Different

An impromptu tour made up for a bit of a different day. The target was to find an Otter to photograph and then any species of fauna in front of the camera. We started off with a nice Common Seal...

...just before we bagged a couple of Otters.

We managed to stumble across a Spotted Flycatchers nest with four chicks - luckily we had already got photographs of one of the adults so we left pretty quickly.

A Black Guillemot was watched as we had a cuppa.

Next on the hit list was a Peregrine chasing a Rock Dove that wasn't captured on the camera but the falcon put on a good display.

 A couple of WT Eagle were seen, Whinchat and a newly fledged group of Swallows.

 A Red Deer hind didn't want to wander off so it had to be photographed.

A Yellowhammer gave us the run around but it made for some interesting flight shots.

We couldn't find an Adder but this Common Lizard was abit of a performer.

 We waited over an hour for a Golden Eagle to take to the air but it never obliged so we headed off to the Tawny Owl site instead - a great day out with a few different things seen.

Duck

The White-tailed Eagles can give you a good start to your day so when we found a bird perched in a tree we soaked up the image of a stunning bird. The bird started calling and it wasn't too long before it's partner came into view carrying a duck which it took straight to the nest.

After the bird had delivered the food it perched at the top of a tree to dry off after it's morning dip.

Plenty to see along the loch with the Eiders and GN Divers being the highlights. The Tawny Owl was on his usual perch in the barn - I could get round to thinking he's stuffed!

We did see a couple of Cuckoos in the afternoon plus Mountain Hare but top marks go to the Lapwing for presentation.

An Otter put in an appearance at the end of the day but I missed the opportunity of getting some snaps while it was on the shore.

We had saved the Golden Eagle for the afternoon and they performed well but they were outclassed by the male Hen Harrier.

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.

The elusive one

I've just realised it's been a while since I've had an Otter photo on the blog - we are seeing them most days but they are too far away for the camera most of the time. We started the day with cracking views of the WT Eagles and also quite a few juvenile Common Crossbill in a flock of 20 birds. Next up was the elusive one - mum and cub Otter just offshore but they didn't come any closer!

We had a male Hen Harrier flash in front of the motor as a shower of rain lashed the windows. There are still a few Red-breasted Mergansers hanging around - presumably these birds will breed here. The Tawny Owl was roosting in the barn on another of my infrequent visits.

The Dunlin flock on the beach was enhanced by two Sanderling.

A couple of Golden Eagle were seen while we checked out these two Common Terns.

We also had a couple of Twite, 12 Whimbrel, Sparrowhawk, Mountain Hare and I got a glimpse of three Black-tailed Godwit landing in a place that we couldn't view!

Moving on

Another hot and sunny day with the temperatures reaching 20C in the morning! We managed to get distant views of Common Scoter and my first Whimbrel of the season as we headed towards WT Eagle country. A 3 year old WT Eagle was seen sitting in a tree while a Yellowhammer was singing close by. A bit of a search and we managed to find the 'little bit of bread and no cheeeeese' songster. An adult WT Eagle was found perched in another tree not far from the first bird.

An Otter was found but with the tide fully out this one spent more time hunting under the seaweed on the rocks than in the water. We had to move to a better position to get some cracking views. Four Whimbrel were seen feeding along the shore so it wasn't difficult to get good views of those.

There are plenty of Raven flying around, displaying and just being noisy.

Lots of Swallows around but they are still fairly localised at the moment but the Northern Wheatears are just everywhere.

The Tawny Owl was roosting in the barn but you can't look in on him every day - once a week is enough.

It was still quite warm when we had lunch so we were lucky to find this Adder.

We had seen the Golden Eagle on the way to lunch so it was onwards and upwards after that. You have to be careful where you park next to the breeding Lapwings as you don't want them leaving the eggs unattended.

Four Mountain Hares were seen near the beach with most of them in their summer coats now this was the palest one on show.

There were only 23 Golden Plover on show as the rest of the flock has moved on.

It the same situation with these Turnstones - the summer plumage is there and it won't be long before they move on to Iceland.

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!

Wallaby

A lovely day and a good start to the tour as we came across an Otter within 10 minutes of setting out. Better still was the other Otter that was fishing in the seaweed just below us.

There are plenty of GN divers around the loch at the moment, every one a treat to look at.

I've not seen a Yellowhammer this year so when this one started singing next to the motor it had to be found and looked at!

Next up was some WT Eagle viewing. Brief views of a bird on the nest were bolstered by a group of five birds over the hillside with one of the birds giving us a fly past.

It was just 5 WT Eagles as a couple of Golden Eagles joined the group too. A few Swallows were flying around outside the barn where the Tawny Owl was on show.

A sub-adult Golden Eagle...

...was seen off territory by the resident adult.

Plenty of Rock Pipit were at the beach but a couple of Linnet brightened things up.

Twenty-one Whooper Swans were preparing to continue their journey north by doing a bit of preening and stretching their wings. A few of the Lapwings are on the nest so we'll see how they get on over the next couple of weeks.

A good showing from the Mountain Hares as this pale individual ran off...

...to see his darker coated mates (is that a Wallaby on the right?).