The wrong day?

A trip to Lunga was good in some respects and bad in others. Maybe I was there on the wrong day! The Shags provided good opportunities for photos and they seemed to have plenty of nests with youngsters.

The Puffins performed for the crowds which always puts a smile on your face but I saw very few birds bringing fish to the burrows.

The Kittiwakes appeared to have done well with most of the nests having two chicks and the rest just a single youngster.

Guillemots didn't seem to be doing very well either despite there being plenty of birds...

...with the bridled variety looking particularly dapper.

I only spotted a few chicks in the seething throng.

There was no sign of any Razorbill youngsters but there were plenty of adults around but I never saw any of these birds with a fish either.

Some of the Puffins were still digging burrows!

A few Arctic Tern were seen among the more numerous Common Terns while the Great Skuas patrolled the skies.

Waiting

I found this Pied Wagtail sitting on the roof of the bus stop - I don't think it was waiting for a bus.

A pair of Reed Bunting were hanging round a cattle feeder - he looks like he is trying to impress the female bird by raising the crown feathers.

A GN Diver caught my eye but as it moved away I could see a Guillemot coming in a bit closer. There was no cover so it was never going to be good - just sit and wait.

A pair of Golden Eagle were seen flying around together while a pair of WT Eagle were sitting in a tree. The WT Eagles were quite vocal...

...probably because of the pesky Buzzard. They certainly make the Buzzard look small.

The birds were seen to mate before flying off. Nothing left to photograph but the Primroses!

Bite

I'm still not getting that far from home so short trips out are the order of the day. Plenty of sightings of both type of eagle, as long as you keep your eyes open, but nothing close enough for a photo. Guillemot numbers are starting to rise and if the wind is strong enough there is always the odd bird close to shore.

There are lots of Red Deer close to the road and easy to view and you could spend all day with them. It has to be something different for the camera to come out so this one antlered beast was the chosen subject.

The Otters are showing well in various locations so to find this beast close to the road was no surprise.

It was a decent sized fish it had but it was keen to bite the head of this one despite the fact there was still fleshy bits left!

There must be plenty of Starfish around the shore and I wonder if the rough seas wash a few closer in at which point they become easy prey for the plunge diving Herring Gull - good catch.

A proper blue sky day saw us heading out to look for Adders again but there was no sign. Not sure if the ground is too wet or there is another problem - we'll find out in time. A Grey Wagtail was nice to see as we had a look across the patch...

...as a brutish looking Razorbill was sailing past.

We were just about ready to go when an Otter put in an appearance so that is always going to slow you down. We left it fishing in the bay after a wave of the tail.

Pace yourself

The year list is coming along quite nicely but there is always that idea of pacing yourself. Last year I had seen 94 species before I got my first spring migrant and at the end of January this year I had seen 75 species - not many to get in the next six weeks and most of them will be easy! The weather is still wet with just the one day of snow - February 1st! It's not often that you go out and don't see a Buzzard so this one made the grade.

I wonder if this Greenshank is getting used to being close to the road as it doesn't fly off unless it's with other birds that take flight.

Another one that is getting used to the quiet life is this Otter - I see this most days either fishing or sleeping on the seaweed.

Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush are a regular sight in the winter but a Fieldfare stood out well when it was in the group - I had to reverse up to this one.

Not the greatest picture you'll see but it was the only shot I got of this Raven tumbling - upside down and calling like mad!

It might be a common bird but the Guillemot is always a welcome sight. As a matter of interest I saw my first one last year on the 7th Feb and this one was seen on the 2nd Feb - not much between the dates.

End of June.

Some photos from the last few tours just to give some of the highlights. The Red Deer stags are starting to look good now and they should get rid of the velvet in July - I wonder if it'll be later with the cold spring.

The Tree Pipits have spent a bit of time being quiet but now they are back displaying again.

The Whinchat are still bouncing around but I haven't seen any young birds yet even though I do know that some are out of the nest.

The WT Eagle and Golden Eagle both have a large chick that should be on the wing by the end of July. Otters are still being seen on most days but we did miss out the day we saw this oiled Puffin.

It was a bit of a wet and windy day but we did find another auk - Guillemot.

The Linnets seem to enjoy the wet grass...

...and the Greater Butterfly Orchids are in flower at last. They don't seem to be lasting very long this year and a whole bunch of this species was munched by...

...Red Deer. Quite a pale looking beast on the right and a spotty youngster in the middle.

This female Adder has showed reasonably well over the last month.

I did say the Whinchats are showing well so here is another shot!

It won't be long before we stop seeing the Snipe on a post so here is, possibly, the last one for this year.

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.

Chase the sun.

With water levels running at full capacity after the dry spell the weather will, probably, remain changeable for a while. Changeable weather usually brings an interesting day and a chance to chase the sun! The rain was quite heavy at the start of the day - good weather for ducks or even Turnstones.

We could see clearer weather in the distance so went chasing the sun. A good choice as an obliging Mountain Hare was found...

...followed by a cracking female Hen Harrier, 3 Redwing and a Snipe. A Yellowhammer was a nice bird to find and a female Stonechat tried to play hide and seek on the opposite side of the road. At a comfort stop we had cracking views of a Common Guillemot.

We had a long lunch where the best we got was Hen Harrier - the expected Golden Eagle didn't show. We found out why a short way along the road. A Raven diving at a crag beside the road gave away the presence of something interesting - the Golden Eagle we had been waiting for!

The rest of the afternoon went quickly with the likes of Eider, RB Merg, GN Diver, Wheatear,WT Eagle, more Hen Harrier and 2 Otter for the grand finale!