Footwear.

A trip out to take some folk to Ulva turned up a couple of goodies. First off I had to drive past an Otter that was showing well but worse was to come. Not doing a wildlife tour I put on some regular shoes but I couldn't resist a look around. I only found an Otter and had to get a bit closer - wet feet but worth it!

A Hooded Crow looked like it was waiting for me to take a slip and become dinner - no chance.

Enough of that and back to the proper stuff with proper boots on;-) Two WT Eagles and a Buzzard on a pole - what more could you want? It was just the Buzzard on the pole though.

An almost Otter turned out to be a Black Guillemot. We got some cracking views of Golden Eagle sitting on the ridge before it dropped out of sight. While viewing the Adders the Goldie reappeared and the camera was in the motor. Ruuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnn - click, click, click....rubbish, it's too far away now!

The best moment of the day was when one of the Golden Eagles rose from the ground with an Adder hanging from it's bill - you won't see that every day! We saw quite a few Kestrel through the day but the close one was the best.

A cup of tea while watching a Hen Harrier and a couple of Stonechat was a treat.

We filled the last part of the day with a whole bunch of birds. Twite bathing...

...Ringed Plover making sure the Dunlin can sleep in peace...

...Rock Pipits showing off their giant feet...

...Swallows collecting nesting material...

...and a big ginger rabbit! It's a busy world out there.

Death in the gutter.

Thursday I had a bit of  time for looking at nothing in particular. There are plenty of Scotch Argus on the wing, posing on the verges until you point a camera at them!

While attempting the above photo I was distracted by a couple of dragons in the ditch. Turns out they were Keeled Skimmers - nice.

The Swallows seem to be hanging around and possibly going for a second brood. Let's hope they have enough time to do the business.

The House Martins continue to have the same problems with the nest disintegrating over time. One chick is dead in the gutter and the other is being fed by the adult bird - it won't last long on the ground though.

Friday we started off with three WT Eagle - one flying in the distance, a chick on the nest and one of the adults getting some grief from a Buzzard.

A good supporting cast through the day with three Hen Harriers, Linnet, Twite, RT Diver, Stonechat and a recently fledged Spotted Flycatcher.

Fledge.

Thursday the weather was a blistering 24 degrees all day! After the longest wait ever the Swallows finally fledged some youngsters. Here are 3 of the five that were sitting around.

The tour was always going to be a difficult one in the heat but we still managed a good one. The Short-eared Owls are not as easy as they were but we managed to get a single, adult, bird flying around to add to the juvenile that I saw on the way to pick up the guests.

While watching the owl a male Hen Harrier flew past and caught something in the long grass. It wasn't close enough to see what it caught but the feathers that the bird plucked out gave it away as a bird. With the prey half plucked the Hen Harrier flew off to deliver it to a youngster.

Distant views of both types of eagle were had before we were moved on by flies. A Great Skua was seen flying up the loch while viewing some Common Seals. Another 2 Golden Eagle were seen at lunchtime but, once again, they were distant and brief. The Adder made up for the lack of birds in the sky - we could have missed things as we were looking at the ground! A young Adder was the big interest as it posed quite nicely.

The pile of adult Adders were seeking the shade in the high temperature and there were no Slow Worm on show. The usual suspects in the afternoon with a good sighting of Mountain Hare but the star of the show had to be the dust bathing Skylark.

We did manage to find a Slow Worm on the way back but it was in the talons of a Buzzard!

There was not a sign of an Otter through the day but the WT Eagle chicks provided the usual bit of entertainment. A great day out but too hot for me and the wildlife!

Looking good.

Saturday was due to be the last of the nice weather so enjoying the sunshine was a must. Prior to picking up the guests I had cracking views of a Short-eared Owl but failed to get a close shot of it.

Top priority for the guests today were WT Eagle and Otter - the eagle was no problem as we watched one adult feeding the young as the other adult headed for the pub off hunting.

Next up was an Oystercatcher on the nest - looking good and not long to go!

The usual group of Eider were hanging around, looking good.

An Otter sleeping on the seaweed covered rocks took up a bit of time as I took photos with the guests cameras through the scope. It really is a pleasure to see the Swallows back but they are still lacking any great numbers - only one pair at the shop!

The usual script for the end of the day but the only posers were this Pied Wagtail...

...and a bunch of Dunlin.

Sunday was a complete wash out but, thankfully, I wasn't out!

Monday I was back on the road starting the day with a noisy Redshank.

A few more waders kept us going with Dunlin, Snipe and Whimbrel...

...being the best of the bunch while we looked for Mountain Hare. A stiff northerly breeze was keeping the small birds quiet but it didn't bother the Red deer much. I think this one has had a few battles by the looks of his ears!

Nine Pale-bellied Brent Goose were a good find and took the year list to 139. I wasn't going to bother with a photo as they were too far away but they manged to put themselves in the picture by flying down the loch.

The Curlew is still sitting on eggs but they can't be far from hatching now. The SE owls continue to put on a good show and the Otter sightings are improving a bit - close enough for a photo. Well, you can tell what it is...can't you?

The Great Northern Diver numbers seem to be dwindling now as they head off to Iceland to breed but they really do look good.

I was keen to get a look at the WT Eagles after the previous days wind and rain. All of the parking areas were full so we couldn't get a good look at the nest and I couldn't make out a bird in attendance. Was it bad news? We pressed on to look for Golden Eagle and have a cuppa. Nice cuppa, no Goldie but we did get an adult WT Eagle in flight. A quick dash back to the nest to find an adult present feeding one of the chicks and before too long we had two chicks being fed - a great relief! On the way back we managed to get a single Golden Eagle and a very obliging Common Sandpiper was wandering at the side of the road.