Pigs

Wednesday was a pleasant day and another tour to do. We headed off in search of Hen Harrier and Mountain Hare and didn't connect with either initially but what we did get was two Golden Eagle sitting on the ridge in the distance. We hung around to see if they would get up in the air but it wasn't happening. A bit of a look around provided views of Common Buzzard, Northern Wheatear, Twite, Linnet, Common Snipe and, eventually, a Mountain Hare. Another location for Hen Harrier at the next stop and once again the birds didn't want to play but the Stonechat was very nice. It posed beautifully on a fence post and then flew on to the overhead wires just above the motor for a quick photo...

...and was then joined by a Common Whitethroat - nice!

While trying to find some Black Guillemots which some folk got a view of and others didn't we had a shower of rain that had us running for cover. We decided to head for lunch instead and got good views of a female Hen Harrier. There were a couple of distant Golden Eagle flying around and an Adder was seen while we ate lunch. It was nice to see the Autumn Gentian in flower again too.

After leaving our lunch spot I got my first sighting of these two black pigs. I've known that they were there but never caught sight of them and it was nice that, not being proper wildlife, the guests appreciated the sighting too.

There were a few Red-throated Diver on show as we viewed the Common Seals before we managed to pick up an Otter. We watched this one fishing at a distance before it started to head straight towards us. He came in at a fair rate of knots and eventually came out on the shore...

...before heading for bed - superb sighting though! The next stop was for the WT Eagle and we weren't disappointed with the female bird that was sitting in the distance. But we hung around for a wee while and managed to get more flight views of Golden Eagle before the male WT Eagle flew in with prey and delivered it too the youngster - an excellent sighting for the day. We'd already seen a few Red Deer through the day but this sighting of a stag with the velvet off the antlers was superb.

Thursday was another pleasant day and I was off fishing to catch my dinner. A cracking effort over a couple of hours produced these two 6lb Pollock - yum!

While out on the fishing trip there were a few birds on show with Gannets, Shag and Manx Shearwater seen but best of all were two Red Knot flying past us as we returned to land!

Faith.

Having faith in what you want to see usually pays off. Monday I was back to the wildlife watching in poor weather. It had been a stunning day on Sunday with wall to wall sunshine and now it was wall to wall cloud, low cloud, with rain - brilliant! The saving grace was that the wind was light and the water was flat calm so the Otter hunt should easy, right? Wrong! There wasn't a thing moving except for a Cormorant, a Shag, numerous Hooded Crow and the countless Grey Herons. We checked out the WT Eagle site - you couldn't see it! So that wasn't a bad start:-) We kick started things with a small herd of Red Deer hinds that were just visible through the ground touching cloud. We headed back to the WT Eagle site to find it had miraculously cleared and there was the youngster stretching and flapping his wings before taking flight and dropping out of sight! I had a plan - we moved location and managed to pick the bird up again getting good views. The wind had picked up and the rain was still persistent but as we stopped to look for Otters again I picked up a shape moving further out. Too far out for an Otter and sporting a dorsal fin - Bottle-nosed Dolphin! We clambered out of the motor and I tried to get everyone onto the cetaceans. They were moving around a fair bit and staying under water for a fair while. While scanning about I caught a bit of movement in the bottom of the view through the bins - an Otter was heading for shore with a fish. Forget the Dolphins, back in the motor and stop next to the Otter. Stunning views were had of the Otter devouring it's fish before it moved off. We headed in the same direction and watched him fish his way into the distance before I picked up the Dolphins again. After a bit of a struggle everyone got views of these beauties as they headed back out to sea. Well, that had turned things around quite nicely! As the day progressed the rain got heavier but we still managed to get an Adder, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Red-throated Diver, Mountain Hare and some cracking views of Snipe, Meadow Pipit and Common Buzzard. A brilliant day despite the weather which stopped me taking any photos.
Tuesday the sun was back out again with a bit of a wind blowing. With a family group taking up the spaces for the day the top priority was birds of prey and in particular White-tailed Eagle. First bird on the list for the day was a female Hen Harrier that cruised along in front of us before peeling off to the right and showing very well. I'd done the unthinkable and said that WT Eagle shouldn't be a problem so when we arrived at the site there was nothing on show. I filled the guests in on the history of these birds and scanned the trees and horizons wondering when we would get a look at this magnificent bird. All of a sudden the gulls in the bay took off and started calling in alarm - there was the female WT Eagle flying in! It's a great way to see your first WT Eagle and she soon settled in a tree. We moved closer for a better view and I could hear the youngster calling too. She moved off and passed some prey to the youngster who then put in an appearance and gave excellent views. We watched the youngster finish breakfast, have a preen, wobble about on the branches before expertly taking flight and disappear from sight - magical! We stopped to view the Common Seal colony and were greeted by a Sparrowhawk flying around being mobbed by pipits before we headed off to lunch. This was time to see to the next request for insectivorous plants so Sundew and Butterwort were checked out along with the seed pods on Fragrant Orchid, Bog Asphodel and the still flowering Tormentil and Eyebright. We used the binoculars as a magnifying glass to get better view of the small flowers and watched a spider creating it's web. A Golden Eagle put in an appearance along with another two Sparrowhawk and, of course, a view of an Adder. Grey Herons are plentiful around here and there is always an opportunity to get a shot of the birds that are more used to people.

A couple of Mountain Hare were showing well but they were overshadowed by the male Hen Harrier that was flying around just behind them! Cracking views of Wheatear, Skylark...

...Meadow Pipit...

...Rock Pipit...

...and Common Buzzard were had before a larger bird of prey was located. Another juvenile WT Eagle was attracting the attention of the local corvids as it sailed merrily along. Even the journey home produced more goodies as we picked up another Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a couple of Hooded Crow, a cracking stag and best of all another WT Eagle perched in a tree behind the shop!

Ain't wildlife brilliant!

Another flying visit to Newcastle to take the kids home produced some more superb sightings. Before we'd even got on the ferry the family had been watching an Otter fishing and we also picked up a few Porpoise a bit further out. The best sighting we had was from the ferry itself as a Porpoise with a youngster surfaced right next to us. They rolled over as they surfaced and gave everyone a good look before continuing on their way - just fantastic!! Not a great deal of sightings on the way down except the usual Magpies...

...Buzzards and Pheasants but I made the most of my trip to fill the motor up for the return journey. A nice Coot...

...a Great Crested Grebe on the nest...

...and a couple of Common Tern.

I paid a quick visit to the coast to catch up with Sandwich Tern. It was a shame the tide was right in as the birds were just flying by so no chance of any photos. I checked out a couple of roadside pools and picked up a Stock Dove in flight while looking at a Black-tailed Godwit at the first pool and a stunning Green Sandpiper at the next pool. I was just preparing to take a shot of the Green Sand when a bunch of horses came galloping over to see what I was up to and flushed the bird! The drive back in the dark gave me a great sighting of a Badger as it crossed the road in front of me. As promised I returned to the Osprey site and attempted to get a few shots. It was still dark when I woke up and one bird was on the nest. As the sky brightened there were still Pipistrelle Bats flying about and the Grey Herons were very vocal. I didn't have to wait too long to see the Osprey wake up and take flight and then settle in a tree.

After a quick preen it made a short flight over the water, hovered briefly, then flopped into the water and just sat there for about thirty seconds before lifting off with a small fish. I was surprised at little notice the local gulls took of the Osprey and also how small they look. A bigger Osprey put in an appearance catching a decent sized fish before heading off into the distance and then another Osprey appeared and gave me an opportunity to get better shots. It was still fairly early and not that light but you have to try!

On the ferry journey back to Mull there was no sign of any Porpoise this time but there were a few Manx Shearwater crossing in front of the boat. Not the best shot but it does show how stiff winged these birds are.