Phwoaaaaarrr!!!

Sunday was a day off for both of us so we headed for Iona to have a look round the Abbey. There is some scary stuff in there!

We had a look at the Glaucous Gull...

...before heading off to Staffa. A Great Skua was trying to turn a Gannet into lunch on our way out.

There were plenty of Manx Shearwater, Razorbill, Guillemot to see and the Puffins put on a good show so we all went home happy.

Monday the weather was a bit drizzly to start with but it soon cleared. The young WT Eagles were just lying on the nest looking miserable in the damp conditions. We had picked up an Otter earlier but it was a bit elusive so it was nice to get good views when we returned to the same spot. A Short-eared Owl put on a good performance for us too. The camera didn't come out until later in the day but it was well worth the effort. A female Hen Harrier was spotted mobbing something in the distance by one of the guests. A bit of a look round located a Golden Eagle sitting in a tree but it didn't stay for long. The Goldie gave us a fly past and disappeared but the Hen Harrier told us it was still there!

A bit of a wait and the Golden Eagle appeared over the trees at close quarters - phwoaaaaarrr!!!

The Hen Harrier was not happy with the presence of the bigger bird - awesome encounter!

There was no way of topping that one but we did manage to keep up some of the excitement with the likes of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Whinchat, Wheatear, a male Hen Harrier and a Mountain Hare.

The last bit of June.

Friday the weather wasn't too bad. We started the day with WT Eagles but things got exciting after that when I saw my first Grey Wagtail, on Mull, since spring 2011! Hen Harriers continue to perform well so it was no surprise to have this female hunting near the road.

A flurry of activity at the next stop was superb. We started small with a close up Stonechat...

...then we had 3 different Hen Harriers before a Short-eared Owl posed on a post close to us - top notch! Another female Hen Harrier while looking at the Adders and Slow Worm and another SE Owl was seen on the way to the next site. Four Red-throated Diver were a good find as were the three Lesser Redpoll that posed on the fence along with a family party of five Linnet.

A couple of Snipe showed well at the end of the day but this was overshadowed by the Short-eared Owl that flew right over us.

The drive back to base produced another two RT Diver very close to the road - awesome birds when you get a good look.

Singing in the rain.

Wednesday we spent some time dodging the showers to get the best out of the day. We started the day with superb views of SE Owls and a female Hen Harrier. While looking for Otters we located a couple of Red-thoated Diver that were singing in the rain.

Adders were a surprise for the guests as they thought the weather wasn't good enough to see them in the open. We picked up an Otter fishing in a bay and viewed the area from above so, at times, you could see the Otter swimming underwater. We did hear a couple of Cuckoo calling on our travels but only caught sight of one of them. Plenty of small birds including Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Whinchat etc before we had a Mountain Hare in the rain. The run back to base was livened up by one of the guests spotted another Otter. We watched this one come ashore a couple of times with fish.

A few stags finished the day off nicely.

Thursday was another good sightings day despite the showers. We started the day with a female Hen Harrier and a few Mountain Hare.

A male Redpoll perched on a fence next to a male Whinchat and a few Yellowhammer were feeding on the ground all in the same spot. Best find of the day was a Cuckoo that flew out of some trees to perch on a post right next to us before flying up to the wires.

A pair of Red-throated Diver showed well before we picked up our first WT Eagle in the distance. Not too long after that all of the Curlews flew up, calling in alarm.

The reason for the alarm was a WT Eagle flying through.

As the bird flew into the distance it was chased through by a SE Owl and a male Hen Harrier! A bit of a clear spell in the afternoon produced a Golden Eagle, Adders, Slow Worm and a young mouse in the middle of the road! An almighty clap of thunder gave us warning of some approaching weather. We had torrential rain and lots of lightning on the drive back - no wildlife as we could hardly see out of the windows!