Too hot.

Another hot day meant getting the sightings early before it goes quiet in the afternoon. We picked up a couple of Otter asleep on the rocks...

...and then found the Golden Eagles were snoozing on the cliffs. A WT Eagle put in an appearance and that got both Goldies in the air and over the top of us.

A Cuckoo was found sitting on a fence post before we paid a visit to the WT Eagles. A Common Whitethroat has been putting on a good show but I've only just had the chance to point the camera at it!

The Greylag Geese have young...

...but so do the Canada Geese.

Another three Otters were seen, lots of Razorbills, a couple of GN Diver, Wood Warbler, two more Golden Eagle and plenty of Hooded Crow.

We were surprised to find the Adder in the twenty degree heat but there were no complaints about either! Whinchat, Sand Martin, Wheatear and Mountain Hare seemed to complete the day nicely but we found another Otter eating a fish which was our last sighting.

Mornings.

The posts have been a bit thin on the ground this month but if there isn't much going on...anyhoo...mornings can be productive. The first birds I see every morning, at the moment, are a Buzzard that perches up at the front of the house before settling into a tree round the back...

...and the other species is Hooded Crow - two of them see the Buzzard off every morning! The landscape will be changing a bit, over time, as a floating pier arrived so the forestry can be taken out.

There are still no Pied Wagtails on the patch but I did come across one on my travels.

Greylag Geese are all over the place at the moment...

...and the Skylarks are starting to reappear. I have a few Skylark outside the house and I have had some singing birds - what a fantastic thing to hear at this time of year.

There are still 25 Greenland White-fronted Geese hanging around but they will be heading back north next month.

The pier was soon in place and this shot shows the forestry that will be first to disappear.

Another treat was almost a disaster as I'd left home with no camera so when a Merlin was flying alongside the motor I was thrilled. The bird landed on an electricity pole there were stunning views to be had. I pulled out the Lumix to get a couple of snaps but the battery was flat and the spare was in my coat pocket back at home. Stupidly, I headed for home to pick up the camera and then thought it was unlikely the bird would still be there - how wrong was I?

I was pleased I went for the camera and only managed a few shots before the bird flew off!

January done.

The plovers that had put on a good show have all disappeared - not a sign of them! I managed to get another couple of year ticks to take the tally to 70 species but nothing added to the patchwork challenge which remains at 54 species and 66 points. Hen Harriers have been a daily sighting through January but that will change soon enough!

Twite are always around somewhere, you just have to find them. A flock of twenty birds was a nice find on the day.

There seems to be quite a few Song Thrush around but I've not had one singing yet.

A Greylag Goose sporting a lot of white stood out from the crowd of regular plumaged birds but I was surprised to find the same bird 20 miles away a couple of days later.

The Greenland White-fronted Geese have not been easy to find so it was nice to get them on the list for the year.

Both types of eagle have been fairly easy to see but they are keeping their distance at the moment as you can see from this Golden Eagle.

Best find of the month had to be the Little Auk but a Dipper on the patch came a close second. I only saw the bird once until Jan 31st when it put in another appearance and in full song - a nice way to see the month out.

The last laugh.

Another tour with the same guests but very different weather - pretty dull, plenty of rain and windy. What a day we had! We didn't bother looking for WT Eagle as it was lashing down so a look at the water was in order and we found a Great Northern Diver - awesome.

Next up was an Otter that gave us the slip while we got soaked! A couple of Little Grebe and a female Hen Harrier kept the spirits up. A few wading birds had dropped in with about 14 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover and 3 Knot.

A couple of Red-throated Diver showed reasonably well as we searched for another Otter. A brief look at the sea was quite productive as we picked up Great Skua, Manx Shearwater and a Little Gull. The weather wasn't really improving any but we'd had some good sightings including this persistent Goldfinch begging for food.

Another two Great Skuas were seen while we watched the Gannets fishing and the weather started to clear. With bits of blue sky showing it was time to go eagle hunting. We located a Golden Eagle sitting on the hill side that was superb in the scope. We watched as it took off and was joined by it's mate before they both disappeared. We headed further down the road to relocate the birds but we found them in flight heading back towards where we'd come from! Back we went to find nothing but a Red Deer that must have been sniggering at us!

We managed to get the last laugh as we finally got a close view of the Golden Eagles sitting next to the road - cor blimey, mate.

We finished the day with a WT Eagle sitting in a tree as the rain started to fall again - awesome day.

On my way home I bumped into Doc - he loves Greylag Geese

We stood chatting for a wee while, long enough to see a couple of Hen harrier to fly about and for this monster to fly over.

She landed beside the male who was busy plucking a Grey Heron but he soon got the message that he should be taking this one home for the kids!

No such thing as a bad day...

...but look at the photos - they are rubbish! It's not so easy to get the camera out for the close stuff and the digiscoping has bitten the dust. Friday was a good day out starting off with the Redshank, Lapwing and a very pale Common Snipe.

A nice female Hen Harrier was seen as we viewed the Adders. There was no way this Red deer was going to put it's head up as it was too busy eating!

The Common Seals were basking as usual but there is still no sign of any pups.

While having lunch we saw the Hen Harriers doing a food pass and a brief view of Golden Eagle. The WT Eagles showed well and we had a cracking finish to the day doing the rounds of the flowers, a couple of Marsh Fritillary and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Butterflies and some awesome Golden Eagle views.
Saturday I started the day with a Common Buzzard being mobbed by waders and gulls as it had snatched a chick from a nest.

Short-eared Owl was a must see bird and five minutes into the tour we had cracking views as one flew in front of us while hunting.

An Otter was seen briefly before disappearing from sight. The Greylag Geese with their chicks are always a hit with the guests.

The WT Eagles performed well as we had the birds before one flew off.

The day just got better and better after that as we picked up Hen Harrier, Golden Eagle, Spotted Flycatcher and another Otter. A female Hen Harrier gave us a close fly past when I didn't have the camera plus the Adders, two Slow Worms and Mountain Hare at the end of the day.

A trip to the shop.

Saturday I was sent on a mission to find some marshmallows. Not some weird bog plant but the type of thing you toast on an open fire. Just before my mission was given to me there was a bit of a commotion with the gulls outside. A quick peek from the window and I could see the gulls were up and so were the Greylag Geese (not this one, obviously).

The reason for the terror was the large bird that was making threatening moves toward them! It got nowt and settled down for a rest so I had a cup of tea and waited. Half an hour or so and it was on it's way again.

I headed off to hunt down the elusive marshmallows clocking a nice Sparrowhawk along the way. Not the best of the shots but I liked the Pied Wagtail in this one - 'I'll have you!'

A single Whooper Swan was another nice find along the way.

A quick check for waders turned up about 20 Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin and about 60 Golden Plover.

With no luck on the marshmallow front I headed across to Iona getting some nice views of Gannet.

A quick visit to the shop and I had the marshmallows sorted. What to do now? I had a bit of a wander around seeing plenty of Linnet and Twite but not much else so that was me on my way back home. I got the offer of a lift back to Mull on the MB Iolaire...via Staffa! The prospect of getting a few snaps of the Puffins was too much to resist. A few Twite kept us company as we waited for the Puffins to come ashore.

The Puffins put on a great display...

...lots of posturing.

A Whimbrel had a bit of trouble keeping it's footing.

The Puffins carried on with their business of pairing up and defending their nest holes...

...and a bit of fly watching to pass the time.

Well, it made me laugh too.

A bit of nature in the raw as we left Staffa as a couple of Great Skua were harrassing a Common Gull before, finally, taking the bird out.

Not your usual trip to the shops!