Staffa.

Thursday started off a bit misty.

The mist was clinging to the hillsides but there was plenty of sunshine too which is nice for lighting up things you want to photograph - Northern Wheatear was the subject in the morning.

With the weather clearing nicely I decided on a trip to Staffa in the afternoon. The usual array of birds on the way out with quite a few Guillemot, distant rafts of Manx Shearwater, plenty of Shag and Razorbill too.

As we approached Staffa most of the Fulmars were on the cliffs with the odd one on the sea.

The island of Staffa looking superb as usual.

The rock pools are overlooked by most people but they are beautiful in their own right.

The main attraction for heading out to this island is, of course, the Puffin.

They put on a real show too.

Photofest.

Monday it was back to the fine weather and another cracking day out. The Golden Plover are still hanging in but still only about twelve birds at the moment and the Mountain Hares continue to show well too. Another flock of Golden Eagles today may have been distant but it's not that often you'll see more than a couple together. While watching the Goldies we had a flock of about 100 Pink-footed Goose heading North to their breeding grounds. Best sighting of the day was this juv Golden Eagle.

Another bonus on the day was my first Common Sandpiper of the year. A good finish to the day was had as we bagged three WT Eagle and a male Hen Harrier.
Tuesday was a bit of a different outing as I had three young children aboard. An attempt to get the main attractions early was called for while the children were fresh. We started well with an Otter that was seen by all with the kids managing to get views through the scope too. A closer Otter was a bonus just as we were packing up. While viewing the WT Eagle nest we hit lucky with a juv Golden Eagle flying over - that turned out to be the only Goldie of the day. A single Adder was seen but best of all the kids got to take home the shed skin of one of these reptiles. Two awesome sightings in the afternoon. First off we had a female Merlin taking exception to a Buzzard diving into the heather and actually seeing the Buzzard off. No more than five minutes later we stopped to look at three Rock Dove but as we pulled up they flew off, why? A male Hen Harrier came screaming through where the Doves had been! We managed to follow this bird and watch it attempt to catch something before heading straight for us and veering round the motor - pretty exciting stuff!
Wednesday I had to make the effort to get some photos and with some better light I went camera mad! We started off with a small squad of Eider...

...and an up close and personal Willow Warbler blasting it's song through the window!

Next up was an obliging Otter with a couple of Oystercatcher and Herring Gull for added interest.

The Red-breasted Mergansers are stunning at the moment but I'm still waiting for a good shot.

Two WT Eagle and a Golden Eagle completed the mornings viewing. A couple of Adders were viewed briefly before lunch but this Common Crossbill was a bit more obliging.

Another attempt for adders after lunch was more successful as we located male and female coiled together.

The male Adder was a real stunner.

As we watched the reptiles a Golden Eagle appeared over the ridge showing well but when I looked the other way there was another Golden eagle being harassed by a Raven - an awesome display!!

There was no way of topping that but the commoner birds we saw after that were duly appreciated along with the Mountain Hares.

Zero visibility.

Saturday was a bit of a cloudy day with a cool breeze. We started the day with Grey Plover, Greenshank and Ringed Plover outside the shop before heading off in search of Otters. No sign of the furry mammals but there were a few GN Diver, Eider and Shag along the way. The WT Eagle is a 'sitting duck' as it incubates the precious contents of the nest - still an impressive sight. Next stop was a Golden Eagle territory where we viewed the female bird on the nest before seeing the male cruising the ridge. As we headed back along the way a large bird was spotted and by the time we'd stopped there were two - Golden Eagle again! Three more birds joined in the fun and circled round while the territorial male just sat and watched them. There was obviously a lot of respect being paid as the flying bird drifted off but none of them encroached on the territory that was being held. A long hard look for Otters eventually turned up the goods when we located a mum with two cubs just settling down to sleep.

Our good fortune continued in the afternoon as another Golden Eagle was picked up, Black Guillemot scoped, a single Yellowhammer perched briefly at the side of the road and a couple of Wild Goat spotted on a ridge were highlights. We finished the day well with nice views of Linnet and Twite, a male Hen Harrier and a squad of Mountain Hare.
A few things I noticed over the last couple of days is the flowers coming through and some birds that were absent in the winter but are now abundant. I wonder if the Bracken is a little slow this year as the Lesser Celandine are a blaze of yellow wherever you look. The single flower is just stunning after quiet days of Winter.

If you get the right place there will be carpets of Dog Violet mixed in with the Celandine but get a bit closer and you will find Wild Strawberry too.

As for the birds the humble Meadow Pipit was absent this Winter but they have now returned in force...

...and the cheery Willow Warbler appears to be singing from every bush and tree.

Sunday was shocking day with zero visibility and rain - we couldn't even see the WT Eagle on the nest it was that bad. The only saving grace of the morning was a single Otter. We decided to head for clearer weather and hopefully we could follow that through and improve our chances. It was still a struggle to find any notable species despite picking off some of the commoner birds but eventually we turned up a female Hen Harrier that gave us stunning views. Next up we got a distant Golden Eagle which was left to drift off as we picked up a male Hen Harrier a lot closer. Plenty of GN Diver were on show through the day but none better than this one in Summer plumage.

We finished the day of with excellent views of two WT Eagle and also a Golden Eagle perched on the hillside. It just goes to show that it's not that easy but if you put the effort in there will be rewards!