Blue Otter.

Tuesday was an early start in pleasant conditions. It was a bit overcast with no wind so the midges were going to be a treat. I disturbed a couple of Red Deer as I left home - they really do look cheesed off!

We hit lucky at our first stop as we picked up two Otters but one of these gave us the slip almost immediately. The Otter we were left with caught a fish and headed for shore as we got into position. As the Otter finished it's breakfast it headed straight towards us, there was nothing we could do but sit still! As you can see this is the rare blue phase Otter;-)

The Common Seals are always nice to see - the closer, the better.

I saw my first, fledged, Swallows of the year today. The Swallows should be well into their second brood by now but the poor weather in May has really held them back.

We had a walk up one of the glens where the most notable thing was the lack of birds. A change of location and we were back in business with a pair of WT Eagle perched up and an Otter in the sea. As we headed off to get a closer look at the Otter we noticed the gulls in a panic - one of the WT Eagle came flying over the car! Lucky for us it turned around and came back. They say you should always give your photographic subject space to move - I thought I gave it plenty of space but it was a bit quick!

We caught up with family parties of Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit all in the same place - quite a sight that! A Golden-ringed Dragonfly was the last poser of the day.

Good weather!

The weather has settled down a bit so the blue skies are a bit of a feature now. The view remains the same.

Monday was a tough day in places but a good start helps so the WT Eagle and two Otters we saw were a treat. Golden Eagle we saw as we had lunch and the Slow Worm was a first for most people. We did pick up quite a bit of the common birds as we went along but this Common Lizard was a surprise find.

Plenty of photos of this one but none better than getting down to the Lizards level.

A single Mountain Hare showed well...

...as we searched around for a few wading birds to boost the numbers. The only other notable sighting of the day was a Pied Wagtail having a good feed on the back of a Red Deer.

Rain Goose

Wednesday was another wet one and just to prove it, have a look at the rain in this shot - apologies for the bird that got in the way of the shot!

You can't let the weather put you off and you get your rewards too. We picked up an Otter despite the high tide and got good views before it clambered out of the water and ran off down the road!

As we turned to get back in the motor another Otter came away from the shore. That kept us in place for another twenty minutes. 

 Red-throated Diver is always a nice bird to catch up with. This bird is also known as the Rain Goose and they really do show more in wet weather - you hear the cackling flight call as they come to the lochs and there always seems to be a group of four to six birds around if you look hard enough.

The rest of the day went well as the rain stopped and we had a glimpse of a Bottle-nosed Dolphin, good views of Snipe, Redshank and a cracking male Hen Harrier to finish as I made my way home.

Thursday was a brighter day with showers. We started the day well with a couple of Otters, WT Eagle and Crossbill. A family party of Bullfinch took a bit of time to get good views but well worth the effort. One of the highlights was trying to get photos of a Red Deer stag with it's head up. Mostly you try to stay quiet around the wildlife but the Deer that spent time near the roads are quite unflappable as they have seen and heard it all.

While everyone was snapping away at the deer I caught a glimpse of a Spotted Flycatcher.

A cracking day all round and another male Hen Harrier to finish.

Friday started off hot, sunny and rubbish for wildlife. We picked up 3 Black-tailed Godwit at the start of the day and then it went quiet.

It can't stay that way for too long so the WT Eagle was the one to break the quiet spell. The afternoon was the complete opposite as we spent most of our time watching Otters. The first one was asleep on the shore but the next one was out fishing. We spent quite a bit of time watching this one and also got Golden Eagle flying over at the same time!

The third Otter was also out in the water...

...and we were watched closely by a Common Seal.

The last stop of the day produced a couple of newly fledged Hen Harrier along with the female bird - awesome.