April
April 30th
Weather the same as yesterday with a little more
sun - The views today were brilliant and we could see as far as the Outer
Hebrides without binoculars. No Otter today but very Good White-tailed
Eagles and Golden Eagles but the highlight for the guests today were 3
separate Cuckoos in 3 different locations, it is surprising how many people
have heard Cuckoos without actually seeing them. We went out to the Boathouse
on Ulva for my birthday celebration meal and it was wonderful we cannot
thank the girls enough for their hospitality and great food.
April 29th
Weather cloudy with breeze cool - Another day
with the grand children beach combing at Croig where we saw a very close
Great Northern Diver and some Crabs and Limpets, i walked the dogs round
and round a small beach area to give them a good walk it must have looked
very strange. Later at Cailaich we were able to show our 4 year old Grand
Daughter an Otter through the scope.
April 28th
Weather a much better day after heavy overnight
rain - I am having a couple of days off to spend them with my 3 young grand
children, so a walk through the woods with the dogs, then an hour at the
Old Byre play area. After lunch we took them to see the piglets in the
picture below and also saw a couple of wild Black Rabbits. On our way home
we stopped to look for Otter and saw two in an area where I had tried to
find them yesterday but they weren't there, ah well that's wildlife for
you.
April 27th
Weather cool, cloudy and breezy, rain in the
late afternoon - White-tailed Eagles, Whimbrel and Great Northern Divers
were the wildlife highlights of todays tour, although my birds of
the day were Summer plumaged Dunlins and displaying Redshanks seen on my
way home at the end of the day. We included a lot of history in todays
tour which makes the tours more flexible and gives guests not so interested
in the wildlife a more rounded tour, hopefully we cater for all tastes.
April 26th
Weather Cloudy but mainly dry with westerly breeze
- Another tour today and 2 White-tailed Eagles one carrying prey, which
looked like a rabbit. On the White-tailed Eagle front, some bad news, we
had confirmation today that the Loch Frisa nest had failed due to the poor
weather just as the youngsters had hatched. 2 Golden Eagles one a distant
view of one on a cairn surveying its territory the other flying giving
great views. We also saw an Otter today which appeared out of nowhere as
we were looking at some Grey Seals, the Otter gave us a great half hour
as we had morning coffee. Another notable sighting today was a group of
Red Deer hinds with last years calves at a wallowing hole, I have seen
single Deer wallowing before but never a group of over 20. Other notable
sightings of the day were a fabulous view of a Whimbrel and my first Mull
House Martin of the year. Below find a picture of one of 2 Cock Pheasants
which regularly appear in our garden.
 
April 25th
Weather cloudy turning to rain in the afternoon
- A quiet day with the family today with a nice walk through the woods
with the dogs this morning where we saw a family of Crossbills feeding
young. On returning home I found this lovely Emperor Moth which at about
35mm wide is quite common in the north and wonderfully colourful. There
was a lovely female Lesser Redpoll on the feeders in the garden this afternoon
more than holding its own against the Siskins and goldfinches. This evening
Alan mullbirds Spellman rang to
say 2 Bee-eaters had been seen at Calgary so Pam & I and the rest of
the family went down to see what all the fuss was about and low and behold
they were there - 2 Bee-eaters. We had been all the way to Southern
Spain to look for these birds and they turn up 3 miles from home.
 
April 24th
Weather lovely, sunshine with slight breeze
- After the rain of yesterday I decided to sow some wildflower seeds in
the rocky part of our lawn, I had to go to a neighbour to get the top soil
and fetch it back in the back of the car. It took me most of the morning
to prepare the seed bed and I sowed them in the afternoon. This afternoon
our daughter and son-in-law arrived with our 3 small grandchildren and
after helping us feed the orphan lambs we all went down to Calgary beach
with the dogs for a walk.
April 23rd
Weather low cloud and rain all day damp air made
it feel cold - We really needed the rain but I wish it had come on a day
when I did not have a tour. In the event 6 Guests and I left Tobermory
more in hope than expectation and within an hour we were watching a White-tailed
Eagle flying through the rain to perch on a tree not far from where we
were standing sheltered under the boot of the van, check out the photo
below taken through the rain. We saw a lot of red Breasted Mergansers and
a Slavonian Grebe at the same spot before heading off to look for more
wildlife and a very much needed hot drink. We passed a couple of Fallow
Deer on the way and whilst drinking our teas and coffee heard a Cuckoo
and tried very hard to see it but failed, we did however see some Red Deer
on the hillside. As we were heading towards our lunch spot and a comfort
break we passed a pair of Teal and Shelduck, the Teal were late leaving
and the Shelduck had arrived to breed, as we looking at the ducks
when a Whimbrel flew in giving us great views of its different bill and
striped head. Onto lunch and the Divers 2 Red Throated and 5 Great Northern
Divers in the bay together and superb Lapwings in the field close by as
we watched the Divers. After lunch we were quite cold so we just drove
gently around the island and talked about the History and Geology we saw
on the way until we reached a place where we might find an Otter, sure
enough as guests were looking at some Razorbills out on the water I spotted
an Otter just going out to fish, we watched the Otter for quite a while
before it caught a large fish and brought it to land giving us all fantastic
views. Now damp and cold I took our guests back to our house for afternoon
tea and cakes and a warm in front of the aga and a look at our bird feeders.
Birds seen on the feeders were Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Collared Dove,
Rock Doves lots of Siskins and a lovely Lesser Redpoll, oh and the Sparrowhawk
flew through twice. After tea we went back to Tobermory and saw several
Buzzards, 2 Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpipers and 6 redshanks, so a really
good day with a lot of sightings some of them excellent despite awful weather
conditions.
 
April 22nd
Weather cloudy, cool but dry - Another BTO day
and 3 more squares covered including climbing up a steep hill which my
legs are not used to and my Knees complained about. It was really worth
it because of the fantastic views I had of 2 Hen Harriers on territory,
particularly the male which glided silently below me completely unaware
of my presence I think. It is really special to be out and about in the
countryside when you get sightings this good in such wonderful scenery
and you realize how lucky you are to live here.
April 21st
Weather warmer and less windy but still cool
and cloudy - BTO squares again today as I want to get my first summer
season visits done before May. The main highlights of the walk were of
a family of Crossbills which have now hatched as they are early breeders
and towards the end of the walk we saw a beautiful Bullfinch always a treat
when we see them, check out the photos below of one we saw earlier in the
month.
April 20th
Weather very cold and windy with occasional wintry
showers - A great group of guests today who put up with the unseasonal
weather with fortitude and good humour. Although we did not see as many
species of wildlife as usual due to the very windy conditions we did manage
excellent views of White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagles, Otters and Red and
fallow Deer. The strangest sighting of the day was a spectacular Peacock
walking through the woods at Gruline, a first for a Discover Mull Tour.
 
April 19th
Weather cooler but still fine with strong breeze
- a tour today and the guests wanted to see White-tailed Eagles and at
our first stop as we were looking at Red Breasted Mergansers and Grey Seals
a noisy Hooded Crow appeared from behind us and it was mobbing a juvenile
White-tailed Eagle, my guests were well choughed and so was I only 10 minutes
into the tour and guests satisfied. We had brilliant views of Great Northern
Divers with one of them in full summer plumage and at lunch time a Golden
Eagle sitting out on a ledge was superb. As the weather got colder and
windier as the day drew on we saw less birds but this was more than made
up with both types of Deer and even better Seals. As well as Highland Cows
with calves and Hebrides Sheep with lambs we are now showing guests some
Rare Breed Piglets on our tour. Cute or what? that was Pams comment by
the way I am not quite that soppy.
 
April 18th
Weather back to being beautiful again - More
BTO work today and our dogs were not bothering with Rabbits today, this
time it was Red Grouse they put one up and it was my first of the year,
3 other year firsts today were Lesser Redpoll, Tree Pipits and a Great
Skua. We had wonderful views of 7 Whimbrel which landed right in front
of us on the coast and a party of 5 Manx Shearwater were seen when we were
watching 2 Great Northern Divers and a Gannet out at sea. We then decided
to have a well earned lunch at the tea rooms at Glengorm Castle a very
good choice the lunch was lovely, when I say we I mean Pam and me not the
dogs we seldom go out to lunch in tearooms with the dogs.
April 17th
Weather cloudy with a little rain in the morning
better in the afternoon - I did my first BTO square for the summer today
and saw a White-tailed Eagle, 2 Goosanders, a lot of Willow Warblers, a
pair of Reed Buntings and a pair of Common Sandpipers. These were the highlights
of the square but certainly not all the birds seen, we also saw some Red
Deer and chased some rabbits, well I did not chase the Rabbits that was
Misty and Sally our dogs who were with me at the time.
 
April 16th
Weather day 10 of glorious weather if a little
cooler in the afternoon - another great tour today 2 White- tailed Eagles
within the first 10 minutes followed by red Deer Stags and 2 Otters before
morning coffee. We then saw a Common Sandpiper my first of the year and
three Golden Eagles, later in the day we witnessed changeovers between
adults on both White-tailed and Golden Eagle nests. Fallow Deer in good
numbers for this delightful little Deer on Mull and superb views of Grey
and Common Seals near to each other and showing their differences quite
clearly. Other notable wildlife seen today were Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzards,
Wheatears, Skylarks and Shelduck. Wild flowers now being seen are Primroses,
Violets, Gorse, Celandine and Coltsfoot to show spring is well under way.
April 15th
Weather more of the same 9 days without rain
- No tour today so I did 2 walks one early morning walk and one later with
the dogs. The morning walk at Quinnish brought me my first Willow Warbler
of the year, I also saw pair of Bullfinches and heard a Jay but bid not
manage to see it. The afternoon walk with the dogs and I saw 5 more Willow
Warblers and a pair of Common Crossbills with 4 young, good to know they
managed to breed successfully in spite of the cold winter weather.
 
April 14th
Weather the same as yesterday but slightly warmer
- What a difference a day makes, yesterday the wildlife was playing hard
to get, today 3 Otters, fantastic views of Golden Eagles and White-tailed
Eagles, Great Northern Divers, 8 Black Throated Divers, both Grey and Common
Seals, Fallow Deer and Red Deer including Stags and the best of the lot
our first Dolphins of the year. We had a large family group out with us
today the Dawes family celebrating a golden wedding anniversary, unfortunately
the star couple were unable to be with us due to illness, we offer them
our congratulations and hope Terry makes a speedy recovery.
April 13th
Weather cooler with slightly more cloud but still
very nice - I had a very nice French girl out with me today who was
keen to see standing stones, I had taken out most of the other guests
before and they were great making our foreign guest very welcome and my
job very easy despite the wildlife not showing too well on the day. The
views however were spectacular today and the standing stones were all in
their usual places.
April 12th
Weather another gorgeous day - I went to Cailiach
Point today to do some sea watching and saw my first Manx Shearwaters of
the year and a lot of Shags in full breeding plumage with spectacular tufts.
Fulmar always amazing when in flight, Razorbills, Guillemots and a lot
of Black Guillemots but alas no Puffins, but I did see 1 lone Gannet. There
were also 3 Gull species present including the impressive Lesser Black-backed
Gulls and Meadow Pipits, Rock Pipits, Pied Wagtails, Wheatears and Skylarks
were also present.
 
 
April 11th
Weather another beautiful spring day - We planted
some early new potatoes today as the ground has warmed up at last after
the cold winter. I managed to start my tractor which has been out of action
for some time now and also had another bonfire of some branches we had
to prune off over hanging trees. There was very little time for wildlife
watching today but I did see a Peacock Butterfly a Buzzard being mobbed
by Hooded Crows and a Great Spotted Woodpecker on our peanut feeder as
well as our 2 Cock Pheasants which appear to have adopted us.
April 10th
Weather just beautiful and warm a real Spring
day - Last night after the tour we went down to a bird club meeting at
Craignure to hear a talk by Roy Dennis the man mainly responsible for the
re-introduction of Ospreys to Britain, it was a great talk and very enlightening
and entertaining. Today I cleaned the van then went out for a short drive
round and took a few pictures of some of my favorite birds in particular
Lapwings which I can watch for ages.
 
 
April 9th
Weather the same as yesterday but warmer becoming
more sunny as the day went on - A brilliant trip today with the Benson
family, the children Harry, Sam and Lizzie were a joy to take out. We saw
54 species in the day including a mother and cub Otter doing all the things
Otters do best, very entertaining. A great Golden Eagle flying being mobbed
and eventually landing giving us amazing views through the telescopes,
another goldie was seen during the day. A juvenile White-tailed Eagle was
seen in the morning and we had great views of an adult both flying and
perched in the afternoon. Other good bird species seen in the day included
Redwings, Razorbills, my first Swallow of the year on Mull, 2 Bar Tailed
Godwits, Wheatear a lot of Pied Wagtails and at the end of the day Sam
spotted this delightful Bullfinch. Seals, Deer and Rabbits were all seen
in the day and we missed nothing due in no small part to Sams amazing spotting,
he even found us some Tadpoles . A wonderful day spent with a delightful
family, oh and by the way the scamp who put clean me on the van will be
delighted to know it was cleaned on Saturday morning.
 
April 8th
Weather cloudy, breezy, cold but dry - The best
sighting of the day had to be the White-tailed Eagles, we watched the male
bird circling as it came in from over the woods, it eventually went in
a direct line for the nest about 50 yards away it was met by the female
leaving the nest, as the male took her place she was suddenly attacked
by an irate Raven and an aerial duel ensued for a few minutes before the
Raven broke off the attack and the female Eagle disappeared from where
the male had arrived. My other highlights were of a Whimbrel and Sand Martins
the first i have seen on Mull this year.
April 7th
Weather good weather to start the day but becoming
colder as the wind level rose in the afternoon - Mull at its majestic best
today fantastic views particularly of Beinn Talaidh and Beinn More. We
had fantastic views of a Golden Eagle today circling carrying a Rabbit
before landing on a hill and starting to tear at it, you felt you could
reach out and touch it through the telescope. There were 2 children amongst
the guests today so we had afternoon tea at Calgary Bay and a walk on the
beach which all the other guests seemed to enjoy as well.
April 6th
Weather a continuation of yesterday in the morning
improving in the afternoon - No tour today but this gave me time to look
at the birds in the garden. We have lots of Chaffinches, Greenfinches,
a few Goldfinches, a resident Cock Pheasant and as I was watching 5 splendid
Siskins on the Nyger feeder a male Sparrowhawk dashed in and got the one
that was to late leaving, not nice but exciting watching nature in the
raw. A trip in the late afternoon to our 2 local estuaries produced some
nice regular species, Mallard, Goldeneye and Teal ducks, Redshank and Oystercatchers
wading birds, Common and Herring Gulls and of course the ubiquitous Herons.
I had a lovely half hour observing these birds, never take for granted
the normal for the exotic we would all miss them if they were not there.
 
 
April 5th
Weather wet morning very windy with gale force
gusts but not cold - Not a great day to be out wildlife watching as the
wind was so strong and the seas so rough but with perseverance and patience
we saw 2 Golden Eagles sitting together on a tree branch out of the wind
for over an hour as we hoped they might fly, I can't say I blame them for
sitting tight. Slavonian Grebe in summer plumage was the next major sighting
and of course Great Northern Divers which are in the Lochs in good numbers
before returning to their breeding grounds further north, Before lunch
a guest spotted some Red Deer Stags almost invisible against the dead bracken,
it was a good spot and we had terrific views through the telescope. On
to lunch and 2 White-tailed Eagles another hour waiting for a flying display
that did not happen, but a flock of Lapwings went through always nice to
see and an intrepid Buzzard showed it was not impossible for raptors to
fly. After lunch the highlight of the day an Otter my closest of the year
and of course as the weather was so bad in the morning I had left my cameras
at home, silly me. the beautiful Fallow Deer were seen on our way home
and several Common Seals basking (I don't think so) freezing more like
on an island, so all in all not a bad day in spite of inclement weather.
April 4th
Weather sunny with slight breeze but very pleasant
to be out in - Another tour today with really friendly guests and we had
a lot of laughs. John was an inspiration as he suffered from MS and had
great difficulty and pain getting in and out of the bus but never complained
and never missed seeing any of the birds and mammals which we saw during
the day. We saw 4 Golden Eagles, 3 Otters giving great views, 2 White-tailed
Eagles and all the other usual suspects. Birds of the day for me were the
Snipe, my first Kittiwakes and a first Gannet of the year.
 
April 3rd
Weather a dry cloudy and calm morning with rain
setting in during the afternoon - Another good tour today with sightings
of 20 Great Northern Divers in one spot which we saw after watching a big
dog Otter which had brought a fish out of the water to eat it within 30
yards of us. Earlier in the day we had seen more Great Northern Divers
and 2 Red Throated Divers at a different location. Birds of prey were well
in evidence today with a Golden Eagle and Sparrowhawk in the morning, Buzzards
everywhere and brilliant views of a male Hen Harrier and a Merlin in the
Afternoon. We saw the white Fallow Deer today this is the first time I
have seen it this year. Another great day out with splendid guests, some
days this seems like the best job in the world.
April 2nd
Weather a beautiful Spring day after overnight
frost - No tour today but Pam saw The juvenile White-tailed Eagles that
are in and around the Dervaig Calgary area fly over Ardrioch this morning.
We had visitors arrive for the selfcatering this afternoon and as they
were admiring the view and small birds in our garden before we showed them
the cottage a male Sparrowhawk flew round the corner of Inch Hame and was
only 3 or 4 yards away before he saw us and veered away over the fields.
Our son who is a fully qualified at everything heating engineer, yes I
am a proud dad has been up and replaced broken pipe work and pump
and refitted the plumbing in the new kitchen which has also been installed
in the Shieling, along with double glazing, he leaves on the first boat
tomorrow and so a bit of last minute parent bonding today, we will miss
his cheery smile and humour.
April 1st
Weather much better than yesterday but
still breezy, cold with the occasional squally wintry shower - Another
tour today and we looked at all things wild, the highlights for the guests
being a Golden Eagle at coffee break and 2 Otters a mother and cub which
we watched travelling and fishing until they came out on an island to eat
a fish too big to manage in the sea. We had both fallow Deer and Red Deer
with good sightings of 7 Red Deer Stags, both types of Seal were seen and
we had an exciting encounter between a Raven and Buzzard. Summer plumaged
Slavonian Grebes were the waterbird highlight and 3 Lapwings in a field
with Starlings on our way home pleased at least one of our guests
and me as I love to see this amazing and sadly slowly disappearing bird. |
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This is the web site of Pam & Arthur
Brown, Ardrioch Farm, Dervaig, Isle of Mull. PA75 6QR
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