April so far

Without any internet connection at home it has been difficult to compose a new post. Facebook is so much quicker and easier to manage that is where most of the photos have gone - you don't need to sign up to view that so don't be put off.
A quick update while I have an internet connection - a Yellowhammer in the garden was a treat.

As you can see the GN Divers are coming into breeding plumage and preparing to leave our waters.

There are quite a few Pheasants wandering along the shore - it looks weird with the sea in the background!

A nice size comparison between WT Eagle and Golden Eagle.

The Redshank are starting to move away from the shore and search out a nesting area.

Plenty of Stonechats around but none on the nest yet but it won't be long.

I had eight Whooper Swans pay a visit last week - they will probably be the last until they return in the autumn.

I had an early run out and watched the sun rise while an Otter swam around in the loch and a WT Eagle drifted past - awesome!

The Crossbills are still showing well with the young bird being the most photographed.

The Red Deer stags have been popular but not with the motorists.

The migrant birds are starting to appear with lots of Northern Wheatear, Chiffchaff and the delightful Barn Swallows all putting on a show.

On the hunt

Another scorching day was possibly going to keep things quiet at times but we had a cracking day.We had certain targets to find through the day so it was a case of trying to be in the right place at the right time. On the way to our first stop we located a returning Great Northern Diver - a bit distant for the camera but worth seeing.

Our first target was Golden Eagle. It was a bit of a wait but we did get a couple of Adders to fill the time in. The first Golden Eagle to appear flew in from behind us and proceeded to hunt the hillside.

We had both birds hunting the same area, one behind the other, hoping to flush some prey but they didn't have any luck. The first bird flew back over us before they both disappeared from view.

A Sparrowhawk put in a brief appearance, a couple of Whinchat and a cracking view of a couple of Raven. Look at the tail on that!

A decent Red Deer stag was another target for the day. The temperature was around 27C so we were flagging a bit. Grey Wagtail and Yellowhammer were nice to see...

...before we located a couple of fine looking stags feeding in the dappled shade of a tree.

A couple of mating Common Hawkers were nice to see as we stood in the shade.

A couple of Treecreeper, Golden Plover and WT Eagle were other highlights through the day. We looked for and didn't find an Otter but it wasn't one of our targets on the day. This Hooded Crow with it's beak open and wings drooping, to try to keep cool, might give you an idea of how hot it was!

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.

A little bit of bread

A male Yellowhammer has been a regular feature on the last few tours. You can hear him singing but it's nice to see him shouting about 'a little bit of bread and no cheeeeeese'

We had seen a WT Eagle at the start of the day but another at the nest site was a bonus but better still was the one that flew over the motor and along the hillside.

The usual array of small birds were picked up along the way with some extra time spent with the charming Stonechat.

A Golden Eagle was picked up as it left it's perch but it didn't take too long for it to soar off into the distance. Rock Pipit, Mountain Hare and a Hen Harrier were the afternoon highlights but the sighting of the day had to be the Otter. It was found fishing about 20 yards from the shore and it was a bit of a struggle for the guests to keep tabs on it but I don't think anyone struggled when it came ashore!

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?).

Calm

A calm day for a tour was an easy hitter for Otters. We had our first Otter before we set off closely followed by another Otter sighting 10 minutes later! Quite a few Stonechat were seen along the way.

A Dipper was seen when we picked up our third Otter of the morning.

A Black-throated Diver was picked up in the distance so we moved to another position and got good views through the scope. Yellowhammer are not that regular a sighting so a group of four birds were nice to see.

A fourth Otter was seen before we had a close encounter with, what I presume to be, the third Otter.

A distant Golden Eagle sitting on a ridge got the afternoon off to a decent start. We moved to another location to have lunch and thought we were going to draw a blank. We watched a Raven flying over and then it seemed to take an interest in something that was out of sight for us. A bit of patient waiting and we saw a Golden Eagle take to the skies. It didn't stay up for too long but then it didn't stay down for too long either! It gave us a good looking over...

...before landing on the ridge.

As an afterthought we had a look for an Adder and I was quite surprised to find one on the wet ground. No camera to hand so I missed out on that one. Another two Golden Eagle were seen sitting together and a close encounter with a male Hen Harrier - you can see the grass dangling from the talons as it carried it's prey off.

A female Hen Harrier was seen next along with my first sighting of a Greenland White-fronted Goose this autumn. Plenty of Red Deer and a distant Hen Harrier were seen at our last stop. I saw one Otter as I dropped the guests off and another one a couple of hundred yards along the road.

Just around the corner from that and I was following a Hen Harrier along the road.