Februay 2019
Feb 16th to
March 10th
We are away on holiday from the 16th Feb to the 10th of
March so there
will be no
blog but our
friends Pete
and Jenny are
on Mull
looking after
the house and
Lucy, and will
be here to
answer any booking enquiries by phone or email that come in. The blog will
recommence as
soon as we
return.
Feb 12th to 15th
Very windy weather and
somewhat showery so my forays
into the world of Mull's
wildlife watching was limited. I
did however get 3 new birds for
my Mull year list in the four
days since my last posting, the
most exciting for me was a
Purple Sandpiper seen at Lainne
Sguere near Calgary, I did not
see one on Mull last year but
did see them on their breeding
grounds in the Arctic in June.
Other firsts for the year, a
lovely little Goldcrest in trees
by the toilets at Calgary which
is the area I usually see my
first one of the year. The final
new bird of the year which was
today when trying to stand up in
a gale at Cailaich I saw my
first Gannet of the year taking
my Mull total for 2019 to 94
bird species. Todays photos show
that Spring is on the way,
flowering Gorse bushes,
Shelducks arriving back in good
numbers and a flock of at least
8 Mistle Thrushes. The other
photos are just beautiful places
and animals that you can see
everywhere on Mull when out and
about that bring joy to your
heart and make you forget all
the troubles in the world and of
course that great divider
brexit.
Feb 7th to 11th
Poor weather on most
days prevented me from much
birding although every time I
have gone out wildlife watching,
however briefly, I have seen
Otter, on the 11th, a much
better day I saw 3. On
yesterdays excursion I also saw
a Golden Eagle, 4 White-tailed
Sea Eagles, lots of Red Deer and
Pam saw a Hen Harrier, she has
seen more Hen Harriers than me
just going out locally. On my
way home from Tobermory today I
spotted a family of 4 Whooper
Swans on Loch Torr and managed
to get a Photo or two, I also
got the this photo of a pair of
Goosander at Dervaig. Dropping
off the hill into Dervaig today
a Sparrowhawk flew in front of
the van giving me a very special
sighting. Good news on the water
sample, all clear so the water
is very tasty no chemicals and
won't hurt you. Lucy has
completely recovered from her 24
hour poorly stomach and we have
blocked the big shed doors in
case she was finding something
not really good for her in
there. The mini bus is booked in
for its annual service and MOT
so it should be ready for our
last season of doing tours and
it is very pleasing how many of
our guests and now friends want
to come out with us one last
time before we retire on July
14th. Finally I took the picture
of the Rainbow, there were
several to choose from on one of
my jouneys trying to bring
Mull's wildlife to my blog
readers.
Feb 4th, 5th and 6th
All 3 days on one blog
as I have been busy with the
water supply before it was
tested, this involved a trip to
Tobermory for supplies for the
system and on my way to
Tobermory there were 2 Whooper
Swans on the Mishnish Lochs.
returning home I unblocked the
filter in the dam as the heavy
rain had brought some debris
down the burn. The water was
tested and looked by far the
cleanest that had been tested on
the day, it was perfectly clear,
let's hope it passes all the
other tests. As I had been very
busy on the water supply I
decided to go birding on the
6th, within a few minutes it
started raining but before it
became a monsoon I managed a
photo of the Highland Calf
below, my first newborn of the
year. I also got a photo of this
flying juvenile White-tailed Sea
Eagle, I saw 2 more through the
torrential rain later in the
day. One Otter was seen feeding,
unlike me it didn't mind getting
wet as long as good meal was
involved. Returning home I took
the Blue Tit and Coal Tit photos
on our feeders, I also took one
of a Great Tit but even with my
not so good photography it ended
up on the cutting room floor.
Feb 3rd
It rained on ice, it
was treacherous out there this
morning, even the water ladies
decided travelling was not a
good idea this morning. Our
friend and neighbour John came
round to fit my new UV filter
and stayed for a chat, brexit
came up in the conversation
although we tried very hard to
avoid it, I think it has become
more of a topic for the British
than the weather these days.
Anyway on a positive note I am
now ready for the water sampler
on Tuesday. Lucy the dog has
eaten something that doesn't
agree with her and is in the dog
house litterally and also on
rations, she will feel better in
the morning with a bit of luck
and I have stopped her getting
into the shed unless accompanied
by an adult.
Feb
2nd
Another sunny cold day
and it happened again, yes they
went sea swimming again only
more of them this time, I on the
other hand changed the water
filter so I could at least say I
had done something and then
watched the Rugby and Football
in the warmth, I must be getting
nesh.
Feb
1st
Today the sun was
shining and it even reached 5
degrees celcius so what a good
day for birding, well I thought
it was but Pam and her nutty
friends thought sea swimming was
the order of the day, well the
sea temperature was 7.8 degrees
so it was warmer in the water
than out of it, in their
opinion. I opted for the first
option and went birding this
morning and the highlight was a
pair of Golden Eagles which flew
right over my head giving me a
special treat, just me and the
Eagles enjoying the winter
sunshine on Mull what could be
better, certainly not sea
swimming, brrr. As well as the
Golden Eagles I saw 4
White-tailed Sea Eagles, Common
Seals, Red Deer and 3 Otters not
a bad trip out. This afternoon I
went to clean out the water
supply only to find the stop tap
to empty the holding tank was
frozen solid in a 63 ml pipe, it
took an hour of hot water
carrying from the kitchen up the
hill to free it which meant it
was nearly dark before I had
completed the job.
February 2018
Feb27th and 28th
Great Britain
is suffering in snow,
ice and freezing
temperatures and for
once Mull has some great
weather sunshine light
winds and dry, in short
glorious and fantastic
birding conditions and
what have I been doing
making the puppy escape
proof that's what. The
good news is that we
finished this evening
and our new puppy should
be very secure so I
should be able to get
out again in March and
look forward to bringing
you up to date on what
we are doing on Mull.
Now as most of you
regular visitors to Mull
know we do not have any
Red Squirrels on Mull so
Pam decided to make one
of her own in the shape
of a 1000 piece jigsaw,
it took her ages and
this is the result.
Feb 26th
No birding .........
Just fencing to keep the pup
in...... Thanks Nick.
Feb 25th
Today I had a very
sore head and no it was not a
hangover although I suppose you
could say it was a definite
hangover from cracking my head
open on an opened window frame.
This afternoon we took the tour
van in for its annual service
and mot and on our way back we
stopped at Dervaig and saw the Kingfisher
the first time we have seen
it there this year, nice to see
it back. The usual stuff was
present at Dervaig incuding a
very nice pair of Goosanders. We
also went to Cailaich where Pam
saw her Jack Snipe and I managed
a nice photograph of a skylark
with a very good crest.
Feb 24th
A trip round the block
via Calgary and Torloisk and
over the hill road back home. At
Calgary there were lots of
Common Gulls and Oystercatchers
and a single Redshank, on the
water 3 Great Northern Divers, a
single Shag and the Black
Throated Diver was still
present. There were Ravens,
Hooded Crows, Buzzards, a Kestel
and Red Deer seen on the road to
Torloisk and not a dicky Bird on
the Hill Road back to Dervaig.
At Dervaig amongst the Common
and Herring Gulls was a single
Lesser Black Backed Gull my
first on Mull this Year, also
present were several Common
Snipe, at least 3 Redshank, and
a single Greenshank. On
returning home I took Lucy our
new Pup for a walk in the garden
and as I was talking to our new
friend failed to notice the
opened bathroom window of Inch
Hame the larger of out two
self-catering cottages and
smacked my head on the corner of
the window. I sank to my knees
as the blood flowed profusely
determindly hanging on to Lucy's
lead, needless to say after we
had stemmed the flow of blood
not much was accomplished in the
afternoon. This evening we went
round to Nick and Catherines our
friends and neighbours and had a
lovely meal and a good time and
Lucy behaved perfectly. one
thing about today, I now know
why I never really got into
Status Quo, I'm not keen on head
banging....Too Bl..dy painfull.
Feb
23rd
Today I reached my
100th bird species seen on Mull
in 2018 when I went to Cailaich
Point, as I walked towards the
bog a Jack Snipe rose up
from underneath my feet and flew
about 20 yards before landing in
the middle of the bog. I was
doubly pleased as this was a
species I had missed out on last
year. On my way out of Cailaich
I saw some Golden Plovers in a
field to far away to photograph
but seen well through my newly
serviced telescope.
Feb 22nd
A successful trip out
to look for and see the Little
Gull that has been hanging
about on Loch Na Keal, it was in
a group of mixed Gulls and Shags
that had found a shoal of fish
and they were taking the
opportunity to feed up whilst
they could. The action lasted
about 10 minutes and it was well
worth getting nearly frozen to
death in the very cold wind to
witness it. We saw a flock of
Skylarks on our travels another
sign that Winter is nearly over.
A total of 4 Otters were seen
and by using field craft I
managed to get a reasonable
photo of one and it did not know
I was there. Two White-tailed
Sea Eagles were seen as were
both Red and Fallow Deer on a
nice trip out with Pam.
Feb
21st
I left Arthur at home
doing his George Formby
impressions (cleaning windows)
not one his favorite jobs but at
least he had Lucy our new
Sheltie Pup for company. On a
trip down the glen road to have
coffee with a friend I was lucky
enought to see a Kestrel flying
along side the car before
stopping to hover, 2 White-tail
Eagles sitting at he top of a
hill, Ravens, Buzzard, Red Deer
and a hunting Hen Harrier. My
friends garden feeder had lots
of siskins and a Blue Tit. Today
we had a visit from the Chub man
an annual visit to check out all
our fire extinguishers were in
good condition and servicing
them, another job done for the
up-coming season.
Feb 19th and 20th
We are gearing up for
the up-coming season with Pam
Spring cleaning and I clearing
the garden of branches which
have fallen during Winter gales
and I have also started valeting
the mini-van for the tours. and
cleaning windows. We went
briefly to Calgary on the 19th
and saw the Black Throated Diver
was still there as was the Great
Northern Diver. On the 20th I
managed to get out in the
afternoon and had a great view
of a juvenile White-tailed Sea
Eagle which flew right past me
and a very good sighting of a
Kestrel, I also saw Goosander,
Red Breasted Mergansers, Wigeon
and Goldeneye and a close
Slavonian Grebe. It was mammals
however that were most prominant
with both Grey and Common Seals
seen and also Red and Fallow
Deer although it was an Otter
seen to far away to photograph
that really was the highlight.
One other bird which I saw was a
Dipper back on sight after all
the Winter rain and snow.
Feb 18th
A trip to Calgary Bay
With Pam and we saw a Black
THroated diver just starting to
change into its Summer breeding
plumage always a treat to see
this birders iconic bird. Also
at Calgary were Shags,
Oystercatchers, Great Northern
Divers, Curlews and Black
Guilliemot in full Summer
Breeding plumage. We had a (m)
moment in our garden today, a
single Starling turned up, this
could hardly be called a
mermeration. Also making a first
appearance in the garden this
year 3 Mistle Thrushes although
I think they were just passing
through. On a cautious note
there has been a lot of trees
damaged in the vicinity of our
local pair of White tailed
Eagles nest, after all their
hard work I hope the nest tree
survives this year.
Feb 17th
I was unable to go
with Arthur yesterday as I was
making home-made chutney ready
for the tours this season so I
joined a couple of friends in
the afternoon on a Snowbunting
hunt. After a longish drive
and a
fairly long walk we arrived at the spot
where Arthur had seen the Snow
Buntings .... nothing ... we
decided to go and sit on a close
by wooden bridge over the river
when we suddenly heard a small
bird call as it flew by, one
single male Snow Bunting came
and sat on a mound and posed
whilst my friends took photo's
before flying off again in
search for his friends. We sat
on the bridge enjoying the
spectacular views around us of
snow capped mountains with
eagles flying high (and
sometimes low) above them, in
total we saw 8 White-tail
Eagles, 6 Golden Eagles some
displaying, 5 Buzzards, 1
Peragrine and 1 Long-tail Tit,
this was on the walk back.
Feb
16th
Now I know we all like
a good moan but when service is
good it should be appreciated,
so I wish to thank BT and the
post office for their excellent
service regarding our new WIFI
router, Pam phoned BT at 9-30am
on Thursday and the replacement
arrived at Ardrioch on Mull in
the post on Friday afternoon, a
perfect responce, if only our
WIFI speed was half as fast.
Today my birding was all
about Snow Buntings,
I had heard there had been some
seen on Mull but it required a
fairly long walk after a longish
drive to go and look for them, I
was lucky to find them at the
same spot that they had been
seen before and after watching
them for some time took a few
photos, these two are the best.
I came home with some of my
muscles telling me I need to get
out and walk a lot more often.
Feb 15th
We woke up to a
massive thunder storm which blew
out the WIFI router in the
office so we cannot upload this
blog at the moment which is a
pain. The village of Dervaig
across the water is completely
without power. We have just
bought new mattresses for all
the self-catering beds and one
for ourselves as well, we should
sleep well tonight and I hope my
back appreciates the firmer
support. The Brambling are back
in the garden as is the Great
Spotted Woodpecker and
Treecreeper. We have lots of
Siskins in the garden as well as
our other regulars and Lucy does
not know which way to look when
I take her out on walks of
discovery around the garden. A
note on the weather, wetter and
windier and colder than
yesterday if that's possible.
Feb
14th
Out and about this
afternoon in very cold, windy
and squally conditions,
certainly not very pleasant. we
were lucky to see an Otter
fairly close although when I got
out of the car to try for a
photo I could barely stand up.
Other mammals seen were Common
Seals and Red Deer. A skein of
Barnacle Geese were flying over
Inch Kenneth and there were also
Canada and Greylag Geese seen in
good numbers. A flock of
Fieldfares in a field foraging
as a pair of ravens looked on.
On Loch Na Keal we saw 5
Razorbills, 3 Goosander and a
single Glaucous Gull, also Great
Northern Divers and Red Breasted
Mergansers on the Loch. A flock
of Turnstone landed on the
Lochside joining Oystercatchers
already there, other Waders seen
were Curlews, Lapwings and
Redshank. Finally we did see
some birds of prey, Kestrel,
Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk, it
is good to be back in spite of
the weather.
Feb 13th
We spent the day
unpacking and getting Lucy used
to her new home, she already
thinks she is in charge taking
over my favorite seat in the
living room. She has settled in
very well and has had several
walks around the garden to get
her used to her new
surroundings. I hope to get out
birding tomorrow so normal
service will be resumed.
Feb
8th to 12th
We have had a lovely
time with family down in
Cheshire and our son and
daughter-in-law took advantage
and took some time out for
themselves leaving us to look
after the Grandchildren, as you
can imagine Pam was in her
element even if we were both
knackered by the end of the day,
we slept well, very well.
We picked Lucy our new Sheltie
pup up on the 10th and brought
her home to Mull on the 12th,
the good news she was not sick
at all in the car and seems
quite at home in her new dog
cage. The birds were quite happy
to see us return as the feeders
were all empty, the neighbours
were also happy as they had
inadverdently been feeding some
of our birds whilst we were
away.
Feb 4th to 7th
A quick visit down to Cheshire
to visit Arthurs Dad and
meet our new Sheltie pup, Lucy.
We are both so excited and we
can't wait to pick her up in a
couple of days to bring home to
Mull.
Feb 3rd
There is not a lot to
write about today although Pam
and I were out early doors and
did see not one but two Barn
Owls, Pams first and second of
the year.
Feb 2nd
Pam had another good
day today as she saw the local
Sparrowhawk at last, she also
saw a Golden Eagle flying very
close to Ardrioch not a bird we
often see near our house, over
the back ridge, yes but rarely
on the Loch side. I had to go to
the dentist today and for one of
my teeth it was not good news it
was decided that it was too far
gone to save so it has to come
out, I have an appointment in
the near future, Oh Joy. We had
a nice meal at the Mishnish in
Tobermory last night with our
friends Jac and Mike, they both
had some very nice steaks and I
because of my tooth had to go
with the Salmon and noodle
option, before you get too
sympathetic I really enjoyed it
as I don't got noodles at all as
Pam doesn' like them. We are
hoping to get a new Sheltie
puppy soon, fingers crossed.
Feb 1st
Winter is officially
two thirds over and if like me
you are looking for signs of
Spring then look no further. I
was out with Pam today and
between the squally showers it
was beautiful sunshine even if
it was a gale force westerly
wind. The first sign of Spring
was a beautiful Grey Wagtail
precariously perched on power
lines, certainly in the wind but
also in wonderfull sunshine.
Also enjoying the sun and wind
was a Golden Eagle ball diving
just for fun or to impress a
female, probably both. Finally
the new year flowers are
starting to appear with of
course Snowdrops leading the way
as usual although we have also
got Primroses out at Ardrioch in
sheltered areas. So my advice
forget the Winter and get out
and look for signs of Spring in
your area. Birdwise start
listening for calling Great Tits
always nice to hear and it
brings joy after the dark days
of Winter.
February 2017
Feb 28th
Today was one of those days
when Mull is seen at its best, yes
it was cold but with only a breeze
it was very pleasant and the views
were spectacular, a great day to
be out and about. I was enthralled
by a Golden Eagle today flying
head on into the wind as if to say
this is my space and for a while I
shared it with him. The problem I
had were the Lapwings with their
iredescent colouring on special
view with the sun on their backs
on the opposite side of the road
to the Eagle. I then saw my first
Pied Wagtail on Mull this year. My
cup runneth over.
Feb27th
A mainly
beautiful day and I saw the
Sparrowhawk fly through the
garden disturbing the peace of
all the birds enjoying the
weather and in full voice
wecoming a sign of Sprig
weather. Down on the Lochside
were Goosander, a flock of
Wigeon and 3 Greenshank and a
small party of Red Deer on the
hillside. A White-tailed Sea
Eagle lazily flew past and the
2 Jays put in an appearance. I
had a couple of friends
visiting today and it was good
to catch up with them.
feb26th
A long walk
with Sally in the rain brought
little in the way of wildlife
although Siskins were back in
the garden today and a
beautiful Yellowhammer put in
an appearance. Pam busy down
in Cheshire helping our son
and Daughter-in law prpare to
move into their new house
tomorrow.
Feb 25th
Today I had
a fantastic view of a Golden
Eagle, it took me by complete
surprise as it was in an area
I have not seen Goldies for
srveral years and the last
time they were there was due
to disturbance in their
traditional territory. Another
bird which reappeared today
was our Great Spotted
Woodpecker in the garden, it
to was on a feeder I had not
seenit on before and so I
almost missed it. I think we
are in for a dry Summer as I
cannot imagine it can keep
raining this much for that
much longer.
Feb 24th
A monsoon
is expected this afternoon so
I went out for the morning
covering one of our tour
routes in just three hours, it
normally takes seven. In the
time I was out I saw 46 bird
species and 4 types of mammal.
The mammal species seen were
Red Deer everywhere, recently
we have struggled to find Red
Deer but today it was no
trouble at all. Both types of
Seal were seen and a very
hungry Otter devouring fish as
if it had not eaten for days.
White-tailed Sea Eagles,
Buzzards and Kestrels were the
only birds of prey seen but I
was overwhelmed with Waders,
the pick of which were
Turnstone, BarTailed Godwits
and Ringed Plovers. Ducks seen
were Wigeon, Shelduck,
Mallard, Red Breasted
Mergansers and some beautiful
Teal.
Pam saw the 2 Jays in the
garden again this morning, she
said they were making an awful
racket.
Feb 23rd
A short
trip around the local area
with Pam and we saw 4
White-tailed Sea Eagles, 2
flying and 2 others around a
nest site. Quite close to home
we saw 3 Red Deer and I even
managed to take a photo of one
of them. The best sighting of
the trip however was of a
field full of Skylarks, a
quick count prodeced between
45 and 50 birds in the flock
all together, it was quite a
spectacle. The good news from
this sighting is that in spite
of all the wind, rain, sleet
and snow, Spring is just
around the corner.
Feb 22nd
A six mile
walk through Aros Park almost
to the end of the double road
and back brought little in the
way of wildlife except for a
White-tailed Sea Eagle. On the
other hand it did a lot in the
way it tired out Sally who did
nothing but sleep this
afternoon, It has to be said
that Pam and I did not do much
either. It is difficult for me
to admit Pam is fitter than me
now, she puts it down to
pilates, I put it down to me
being older but that will
never change. I did take a
couple of photo's on the walk
as some of the views were
delightful and I needed the
rest.
Feb 21st
The weather
was driech, windy and feeling
cold but intrepid as I am I
went out this morning and the
first thing that I noticed was
that White-tailed Sea Eagles
were at their nest sites, this
is not that unusual as they
start laying eggs in early
March. Another bird which we
see more of in late February
early March are Mistle
Thrushes and this morning was
no exception with 9 in a field
near Killiechronan. I just
missed a male Hen Harrier at
Lagganulva but was showed a
photo of it taken by a visitor
just before I arrived.
Remember the TV programme
Bullseye? this is what I could
have seen. Drat and double
drat, more tomorrow.
Feb 20th
Another
mixed day weatherwise but I
did manage a short time out
wildlife watching and had two
highlights, the first a Golden
Eagle just flying into a
strong breeze and just seeming
to be imobile as it used the
wind to dry through its wings.
Secondly a group of Waders
with counts of 27 Lapwings and
25 Curlews and several
Oystercatchers, this is my
favorite type of birding as I
really like Wading birds. I
took the Mini-Bus to Tobermory
this morning to have stickers
put on the new rear door.
Feb 19th
It is that
time of year again when we
have to start getting ready
for our visitors. Pam has to
spring clean the self-catering
cottages and making sure they
are equipped for all guests
needs, we had the fire
extinguishers all checked last
week and we will be putting
new batteries in all our fire
alarms. I am getting the
mini-bus serviced, washed,
valeted and having it
inspected by the council
garrage in preparation for the
new season. We still don't
know why the council have to
inspect the vehicle other than
to show you have all the
relevent paper work, licence,
tax and insurance etc. We had
a Hen Harrier fly over the
garden today and Pam disturbed
a Woodcock when she went to
the compost heap. New birds in
the garden today 3 Starlings,
hardly a murmeration.
Feb 18th
Today the
weather was pretty awful, low
cloud, drizzle and heavy rain.
It reminded me of this poem a
Mull visitor sent to the Oban
Times a few years ago, so for
those of you who don't know it
here it is.
It rained and rained, rained
and rained - the average was
well maintained,
When our fields were simply
bogs-It started raining cats
and dogs.
Then after a break of half an
hour-there came a most
refreshing shower.
And then the queerest thing of
all-a gentle rain began to
fall.
Next day was fairly dry-save
for a deluge from the sky.
This wetted people to the
skin-but after that the rain
set in.
We wondered
what's the next we'd get-as
sure as fate we got more wet.
But soon we'll have a change
again-and we shall have a
drop of
rain.
no wildlife watching
today????
Feb 17th
Isn't
birding wonderfull, sometimes
you go out and see very little
and other times you go out and
see lots, well today was the
former for me, yes I saw 48
species of bird but only one
real wow moment and that was a
male Hen Harrier which I drove
p, wo wow moments, firstly a
fabulous sighting of a sitting
Barn Owl and then a Red Deer
crossed the road in front of
us and at the same time a
mouse ran across the road and
at the same time a Frog hopped
across the road, a three in
one view and that was a wow
moment.
Feb 16th
Not a lot
to report today as it rained
all morning and I had to clear
up after the builder this
afternoon so I only had a
short time out and about. The
local pair of White-tailed Sea
Eagles were sitting above
their refurbished nest this
evening and we saw the
Kingfisher again at Dervaig.
ThIs year in Chinese New Year
terms must be the year of the
Snowdrop, I have never seen so
many since I came to live on
Mull and there must be twice
as many as usual in our
garden.
Feb 15th
We had some
unexpected and uninvited
guests through the garden last
night, yes the Red Deer had
returned causing Sally our dog
to go mental, at 1am when in a
deep sleep, I was in the words
of Queen Victoria " not
amused." I counted 6 Deer in
total through the light of my
tourch and so this morning Pam
and I went round our perimiter
fence to find where they had
got in. With the help of Sally
this did not take long and
after checking they had all
gone out the same way I spent
the afternoon Fixing the
hole where the Deer got In,
one for Sheila and Blake in
there somewhere, oh,
and that's another one and
thats all from todays West
Coast Story. Slighty
contrived but it is what we
were up to today.
Feb 14th
On a tour
today in windy conditions
gusting towards gale force and
feeling very cold. During the
day we saw 4 Golden Eagles, 3
White-tailed Sea Eagles,
numerous Buzzards and Kestrels
and a very close Merlin.
Mammals seen included 3
Otters, some Common Seals and
Red Deer, my guests were
really pleased with the Otters
as one was fairly close and
the other two gave us great
views as they played together
both in and out of the water.
By the end of the day we were
ready to warm up as the
bitingly cold wind was
reaching parts other winds
cannot reach even though we
were all dressed correctly for
the conditions.(Sorry, todays
photo's are a bit fuzzy wuzzy
due to the bright sun, Arthur
takes all his photo's on
automatic so he doesn't cater
for adverse weather
conditions, he just points and
shoots! - Pam)
Feb 13th
A bright,
windy day and just a quick
drive round the block as there
were jobs to be done. There
were 26 Wigeon Ducks at the
head of Loch Cuin an unusually
high for this species here. As
well as the usual Redshanks
and Greenshanks there were 25
Snipe, not a record count for
me but very close. Not a lot
else to report on the trip
except for a very good view of
a Black Throated Diver near
Calgary Bay, sometimes it is
not the quantity of birds seen
but the quality. We had 2 Jays
in the garden together this
morning, the first time we
have had 2 in at the same
time.
Feb 12th
We went for
a meal in Tobermory last night
with friends and on our way
home we saw 2 Long Eared Owls,
this is only the second time I
have seen this Owl since
coming to live on Mull 17
years ago. Today we went for a
shorter walk than yesterday to
the Salmon hatchery and found
a first year Glaucous Gull
amongst all the other Gulls at
the outfalls another first for
me on Mull this year. On the
walk we saw a White-tailed
Eagle flying in the distance
and at Loch Na Keal there were
plenty of Ducks to be found as
well as the Gulls, Starlings,
Turnstones, Redshanks and
Hooded Crows. On the drive
back home we found some Fallow
Deer in the woods and later
saw a close Golden Eagle
flying along a ridge, all in
all another good day in great
weather.
Feb 11th
A stroll
with Sally our dog would a
lovely way to enjoy this
lovely sunny calm day I told
Pam, to which she whole
heartedly agreed, so off we
set to Loch Frisa. STROLL,
THIS WAS A ROUTE MARCH, very
enjoyable if you want to keep
fit as my heart has not pumped
that hard since I can't
remember when. Sally, our dog
started off with a smile on
her face but was very soon
giving me quizzical looks as
if to say what's going on? The
return walk was more
leisurely, it needed to be or
else the over stretched health
service might have had to be
called in. We had an amusing
sight of a pair of
White-tailed Sea Eagles being
attacked by a Kestrel,
punching above his weight
methinks. A fabulous male Hen
Harrier huntng a ridge, worth
the walk in itself, several
Buzzards and views to die for.
This afternoo ZZZzzzzzzzzzz
and not a lot else??????
Feb 10th
After
yesterdays big day out we
stayed close to home
today, Pam suggested a
walk which sounded ok until
she also thought it would be a
good idea if we took some bags
and picked up the litter from
the side of the road between
our house and the Torloisk
turn about 2 thirds of a mile.
Do you know how much litter
you can pick up in 2 thirds of
a mile? A van boot full thats
what, yes we had to go and
fetch the van and boxes to put
all the rubbish in. Why can,t
people take their rubbish
home? It is know wonder that
sheep are lame or ill with the
amount of broken bottles and
plastic crisp packets we
picked up. On the wildlife
front our pair of White-tailed
Sea Eagles seem to be making
themselves at home and there
were more Redshank at Dervaig
today joining the Greenshanks
and 22 Snipe but as a treat
there was also a Grey Wagtail
which was a very pleasant
surprise.
Feb 9th
A dry cold
breezy day and a day out with
friends Andy and Helen Mortley
wildlife artists from
Frachadil House near Calgary,
check out their artwork it is
amazing. The day took us along
the West coast of Mull and
right down to the Ross and
yes, today one of the first
birds we saw was a Golden
Eagle and it gave us a super
view for several minutes
before closing its wings and
diving down towards its nest
site. I managed 2 new birds
for my Mull year list, Jackdaw
and Skylarks, we saw 18
Skylarks at Fidden and a large
flock of 700+ Starlings here
as well, the largest flock of
Starlings I have ever seen on
Mull.
Feb 8th
A cold
sunny day and the birds in our
garden were looking
spectacular in their shiny new
plumage looking its best with
the sunshine on it, I think
the Blue Tits look particulaly
stunning. At the end of the
Loch at Dervaig this afternoon
it was the Little and large
show, just beyond the Salmon
trap for readers who know the
spot was a Little Grebe nearby
was a large White-tailed Sea
Eagle on the smallest rock it
could find to stand on, it
looked precariously balanced.
Closer in the Bay were 5
Redshank, 2 Oystercatchers and
a count of 15 very industrious
Snipe.
Feb 7th
A dull damp
day but I still went out on
reconoitre for this years
tours and saw 50 species of
bird and 4 mammals,
unfortunately due to the
adverse conditions I did not
see any Golden Eagles but I
was fortunate to see a couple
of Mulls rarer species in
Whooper Swans and Common
Scoters. There were lots of
Great Northern Divers and
Slavonian Grebes I also saw
most of Mulls Wader species
including Turnstone and Golden
Plover. Redwing and Fieldfares
were seen as were White-tailed
Sea Eagles and a Hen Harrier
hunting a hillside as I was
searching for Golden Eagles.
Red Deer were plentiful today
and both types of Seal were
seen in the water not on land
it was too cold for basking
but mammals of the day were a
mum and cub Otter, they took
some finding but worth the
cold just to see them.
Feb 6th
A garden bird day with
Siskins now appearing in
growing numbers, Treecreepers
everyday if you are on the
lookout for them and the Great
Spotted Woodpeckers are now
regular visitors. I counted 9
Goldfinches and 9 Greenfinches
in the garden at the same time
but this is minute numbers
compared to the number of
Chaffinches we get. Coal Tits,
Blue Tits and Great Tits are
feeding up fast to combat the
wet weather we have been
getting lately. If you get the
chance to see a Dunnock in
your gardens please take a
good look at this often
overlooked little bird, it
might not be the brightest
bird in the garden but is
worth a good look as it is
quite a character in its own
right.
Feb 5th
Today was all about waders,
with large flocks of Lapwing,
Curlews and Oystercatchers at
Lagganulva Bay. It was
wonderful to see them all at
high tide in beautiful
sunshine. We saw 14 Snipe at
Dervaig and a couple of
Redshank here as well, the
Snipe were all probing for
food as if they had not eaten
for a week. Red Deer on
hilltops and 3 more
White-tailed Sea eagles were
seen but I had to get home to
watch Manchester City just get
a last gasp win over Swansea
on Sky television.
Feb 4th
A walk to
the fish farm with Pam and
Sally our dog and we saw 5
juvenile White-tailed Sea
Eagles which disturbed all the
other birds on and around the
end of Loch Na Keal. A Golden
Eagle was flying over the
hills in the distance, master
of all it surveyed. The ducks,
particularly the Goldeneyes,
were resplendent in their
breeding plumage, then two
Shelducks flew in. Two other
birds of note today were a
Dipper on Loch Cuin near us at
Ardrioch and the Carrion Crow
still visible at the Knock
sewage outfalls.
Feb 3rd
Returned
home and this is a photo taken
from Oban, withthe hills of
Mull in the background.
February 2016
Feb 23rd to 29th
The main drive
up to Ardrioch
from the road
re-surfaced
with type one
gravel using
my trusty
Wheelbarrow
and shovel and
a hired Wacka
plate. My
thanks to the
driver of the
delivery wagon
for putting
the stone in
piles down the
drive and to
Nic Davis for
his help
levelling the
stone. I used
up the 20 ml
stone left
over from the
driveways to
Inch Hame and
the Sheiling
to create
parking areas
for the
self-catering
guests and for
vehicles for
guests taking
one of our
Discover Mull
Wildlife
Tours. Phew,
now I can get
back to
birding and
wildlife
watching, look
out for my
March
Sightings.
Feb 22nd
The
finished driveways to Inch
Hame and the Sheiling. On the
birding front we saw our first
Great Spotted Woodpecker in
the garden during our working
parties and on our way to get
the Mini-bus serviced we saw a
Polecat-ferret and our first
Tawny Owl of the Year.
Feb 15th to 21st
A week of
drive maintenance with mud
removed, old stone removed to
main drive, driveway to Inch
Hame widened. This was all
done by myself with the aid of
modern technology, a
wheelbarrow, a shovel and a
brush. Then with help from
good friends Nick, Mike and
Jaq we re-stoned the Inch Hame
drive from 15 tonnes of stone,
we did not use it all. Now I'm
Knackered!!!
Valentines
Day and still home alone with
Sally our dog for company but
the weather is still
fantastic. I went out for a
short drive out and had a
wildlife watching experience
which both Pam and I love, a
male Hen Harrier hunting on
the ridges and valleys above
Tostary. The bird flew back
and forth with the lovely
sunlight iridescent on its
grey white back with its jet
black wing tips, I was
entranced and thought to
myself Pam would have loved
this, so perhaps I wasn't
alone on Valentines Day after
all.
Feb 13th
Very cold, frosty start to
the day and our local
Sparrowhawk flew through the
garden very early this
morning, I think it was more
case of warming up than
hunting as none of the little
birds that frequent the garden
had appeared yet. A trip to
Cailaich Point and a brief
view of a Common Snipe and a
Great Northern Diver was in
the Bay. There were 2
White-tailed sea Eagles near
the point and a large hurry of
Gulls out on the sea where
there must have been a shoal
of fish but no sign of any
cetaceans.
Feb 12th
I have now finished in the
garden and started on the
drives and have been
wheelbarrowing stone hither
and thither, this is very hard
work for a bloke my age as my
back keeps telling me, I knew
selling the tractor and back
bucket would come back to
haunt me. The only break I had
during the day was when our
local White-tailed Sea Eagle
flew over being mobbed by a
pair of Ravens and a Buzzard.
Feb 11th
I took Pam down to the
ferry this morning in very
bright sunlight and light
winds so she was very happy.
On our way down to Craignure
we saw a dipper on the Aros
river. We stopped at the Golf
couse at Craignure and saw a
Turnstone, Ringed Plover and a
possible Dunlin but it kept
well hidden so we could not be
sure. Pam has a long journey
to go and she has to take, in
our car to the ferryport, then
the ferry to Oban, bus to
Glasgow, Shuttle bus to the
airport, 6 hour wait for her
flight to Exeter, then is
picked up by our son-in-law
Simon for the final stretch to
Brixham in Devon. She Made
It.
Feb 10th
Another
great day and as Pam is off to
see our Devon Grandchildren
tomorrow we decided to go
wildlife watching this
morning. We saw at least 5
Golden and White-tailed Sea
Eagles. Buzzards and Kestrels
and lots of Red Deer and
Common Seals. Other birds of
note seen were a Dipper at
Knock Bridge and the lovely
little Treecreeper in the
photograph which kept us
enthralled with its antics at
the foot of a tree by the car
park for Loch Ba. On returning
home for lunch I took this
picture of a Hooded Crow which
has become a regular garden
species. The Hooded Crow is a
close relative of the all
Black Carrion Crow seen in
England and southern Scotland
but now regarded as a seperate
species although they will
occasionally interbreed.
 
The lovely
weather continued today and
Pam and I went out to Dervaig
early this morning, a journey
of just over a mile. Within a
couple of minutes we had
witnessed a Sparrowhawk
chasing a Buzzard, a hovering
Kestrel and a hunting female
Hen Harrier, as I mentioned in
a recent blog we are very
fortunate with the amount of
wildlife we have in the North
West of Mull. At the end of
the Loch at Dervaig there were
Little Grebes, Oystercatchers,
Curlews and a Greenshank, not
bad for 6 minutes wildlife
watching but we had to go back
home more work to be done
while the weather lasts.
Feb 8th
A beautiful
day after the poor weather of
the last 3 days so Pam and I
went out this afternoon and we
were able to find a single Red
Grouse which flew across the
road in front of us at Reudle,
my first Red Grouse of the
year and Pam's first for 3
years so she was well chuffed.
An Otter with 2 young cubs on
our tour route was a nice
sighting as were the 2 Golden
Eagles inter-acting with a
White-tailed Sea Eagle. As
usual we saw a lot of Great
Northern Divers but I have
still to see any Red or Black
Throated Divers this year. The
Mute Swans at Salen looked
lovely in the evening sunlight
and we saw a Whimbrel and 2
Bar-tailed Godwits roosting
with the Curlews and
Oystercatchers at the castle
end of Aros Bay.
It was a case of the day
after the night before and
although the mind was willing
the body was weak so very
little work got done today and
we enjoyed a very early night.
Getting older has
compensations but I can assure
you partying to the early
hours is not one of them. On
the plus side the weather
today was foul so I did not
feel we had missed out on
anything.
Feb 6th
We are having a dinner
party tonight so Pam is very
busy and getting stressed, I
am doing the best I can to
help by staying out of the
way, by the way this increases
her stress levels. We saw the
Treecreeper today it comes to
the garden every day although
we don't always see it. We had
a female Hen Harrier hunting
the field in front of the
house today, it doesn't appear
that often but is a great
sighting when it does. The
party was a great success,
well done Pam.
Feb 5th
Not a lot to report except
for a fantastic sighting of a
Woodcock a bird we see quite
often in the winter but not
usually as well as this one.
Feb 4th
Two very
fuzzy pictures taken through
drizzle at Dervaig this
morning but proof that I did
see a second winter Glaucous
Gull, note the trailing white
wings and white tip to its
bill and at last I managed to
see the Kingfisher, it is
there if you look carefully.
These are birds not seen on
Mull every year so two good
finds for my year list. We had
friends Jaqui and Mike round
for Haggis, Neeps and Tatties
last night a few days late for
burns night but a nice evening
none the less. Late this
evening just before dark Pam
and I saw a female Hen Harrier
out hunting just up the road
from Ardrioch, we are blessed
with the wildlife we see in
our part of Mull.
 
It was a
bad day for Partridges as
after all our years at
Ardrioch our Weeping Pear tree
had produced no golden pears
we made the decision to cut it
down as it was blocking the
view from the kitchen in Inch
Hame. The picture below is of
three, tree fellers wondering
what to do after felling the
Pear tree, blokes thinking,
now that is dangerous.
Feb
2nd
The day
after the storm and birds
returning to the feeders
included the Brambling which
was nice to see. I went out
and about and on my way home
over the hill road from
Torloisk to Dervaig just
before dark I saw a hunting
Short Eared Owl my first of
the year. White-tailed Sea
eagles are now renewing their
bonds in readiness for the
2016 breeding season.
Feb 1st
Storm Henry,
batten down the hatches again,
at this rate we will have no
branches left on our trees in
the garden.
Febuary
2015
Feb 28th
The
last day of
February and true
to the last few
days it rained
hard and the wind
blew all day but I
still went out to
see if I could
find anything in
the bird world to
write about.
Waders, I saw a
few but nothing
new to mention,
Eagles one or two
but then again
they were the
exception, I
carried on when
hope was gone, but
I still had
expectations. Of
course I saw the
ducks, all of the
usual persuasion
and then as all
seemed lost a duck
appeared, to
my elation. Oh no,
no Mallard this, a
Gadwall
bliss, in all
its splendour. Oh
what I'd had to
do, to get this
view, i'd
travelled each and
every highway, and
more much more
than this, it had
made My Day.
 Thanks
to Alan 'mullbirds'
Spellman for this
photo of a male
Gadwall.
Feb 27th
After
last nights Owls
we went out to
look for the Red
Grouse but no
luck, Red Grouse
on Mull is
becoming something
of a bogey bird
for Pam, if I am
out on my own I
seem to see them
if Pam is with me
we don't, such is
life. We did see a
pair of
White-tailed Sea
Eagles sitting on
an Eagle love
seat, she was
gazing out at the
lovely view, he
gazing longingly
at her, well it is
nearly 12 months
since they last
made young ones so
it is quite
understandable if
love is in the
air....?
Feb 26th
Pam and I
went out looking for Owls this
evening but the first wildlife
we saw was a mammal, no not
Red Deer although we did see
one of them this was a mammal
seen only occasionally on
Mull, a Polecat Ferret
investigating Rabbit holes. As
we journied on we put up a
Woodcock but still no Owls.
Turning round and returning
home our luck changed and we
had a fabulous sighting of a Tawny
Owl sitting on a
passing place pole giving us a
good view for over half a
minute before it flew off.
Then as we neared Dervaig we
spotted a Barn Owl
hunting, flying, hovering and
then diving down on prey, we
could still see it in the long
grass before it got up and
flew off hunting some more. We
were able to watch this
spectacular for over 5 minutes
before it dissappeared behind
a knoll out of view of the car
lights. A very worthwhile trip
out and enjoyed enormously by
both of us. Thanks to our
friend David Mitchell for
these 2 photo's.
Feb 23rd-25th
Very wet
windy weather with little to
report except I added Canada
goose to my year list. Pam and
I took the van to Fort William
for a service and we saw an
Otter on our way to the ferry
which was nice to see. 7
Woodcock flew up from the
roadside verges as we made our
way to the ferry as well which
was a bit of a surprise as
they have not done that before
this winter. Hopefully the
winds will drop and the rain,
hail and sleet will cease and
I will get out and bring you
more sightings tomorrow.
Feb 22nd
A very wet
day with little to report bird
wise except I did see my first
Canada Geese of the year
today, it is not very often
that Canada Geese are sighting
of the day. Our friends Mike
and Jaq called in this
afternoon and stayed for tea,
they have bought a house in
Salen and will come up to Mull
in the near future when they
have all their council plans
and warrants in place, they
can't wait in spite of our
attrocious weather at the
moment.
Feb 21st
I was
leading the Mull Bird Club
outing around North West Mull
today and despite some members
braving difficult driving
conditions to make it to the
start at Dervaig 19 intrepid
souls did turn up. A
White-tailed Eagle at our
first stop was a bright way to
start our day with Goldeneye.
Little Grebe, Greenshank,
Snipe, Buzzard, Heron and Red
Breasted Mergansers seen here
as well. We had great
sightings of Golden Eagles and
another close White-tailed
Eagle encounter during the
day, with Kestrel, Sparrowhawk
and Hen Harrier being the
other birds of prey seen. As
we were having lunch a small
flock of 8 Skylarks dropped in
just returning to Mull and the
first I have seen this year. A
total of 43 birds were seen on
a blustery cold day and along
with mammals Red Deer, Common
Seals and Rabbits a good time
was had by all. The day
finished with a magnificent
afternnoon tea provided by
Jeanette at the Ballygown
Restaurant which was enjoyed
by us all and with a big thank
you from us all a lovely day
out came to an end.
Feb 20th
A trip into
Tobermory today to fill up the
van and so I took the
opportunity for a walk into
Aros Park to try and see some
small birds, the walk did me
good as I gave my knee a good
workout, this should please
the physiotherapist whose
appointment I missed on
Wednesday. Blue Tits, Great
Tits, Coal Tits and
Chaffinches in abundance in
the park and I did get a nice
photo of a Robin singing its
little heart out. I also took
a picture of Tobermory from
the pier in the park as it
shows the Chocolate Box
appearance of Mull's main town
so well. As I write todays
blog a Sparrowhawk has just
flown past the office window
scattering all in its wake.
I was at my
numpty best today going to a
doctors appointment and pysio
only to discover the
appointments were for
yesterday, my appologies to
all concerned it was a genuine
mistake. It was very windy and
perishing cold today but out
and about I did see 3 Golen
Eagles, a White-tailed Sea
Eagle, both Red and Fallow
Deer and some Common Seals. It
was a toss up which of us was
the coldest and I think it was
probably me anyway it took me
long enough to warm up when I
got home.
Feb 18th
Not a lot
to report today as I did not
get out a lot and when I did
it was very quiet and the only
notable birds to report were a
White-tailed Sea Eagle sitting
in a regular roosting spot and
a Great Northern Diver in
Calgary Bay. Although the
winter weather hangs on there
is at least the occasional
Spring like day and a splash
of colour with the Snowdrops
in the garden and some of the
Gorse Bushes showing some
yellow colour. Oh Oh here
comes the hail again.
Golden
Eagle and Kestrel and Buzzard
seen well today but my bird of
today has to be a male Red
Grouse which flew in calling
and proceeded to strut its
stuff in front of me. I ran
down the hill to the van, well
ran is more than slightly
exagerated, to get the camera
and low and behold a car came
past and the passengers wanted
a chat, after they had gone I
panted up to the top again, I
really must get fitter and
there was no sign of the
Grouse, bugger, I thought,
when it popped up again and I
managed to get a shot at it,
with the camera, NOT A GUN?
Feb 16th
I had to
stay at home for most of today
doing work in the garden and
helping my mates load garden
compost from my big shed but I
did manage a short time out
birding. I had a special treat
as a Buzzard put up a female
Hen Harrier and after some
interaction between the pair
the Harrier set off hunting.
To watch a Hen Harrier hunting
is a wildlife spectacle and it
is such a shame that this bird
is so persecuted throughout
most of the United Kingdom but
not on Mull as yet, long may
it remain thus.
Feb 15th
Feeling
better and well enough to get
out and about again and down
at the Loch in Dervaig were 15
Snipe, the most I have seen
here for several years. As we
drove towards Salen a pair of
Golden Eagles flew with us
flying effortlessly along the
ridge into a strong wind for a
couple of miles. 3 miles up
the river Aros from Aros Bay a
pair of Goosander sparking as
spring is in the air and the
days are becoming longer. A
White-tailed Sea Eagle flew
past as we were checking out
the Wigeon in Aros Bay and a
Greenshank with some beautiful
Red Breasted Mergansers in
Summer plumage. Our sighting
of the day however was a
Merlin which flew up from the
shoreline right in front of
the car, my first confirmed
Merlin sighting of the year.
The last good sighting of a
nice 2 hour drive round a
hunting male Hen Harrier one
of the wonders of the great
Scottish ( Mull ) wildlife
experiences. Red Deer were the
only mammals seen as the waves
were too stong and the tides
wrong for Otters.
 
We arrived
home on Mull yesterday
afternoon after traveling back
from Cheshire. Arthur has been
quite poorly whilst I have
been away in India but he came
down to pick us up from
Manchester Airport on
Wednesday morning. (Don't tell
him but I was pleased to see
him...Pam) I went out to
Mumbai with our son, Richard,
who's wife had gone over 3
weeks earlier with their baby
to see her parents. We stayed
with the family for 8 days,
although it was mainly a
family visit my
daughter-in-law had arranged
some things for me to do.
Richard & I did 2 tours
with
Reality Gives one around
Dharavi, the largest
slum in Asia, and a Transport
tour which took us by train,
bus and taxi around some
facinating areas of Mumbai,
the largest open air
laundrette, fish and flower
market and the thieves market.
We also visited the Gateway to
India and had afternoon tea at
the Taj Mahal Place Hotel. I
even managed a couple of days
birdwatching, we had arranged
a guide through the Bombay
Natural History Society
and she took us to a wildlife
sanctury where we took a
forest walk and I saw 29 new
species of birds and 2 new
mammals. Later in the week we
went with the BNHS again on
their Flamingo Walk where we
saw hundreds of Lesser
Flamingo's and plenty of
wading birds on the mud flats.
What an amazing city full of
contrasts and such friendly
people.Many thanks Sheetals
mum and dad Ram & Gul
Mehta for their kind
hospitality.
February
2014
Feb 28th
The last day of February
and sunshine and showers,
in between the showers Pam
and I took a short walk at
Quinnish where we saw 3
Bullfinches 2 males and a
female, my first Mull
Bullfinches of the year.
In the afternoon I went
for a short drive round
and had a great sighting
of a male Merlin, 2 Red
Deer stags a Treecreeper,
Razorbill and 2 Great
northern Divers. Another
first for this year a
single Starling on our
bird feeders in the
garden. Pam in a strop for
most of the day as she
missed the Northern Lights
as it was cloudy and wet
in and around Dervaig.
Feb 27th
What a strange day weather
wise, sunny one minute with
temperature up to 7 degrees
celcius and then rain, hail
and sleet with temperatures
dropping to a freezing 2
degrees celcius, undetered I
went gamely forth and fairly
quickly picked up a Red
Grouse, a bird I usually
struggle to see on Mull.
Things got even better for me
as after the winter storm I
spotted a White winged Gull
which I thought was a Glaucous
Gull but on reflection was in
fact an Iceland Gull, two new
species for me this year and
both quite rare for the
island.
Feb 26th
Today we went to Tobermory and
the result was Common
Crossbill 1 Magpie 0 Great on
the Crossbill as for the
bl.....y Magpie we will have
to try again. Our new Mini-bus
arrived at the garage in Fort
William today and we are going
to collect it on Saturday and
after it has had our logos put
on it we will be ready for the
new season.
Feb 25th
A very blustery day and after
a day out yesterday a day at
home chasing insurance for the
new van which we should pick
up on Saturday fingers
crossed. I did manage a short
trip out and about and saw 6
Skylarks at Reudle, these
birds are new into Mull and
could even have been some of
the party of 36 seen at
Ardalanish yesterday. Two
other notable sightings were
Curlews at an unusual spot,
they flew away as I got my
camera but one obligingly only
flew a few yards and gave me
chance to get this shot. At
Dervaig although it was
getting quite dark I did
manage to get a photo of this
female Goosander
A lovely day and another trip
to the Ross of Mull and a
total of 55 bird species and 5
mammals seen. The highlights
for me were a drake Scaup on
Loch Pottie, there were 22
Tufted Duck and 8 Goldeneye
there as well. Four White
Fronted Geese on a field with
some Greylag Geese across on
the Bunnessan side of Loch
Assapol. In a field by
Ardalanish Beach were 7 Ringed
Plover a single Turnstone 24
Lapwings and 40 Oystercatchers
but the best birds in the
field was a flock of 36
Skylarks. There were 170
Barnacle Geese at Fidden and
also a flock of about 200
Starlings, several Rooks were
also present and 3 Shelduck.
On our way home we saw a
single Kittiwake on Loch
Scridain and around the coast
a total of 6 Otters, another
good days birding on Mull.
We had rain of biblical
proportions last night with 2
inches falling in 10 hours, it
did improve during the day but
it was very windy. I took a
short trip around the the
local area and and came across
a a flock of 36
Oystercatchers, these are not
unusual on Mull but in such a
group they were quite
impressive. Other large groups
of birds today were 24 Greylag
Geese and 17 Rock Doves the
latter seen in our garden.
Also in the garden today
visiting at the same time was
a pair of Great Spotted
Woodpeckers.
Feb 22nd
The BTO held a bird
identification and survey
workshop at Craignure today
and fortunately it stayed dry
until 2pm so we were able to
complete one of the two
scheduled outdoor sessions. We
saw Red Deer and 2 Otters and
3 White-tailed Sea Eagles but
as it was bird identification
we were really out for it was
more interesting seeing and
telling the difference between
Great Northern and Red
Throated Divers, what to look
out for on Shags and the
difference between Red
Breasted Mergansers and
Goosander. At the indoor
session a comprehensive lesson
on distinguishing Waders was
carried out and a lot of
valuable lessons on bird
identification learned. Many
thanks to James, Ben and Laura
from the BTO for coming to
Mull and giving us some
valuable tips, I can thourouly
recommend that anyone with an
interest in birds attend one
of these day courses, you will
be well rewarded.
Feb 21st
A cold wet windy day with some
hail showers and as Pam &
I were arriving in Tobermory
for a couple of business
meetings one particular hail
shower hit the car with such
ferocity that we thought it
might smash the front window
of the car. It was Bird Club
tonight and the BTO gave us a
good talk on the work they do
and the volunteers they need
to continue this valuable
work. They also showed that
through satelite tagging they
were able to see why Scottish
Cuckoos are doing better than
the English ones and it is due
to the directions of their
migratary routes with the
Scottish birds choosing a more
easterly route and of the 9
tagged birds all have survived
where as 5 out of 9 English
Cuckoos have perished. On our
way home we saw 2 seperate
Barn Owls which was good for
me as it adds another bird to
my Mull year list.
Feb 20th
Pam's home this afternoon,
hooray, look at the state of
the kitchen, whoops, out with
the hoover, mops and where the
dickens does she hide the the
cleaning stuff. I just managed
to get all the jobs done when
it was time to go and meet the
ferry at Craignure, little did
I know I was going to have to
get through Mull's red light
district. Steady chaps, there
are 3 sets of traffic lightds
between Salen and Craignure
due to a new water scheme and
I was stopped at all 3 for
several minutes. I knew I
could be in trouble as I
started to meet ferry traffic
just as I passed Garmony, and
there was Pam toe tapping as
she patiently waited at the
ferry port for her errant
husband to arrive. I have to
say she was very good about my
being late and was chuffed at
the seemingly clean house,
don't look under the cushons
Pam.
Feb 19th
I went out with our friend
Sarah Barry for a trip round
North West Mull and had a
great day out, Sarah was and
still is a great wildlife
enthusiast and gets enjoyment
from all the wildlife she sees
from Little Grebes to Eagles
and Otters. On the day we saw
2 Otters, 3 Golden Eagles, 3
White-tailed Sea Eagle and a
single Little Grebe. A sign
that Spring is just around the
corner, Lapwings calling their
evocative call as they flew
over the field they usually
breed in, I hope they don't
breed just yet or else they
will have to teach their
chicks to swim instead of fly.
We saw 43 bird species in the
day and 3 Mammal species but
it was Sarah's joy at seeing
the wildlife on Mull again
which made my day, she also,
like me loved the Teals.
Feb 18th
A thank you to Davie and the
Gleaner team who managed to
get me some heating oil before
the Aga went out, Pam would
not have been best pleased if
she returned home fome
visiting the grand children to
find a cold kitchen and only
the cookers in the
self-catering to cook off,
they helped me play my get out
of jail free card. Watching
the birds in the garden as I
waited for Davie I noticed
that the male Great spotted
Woodpecker was on our nut
feeder, previously only the
female has been appearing. the
Tawny Owls were calling well
last night maybe as the
weather has improved greatly
they are seriously thinking of
breeding as they are amongst
the earliest breeders of the
year.
Feb 17th
After a pleasant morning the
weather deteriorated
throughout the day with
showers in the evening. Thank
goodness for Calgary Bay and
Dervaig at the moment, I went
out locally for an hour today
after my big jaunt yesterday
and there was very little
about except for Great
Northern Divers, Ringed
Plovers and Curlews, a single
red breasted Merganser and the
Common Scoter at Calgary and 6
Redshank, Greenshank and
Little Grebe at Dervaig. On my
way home I did disturb a
Buzzard trying to lift a road
kill Rabbit, but at the moment
our garden seem to be the
place for birds.
Feb 16th
Hey I woke up to sunshine and
no wind and decided to go with
a friend down to the Ross of
Mull and am I glad I did, we
saw 53 species of birds and 2
Otters, Red Deer and Seals. Of
the bird species seen 6 were
new ones for me on Mull this
year, they were Guillemots,
Razorbills, Dunlin, Pied
Wagtail, Reed Bunting and
Tufted Duck. Birds of prey
seen were White-tailed Sea
Eagles, Peregrine Falcon,
Merlin, Hen Harrier, Kestrel
and Buzzard, sadly no Golden
Eagles today but then that's
wildlife watching for you. The
views were spectacular with
Ben More and the higher peaks
all covered in snow, all in
all a great day out.
Feb 15th
A not very nice day but I had
to go to Tobermory and while I
was there I thought I should
go and see the Magpie, note
the confidence in this
statement, well it was not
well founded, dispite my very
best efforts the dratted bird
remains illusive to me. The
other problem I had today was
with Misty our older dog who
takes it into her head to off
up into the wood and play hide
and seek with me, now she is
either going deaf or she just
enjoys winding me up, I am
starting to think it is the
latter. A lovely Great spotted
Woodpecker came on the close
feeders in the garden today.
Feb 14th
Vallentines day and here I am
home alone, so as the weather
is much improved I went out
birding seeing 2 new species
on Mull for my year list.
Firstly at Cailaich 2 Snipe
flew out of the bog and then
there was a single Common
Scoter at Calgary. Other good
sightings were a pair of
Golden Eagles, a flock of
Redwings mixing with Starlings
and at least 10 Great Northern
Divers. The Magpie has again
been seen in Tobermory I feel
the need to try and twitch
this bird coming on me again,
it is becoming something of a
bogey bird for me.
Feb 13th
Hoorah, 27 hours after she
left home Pam arrived at
Exeter airport and was picked
up by our daughter Becky and
taken to a 2 michelin star
restaurant for a lunch to
celebrate her special
birthday, I can't say which
one but she now has a bus
pass. It was cold and wet on
Mull today so birding was
difficult but I did manage to
see an Otter when out and
about. Now that Pam is away
sale of junk food is going
through the roof at Dougie's
shop in the village.
Feb 12th
The snow returned overnight
and Pam had to be at the ferry
for 9-0am so we had to go via
Tobermory as the gritters
don't go through Glen Bellart,
this means the journey time is
longer and with the conditions
much longer. Pam caught the
ferry and had an easy trip to
Oban but her bus trip to
Glasgow was quite hairy
particularly the higher roads.
At Glasgow airport after
travelling through snow she
was told the flight was
cancelled due to gale force
winds and so she had to spend
the night in Glasgow. On my
way home I did manage a bit of
wildlife watching seeing
amongst other birds some
Turnstones and Ringed Plover.
On the hill roads out of
Tobermory our car was
stuggling for grip and at one
point I thought I would not
make it home, so on arriving
back I garaged the car and
battened down the hatches for
the rest of the day.
Feb 11th
After overnight snow flurries
the sun came out and soon the
snow at low level had gone so
we went out looking
specifically for Mull's main
species and were in luck as we
found 4 White-tailed Sea
Eagles together in one spot, 3
were juveniles and 1 an adult.
I took some photos but they
were quite distant and anyway
Pam has no time today to
upload them as she is off to
see our grandchildren tomorrow
and I am useless on the
computer. We also saw a
Kestrel, Buzzards, a Golden
Eagle, an Otter and some Red
Deer although my highlight was
the Dipper seen in a burn
estuary at Lagganulva, really
close and my first Dipper of
the year on Mull.
Feb 10th
Some days you go out expecting
a lot and very little happens,
today was one of those days.
It was a pleasant morning so
Pam and I took the dogs for a
walk round Quinnish Wood
hoping to see lots of woodland
species, in the event we saw a
few Great Tits and a couple of
Blue Tits, which we can see
every day in our garden and in
larger numbers. It was quite
dissapointing for us but the
dogs had a whale of a time
sniffing here, smelling there,
scent marking, getting filthy,
so you see sometimes it's just
a dogs life.
Feb 9th
A windy day with heavy showers
and Pam & I went out for a
drive around, not expecting to
see a great deal. We were
pleasantly surprised at the
amount and quality of the
wildlife we did see, there
were the mixed flock of Tits
feeding out of the wind on the
road side, a flock of at least
36 Meadow Pipits on early
return migration and the
Purple Sandpipers again on Lainne
Sgeir. Birds of prey
seen were both types
of Eagle, lots of
Buzzards, a Kestrel
and a fantastic view
of a Peregrine Falcon.
The highlight of the
day however had to be
the hunting female Hen
Harrier seen in the action
pictures below. By the way
even I am impressed by my
pictures, they don't usually
turn out this way.
Feb
8th
A wet, windy, cold day and I
went out locally, never more
than 6 miles from Ardrioch and
saw over 30 species of
wildlife in less than 2 hours,
even more if you count the
birds in our garden. At Lainne
Sgeir near Calgary Bay there
was a White-tailed Sea Eagle
and as soon as I spotted it I
also spotted a family of 3
Otters in the sea behind the
Eagle. Iwas just getting out
my telescope for a better look
when the Eagle flew off
disturbing 5 small Waders
which turned out to be Purple
Sandpipers, my first sighting
of this little bird on Mull
this year. When I returned
home there was a Yellowhammer
on the bird feeders another
first for me this year, so
although the weather was very
poor I had a much better day
wildlife and in particular
birdwise.
Feb 7th
A lovely day and Pam and I
went for a walk at Ardmore
north of Tobermory, once again
there was little to see in the
way of wildlife but it was
still interesting to see how
the scenery has changed with
the felling of a large portion
of the forestry woodland. What
birds we did see were typical
of a felled forest, Wrens,
Dunnocks, Robins and in some
small regenerated trees a
small flock of Coal Tits. I
took some photographs of a
ruined house within a small
settlement and views out
towards the Ardnamurchan
Penninsular.
Feb 6th
Went for a walk in the rain at
Quinnish hoping to see
Goldcrests but although I
heard some they were hidden in
the top of the fir trees out
of sight and out of the rain.
I had a good view of a
Woodcock which flew up from
under my feet and again I saw
a Jay and heard another one,
more proof that Jay numbers
are increasing on Mull.
Feb 5th
Hey, no rain or wind again
today and we went to Tobermory
as Pam had a hair appointment
and I wanted to have a walk
around Aros Park. The walk
prouced less in the way of
birds than I hoped but I did
see 3 small Tit flocks with
Great, Blue and Coal Tits all
seen and in with the Blue Tits
was a very nice Treecreeper.
On returning to the car park I
heard a Jay calling, not a
bird we have in great numbers
on Mull, on looking up I not
only heard but saw the bird
flying over the small Lochan
in the park, a first for me
this year. This evening I went
for a drive round looking for
Owls again, once more they
proved illusive but I did see
my first Woodcock of the year.
Feb 4th
Whoopee a nice day almost
unpresidated this year, so up
before dawn and out looking
for Owls and
Woodcock,
unfortunately I did not see
any, I hope they have not all
drowned or emigrated. In all I
saw 47 species of birds in
four hours including a pair of
White-tailed Sea Eagles pair
bonding, a Golden Eagle
enjoying the sunshine and a
Kestrel hovering looking for
prey. In the afternoon Pam and
I went to the standing stones
above Dervaig and on our way
saw a hunting male Hen
Harrier, the number of Hen
Harriers we are seeing bodes
well for the vole population
and could mean it will be a
good year for Short Eared
Owls. At the standing stones
it was obvious to see the
damage done to the woods
around the stones by the
winter gales, check out the
photographs below. Also check
out the views of Dervaig
Village from the top of the
hill now that the forest has
been
chopped down, you can now see
right out to coll and all of
Loch Cuin, for readers who
have not been to Mull look at
the pencil steeple church,
very rare but not
unique.
Feb
3rd
Gale force winds
all night with our wooden
house creeking from the
strain. Pam spent the
morning learning how to do
her own web-site, thanks
to Pete for kindly showing
her. I went and cleared
the drive drains which
were full of silt after
the persistent rains and
to Dougies the brilliant
local shop to buy stuff
for lunch. On my way home
I stopped at the end of
the Loch and saw only a
single Greenshank and a
pair of Common gulls,
thank goodness for the
birds in our garden.
Feb 2nd
A much nicer start to the day
and a day out trying to see
White winged Gulls, we did not
see any but we did see another
hunting male Hen Harrier and a
pair of White-tailed Sea
Eagles. Other birds of note
seen were a male Goosander,
Ringed Plover and a small
flock of Goldfinches known as
a charm. With the weather
deteriorating we retuned home
to warm up and in my case
watch the football on the
television.
Feb 1st
Another day of very mixed
weather and a drive from
Calgary to Ulva producing 27
species of birds including a
Great Northern Diver in
Calgary Bay and a Black
Guillemot here as well. We
stopped for a coffee at Burg
and there was a hovering
Kestrel and a Raven, on to
Lagganulva Bay where 2 Golden
Eagles appeared and there were
Redshank and Greenshank on the
shore. At Torloisk as we
watched a pair of Mistle
Thrushes a beautiful Grey
Wagtail appeared and spent
time searching for food on a
mole hill. On the jaunt we saw
Red Deer and 2 Otters, one
running across the mud at Ulva
Ferry and at Calgary we saw
the flooding burn which half
filled the Sand Martin nest
holes, we have compared this
with a picture taken last
summer of the Sand Martin
feeding her chicks at the same
nest sight.
February 2013
Feb 28th
A dull overcast
day but warmer and I spent most of
the day cleaning drains and brushing
up the yard ready for our guests
when they start arriving at Easter.
Tour bookings are coming in fast now
and we are well on the way to 200
pre booked tours. At Dervaig today
when I did manage to briefly escape
from work there were 8 Common Snipe
feeding madly on the mud flats.
Feb 27th
More grey clouds
today but still lovely and dry and
warmer. On a quick trip round today
I saw 11 Great Northern Divers in 4
separate locations and a nice view
of a female (ringed tail) Hen
Harrier but the sighting of the day
had to be the 5 Black Throated
Divers seen on Loch Tuath, I don't
get to see this wonderful Diver that
often so to see 5 in one sighting
was wonderful for me. They were also
my first sighting of this special
bird on Mull this year bringing my
Mull year list to 90. I am starting
to see Meadow Pipits and Skylarks
now so Spring is just around the
corner.
Feb 26th
Blue sky nothing
but blue sky and a day spent at home
so we decided to see how many bird
species we could see from our house
and garden during the day, as you
can see from the photograph the
Woodpecker made a return visit. A
total of 29 birds seen from the
house today, 17 in the garden and 12
either on the Loch or Loch side or
flying over.
Feb 25th
Weather absolutely
fabulous and we went out to look
for, you guessed it, birds. We were
not to be disappointed as after a
slow start we went on to see 7
different Golden Eagles, 5
White-tailed Eagles, to many
Buzzards to count and 3 Kestrels. We
also found time to watch and enjoy 2
separate Otters in the same area
which was good for us as they were
in the area we take our tours. A
nice field of about 20 Lapwings made
it a really nice day birding. At
home we had a Great Spotted
Woodpecker visit our feeders the
first we have seen on the feeders
this year.
Feb 24th
A gorgeous day and
a walk with alongside Loch Torr with
Pam and 2 little rascals, see
pictures below. Red Deer were seen
soon after we began our walk and
also a light coloured Buzzard but as
soon as I reached for the camera it
flew off, they usually do. A Great
Spotted Woodpecker and a pair of
high flying White-tailed Eagles were
the bird highlights of the walk but
the views in the glorious sunlight
of Canna and the Uists were special.
Feb 23rd
How long can this
fabulous weather continue, a walk
around Croig today brought me
another new Mull year tick this time
a Goldcrest a bird I normally have
some trouble finding, well finding
them is no problem, seeing them is
something else as they are so small
and never stand still continually
moving in the trees, the little
blighters.
Feb 22nd
An even nicer day
today but very cold thank goodness
there is little wind. A trip to
Killiechronan today produced Golden
and White-tailed Eagles and Red Deer
and we also saw 16 Great Northern
Divers, 11 Slavonian Grebes, 24
Lapwings, Greenshanks, Redshanks,
Ringed Plovers, Teal, Wigeon and
much more. However the bird of the
day was a Common Scoter my first of
the year seen on Loch Na Keal and
mammal of the day a White Fallow
Deer seen in a field with a stag,
the first white Deer for some
considerable time.
Feb 21st
A sunny cold day
with little wind and so there was a
fire in the crazy world of Arthur
Brown, a bonfire to be exact and a
large one it was too, I hope the
ozone layer is still intact. When
not guarding the fire I was busy
valleting the van and can now see my
face in the windows they are so
clean, as is the upholstery and
floors, it just needs the new logos
now and it will be ready for its
test.
Feb 20th
Another lovely
sunny day but cooler as the winds
got up. Whoopee I finished the
gardening today now I have just got
to valet the van ready for its
council test in early March. In
order to get the garden job finished
I had to content myself with
watching the garden birds, if my
garden birds are similar to other
gardens there could be trouble in
the Chaffinch night clubs as male
chaffinches seem to outnumber
females by at least 2 to 1.
Feb 19th
An even better
warmer day than yesterday and more
gardening but we did find time for a
lovely walk up to the point at
Cailaich. The views were stunning
and we saw 2 Mountain Hares and one
nearly stayed around long enough for
a photograph and Pam saw a group of
Porpoise feeding close to a fishing
boat. There was a large Highland
Bull on the hill as we walked up
looking down at a field of Highland
cows and then in amongst them I saw
a small calf, looking back at the
bull I swear it winked as if to say
'that's my boy'.
Feb 18th
A lovely sunny day
with a slight breeze probably the
best day of the year weather wise
and where was I? in the garden
again. I did manage to escape in the
late afternoon and had a fabulous
sighting of a female (Ring Tailed)
Hen Harrier hunting, always a
special bird to see on Mull. Later I
spotted a Golden Eagle sitting on a
hill taking in the evening sunset
and some Red Deer stags grazing on
the skyline, 2 archetypal scenes on
this beautiful island.
Feb 17th
Our friends who
have been staying with us for a week
left this morning and of course the
weather became much better with less
wind and believe it or not some
sunshine. This is normally a good
thing but for me it means gardening
and tidying up for the Spring, so
leaving little time for getting out
and about. I did manage a trip to
Dervaig when Pam was not looking and
saw the usual Redshanks,
Greenshanks, Oystercatchers,
Curlews, Teal and Wigeon so with all
the birds in our garden not a
completely wasted day.
Feb 16th
A dull but mainly
dry day after a morning of light
drizzle. The bird club had an outing
in the Dervaig area today and as it
is my patch I was the leader. Birds
of the day were 2 very close Golden
Eagles and a displaying Golden
Eagle. White-tailed Sea Eagles were
also seen as were Red Deer stags. "
otters were seen 1 at Lainne Sgeir
which disturbed 4 Purple Sandpipers
making them visible much to the
delight of the group. The Iceland
Gull was also seen although distant
it was definitely recognizable. Two
new species on my Mull year list
seen today were A great Spotted
woodpecker and 6 skylarks, I am
inching towards 100.
Feb 15th
A beautiful sunny
day and an early start before it got
light looking for Owls, we got lucky
and had some nice views of 2 Short
Eared Owls hunting at daybreak. A
nice walk and a good sighting of 3
Red Deer Stags and on returning to
the car a male Hen Harrier put in an
appearance, hunting the same area
the Owls had been hunting earlier.
It was bird club tonight and we had
a thought provoking talk on the
re-introduction of Beavers programme
currently being undertaken in
Knapdale in Argyll. On our way to
and from bird club we saw 4 separate
Barn Owls.
Feb 14th
It has stopped
raining so I spent all morning doing
one of my least favourite jobs,
gardening. A trip round the local
area produced 3 Redshanks, 2
Greenshanks, 2 Curlews and 14 Ringed
Plovers. We have a regular
Yellowhammer appearing in the garden
at the moment brightening up the
bird feeders and a Barn Owl was in
the garden when we returned home
from a meal with friends this
evening..
Feb 13th
The only way to
describe today was wet and I do mean
wet, it rained heavily all day, even
the Ducks had had enough by the end
of the day.
Feb 12th
A very very
cold windy day but dry and so we
decided to go to the south of the
island to try and get some Geese for
my year list. We did have some
success as the first new birds of
the year on the trip were
White-fronted Geese, Barnacle Geese
were to follow. We saw some lovely
Golden Plover at 2 locations, a Reed
bunting, Rooks and believe it or not
my first Pied Wagtail of the year.
Bird of the day however was the
fantastic view of a Peregrine
Falcon, which having picked up
sitting on a rock suddenly flew and
chased the waders across the
shoreline at great speed, made the
cold weather trip more than
worthwhile. 4 Otters were also seen
during the day and this summer
plumage Black Guillemot.
Feb 11th
Today was as cold
as yesterday without the showers.
Another new bird for my year list
today an Iceland Gull near the black
beach at Kilninian. Earlier in the
day on a walk in Aros Park we saw a
Treecreeper and another this evening
in our garden. A total of 4
White-tailed Sea Eagles and 2 Golden
Eagles seen today and in between all
this another trip to the dentist who
is fast becoming my best friend.
Feb 10th
A very windy cold
day with sleet and frozen rain
showers thrown in so off I went with
our friends David and Kathryn to
look for wildlife. We often say bad
weather days can be good for
wildlife just not the best for
watching it. Today was no exception,
at one stop we were watching my
first goosander of the tear when
Kathryn spotted an Otter, after
watching the Otter for a few minutes
I turned round and a male Hen
harrier flew up and proceeded to
hunt the ridge behind us. On the
hill road out of Dervaig we saw 4
red Deer stags just chilling
out...literally, then just as we
thought we could not get any colder
David spotted 2 Golden Eagles flying
towards us, they were either
hunting, pair bonding or most likely
trying to get warm. Another Otter
was seen but only by David and then
a brilliant view of another male Hen
Harrier. We were nearly home now and
in need of a hot drink and lunch as
it was nearly 3 o'clock but we took
in one last stop to try and see a
White-tailed Eagle and whoopee doo
there it was sitting on a hill just
where I hoped it might be, it was as
though it was waiting for us because
as soon as I got my telescope out it
flew off. So lousy weather and we
had seen all Mull's big 5 land based
species, what a day. Incidentally
shortly after returning home a
Sparrowhawk gave us a demonstration
of hunting little birds in our
garden, it was great flying but on
this occasion useless at catching.
Finally a White tailed Eagle and
Buzzard drifted over Ardrioch taking
little notice each other, probably
too cold.
Feb 9th
A similar day to
yesterday weather wise and we had
the Aga serviced today as it was
completely sooted up and feeling
proper poorly and only working at
half pace. An early morning walk
with the dogs locally and I saw a
nice Mistle Thrush, these birds are
in decline but this winter we seem
to have more on Mull than I have
ever seen before. The Purple
Sandpipers remain at Lainne Sgier
and today I saw 4 of them as the
tide came in hopping up the rocks
just ahead of the water.
Feb 8th
A dull dry day and
a very early morning start in fact
it was still dark and fortune
favoured the early risers as we saw
a Long Eared Owl hunting at first
light on the hill road out of
Dervaig on the way to Torloisk. No
sign of the Glaucous Gull today but
we did see 2 Otters, Red Deer and a
Golden Eagle on our trip arriving
home at 9-30 in time for breakfast
and we were starving.
Feb 7th
A dull but warmer,
calmer day and Alan Spellman came to
see us and we went to Calgary and
Cailaich where I saw my first
Guillemots of the year on Mull.
There was a pair of Black Guillemots
in full summer plumage at Calgary
and there were 3 Great Northern
Divers there as well. We spent the
afternoon writing an article about
my Glaucous Gull sighting for the
Oystercatcher the magazine of the
Mull bird Club.
Feb 6th
A beautiful
winters day and time for jobs around
the garden but we did manage an hour
birding. The sun was beautiful and
it was relatively warm at sheltered
Ardrioch but out on the coast it was
bitterly cold and windy and you can
guess which numpty had been taken in
by the nice conditions at Ardrioch
and not taken his coat and gloves
and I have only been living here for
13 years. So there I am standing in
arctic conditions looking for
wildlife as the blood freezes in my
body while Pam properly attired
watched from the comfort of the car.
Wildlife seen include 2 Golden
Eagles, a hunting Kestrel, 4 Red
Deer including a very well antlered
stag, Great Northern Diver and a
Black Guillemot. I am thawed out
now, thanks for your concern and as
soon as I finish this blog I am
going to put my coat and gloves in
the car, to cover all weather
conditions.
Feb 5th
More high winds
and showers so off I went to see
what might have been blown in and
sure enough on Loch Na Keal was a
really nice Glaucous Gull, the
picture is one of Alan Spellmans
mine were rubbish. There were a
total of 40 Curlews in 2 locations
and 30 Lapwings also in 2 separate
locations. 8 Turnstones at
Lagganulva and a Stonechat here as
well and also one at Eas force near
the waterfall. Over 40 Black Headed
Gulls at Killiechronan and a
Bar-tailed Godwit here as well. 43
Wood Pigeons in a field at
Killiechronan a large number in a
flock for Mull, 8 Redwing and a
couple of Mistle Thrushes here as
well. A pair of Shellducks and a
Great Northern Diver on Loch Na Keal
and on my way home through Glen
Bellert a very close male Hen
Harrier making 3 new Mull year
ticks. Did I have a good time? too
right I did, just needed a van load
of guests to make it perfect.
Feb 4th
A gale force wind
today prevented any ferries from
coming to Mull, so no newspapers, oh
well we can pretend alls right with
the world if we don't watch any news
on tv. I had my second treatment on
my tooth today, I can honestly say
it did not hurt.........much, but
the taste that was left in my mouth
was awful. The only wildlife
watching done today was from the
kitchen window as I would have been
blown over had I tried to watch
outside, here come the hailstones
again. Just heard that Reg Presley
of the 60's group the Troggs has
died now there was a WILD THING
Feb 3rd
A nondescript type
of day weather wise cool and breezy
and after last nights late one we
chilled out for most of the day.
Bird numbers in the garden continue
to rise with lots of Greenfinches
now at least 12 birds seen at one
time and another guest appearance of
a Goldfinch. Misty went missing
again and turned up as I was out
looking for her, she still expected
a treat when I got back, now
that is taking things a little bit
far.
Feb 2nd
A nice if dull day
and a walk down Loch Frisa with the
dogs brought little in the way of
wildlife so a little disappointing.
This evening we went to the Mull
Theatre to see the play 'My name is
Rachel Corrie', it is a very thought
provoking play about the American
girl buried alive by an Israeli
bulldozer in the Gaza Strip when
trying to prevent a house in which
she was staying being destroyed, it
was based on her diaries and e-mails
and is well worth seeing if you get
a chance. Misty our oldest Sheltie
went missing today and we eventually
found her behind the deer fencing in
the wood, this nearly made us late
for the theatre. We stayed up very
late with our friends discussing the
play so don't aim to do much
tomorrow particularly as we had to
lubricate our tonsils quite a bit.
Feb 1st
Lovely weather and
a walk with the dogs and on the walk
we saw 3 Great Northern Divers and
an Otter. On our drive back to
Ardrioch a pair of Golden Eagles
flew over a hill and circled
together for several minutes, we
were very pleased to see them as we
have not seen a Golden Eagle for
about a fortnight now.
February-2012
Feb 24th
Weather Dull and
light rain, windy - Not the best
day to go out to Loch Buie and
Croggan for the first time in
almost a year and although the
wildlife was not out in abundance
this was more than made up for
with the views, I had nearly
forgotten how lovely it is down
there and well worth the journey.
The highlight wildlife wise were 3
very close breeding plumaged Black
Guillemots, 3 Goosanders a Fallow
Deer and a good view of a hunting
Golden Eagle, the quantity may
have been missing but there was no
shortage of quality.
Feb 23rd
Weather rain for
most of the day - I cannot say I
mind the weather being poor today
as I am feeling the effects of
David and
Catherine's
generous hospitality, I can
definitely recommend the Islay
whisky Caol Ila. The only wildlife
watching I have done today is in
the garden which even though not
as spectacular as Eagles and
Otters is still very rewarding and
peaceful, which is what i needed
today.
Feb 22nd
Weather cloudy and
breezy - It was very strange light
today with everything appearing to
be in a black and white silhouette
particularly the 22 Great Northern
Divers we saw, maybe the fact they
are black and white with the
occasional browner bird had some
bearing on this. Seriously it was
very strange it was like seeing
Mull in an old black and white
photograph very dark and moody. 3
White-tails seen today and an
Otter, some very smart Wigeon
Ducks, a couple of male Goosanders
and 50 Barnacle geese were the
other highlights of a very nice
day out with Alan Spellman and
David and Catherine two friends of
mine who kindly took me out for
dinner tonight.
Feb 21st
Weather dull with
showers and light breeze - I had a
quieter day today spending most of
the day at home but I did manage a
walk with my 2 compatriots Misty
and Sally who have been looking
after me very well whilst Pam is
away. The highlight of the walk
had to be an incredibly good view
a party of 6 Crossbills gave us
landing in the top of tree
very close to where we were
walking, I love getting good views
of this striking little bird
although the dogs seemed less
impressed. An adult White -tailed
Eagle flew past as we returned
from the walk and not surprisingly
the dogs were more interested in
that as they watched warily as it
flew past.
Feb 20th
Weather like
yesterday but much cooler in a
freshening breeze - More BTO Atlas
work today with similar results to
friday but nice to be out and
about none the less. In the day 5
White-tailed Eagles were seen also
4 Golden Eagles several Buzzards,
a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk but
this one was not in our garden.
Mammals seen included a single
Otter, Grey seals and lots of Red
Deer including Stags but my
sighting of the day was a single
Skylark only my second of the year
and another sign of spring.
Feb 19th
Weather Cloudy but
dry and calm feeling quite warm -
There is a new forest track being
put in from Langamull car park
through to the Glen Aros Glen
Bellart road and I decided to walk
the dogs here and take a look.
Although there was little wildlife
to be seen the views out over
Croig and Loch Cuin were
spectacular, it was fantastic to
be able to see these glorious
views without having to climb up
hills and through bogs. This is
another great way to enjoy what
Mull has to offer without
needing to be a Mountaineer.
Feb 18th
Weather wet
morning grey but dry afternoon -
BTO Atlas work today although it
was not very successful as the
weather was poor but I have to
complete all the winter work
before the end of February. On my
way home I counted all the birds I
saw and there were 26 species in
all several of them were in large
numbers, I stopped counting when
each species reached 30 birds. The
list of species with over 30 birds
seen was Greylag Geese, Mallards,
Hooded Crows, Red Breasted
Mergansers, Shags, Oystercatchers,
Common Gulls, Herring Gulls and
Great Black-backed Gulls, there
were also 17 Grey Herons
seen.
Feb 17th
Weather a nice
sunny day with light cool breeze -
I hope you like my photo's because
there will be no more this month
as Pam has gone to look after the
grand children for half term and I
don't know how to put them onto
the blog, technophobe that I am.
Alan Spellman came to see me today
and we went to all the local hot
spots and typically in the morning
the spots were not too hot, as I
say on the tours don't worry about
seeing stuff till 4pm. We came
back to Ardrioch for lunch and at
least 2 Brambling turned up, to
see pictures of these birds check
Alan's Mullbirds site.
After lunch with me in wellies we
went to look for Snipe and I
managed to flush a Jack Snipe and
3 Common Snipe from a bog, at the
same location we also saw a
Peregrine Falcon and a pair of
Shelduck. Onwards and upwards
towards Calgary where as the tide
had come in we saw 5 Purple
Sandpipers, several Turnstones a
Great Northern Diver and 2 Otters.
It looked as if Alan would draw a
blank in his search for the Pink
Footed Goose but after an abortive
trip to Croig on our way back we
found it with a few Greylag Geese
in a field where I had not seen it
before. So alls well that ends
well another great day out with my
mate. Thinking of coming to Mull
this year then I recommend you get
the Mull bird report written and
sold by Alan Mullbirds Spellman
through his web site and in shops
on the island and I only take 95%
for this plug.
Feb 16th
Weather cloudy and
cool but mainly dry - A lovely
male Bullfinch at Calgary this
morning one of my favorite birds
and always a delight to see. At
Calgary I took a better photograph
of the Pink Footed Goose which is
still associating with the
Greylags there. Another picture I
took was of a Hovering Buzzard it
shows that Kestrels are not the
only bird of prey that hovers.
Finally I took a photo of some Red
Breasted Mergansers a male and 2
females resplendent with their
Punk hairdos.
Feb 15th
Weather a nice day
with some sunshine -Oban with the
van today and it easily passed the
test so all those of you that have
already booked tours can rest
easily again now. As we were going
on the early ferry I took the dogs
for a very early walk this morning
and noticed how soon it was
becoming light particularly on a
nice day, yet another sign that
spring will soon be upon us.
Nothing of great news wildlife
wise but we did see one Great
Northern diver on the ferry
crossing.
Feb 14th
Weather cloudy but
dry not too cold - I took the van
to the garage at Tobermory today
for a pre council check as it goes
for the taxi/private hire
inspection in Oban tomorrow. I
went for a nice walk through Aros
Park as I waited for the garage to
check it out for me and although I
did not see anything unusual there
were a lot of birds singing
particularly Blue and Great Tits
and I saw a very nice Great
Spotted Woodpecker. On my way home
there were 3 Goosanders on the
Mishnish Lochs with 2 Goldeneye.
Feb 13th
Weather showery
morning better in the afternoon -
After the big walk yesterday we
had a quieter day today with just
a gentle walk to ease tired
muscles this afternoon. We did not
see a lot of birds but is nice to
hear the Great Tits singing in the
woods again, another sign that
spring is just around the corner.
We went to see the film "The Kings
Speech" in the screen machine at
Tobermory last night, it was the
first time I have been although
Pam is a regular, 80 comfortable
seat in an articulated lorry
complete with surround sound, IT
IS AMAZING.
Feb 12th
Weather sunny,
breezy and relatively warm - It
was a lovely day for a walk so we
decided to go and look at the
ruined villages of Cragaig and
Glagugary. the walk was very
pleasant and the villages well
worth seeing, check out the
pictures below. We dropped down to
the raised beach below the
villages and took in the views of
the Treshnish Isles, Staffa and
Gometra. Turning left from the
raised beach we came back via
Reudle, you can only do this walk
at a low tide. The walk was lovely
but can be arduous in places and
you do need to wear the correct
clothing and waterproof footwear.
Although we did not see much
wildlife we did see Kestrel,
Raven, Golden Eagle and a couple
of Wrens. As we turned towards
Reudle we spotted a flock of sheep
'human watching' from the top of a
cliff.
Feb 11th
Weather cloudy but
mainly dry and breezy - I spent
the day getting the van ready for
the annual council test so birding
at a premium although I did see a
beautiful flock of Wigeon, about
30 in total. As we have been busy
today here are some photo's we
took on our day out yesterday.
Feb 10th
Weather warm and
sunny - We took the dogs out
today and gave them several
short walks as we birdwatched.
We had great views of a male and
female Goosander, a pair of
Shelduck and some Black Headed
Gulls which are not that common
on Mull although there was
evidence of breeding in 2010.
Birds of prey of the day were a
hunting Golden Eagle and a
White-tailed Eagle, we also saw
several Buzzards and 2 Kestrels.
In the afternoon we saw two
walkers on top of a hill in
shirts and shorts, I kid you
not, who says that the winter
weather on Mull is always bad.
Feb 9th
Weather Warm with
light breeze and rain a lot of
rain - The male Brambling was in
the garden this morning and is now
noticeably getting his summer
plumage a really smart bird, the
Great Spotted Woodpecker is now a
daily visitor and if anything
Chaffinch numbers are increasing.
On a short trip out we saw 2
White-tailed Eagles, 2 very smart
Greenshanks an Otter and 78
Starlings in one flock good
numbers for Mull. Pam spent the
day getting the self- catering
ready for the season and I spent
some time valleting the Mini
bus.
Feb 8th
Weather cloudy but
dry, cool - The day started on a
slightly flat note as I went to
get the car to go to Reudle and a
walk to Crackaig a deserted
village, only to find that the
front tyre was down. After
changing the tyre we went to the
garage in Tobermory to have it
fixed and had lunch while we
waited, walking down the street we
saw our first Pied Wagtail of the
year on Mull. On our way home
there was a pair of Goldeneye on
the Mishnish Lochs and a Merlin
flew over the car as we neared
Dervaig, unfortunately for me only
Pam saw it as was concentrating on
something else at the time, just
goes to show you should always
keep your wits about you on Mull
as you never know what you might
see or when. The male Brambling
was back in the garden again this
morning.
Feb 7th
Weather colder
than yesterday as wind direction
has changed to north westerly but
mainly dry - I saw 2 Purple
Sandpipers near Calgary today,
this is a good sighting for the
Mull year list as they are not
common on Mull and difficult to
see. As I write the Great Spotted
woodpecker is having a late
evening feed, this bird is very
laid back as the Sparrowhawk has
just gone through again. We had a
Buzzard in the garden at lunch
time, it had probably seen the
zillions of Chaffinches and
wondered what the fuss was all
about. Another sign of Spring
today a Shag with its breeding
tuft up, I tried to get a photo
for you to see but the dratted
thing kept diving.
Feb 6th
Weather showery
and colder - Pam and I went out
for 4 hours today and saw 44
species of birds and 4 mammals,
highlights were 3 White-tailed
Eagles, a Golden Eagle, 2 Otters
and Red and Fallow Deer. We also
saw 2 separate Dippers back on
territory, a Goosander and a
Kestrel and 4 Mistle Thrushes both
of which are pictured below. There
was another sign that spring is
not far away when we saw the new
calf and mother also pictured
below.
Feb 5th
Weather a lovely
day warm, dry but a little
overcast - I finished the garden
today which took longer than I
thought it would as the winds from
last night had blown a few more
branches off the trees. It would
have been a good day to be out
wildlife watching but at least we
saw the 2 Collared Doves which
returned so unless they are new
ones the Sparrowhawk did not have
them. Pam was looking at a video
of our Whale watching holiday from
3 years ago and although it was
nice to see it again it proved to
me that you cannot beat watching
wildlife for real as it is not so
exciting when seen on a screen. It
reminded me a little bit of
'Bull's eye' this is what you
could see if you take the time and
trouble of going out and seeing
nature for yourself.
Feb 4th
Weather tropical
up here, mini cyclone last night,
monsoon today with high winds - To
put a smile on our face we saw the
first signs of spring today these
beautiful snowdrops at Croig. Bad
news, during the night the tree
with the Barn Owl box in up the
road from Ardrioch fell down along
with the box we don't yet know the
fate of the Barn Owls we will keep
you updated with any news we get.
On a short journey out in the
monsoon I saw a very sad looking
White-tailed Eagle and an Otter
doing it's best to hunt in a
raging sea.
Feb 3rd
Weather dry
morning after overnight rain - As
I write todays blog the forecast
rain and gales have started, the
electric has tripped 3 times
already and we expect to lose
power at any moment. The sheep are
safely in the shed, suitably
grateful, whilst a few intrepid
little birds cling onto the bird
feeders for extra feed the greedy
little tykes. We took the dogs to
Calgary Bay this morning and just
about managed to stay upright,
battening down the hatches now for
what could be a long rough night.
Feb 2nd
Weather yesterdays
heavy showers merged into a day of
all out rain, not good for going
out in but great for water scenic
pictures - Not much in the way of
wildlife to tell you about today
except our Sparrowhawk must be
getting dizzy the amount of times
she has sped round the house
today. As for all the little birds
they are real triers they keep
coming back to the feeders trying
to eat as much as they can before
the Sparrowhawk returns, they
probably huddle up together at
night for counselling sessions.
p.s. The
photo gallery has been updated
today with brilliant pictures
taken by our friend Nic Davies all
the pictures were taken on Mull
and although I say it myself my
photos are not quite as
good.
Feb 1st
Weather Sunshine
with heavy showers some of them
hailstorms, warmer - We had a
visit from the Great Spotted
Woodpecker today, where was he on
big garden birdwatch day. He was
in a very feisty mood taking on
all comers and when the
Sparrowhawk flew through he did
not flinch, probably not a tactic
to repeat too often if he wants to
live to a ripe old age. On a brief
trip out during a hail storm I saw
this White-tailed Eagle at Calgary
and the Grey Heron at Croig, I
also took photos of 3 Redshank and
a Greenshank but they were
rubbish, it is a good thing that
our income does not rely on my
photographic skills.
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