Stuffed

Another cracking day on Mull - clear skies and plenty to see. A Common Sandpiper was a fresh arrival so we had to stop for a look.

A Shag was posing on the rocks as we drove past.

A couple of WT Eagle showed well over the ridge before they drifted off into the distance.

They may have drifted off because of the appearance of a Hercules aircraft that was doing low flying manoeuvres. It wasn't too long before a Typhoon was flying in the same area - not wildlife but pretty spectacular!

We had the good fortune to watch an Otter for half an hour as it made it's way along the shore.

The Tawny Owl was in it's usual place - is it stuffed?

Two Golden Eagles were seen at lunchtime while a hunt around for Adders was successful but they took a bit of finding. Some are easy to see...

...while others are a bit more cryptic.

I've seen quite a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls but none close enough for the camera.

There are plenty of Northern Wheatears about now...

...but a small flock of Golden Plover were capturing all the attention.

A single Twite was seen but only briefly and the find of the day was this Snipe at the side of the road!

Wonder.

A report of a White-billed Diver was awaiting confirmation by photograph...a couple of days passed with no news so I had a look as I went through the area. Naturally there was no sign of anything unusual after two days. Two GN Diver were in the area one an adult coming into summer plumage (with black bill) and a pale billed juvenile bird. I found out later that the photo was considered to be inconclusive - I wonder what it was. There were plenty of Northern Wheatear to photograph though.

A tour on the following day was a good day out. We started the day with good views of GN Diver, RB Merg and WT Eagle before we picked an Otter. We leapfrogged the Otter a couple of times and got good views.

A male Hen Harrier was a good spot by one of the guests and a couple of females of the same species were seen at lunchtime. A distant Golden Eagle flew around while we ate lunch and eventually came close just before we left. A Redwing was still hanging around at the next stop but the top prize went to the Starling which look stunning at the moment.

A couple of Skylark were brave enough to sit tight as we pulled up beside them.

A couple of Sparrowhawk, GN Diver, Sand Martin and Willow Warbler were all seen at the next stop. Another migrant bird is the Lesser Black-backed Gull...

...which was among the bigger Herring Gulls.

We drove past a couple of Linnet sitting on a wall so we stopped to get views through the scope. There were a couple of Whooper Swan on a small loch that added to the winter birds.

We finished the day with a couple of Mountain Hare, two Snipe, another Linnet and three Twite which were a well sought after bird for some of the guests.

Roller coaster.

On the way to pick up the guests for the day I found 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull among the Herring Gull. It's another sign of things on the move as the LBB gulls are still migrants up here.

With the guests on board we went on to have a busy day starting with plenty of Lapwing, 4 Golden Plover, a
single Snipe, a back end view of a Mountain Hare and a couple of Shelduck.                                              

White-tailed Eagle was the top priority for the day and at our next stop we had one fly past - excellent! Rock Pipits are always well received by land locked birders so we had good views of those. Bird of the day for everyone was probably the Water Rail that flew in front of the motor at close quarters, easily the best view I've ever had of one in flight! A male Hen Harrier was a good find and we manged to find an Adder basking in a sheltered spot.

We broke out the lunch and almost immediately a Golden Eagle appeared (I'm sure they are keen to share the spoils) and flew past in nice light.

He gained height and started to display by flying upwards and then closing the wings to screaming down...

...then open the wings at the bottom of the arc to start heading back upwards for another roller coaster ride.

A fly past Great Spotted Woodpecker was too quick for the guests but the 3 Otters we located five minutes later showed very well as they fished just offshore and hauled out onto the rocks. Another two WT Eagles were a welcome sight at the days end and a female Hen Harrier rounded the sightings off nicely.