we got cracking views of an Otter as it clambered over the rocks.

Good eyes.

All you need for a decent day out is some good eyes - keep them open and things will be found! A cracking start to the day with a female Hen Harrier, Mountain Hare and these two WF Geese.

A distant Golden Eagle was seen and while setting the scope up the first bird I picked up was a Red Kite! The next stop gave us slightly better views of Golden Eagle and an Adder getting ready for hibernation.

A Great Northern Diver was a good find, well appreciated etc...

...but unceremoniously dumped in favour of a White-tailed Eagle.

We found an Otter asleep while we had lunch but when it woke up it disappeared from view. All the regular waders were seen before we located another Otter that we managed to get better views of.

Another two WT Eagle were seen, an adult with a juvenile, another Otter and cracking views of this Black-throated Diver.

We finished the day off with a couple of Hen Harrier and the roaring stags. Top quality!!