Waking up

Otter sightings are still good at the moment - you're having a bad day if you get less than four but females with youngsters help a lot.

There are still a few Iceland Gulls hanging around but they all seem to be youngsters.

This Buzzard allowed a close approach but he must have been having a messy meal - just look at the state of his beak and his feet!

No excuses for the Oystercatcher - if you dig in the soil you will get dirty.

Golden Eagle - overhead and away quick as a wink!

 The Crossbills always seem to be backlit so when this one turned up just as the sun was hitting the top of the trees I grabbed my opportunity.

There have been a few nice days recently so the temperatures are creeping up and waking up the things that have been hibernating. There was a frost in the morning but by lunchtime the temperature was up to 8 degrees. A Peacock butterfly was basking in the rays...

...and not too far away my first Adder of the year was doing the same thing.

Duck weather

It's the usual January weather - mostly overcast. The sunny days do make up for it though. A quick trip out in the sunshine didn't produce a great deal but it was nice to see the Oystercatchers wandering around protecting their mates and making a lot of noise.

The local WT Eagles were sitting out on an island too far away for a decent shot but still an impressive sight.

The usual signs that spring is approaching Robins singing, Starlings in subsong...

...and the RB Mergs doing a lot of displaying.

The rainy days have been good for the ducks like this Common Teal standing in a slightly sheltered spot.

Just to make sure that you know that winter isn't over yet we get another covering of snow - it'll soon be spring!!

Newcastle

A trip to Newcastle had to include a bit of birding. It was nice to catch up with a few old faces (you know who you are). We don't have Moorhen and Coot on Mull so it was nice to catch up with them. Plenty of Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Stonechat, a couple of Common Whitethroat...

...and a nice Whinchat.

A flock of about 70 Lapwing had 25 Dunlin and a single Black-tailed Godwit sharing the space.

There were five Snipe close by while an Avocet fed in the shallows.

Little Egret is a regular sight in Northumberland now but it's been a while since I'd seen one.

These Swallows have already featured in Ipin's blog so it was nice to see that they were still there but definitely ready to go.

Just outside the hide we could see 7 Ruff but there was only one close bird and that was hard to see!

A Caspian Gull a bit further up the coast was a must see bird.

Eider ducks were plentiful in the harbour...

...as were the Starlings.

Plenty of other common birds were seen so it wasn't a bad haul for  a couple of hours in the field. Got to have an Oystercatcher in because it'd be rude not to.

The reason for the visit to Newcastle was my daughters wedding so the father of the bride has to be there!

Predictable

Predictably, with the good weather in June and July, August is going to be a wet month. It certainly keeps the number of photographs down and it can make the wildlife difficult to find. Most things have been seen on most days but the Otters have been the hardest to find. Just to show the conditions at their best here is a Red Deer stag looking happy with it's lot.

The juvenile WT Eagle has decided to take up residence around the lower parts of the conifers. It certainly makes for good viewing even when it's wet.

Even the adult bird that flew in looks bedraggled.

There appears to be a lot of small fish around the coast at the moment. The Mackerel are chasing these small fish so you see them all jump out of the water as they try to escape and it provides food for all the birds along the shore. You don't see Oystercatchers catching fish but they can do it!

Yet another WT Eagle photograph but it does show that they will fly in poor conditions.

Hot

The weather has been fantastic for anyone on their holidays but it's way too hot for the wildlife - everything just wants to get into the shade and stay cool! The views are just superb though.

The mornings have seen the most sightings before it gets too hot. I must remember to have my camera to hand for the WT Eagle as we have had some superb views. The Curlew are still looking after their chicks but you don't see the youngsters that much.

Whinchat and Stonechat always get a good reception while the Reed Buntings can be a bit more elusive. Guests are always pleased to get a good view of the Hooded Crows but they are everywhere.

We managed to get a family party of Grey Wagtails on a river as they bounced around catching flies.

I've not seen any youngsters at the Common Tern colony but the Oystercatcher chicks are a treat to see.

Golden Eagle has been a difficult one to catch up with in the heat of the day but they do show with a bit of patience. We did manage to see an Adder and also found a couple of newts in a pool - you can see the external gills of this youngster.

Catch up part 1

I had the Ringed Plover on the last post so here is the Oystercatcher on a rainy day.

One unusual sighting we had one day was a Sparrowhawk quartering a field. You just expect them to flash through but this one went up and down the field about three times!

The Golden Plover are looking splendid but seeing the male doing his slow flapping display is just magical.

You can't go anywhere without seeing a Grey Heron - awesome bird.

We have seen quite a few young Crossbill but you can't beat a group of young Stonechat chasing the adults for food.

Most of the Hen Harrier sightings should be male birds unless you get a food pass but keep your eyes open for last years young male birds with just a faint wash of grey across the wings.

The Tawny Owl is still showing well when I pay it a visit but it does sit in a different place every now and then.

Hard to get

A couple of Crossbill played hard to get at the start of the day but you couldn't say that about this male Hen Harrier...

...or the female bird that was coming the other way!

The tide was well in so the birds were just a bit closer - an Oystercatcher doing Tai Chi...

...and an attempt at the two-headed Turnstone.

A couple of Golden Eagle circling in the distance looked like they might be worth a chase - we arrived, they were gone! A couple of minutes wait and we had one of the birds soaring above us.

In the afternoon a WT Eagle put on a brief show and there were 20 Whooper Swan still lingering on one of the lochs.

Mountain Hares have been a bit thin on the ground in the wet winter so it was nice to catch up with three beasts, one of them still had very white legs.

The Pink-footed Goose has reappeared with the Greylags and it may stay all summer too - looks like it may have an injured wing.