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?).

Wag

It was nice to catch up with a Willow Warbler again - the song of this bird is always the sound of summer for me. No sooner had I published the last post where I mentioned the Greenshanks had moved on and there were three birds back on the loch! A pair of Grey Wagtails were getting frisky on one of the burns.

It was nice to catch up with the mum and cub Otters while they were reaping the rewards of a few Dogfish. They were seen to bring two ashore in about 20 minutes.

The Highland Cattle are always popular with the guests.

A few more Northern Wheatears are being seen now.

There was a decent breeze blowing while this Rock Pipit was trying to hang on to the fence.

Decent numbers of Linnets can be seen in various locations.

It was a bit of a struggle to get a good view of Golden Eagle until this one flew past the motor!

Similar

A couple of tours had fairly similar sightings so here is a selection of photos. The Red Deer are starting to drop their antlers so this sight will become less frequent over the next couple of weeks.

The WT Eagle sightings are good at the moment but then you can't have a bad sighting of one of these!

Crossbill sightings are a bit hit and miss but you can hear them calling and singing around the forestry.

The Otter is a slippery customer at times so it was nice to have distant views to start with and then a closer one. You have to mark your territory as you move around...

...and a shower is nice too.

There is a smattering of migrants coming through, Sand Martins have arrived from their winter quarters in Africa...

but there is also winter visitors that are back on their way north. The Redwings will probably be heading for Iceland.

Both days had rain at the time we went for Golden Eagle - a bit of patience required and the birds did show.

Along the shore there are quite a few Wheatear, lots of Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting and Rock Pipit...

...while the wader numbers have dropped - very few Greenshank, small numbers of Ringed Plover and the Turnstones are on the move. Another change has been the reappearance of the Tawny Owl in the barn.