Corncrake.

A day of requests on a hot, sunny day turned out quite well. The guests for the day had an idea that they might like to see Corncrake so we decided to give it a bash. We started the day with an Otter, Golden Eagle and Adder were added soon after and the first of the requests was filled in when we got good views of a pair of Whinchat.

Mountain Hare was a bit more difficult as I got some fleeting glimpses of one a couple of times but nothing better than that. The Redshank and Lapwing were well photographed though.

We headed over to Iona to look for Corncrake in the foot high vegetation! You could hear them well enough but seeing one was going to be a challenge. The usual advice was given by passing tourists - 'you're wasting your time with them', 'I've been coming here for 15 years and never seen one yet' - all very encouraging eh? Just after the last comment was made I found this one lurking in the long grass!

We got views of that Corncrake as it preened itself and then it wandered off. Another two were picked up in really long vegetation but the best you could get was the vegetation moving as they ran around - funny to watch. I managed a couple of glimpses when but trying to give directions in the sea of yellow was not easy.

Another request for the day had been Raven - I was the last one to attempt photos and they decided to leave just as I pointed the camera.

A Hooded Crow kept me amused while the guests were looking at the Oystercatchers.

Shout.

A day off kept me away from the camera but not before pointing it at a male Hen Harrier!

The usual eagles and one otter were seen on the tour but the star of the show was this Curlew shouting at the side of the road.

A Golden Eagle perched low on a hill was nice to see.

The Whinchats are still feeding their young and the Adder is a struggle at times. A Four-spotted Chaser was easier to capture!

We managed to get Great Northern and Red-throated Diver on the tour and a few Red Deer.

Kip.

The sightings are staying fairly similar at the moment so I'll just rattle through the photos. A couple of moulting  RB Merganser were having a kip at high tide.

It was nice to see the Lesser Butterfly Orchid in flower.

The Kestrels seem to be doing quite well this year.

Three Golden Eagles in the air together was a bit of a surprise but after looking at the photos I could see that one of the birds was a youngster.

The Mountain Hares are showing how well they can run and hide at the moment - nice if you can get them!

There are lots of young Redshank this year so the adults are keen to keep them safe...

...but not so many Lapwing chicks but the adults are taking good care of the ones they have.

A Snipe on a post - what can I say? There will be more!!