Left out in the rain

You don't get these dying storms without some precipitation to deal with so it was showers all the way but it doesn't stop the wildlife. On my way to pick up the guests for the day I followed this WT Eagle down the road and captured the moment where some Mallards decided to escort it for a while!

It never looked like a day for photos but we had plenty of sightings to keep us going. Barnacle Geese, Snipe and Sparrowhawk were the highlights at the start of the day. Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Reed Bunting were seen just before we picked up our first Otter - this one headed out into the roughest part of the loch to go fishing. We struck lucky with the second Otter as we spotted him just as he was heading into the water and then we watched him fishing.

We picked up a pair of WT Eagle sitting in a tree but this young bird was trying to join the party. The adult male eagle wasn't having any of this and seen the youngster off just as a heavy shower of hail passed through - talk about left out in the rain!

The GN Divers seem to travel too their wintering grounds as a family so you often see both adults together. These adult bird are coming into their winter plumage.

There were  a lot of Gannets still hanging around in the heavy winds.

A clear spell in the afternoon gave us a chance to catch up with Golden Eagle but the wind wasn't slackening off - it's not often you see waterfalls going upwards.

A Hen Harrier was seen jostling with a Hooded Crow and a few Red Deer standing in the open finished the day off nicely.

Gannet

A nice start to the day as there were still plenty of Gannets around.

While watching the Gannets feeding we located 3 WT Eagles on the ridge. They were fairly distant but nice to see them flying around and landing but one of the birds peeled off and flew overhead. We lost sight of the eagle when we were watching a Common Seal but I had just caught sight of it disappearing. A quick change of location gave us some spectacular views.

Plenty of waders to be seen through the day - Golden Plover, Greenshank and Redshank were the highlights. A pair of Golden Eagle kept us entertained for a while. Plenty of common birds were seen along the way, a single sighting of an Adder and a few Black Darters around too.

Don't worry

It's always a good idea to not worry about what you will see on a day out as most things put in an appearance eventually. What was forecast as a clear day turned into a bit of a showery day which stopped us seeing Adders at the start of the tour. Cracking view of Skylark, Stonechat and then a Whitethroat were highlights. You don't see too may Yellowhammers so three birds perched on a wall were stunners. Black Guillemot, Eider, Kittiwake and Red-throated Diver were all seen before we pick up an Otter. Once again it was good views through the scope but just a bit too far for the camera.

A distant WT Eagle and Golden Eagle were seen in the afternoon. A good number of Golden Plover, Greenshank, Ringed Plover another 2 Golden Eagle and a superb sighting of 4 Crossbill. We had seen a couple of Hen Harrier but the best was saved for last as we got a fly past from a sub-adult WT Eagle.

Just a couple that escaped the camera on the day, so these were taken the day after, were the numerous Gannets...

...and plenty of Dragonflies, most of the large ones appear to be Common Hawker.

You can't win them all.

Another trip to Iona, with guests, for Corncrake. The trip over was uneventful with Kittiwake...

...and Gannet seen.

There were a few Linnets that came to have a look at what we were doing...

...and plenty of Song Thrush and this charming Blackbird sunbathing!

We spent some time on the island and it was exceptionally quiet so the best we got was a couple of calling birds - you can't win them all. Back on to Mull the highlights were Mountain Hare, Adder, WT Eagle, Golden Eagle and this splendid Stonechat.

Keen as mustard.

Two different days with people as keen as mustard. The first of these days was spent with some American students to whom everything was new but there were some time constraints which kept the species count  lower than normal. We managed to get all the most sought after species, a good selection of waders, Mountain Hare but they were quite taken with the two tone Hooded Crow.

Whinchat, Hen Harrier and Adder made it onto the list before we picked up a bird they recognised, the Common Loon or GN Diver to us. In the afternoon we saw Otter, Golden Eagle and WT Eagle.

The following day a different set of people, keen as mustard, wanted to how many species we could get in a day. We set an initial target of 50 species...here are the highlights. Both Twite and Linnet were seen at our first stop along with Mountain Hare, a leucistic Snipe and a flock of Whimbrel.

Top bird of the day had to go to the summer plumaged Curlew Sandpiper.

WT Eagle made it onto the list not too long after that, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Whooper Swan and a single Yellowhammer took the list to 50 species of bird before lunch! Displaying RB Merg...

...a better view of Common Whitethroat...

...3 Golden Eagle, Whinchat, Hen Harrier, Adder, Blackcap, Wood Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher were all seen before we picked up 3 Otters on the shore.

The more species you see the harder it gets but we kept at it and the final species for the day was a Gannet that took the total number of bird species for the day was.........70! Not a bad effort.

Bad weather birder.

Another pleasant day up here with grey skies, wind and rain. A trip to Iona for Corncrake was on the cards but the weather wasn't the best. If you don't look you won't see - I'm up for that. Two Sandwich Tern were a year tick so that was a good start.

A Sedge Warbler singing in the rain was another year tick...

...and I saw a Corncrake in the first 10 minutes, another year tick. It wasn't a 'showing well' day for Corncrakes but I thought I should give it a shot. A Rook posed in the rain...

...a Peregrine flew over...

...I got very wet and managed to see three separate Corncrake and got three photos, none were any good! I did concentrate on looking at the birds rather taking photos though.

Good views of Gannet...

...Razorbill and Guillemot on the way back.

Not a bad effort on a poor day.

Complete.

Two good days - is it possible to have a bad day? After picking up the first of the guests we bagged a WT Eagle and a Golden Eagle. With all of the guests on board we located a couple of WT Eagle and a Yellowhammer. A search for Otters was difficult in choppy water but we eventually found one. With a couple of changes of location we got cracking views as it came ashore.

A female Hen Harrier, 8 RB Merg, Tawny Owl and three sightings of Golden Eagle got everyone on an even score. Most days you get to see Gannets but it's never easy to get close enough for a decent photo - this one wasn't too bad.

Hen Harriers had been easy through the day but there was much appreciation for the male bird we located at the last stop.

The Mountain Hares are easy to get on the grassy areas or on the sand so this one sitting in a more fitting place was good to see.

The next day was a bit tougher but all the relevant species were seen in windy conditions. Our first good sighting was an Otter that showed well but a bit harder to get a good shot.

A couple of juvenile WT Eagle were seen but they disappeared from sight fairly quickly. A fly past from a Grey Heron while the camera was in my hand got captured.

All of my regular breeding Barn Swallows have moved on but there are still plenty to see feeding themselves up before they depart.

We had completed the day with views of Red Deer, Mountain Hare, Hen Harrier and quite a few other species but the Golden Eagle had complete the 'must see' list for the guests.

Different.

Friday I set off in the rain but the sun was shining as I picked up the guests for the day. It was a normal start to the day picking up the wading birds getting some stunning views of the Black-tailed Godwit...

...and Mountain Hare.

On our way to the next site we were stopped in our tracks by the appearance of an adult WT Eagle carrying the remains of a Mountain Hare!

A few Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Gannet and Rock Pipit restored the equilibrium.

The next big bird was of the metal variety as a Typhoon F15 Eagle flew past.

A male Hen Harrier showed well as we looked for, and found, Golden Eagle. A couple of Adders were quickly added to the list before we set off for closer views of the Goldies. Lunch was consumed before the Golden Eagles reappeared to show well.

We then turned the day on it's head as a decision was made to go for Corncrake in the afternoon. We checked a couple of locations which produced some calling birds and then picked a spot to try and see one of the elusive birds. A short wait produced the goods but it was tricky.

A bit of a break, supping tea and watching Gannets and a Great Skua, and then we headed back for more action. There were plenty of Goldfinch and Linnet flitting about providing some distraction.

We were on the verge of calling it a day when another Corncrake walked out of the Iris bed and then wandered back in again. It was good to get a view of the whole bird this time.

As we waited to board the ferry a Glaucous Gull was spotted on the beach so we let the ferry go. The Glaucous Gull played it's part well and paraded around in front of us.

A Jackdaw filled in the time waiting for the ferry to return...

...and the Gannets put on quite a show on the return trip.

It was a bit of a different day but well worth the effort!