September
2018
Sept 30th
Once upon a time on a cold wet day on
the island of
Mull Arthur
Brown took a
full bus of 8
guests on a
Discover Mull
wildlife tour.
During the
morning they
saw a Black
Throated Diver
and lots of
Red Deer
including
stags. After
lunch with his
guests getting
cold and damp
he stopped to
look for some
White-tailed
Sea Eagles and
found two
sitting on
rocks by the
shoreline,
thank goodness
he thought.
One of his
guests looking
through the
telescope at
the Eagles saw
an Otter,
Arthur
confirmed it
was there in
front of the
said Eagles,
even better he
thought. What
followed was
amazing, the
Otter was
carrying a
fish and
trying to get
to land, the
Eagles kept
mobbing the
Otter and
trying to
steal the
fish. The
otter swam out
to sea with
the Eagles
following
diving at her
all the time
but she would
not let go of
the fish, even
turnimg to try
and return to
land. As she
approached the
shore we
spotted the
reason she
would not let
go of the fish
as two small
pups appeared
on the
shoreline and
as she tried
to get out of
the water an
Eagle actually
landed on her
back lifting
her slightly
but still she
would not let
go of her
fish, what
courage she
was showing.
This process
carried on for
some time and
in the end she
managed to get
out of the
water and take
her pups away
from danger
seeming no
worse for wear
from her
traumatic
experience.
Arthur's
guests were
really happy
at this
outcome and
had for a
while
forgotten how
cold and wet
they were.
When he had
taken his
guests home
Arthur went
home himself
and Pam made
him a lovely
drink of hot
Chocolate
which he drank
whilst in a
very hot bath
and thought of
what he had
witnessed on a
fabulous
afternoon on
the Island of
Mull.
Sept 29th
Ryder Cup and
football, I do have other
hobbies.
Sept
28th
A tour today and it
could not have got off to a
better start as we had seen 5
White-tailed Sea Eagles, 2
Golden Eagles, 4 Otters and Red
Deer stags before 11-30am. At
least 6 Kestrels were seen
during the day and another 2
White-Tailed Eagles and of
course numerous Buzzards. At one
point in the morning through the
telescope we had 2 White-tailed
Eagles bookending an otter with
a Grey Seal in the water in
front of them looking on. My
guests were somewhat overwhelmed
and even I was a little taken
aback. The views today were
stunning as well as there was
only a little rain and no mist
so even though we had less
wildlife in the afternoon we
still had glorious Mull to
enjoy.
Sept 27th
More of the same
weatherwise although it did
improve in the late afternoon.
our local Sparrowhawk was having
a laugh with the birds in the
garden today, no sooner had they
returned after one traumatising
fly through when the little
blighter flew through again, the
little birds did not know if
they were coming or going, well
obviously both. On a short trip
out today I found another new
Otter with pups and the Black
Throated Diver was still about.
You can add Ringed Plovers to
the list of birds on our local
loch, Loch Cuin, and the Snipe
seem to be resident for the
winter now and will be joined by
more as winter approaches. I had
fun today playing with my best
mate, Lucy, sorry Nick but when
the cats away.
Sept 26th
After Arthurs songs of
yesterday he sent me out in Mountain
Mist (Rick Wakeman). Rain,
wind, low cloud, not the best conditions
for finding wildlife.
At our first stop we had good
comparisons of Shag and
Cormorant and Meadow and Rock
Pipits. Searching for Otters was
a Pantomine especially when the
call went up 'There behind you'
as mum and 2 cubs were running
across the field and up the
hill. As we pulled up at are
lunch stop I found a juvinle
White-tail Eagle sitting on the
beach, unfortunatly as I was
helping guests out of the van it
flew away. A short time later we
saw 2 more flying very low but
still at the lower level of the
cloud. During luch they came and
went, increasing in numbers
until eventually we had 6
juvenile White-tail Eagles
flying right above our heads,
interacting with each other and
attempting to talon grasp. My
guests were delighted as they
had not expected to see any
Eagles in these weather
conditions. Other highlights
were a Dipper, Red-throated
Diver and 4 Common Scoter, the
last 2 in rather choppy water.
Sept
25th
Today we had no tour
which was just as well as this
morning it was very Windy
(The Association) and any
birds that were out were Blowing
in the wind (Bob Dylan).
in fact you could say that they
had the Wind beneath
their wings (Bette Midler).
As well as the wind Here
Comes the rain again
(Eurthmics) and we all
had Here comes that rainy
day feeling again (The
Fortunes) and we were
wondering Who'll stop the
rain (Creedence
Clearwater Revival). As
the day progressed the weather
got worse with gales and heavier
rain, in fact it was Stormy
Weather (Etta James) and
it was Like a Hurricane
(Neil Young) And there
was Little shelter from the
storm (Bob Dylan) but we
live in hope it will get better
After the Storm (Mumford and
Sons).
Sept
24th
A nice if cool day for
the tour today and once again we
saw 4 Otters, isn't it funny how
Otters reappear as visitor
numbers go down, our friends
Jaquie and MiKe saw 11 Otters
yesterday when out with some
friends. Excellent White-tailed
Sea Eagle sightings today and
also a good if distant Golden
Eagle. Good views of Red
Deer stag and lots of sightings
of hinds and this years calves.
The Black Throated Diver was
again present but there was no
sign of the Common Scoter. We
saw lots of wader species
although not in great numbers
and once again our guests were
astonished at how many birds we
have in our garden as we took
afternoon tea in the warmth of
our Aga heated kitchen.
Sept 23rd
Today to be different
I am putting the top twenty
countdown from today's tour in
my opinion. At no 20 Oystercatcher,
seen on most tours but an
obvious bird to get begginers
started. At 19 Siskin,
in our garden and guests always
love this little Finch. At 18
the Common Gull which is
a really nice Gull and not as
evil looking as its bigger
cousins. At 17 the ubiquitous Grey
Heron, a bird guests
easily spot and often comment
upon. At 16 Red Breasted
Merganser a beautiful Duck
which breeds on Mull. At 15 Seals,
both types and a Mammal guests
like to see and whilst they look
at the Seals I can search for
Otters. !4 Redshank, a
delightful but fairly obvious
Wader to see but harder than
Oystercatcher. At 13 Bar
Tailed Godwit A good bird
which looks rather like a small
Curlew until you see the bill.
At !2 the Curlew most
guests favorite Wader due mainly
to its call. At 11 the Sparrowhawk
and I will also include Buzzard
here as we see the latter on
most tours but not so the
Sparrowhawk. At 10 Snipe
which when we see it guests get
quite excited by its colours and
bill size. At 9 Greenshank
my favorite Mull Wader. At 8
Kestrel a beautiful raptor
often overlooked and this is a
big mistake. At 7 Red Deer
although we have an awful lot of
them guests cannot find them and
love to see stags. At 6, White-tailed
Sea Eagle A guest
favourite but I much prefer the
Golden Eagle. At 5, Great
Northern Diver, the first
on a tour for some time. At 4, Otter,
everyone wants to see them and
when we do its great, today we
saw four. At 3, Common
Scoter, a sea duck and the
first one on a tour this year,
so you could say its a new
entry. At 2 Golden Eagle,
an iconic bird in Mull and
Scotland. No 1 on todays tour a
Black Throated Diver
still in most of its breeding
plumage, I'm still rubbing my
thies a la Chris Packham over
this sighting. This top 20 were
all seen on todays tour so
apologies to all the wildlife
not there, you should put in an
appearance to be included. The
list is only my opinion my
guests would be different no
doubt.
Sept 22nd
Changeover day in the
self-catering so I had one more
lawn to mow although I did
manage to get out and do a bit
of wildlife watching and I am
glad I did as I saw a very young
Otter pup in a new area. At
Cailaich a small flock of Twite,
always a nice bird to see,
Kestrels, Buzzards, and Red Deer
here as well. On to Calgary and
a single Common Scoter in the
bay and 4 Eider Ducks here as
well and then I spotted a pair
of Red Throated Divers and in
the good light and through the
scope I was able to see that
they still had the Red on their
throats. When I returned home I
took Lucy for a walk across the
road to the Loch and was able to
take a photo of these Goosander
at high tide.
Sept 21st
No tour today and
after yesterdays epic I stayed
at home and mowed the Lawns, yes
we did have more showers but if
I wait for the rain to stop
completely they might not get
done till Christmas (did I
really mention that word). I
also cleaned the mini-bus, for
all guests who have been out
with me this year it is dark
blue, even I had forgotten what
it looks like when cleaned, I
also got the hoover out and
cleaned the inside, I have have
to go now as Pam has just
fainted at the sight of me with
a hoover. This evening we went
to the Bird Club meeting about
mammals, Wildcat, Pinemarting
and Polecat, it was interesting
and informative and very
enjoyable and as it was held in
Dervaig we were home by 10
oclock, now that is a bonus, see
what we have been missing all
these years going down to
Craignure.
Sept
20th
Oh what a day, late in
September 2018, a wonderful male
Hen Harrier sighting and at the
same time we were also seeing
some Red Deer stags,
unfortunatly for the Deer the
Hen Harrier was the main
attraction with the Deer only a
supporting role. Earlier in the
day we had found an Otter
although we were struggling to
remain upright as the high winds
were blowing right up the Loch,
through perseverance and
patience all our guests were
able to see the Otter very well
through the telescope. 2
White-tailed Sea Eaglers were
seen as was a very good female
Sparrowhawk and of course
Kestrels and Buzzards but it was
the Golden Eagles at the end of
the day which really stole the
show today and I can't often say
that after the great Hen Harrier
sighting but these birds really
wanted to be seen and flew right
over our heads and I even
managed a decent (for me)
photograph of them. What a way
to end a perfect day with lovely
guests, great wildlife sightings
and all on a day when we only
had a few showers. Other notable
sightings today were Snipe,
Greenshank, Whimbrel, Bar Tailed
Godwit and I saw a single
Wigeon.
Sept
19th
I love my wife she
managed to re-jig the tours so
we didn't have to do a tour
today and the weather was evil,
high winds and yes even more
rain.
Sept 18th
It might as well rain
throughout September, yes
another wet day although not as
windy as it has been, severe
gales promised for tomorrow
though so a bit of tour jigging
by Pam means we are not out in
that. Anyway back to today and
what can you see on a wet day on
Mull, 4 otters that's what, a
mum with 2 pups and a single one
fishing, Common Seal, the first
2 of 4 White-tailed Sea Eagles,
Buzzards and Kestrels and of
course some Red Deer. Other
notable sighting were the Robin
in the photo on top of a tall
post at Ulva Ferry and a Dipper
in a stream near the sea as the
burns were full and very fast
flowing as believe it or not it
had poured down with rain all
night.
Sept 17th
Rain all day with the
wind getting up in the afternoon
fortunatly we managed to see
wildlife in the morning. The
White-tail Eagle chicks were
looking a bit bedraggled sitting
on there branch and the Buzzards
and Kestrels were flying in the
rain. We were fortunate enough
to get a 20 minute break just as
we pulled up at our lunch stop
and 2 Golden Eagles took the
opportunity to take to the sky,
we were so lucky to be in the
right place at the right time.
The Sparrowhawk flew through as
well and we got lunch whilst it
was dry. Later we found an Otter
fishing in some relativly calm
water and a nice herd of Red
Deer and Common Seals were also
seen. I did a lot of talking
about the History and Geology of
Mull which all my guests
enjoyed.
Sept 16th
A tour today in windy
and often wet conditions but we
managed to see brilliant Hen
Harrier hunting on a ridge and
in the valley below us, there
was a hunting Kestrel here as
well and obviously a Buzzard. 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles were
seen but evan they were not
showing that well today as we
only saw them perched. At one of
our Golden Eagle stops we saw a
Peregrine falcon very close and
one of two Sparrowhawks seen in
the day. A distant Golden Eagle
not one to shout about was seen
flying into the strog winds
wings tucked well in. Other
notable birds seen were Ravens
who were putting on a great
display, at least one bird
species enjoys high winds.
Mammals today were Red Deer,
Fallow Deer, Grey and Common
Seals and a total of 5 Otters,
yes that is correct 5 Otters, 2
seperate ones and a mum with 2
cubs, I think my guests had a
good day in spite of the
weather, I know I did.
Sept
15th
A day off
Sept 14th
The day started with
some lovely Red Breasted
Mergansers, Greenshank, Bar
Tailed Godwits, Curlews,
Redshank and Oystercatchers,
these were followed by some
Eider Ducks, a Black Guilliemot
and these Common Seals that look
like they are sitting on water
but in fact they are on an
island just below the surface
waiting for the tide to recede.
We had 3 Golden Eagle sightings
today the one at afternoon tea
being a cracker. White-tailed
Sea Eagles as usual, 2 Hen
Harrier sightings the second one
another cracking sighting and
Red Deer stags some with hinds,
we saw one getting himself
dolled up with fancy Deer
perfume, that is lying in its
own Urine, hum hum, I bet it
did. Two other Deer stags were
having a bit of a go at each
other, it wasn't a fight to the
death but the rut has started.
Sept
13th
Between the showers
and in high winds we watched as
a pair of Golden Eagles as they
flew high above the hill looking
as if they were doing it just
for the fun of it. A few minutes
later we turned as all the gulls
were flying over the salmon
hatchery and sure enought there
were 2 White-tail Eagles flying
above them. Both sightings were
for several minutes and
delighted my guests. I (Pam)
havn't led a tour for a couple
of weeks and was also delighted
with this good start to the day.
Just before lunch, in the only
calm water around the island, I
spotted an Otter in the water
swimming past a pair of
Goosander I had in the telescope
unfortunatly it disapeared
before any of my guests saw it.
As I was searching for it
someone said that there was
another Otter on the otherside,
we went to look and it was
playing 'hide and seek' with us
but eventually we were able to
watch a mother and cub as they
were hunting elusivly behind
rock and seaweed. Whilst we were
watching the Otters a beautiful
male Hen Harrier flew right over
the top of them hunting
the islands . Along with Red
Deer, Seals and numerous
Kestrels our other highlight for
the day was a close Peregrine
Falcon.
Sept
12th
It was one of those
days, my guests wanted Otters,
there were white horses on the
sea due to a very strong wind,
we got at least 3 Otters which
my guests either could not see
in the water or the Otters just
disappeared. I was more than a
little frustrated although in
the end all my guests had seen
an Otter however briefly so I
suppose you could say job done
but I was not happy on two
counts, the sightings were not
great for my guests and we
missed out on other wildlife
looking just for Otter. We did
see a lot of Red Deer stags, 5
White-tailed Sea Eagles and a
Hen Harrier although we could
have seen much more if we hadn't
spent so much time looking for
Otter. Finally the mum and cubs
were nowhere to be seen, not
really a suprise as you could
barely park where they had been
the day before, word gets about
and the wildlife gets disturbed
from its normal behaviour.
Sept 11th
Wind, heavy squalls,
cool not the best day for a tour
or so we thought but it turned
out to be a great day with the
highlight for my guests being a
mum Otter with 2 small cubs,
check out the photo of the two
youngsters playing in seaweed
whilst mum was out fishing about
30 metres away. Another
highlight were the 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles which
flew in and landed on seaweed
whilst we were having lunch,
both coffe and lunch were taken
between squalls. 2 Hen Harriers
seen early in the tour set the
day up well and with a Golden
Eagles and a group of Red Deer
with a young stag made my guests
more than pleased with a day
when to be truthfull their
expectations were not that high,
it just goes to show you can
never second guess wildlife.
Sept 10th
No tour today so we
went to Tobermory, me to buy a
new watch strap and Pam to the
jewellers to get a stone reset
in her engagement ring. In the
event the ring has had to be
sent away to be reset which is
going to cost a small fortune
but as she has worn it for over
46 years I can't complain and
she is worth it to put up with
me for all that time. On our way
home we did a detour to get in a
bit of birding and saw 4 or was
it 5 Kestrels, they were more
prevelent than Buzzards this
morning. 4 White-tailed Sea
Eagles but for me it was a
single Black Tailed Godwit that
stole the show today. I was glad
we didn't have a tour today as
the weather was awful, rain,
wind, rain, gales and still more
rain.
Sept
9th
Out on tour again
today and to put it mildly the
weather was not promising so we
were all in wet weather gear and
mode. I drove off missing a
couple of usual stops as it was
pouring down but as the rain
eased we reached a possible
White-tailed Eagle stop and so I
stopped for a look. There were
no Eagles there but we did see a
Buzzard and 2 fantastic Hen
Harriers which kept us
entertained for a while much to
my relief. My guests wanted
Otters, when don't they, and lo
and behold we got one, a very
good one at coffee time, much to
my relief. After coffee we saw a
single Fallow Deer and a couple
of Red Deer but in the wind and
rain nothing else. The rain
stopped and so did we and out
flew a Kestrel and 2 Golden
Eagles much to my relief and at
lunch a White-tailed Sea Eagle
flew over our heads, you guessed
it, much to my relief. More Red
Deer followed and all the birds
in our garden and to end the day
Goosander, Redshank, Greenshank
and Snipe, Much to my
relief.
Sept 8th
A word in support of
little brown jobs (LBJ'S) they
do not all look alike, there are
subtle differences and they all
play a part in our eco system
and if you look at them closely
they are all very beautifull.
Take a look at the photograph
below of a humble Meadow Pipit
and even with my fuzzy photos
you can see what a lovely bird
it is with its wing bar, black,
brown, buff and white plumage
and long claws very evident and
without them were would our
Cuckoos nest, Merlins feed and
bird watchers struggle to
identify a typical LBJ. I went
for a short drive around today
and saw some wildlife but I was
particularly taken with the
Meadow Pipits and a gorgeous
charm of over 30 Goldfinches at
Calgary.
Sept 7th
A tour today and an
unusual request for Dunlin, now
I have not seen Dunlin for at
least a week on our tours, lots
of other Waders but not Dunlin,
but the Gods must have been
smiling on me today as at our
last stop and the 2nd possible
Dunlin spot I found 3 feeding up
furiously, result, a great way
to leave guests on a high and it
was a first for the lady who
made the request. White-tailed
Sea Eagles were seen as were
Golden Eagles but the star of
today was an Otter which
performed perfectly for my
guests who all wanted to see
Otter, Todays photo is a group
of four Red Deer, including a
young stag, there were 20 in
total in the herd but these four
were grouped together for a half
decent shot. (whisper that as
the stalking season will soon be
upon us).
Sept 6th
No tour today but I
had to go to Salen to fetch a
parcel for Pam who was too busy
baking Lemon Drizzle Cake for
the tours so I took the
opportunity to do a bit of
birding with my new Kowa scope
for the first time. Waders seen
were Oystercatchers, Curlews,
Bar Tailed Godwits, Ringed
Plover, Greenshank and Redshank.
Birds of prey seen were
Buzzards, Golden Eagles and
White-tailed Sea Eagles, I also
saw Red and Fallow Deer and both
types of Seal and the views
through the scope were amazing,
I was really chuffed. Thanks to
Nick for painting the windows
and fixing the downspouts in
readiness for Winter we cannot
thank him enough. I took a photo
of Aros Castle which we
see on most tours but I never
get time to photograph it and so
I thought I should as it is
getting more dillapadated like
the Salen boats.
Sept 5th
As Arthur says
wildllife watching can all be
about timing and today as I
(Pam) was on the tour and the
weather forcast was not great we
started doing the tour from
Tobermory via Dervaig as we had
heard that it was pouring down
in Salen. In the first hour, but
it was mainly in a 20 minute
period, we saw Hooded Crows and
Ravens and a baby toad under the
Adders sheet. The usual Herons,
Goosanders and Greylag Geese at
the end of Loch Cuin with some
Red Deer on the hill. At our
next stop we saw a juvenile
White-tail Sea Eagle looking
very bedragled in a tree as we
watched a Buzzard flew past
behind the trees where we could
hear but not see the adult bird.
A Sparrowhawk flew over head and
across the road behind us, as we
turned we saw the Hooded Crows
chasing a bird which turned out
to be a beautiful female Hen
Harrier twisting and turning to
avoid the crows. I then took my
guests home for a toilet stop
and we had great views of the
adult White-tailed Sea Eagle
from our garden (pretty cool
eh.) Whilst watching the Eagle
the Sparrowhawk had gone through
the garden and all the little
birds had gone. It rained quite
heavily for most of the day
although we saw 2 more
White-tail Eagles flying and
some more Red Deer.
Sept 4th
Another tour with
great sightings of all Mulls
special species seen in near
perfect weather for wildlife
watching. We saw zillions more
Buzzards today and I imagine a
lot of visitors think they are
Golden Eagles particularly as
the bus and taxi drivers tell
them they are but I would know
if I told guests that Buzzards
were Eagles and I could not in
all concience do that even if
they would not know. Today we
actually saw 3 Golden Eagles, 6
White-tailed Sea Eagles, 2 Hen
Harriers, Kestrels, and
Peregrine Falcon. 3 Otters were
seen a mother and young in a
place I rarely see them and
another late in the day although
for once on a tour Otters were
not really a high priority for
my guests and they barely
glanced at the last one. Other
birds of note were Bar Tailed
Godwits, Greenshank, a Lapwing
and Ringed Plover and we also
saw a lot of Red Deer stags
today and 2 Fallow Deer. I could
not resist taking this photo of
the Highland Cow which was
framed by the branches of the
trees and bushes.
Sept 3rd
Back on tour again and
I had a fantastic time, great
guests at least 4 had been out
with me before, lots of visitors
who I always enjoy catching up
with, fabulous weather and
wonderfull wildlife except for
the morning Midges which we will
not dwell on. 9 White tailed Sea
Eagles, 4 Golden Eagles, 2 Hen
Harriers, Peregrine Falcon,
Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk and
zillions of Buzzards. Small
birds included Lesser Redpoll,
Siskins, Greenfinches and Coal
Tits. Red Deer, both kinds of
Seal and a Rabbit were seen on a
day when all Mulls main species
came out to play. When I got
home I even had time to finish
the Lawn that I had not got
around to on Friday, a very
special day indeed.
Sept
1st and 2nd
The weather forecast
was right for once so I stayed
indoors and caught up on the
family particularly my brothers
and sister. I also enjoyed
watching the weekend sport
particulary the brilliant
cricket test match, Lewis
Hamiltons amazing win at the
Italian Grand Prix and of course
supporting my football club
Manchester City and before any
of you think I only support
winners, I have supported City
since 1958 and even got my
unfortunate son and daughter to
support them, how's that for
being a cruel dad. Richard is
now a season ticket holder and
even had Blue Moon sung at his
wedding much to his Manchester
United mates disgust.
September 2017
Sept 30th
The last day of September and no change
in the weather
and I took a
short trip out
not seeing
anything out
of the
ordinary
except for a
count of 65
Common Gulls
in a field at
Calgary. A
Kestrel
chasing small
birds without
success from
the Cailaich
road. A single
Curlew at
Croig and 2
Goosander and
a Redshank at
Dervaig, back
at home a
Buzzard and
White-tailed
sea Eagle flew
over the house
and the garden
is full of
Chaffinches.
Sept 29th
I have seen very few Sparrowhawks this
Summer but I
saw my second
one in two
days today
over the main
car park in
Tobermory as I
was waiting to
have our car
fitted with
two new front
tyres. A
White-tailed
sea Eagle and
Buzzard flew
over the
garden today
as I tried to
do a bit of
tidying up
between the
very heavy
showers. It
will be our
penultimate
tour for the
season on
Sunday and to
put it mildly
the weather
isn't looking
to promising.
Sept 28th
A day of sunshine and showers and the
only wildlife
of note today
apart from our
garden birds
was the
reappearance
of a male
Yellowhammer
to our garden
and a
Sparrowhawk
flew over the
house being
mobbed by a
couple of
Hooded Crows
which was
funny as they
were bigger
than the
Sparrowhawk
but it took
absolutely no
notice of
them. On
another front,
apparently
there has been
a big breakout
of Salmon from
one of the
fish farms and
some fishermen
that I know
are stocking
up on Salmon
for the
Winter, the
White-tailed
Sea Eagles
should be
pleased with
this bounty as
well.
Sept 27th
'Everything' was said when I asked what
my guests
wanted this
morning, and
they meant it,
which was
great on a
dull but very
windy day. For
20 minutes we
watched a Shag
as it
struggled to
swallow a huge
flat fish
almost 3 times
the size of
it's head, the
fishes tail
was flapping
side to side,
it definatly
did not want
to go down
there. After
dropping the
fish several
times it
dissapeared
down the Shags
throat and his
kneck was huge
as it slowly
went down into
it's stomach.
After waiting
over an hour
for the tide
to go out we
spotted an
Otter close by
the shore. As
it dissapeared
behind a large
rock I quietly
got my guests
out of the van
and lined up
along side
using the van
as a hide and
we watched the
Otter climb
onto the close
rock for a
good minute
before a
female walker
walked past us
along the
road, striding
out and
swinging her
arms, I
watched as the
Otter
imediatly
spotted her
and
dissapeared,
we waited to
see if it
would reappear
as male walker
passes us, 100
yards up the
road he turned
back to us,
pointed at the
water and
shouted
'OTTER', 'not
any more' I
said to my
guests.
Fortunately
later in the
day one of my
guests spotted
a second Otter
and we watched
it fishing,
eating and
eventually
curle up and
go to sleep
for half an
hour. 2 Golden
Eagles were
seen hunting
in the wind, 2
Jays were also
seen flying
and lots of
Mergansers,
Goosander and
waders. At the
end of the day
we saw the
newly returned
Kingfisher.
Pam did todays
tour and
received a
nice thank you
e-mail from
two of her
guests.
Sept 26th
A day similar to yesterday with great
weather, more
gardening and
only a little
time for
birding. Today
however even
though I saw
less birds
some of the
sightings were
better, the
main highlight
was a terrific
view of a
hunting male
Hen Harrier,
when it comes
to birds of
prey seeing
this bird
hunting must
be one of the
best sightings
you can get
unless of
course you are
a gamekeeper,
only two Hen
Harriers bred
in England
last year when
here on Mull
around 70
young were
fledged. At
Dervaig as
well as a nice
view of a
Greenshank one
of my favorite
waders I
managed a
distant
sighting of
the Dervaig
Kingfisher
which has
returned,
hopefully for
the Winter. I
had a good
view of a Red
Deer stag
today but as
yet have heard
no roaring to
signify that
the Rut has
started.
Sept 25th
A beautiful day today and I had to work
in the garden
as regular
readers know
this is not my
favorite
hobby, I did
however manage
to sneek in an
hours birding
and although
there was not
to much to be
seen in such a
short time I
did get a
really good
view of a Red
Throated Diver
in Calgary Bay
and in the
beautiful
weather I saw
that it still
had some red
on the throat
which made the
sighting even
more special.
Sept 24th
Today all Mull's special wildlife
species
performed well
for our
friends and
let's not
forget Malcolm
our other
guest on
todays tour,
the weather
however was
not so
obliging
although it
was a typical
Mull day,
starting with
drizzly rain
and improving
after lunch.
We saw 4
Otters today
with 3 of them
really close,
check out the
photo's, 3
Golden Eagles
were seen the
first looking
miserable
sitting on a
branch barely
visible
through the
drizzle, the
second was
brief to say
the least, the
last one
however gave
us a great
view and all
our gursts got
to follow it
in the
telescope
which is
always a
bonus. We saw
4 White-tailed
Sea Eagles, 2
Hen Harriers
and had lots
of Red Deer
stags which
Malcolm
particularly
wanted to see.
As the weather
improved the
views got
better and our
friends were
able to see
Mull in all
its glory.
They had spent
some time on
Skye but the
general
concensus was
that Mull was
much nicer to
which I fully
concur. So
todays result
Skye 1 Mull
the big 5.
Sept
23rd
A dry day and as we
had no tour today I managed to
mow our 3rd lawn the one I could
not mow last week due to rain.
We only have 4 tours left to do
this year as we are only filling
in the days where we have
already taken bookings for tours
via phone or on line, this does
not mean we are retiring and we
will be open for tours and
Self-Catering again next year
which is perhaps as well as we
have already taken bookings for
both in 2018. Tomorrow we have a
tour with friends up on Mull
from Cheshire, this is their
first visit to Mull so we hope
the weather and wildlife perform
for them.
Sept 22nd
It was an unusual day
on Mull, it rained, all day it
rained which was not ideal for a
tour but we managed over 35
species of birds and 4 mammals.
All the photographs below were
taken in the rain but to show
you that wet days are not a
washout as most people think.
Yes it is not always a
comfortable experience, but with
the right clothing and a little
patience wildlife is still there
to be seen.
Sept
21st
No tour today as I had an
appointment in Salen, being
early I had a half an hour to go
wildlife watching and in that
time I saw 2 White tailed Sea
Eagles, 2 Otters, 2 Ravens,
Oystercatchers, Red breasted
Mergansers, Grey Herons and
Common Seals, not a bad 20
minutes.
Sept 20th
Pam did the tour today and
it rained for the greater part
of the day before clearing up in
the late afternoon. during the
day they had a good Otter
sighting, Golden Eagle which Pam
tells me was a remarkable spot
and who am I to disagree.
White-tailed Sea eagle, Buzzards
and Kestrels were also seen
during the day and remarkably a
female Hen Harrier. Well done
Pam you did a good job in trying
conditions.
Sept
19th
At our first stop on
todays tour were 4 Bar Tailed
Godwits, a bird some of my
guests had never seen before.
Seals were high on the list of
some guests who were more
interested in them than the very
good Otter we had at the same
time. A Great Northern Diver was
seen as were lots of Red Deer
but today we saw no stags. We
had to wait patiently for a
Golden Eagle sighting today and
even then it was rather distant.
The day ended on a high for some
of my guests as we saw a Slow
Worm, there was only one but
they managed a quick photograph
before it vanished into the
undergrowth. Today with clear
skies the views of Mull and its
surrounding islands was
terrific.
Sept 18th
After yesterdays Otter
no show today we had one for
over an hour which made my
guests very happy. White-tailed
Sea eagles are proving very
visible at the moment as many of
the adult birds are taking a
well earned rest sitting in
their usual haunts after a
somewhat tricky breeding season
due to the poor weather. Finding
them however is greatly helped
if you know where their usual
haunts are. We are seeing more
Golden Eagles now as well as
they are also taking advantage
of the better weather of the
last few days, for the first
time this year some of them were
actually sitting on the top of
the hills catching a few rays.
The Red Deer rut is just
starting and more stags are
appearing, they are not roaring
or scrapping yet, just sizing
each other up. Our day ended
with a memorable sighting of a
very close female Hen Harrier
which interacted with a couple
of young Kestrels for several
minutes, it was my sighting of
the day even if for once I got a
decent photograph of a Linnet
from a small flock which flew
past and landed on power lines
at lunch time.
Sept 17th
A bird of prey tour
today with over 10 White-tailed
Sea Eagles seen, we stopped
counting at 10. Golden Eagles
were seen in good numbers as
well but 2 of them being mobbed
by a Buzzard and a Kestrel were
particularly close for Goldies.
At our first stop we saw a
Sparrowhawk and later 2 more
interacting with 2 Hen Harriers
so my guests were particularly
pleased with their day. As with
everything where there are ups
there are downs and today for
the first time in a long time we
did not see any Otters although
we did see Red Deer stags, hinds
and this years calves. Waders
seen included Greenshanks,
Redshanks, Bar Tailed Godwits
and Curlews and we also saw a
Great Northern Diver, Black
Guilliemots and 2 Little Grebe.
There seem to be a lot more
Cormorants around this Autumn
which probably means more of
them are breeding on or around
Mull.
Sept 16th
Changeover day in the
self-catering and I managed to
mow 2 lawns before the rain
came. We have tours booked for
the next 4 days and at least for
the start of the week the
weather forecast is better.
Sept
15th
A dry if very windy
day and Pam did todays tour
which by all accounts was very
similar day to yesterday with 7
White-tailed Eagles seen during
the day. I myself saw a Lapwing,
some Wigeon the first since the
Spring, lots of Linnets, so I
had a good day and some very
smart Mistle Thrushes.
Sept
14th
A tour today and we
saw several White-tailed Eagles,
Golden Eagles, Otter and Red
Deer although it was wet and
windy at times. Eas Force the
waterfall was worth seeing and
there were plenty of Gannets at
Cailaich Point if we could have
stood up to see them in the
Northerly Winds.
Sept 13th
Another showery day
with no tour but we did have an
old friend return to the garden,
a female Yellowhammer which is
always nice to see. 2
White-tailed Sea Eagles flew
over the house as 2 Buzzards
fought over a dead Rabbit in the
field. Pam counted 20 Ravens
flying over the garden and there
were calling Goldcrests in the
wood as I went to check the
water supply, not a bad half
hour if I do say so myself.
Sept 12th
Today on tour four
became my favorite number, we
saw 4 White-tailed Sea Eagles, 4
Otters and 4 Golden Eagles, 3 of
the Golden Eagles, dad, mum and
this years young gave us a
fabulous display of flying
before landing on a wall of rock
where they were really visible
through scope, unusual for
Goldies. One of the White-tailed
Sea Eagles flew to a very small
island with a Common Seal and
Otter on, both creatures went
into the water and although the
seal did not return, the braver
Otter did return to try the
Eagles patience, it showed
little or no fear of the Eagle
and proceeded to do what Otters
do whilst the Eagle looked on
with distain, disinterested in
the Otters antics. My guests on
the other hand were facinated by
the behaviour of both the Otter
and the Eagle. One other big
plus today the poor weather that
was forecast did not appear, in
fact I stayed dry all day,
amazing.
Sept 11th
No tour just poor
weather, it blew a gale, it was
no Irma but just a reminder that
Autumn is upon us.
Sept
10th
Another tour in wet blustery
conditions and although the
White-tailed Sea Eagles
were not as good as
Friday they were pretty special
as today instead of trying to
mug Otters they took a Gull and
proceeded to pluck and eat it,
white feathers were flying
everywhere in the wind, some of
my guests were impressed for
others it was nature a bit too
raw. The Otters today were very
good as they were not being
harassed by the Eagles. I was
glad a Golden Eagle flew even if
was only briefly as believe it
or not as it appeared so did the
rain, hey hoh Mull 2017 srtikes
again. On a lighter note we have
waterfalls everywhere which
let's be honest is no real
surprise.
Sept
9th
I hoped to mow lawns
today but guess what it rained
so I went to Tobermory to fill
up the van and get some bird
seed. After lunch I watched my
team win on sky sports so the
day wasn't a complete wash out.
Sept 8th
Hey, it was a great
day weatherwise it only rained
for half the day and of course
this totally confused one Golden
Eagle as it actually flew whilst
it was raining giving us great
views even if it was only for a
couple of minutes, my guests
were delighted I was bemused.
Red Deer stags were showing well
on the hillside, we nearly
always see these Stags when we
have Dervaig starts, we don't go
to their habitat with Tobermory
starts so Stags are seen less
often. We saw White-tailed Sea
Eagles but had to wait out our
Otters today and what a treat we
got when we eventually found
them, 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles
trying to rob the Otters as the
Otters tried to land, it was
like watching a violent mugging,
not that I have actually seen a
violent mugging. The Eagles flew
at the Otters as they tried to
bring in their prey, the Eagles
had their talons down and were
almost screaming at the
unfortunate Otters, it was quite
spectacular wildlife watching. I
have heard of White-tailed
eagles robbing Otters but I have
never seen it before, for the
Otters it must have been quite
terrifying. After that
experience the rest of todays
wildlife will seem tame but we
did get some very good bird
sightings, 3 Greenshank at
Salen, a Great Northern Diver in
Loch Tuath, a Red Throated Diver
and Razorbill in Calgary Bay and
to end a heart stopping day a
double Rainbow, yes it's raining
again????
Sept 7th
If you thought we were
getting some bad weather on
Mull, think again, today it got
even worse, there was little or
no respite from the rain, on a
happier note it was not cold. We
knew from the outset Golden
Eagles would be difficult if the
rain did not stop, well we were
proved right and we did not see
any Golden Eagles but we did see
a White-tailed Sea Eagle sitting
optimistically on a beach, deck
chair out waiting for the sun,
as far as I know it is still
there, the Eagle not the sun. We
were lucky to have a second
White-tailed sea Eagle fly over
our heads interacting with a
Buzzard at the Eas Force
waterfall which was running full
tilt, there our some benefits to
long prolonged heavy rain, we
get spectacular waterfalls. The
dipper in the photo below had to
come down to the coast to get
food the water in the burns was
moving too fast even for this
remarkable little bird. We saw
an Otter several Seals and 20
Red Deer so my guests were
pleased if somewhat surprised at
what we managed in the
circumstances. We had afternoon
tea in the kitchen at Ardrioch
and the birds on our feeders did
not disappoint, with the Great
Spotted Woodpecker being our
guests highlight from the birds
in the garden. Thanks to all my
guests who bore the weather with
humour and fortitude.
Sept 6th
A showery and windy
day today but it did
not stop the Eagles from coming
out, White tail's were
everywhere, flying, sitting on
rocks, sitting in trees and the
Juvenile Golden Eagle again gave
us lots of time flying even
though it was a bit distant. Our
Otter today did not stay around
very long but at least it was
long enough for everyone to see
it. Little birds were a bit
scarce with the blustery winds
but we did get some nice Curlew,
Godwits and Golden Plovers. Our
highlight came at the end of the
day with a pod of around 10
Bottlenose DOLPHINS very
close to shore leaping out of
the water and feeding, at one
time 7 dolphins were out of the
water at one time, there are
days when I'm pleased I gave
Arthur a days rest.
Sept 5th
I had a dentist
appointment today so no tour but
at least I have at last finished
my treatment and at the third
time of asking a cap that fits,
as the saying goes if you have a
cap that fits: wear it. As I was
waiting at home before going to
the dentist I took these
pictures of beautiful Collared
Doves in the garden, getting all
Lovey Dovey as they gaze into
each others eyes.
Sept 4th
You can tell by these
pictures of Eas Force that the
weather was somewhat inclement,
I was really glad I had
remembered my coat although as
it was relatively warm I did not
put it on. Enough about my
stupidity let's get on to the
wildlife, we saw Goosander, Red
Breasted Mergansers, Eider Ducks
and Mallards, lots of Cormorants
and Shags, Herons everywhere,
Oystercatchers, Curlews and
Redshanks, I told you it was
raining so it was nice weather
for Ducks and Waders. We then
saw 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles
and boy did they look miserable
but then a Common Seal came
flying out of the water not once
but two or thee times and boy
did it look happy, there is a
lesson there somewhere?. After
lunch the rain stopped, yes it
does stop sometimes on Mull, and
this is when it pays to be out
in the poor weather because all
Mull's main species come out to
play. We saw a very happy
White-tailed Eagle carrying
prey, the prey did not look
quite so happy, an Otter
catching and eating fish with I
swear a smile on its face, the
Otter not the fish, 5 Kestrels
in the air together and 3 Golden
Eagles the young one interacting
with 2 Ravens gave us a
brilliant flying display for
about 10 minutes and then it was
time to go home. The moral of
this tale is don't come to Mull
for the weather come for the
wildlife, it will be there most
days in spite of the weather,
after all it lives here.
Sept 3rd
A fairly poor day
weatherwise but even though I
did not have a tour I did
venture out, in the wrong
clothing of course, who goes out
in the pouring rain without a
coat? me of course.... It was
still great to be out on Mull
and see what was offer and
todays highlights were in first
place, and this is just for
readers of the blog, 3
White-tailed Sea Eagles, equal
first and this is for me a pair
of Red Throted Divers.
Bar-tailed Godwits were another
highlight even if they were just
too far away to get you a decent
photo although I tried. I saw
some eclipse male Eider Ducks
coming back into full plumage,
nice to see but also a reminder
that we are now in Autumn and
the year is moving on, if we had
a Summer on Mull I must have
missed it. A Goosander was seen
and there are quite a few about
which proves that there are a
few pairs now breeding on Mull
which is a fairly new
phenomenon. As I was now getting
very wet I prudently decided to
return home and dig out a coat
for tomorrows tour.
Sept 2nd
Change over day in the
self-catering and I had to
content myself with garden
birding and lawn mowing, the
latter is easier now with the
new lawn mower although still a
pain as the weather was
beautiful.
See picture of my new toy below.
Sept 1st
September came in with
a bang today as Pam and I went
to cailaich Point and saw lots
of Dolphins, we are talking well
over 300 in several groups
having a feeding frenzy for over
2 hours, mostly they were Common
Dolphins but there was also a
pod of Bottlenose Dolphins in
the mix and although they were
close enough to see clearly they
were just to far away for my
camera. Also seen at Cailaich
were large flocks of Manx
shearwaters, Gannets,
Kittiwakes, Fulmar, White-tailed
Sea Eagle, Shags and a Great
northern Diver. We also saw an
Atlantic Grey Seal and Red Deer.
At Calgary we had a very close
juvenile Great Skua, see photo
and a pair of Red Throated
Divers. On the drive back home I
took this picture of a Highland
Cow in beautiful Mull landscape
and back home in the afternoon I
used my new toy, a new lawn
mower which has a working clutch
which means I only have to guide
it not push it, a much better
idea. All in all a very good
start to Autumn, the weather was
great as well.
September
2016
Sept 20th to
30th
Home
alone working
on putting our
garden to bed
for the
winter, I
don't know
which was the
most surprised
me or the
garden. Pam
arranged some
home help for
me so I did
manage to get
out and about
a bit and saw
a little
wildlife some
quite rare on
Mull so I
can't compain.
Pam is in her
element proud
Grand Ma that
she is. A big
thank you to
Pete and Jenny
for keeping me
company and
Meg a Stephen
for keeping me
birding.
Sept
19th
A trip
around the block to look for
some of Mull's wildlife before
I return south to help look
after the grandchildren as our
son has to get back to work.
It was nice to see a host of
Golden and White-tail Sea
Eagles as I will be away for
about 3 weeks leaving Arthur
'home alone' although I have
aranged for carers to come in
to help him look after him
self. It was noticable that
the Red Deer stags are coming
down from the tops of the
mountains to join the herds of
hinds in readyness for the rut
which will be seriously
getting underway in the next
few weeks. I saw a very tatty
looking female Gadwall, plenty
of waders mainly Green
and Redshank
and an Otter was
seen, I wish it had shown as
well as this lovely Otter,
picture sent to us by guests
David & Harriet Brooks.
Sept 10th to 18th
We have
been away as we cannot do
tours and visited our son and
his family in Cheshire. Whilst
we were there our lovely
daughter-in-law gave us our
first grandson, to go with our
4 lovely granddaughters, so
many congratulations to you
both and now Manchester City
has another new fan.
Below are pictures of the
oldest and newest members of
the family - Eric Brown &
Rishee Eric Brown also grandpa
& Nia & Richard &
Rishee
Sept 9th
Thanks to our friends Blake
and Sheila May for this
version on Arthurs accident:
Had you realised that, with very
little hassle, the van could be
upgraded while it's being
repaired. In fact, it could
be auto-matic,
it could be sys-tematic, it could
be asth-matic. Why, it could
even go like ...
GREASED LIGHTNING !!!
Go Greased Lightning, heading
down to Loch Na Keal (Greased
Lighting, go Greased Lightning)
Pedal to the metal, Pam or
Ar-thur at the wheel
(Greased Lighting, go Greased
Lightning)
There'll be ott-ers on the
shore, there'll be eag-les by the
score,
There'll be se-als in a heap,
'cause they're al-ways fast
a-sleep, Greased Lightning.
Go Greased Lightning, 'cause
when you' re on the Isle of
Mull (Greased Lighting, go
Greased Lightning)
It ain't al-ways easy, but life
is nev-er ev-er dull
(Greased Lighting, go Greased
Lightning)
If at Ulva you should be, and
you're bursting for a wee,
You must wave your arms a-bout,
'cause if not, the lights go out,
Greased Lightning.
The road to Tober-mory really is
a big dis-grace (Greased
Lighting, go Greased Lightning)
And it doesn't help when people
just ig-nore a pass-ing
place (Greased Lighting, go
Greased Lightning)
It'll make you swear and
curse, if you stick it in
re-verse,
'Cause it really is a farce, if
you're dented up the ...
rear, Greased Lightning.
Go Greased Lightning, the
weather can be quite a
strain (Greased Lighting, go
Greased Lightning)
You've either got a drought, or
it's pour-ing down with rain
(Greased Lighting, go Greased
Lightning)
Now I've had enough of "Grease",
so I think I ought to cease,
It'll on-ly get much worse,
'cause I'm runn-ing out of verse,
like Greased Lightning.
Sept 8th
Pam and I
took the Mini Bus to hospital
(garage) today we left it in
the hands of a very nice
porter, (driver) who assured
us that as his son was the
surgeon (mechanic) and very
good so everything would be
all right and I would be the
only one feeling pain, in my
wallet. After the bus has had
a new boot door fitted it has
to go and have new front door
hinges fitted, the ones that
came with it new kept
dislocating and the doors flew
open when opened in a slight
wind. I hasten to add this was
not my fault but a fault that
was discovered after it had
been built, a bit of a birth
defect. When I get it it back
hopefully it will be better
than new.
Sept 7th
I Went out today and did
some wildlife watching seeing
lots of Eagles which was quite
a surprise as I was not
particularly looking for them.
I also saw a very good Otter
which I was also not really
looking for. My highlight of
my time out was a large mixed
flock of Twite and Linnet
which I was looking for. I
stopped to look for the
Kingfisher recently seen at
Dervaig but to no avail
although some of the Little
Grebes that winter here have
returned.
Sept 6th
Girl Power
Rules. Having spent the last
couple of days arranging
alternative tours for our
pre-booked guests I went out
with our friend Jacqui in her
mini-bus with todays guests. A
hunting male Hen Harrier was
seen soon after setting off
followed closly by not 1, not
2, but 4 White-tail Sea
Eagles, (more were seen later
in the day). An Otter with
morning coffee and Golden
Eagle 'golden ball diving'
with lunch were some of the
highlights of the day as well
as Red Deer and Common Seals
were also seen and lots of
different waders, Curlew,
Ringed Plover, Dunlin and
Redshank to mention a few. To
end the day we saw a Common
Snipe flying and a juvenile
Golden Eagle giving us a good
display.
Sept 5th
Not a great
day weatherwise and I had an
appointment for more treatment
at the dentist, on the
wildlife front it involved
roots and canals. As the
weather improved in the
afternoon Pam and our
neighbour and friend Nick
began preparing to paint the
house. I spent the afternoon
feeling sorry for myself as I
had no feeling in my mouth and
was reduced to drinking just
water, don't feel too sorry
for me as I was able to eat my
tea even if it was a little
later than usual.
Sept 4th
I did not do much today as
my bruised chest and ego had
taken a beating. Pam spent the
day re-arranging tours for our
booked guests, superstar that
she is.
Sept 3rd
A calamitous day and an
unfortunate accident
involving the mini-bus which
has meant we cannot do any
more tours this year. Nobody
was hurt and apart from the
back door of the bus little
damage was done but as we
cannot open the back door
until it is fixed and as we
only have one month to go in
the season we will pass on
any booked tours to are
friend Jaquie and other tour
operators on the island. On
the nobody hurt front,
numpty me managed to bruise
my chest getting the scopes
and binos out of the boot of
the bus climbing over the
back seat.
On another level here is
one for the popular music
lovers out in Arthur's blog
land.
'Oh, bing bash crash, what a
picture what a photograph,
poor old chap, what a night he
spent, door pushed in and his
fender bent?'
hope you enjoyed that one,
particularly Sheila and Blake.
Sept
2th
A very good day both in
terms of the weather and
wildlife and if this was to be
my last tour of the year
Iwould go out on a high. We
saw lots of Waders including
the Bar-tailed Godwits in the
picture below and a Whimbrel
was also seen well. Golden
Eagles, White-tailed Sea
Eagles and Hen Harrier were
fabulous today but even I, an
avid birder that I am, have to
say the 2 Otters seen were the
highlight of an exceptioal
day. I hope you enjoy the
photo although for me it is
seeing and watching wildlife
that I love, you all know my
motto you miss the moment
trying to capture the moment.
 
No tour
today and we went to the
Bellachroy for lunch with
friends staying in our self
catering cottage. The picture
below is me and Jack their son
feeding the birds in the
garden before the rain came
down. Note the piles of seed
on the floor, Jack puts it in
piles and is rewarded as he is
seeing lots of Rabbits from
the window of the cottage, Dad
and mum are much more
interested in the birds and
Otters but we have yet to
attract Otters to our garden.
September 2015
Sept 29th-30th
Off
island
visiting
family.
Sept 28th
Today
the weather
was just the
same as
yesterday but
today the
wildlife
played ball.
Redshank,
Greenshank,
Curlew and Bar
tailed Godwit
seen well as
were Wigeon
and Teal,
Goosander and
Red Breasted
Mergansers. We
saw 4
White-tailed
Eagles giving
us very good
views. We saw
3 Golden Eagle
giving us
exceptionally
good views.
Then there was
this female
Hen Harrier
giving us
extraordinarily
brilliant
views for over
20 minutes, to
say we were
all thrilled
by this
sighting would
be an
understatement.
Sept
27th
A lovely
day again, where has this
weather been all summer.
Although the weather was nice
the wildlife was not playing
ball today but we did manage a
few waders including Curlews,
Greenshank and Ringed Plover.
If you were wondering about
the Redshank in the wader
picture, this photo was taken
tomorrow. We saw 1
White-tailed Eagle, 1 Golden
Eagle and 1 Hen Harrier but
the Harrier was a good
sighting. Bird of the day were
Twite well that was until the
Harrier turned up.
Sept
25th
We went to
Tobermory today to fetch a new
fridge/freezer for Inch Hame,
our larger self-catering
cottage, for the new kitchen
we are putting in this winter
in time for the 2016 season. I
bought a 'Tilley' hat for when
we holiday abroad, I don't
think I require one for
Scotland, although Pam says
this is not true as they make
a very good rain hat. Thanks
to Nick & Catherine for a
lovely evening yesterday when
Catherine introduced me to
'Rabbit Pie' the first I can
remember having. The pie
included Floppsy, Mopsey and
Peter from the bottom of our
garden! which Nick had kindly
removed for us to protect our
plants. Our rabbits don't run
too fast as they are far too
over weight from all the
grass, plants and bird food
they eat. Our near by
White-tailed Eagles are flying
lower over our house these
days, I think they have
noticed Watership Down has
moved to our garden. Rabbits
beware!!
Sept 24th
A great
tour today dispite the
heavy showers and strong
winds, which brought about
some fabulous rainbows which
of course my guests had to
photograph. We saw 6
White-tailed Eagles today and
for once I remembered I had my
camera with me as you can see
from the photo. Golden Eagle
were harder to see due to the
weather but we did manage to
see one for a few minutes
before being hit by yet
another heavy shower. The same
thing had happened earlier in
the day with the Otter that we
saw, this Otter was either
very brave or a complete
numpty as it continued to swim
in the roughest water and
trying to land was smashed
against the rocks 4 times
before climbing out seemingly
unhurt and giving great views.
The bird of the day was a
brilliant female Hen Harrier
very close and interacting
with a Buzzard.
Sept
23rd
Our last
innoculations today and
although they only hurt a
little bit the pain I felt
paying for them was intense.
More work on our burn today
and thanks to Nick who helped
me. The burn is now running
faster than I can remember
since we have been here.
Sept 22nd
Another
lovely day of autumnal weather
and the White-tailed Eagles
were out in force to enjoy it,
we saw a total of 11 birds in
all today giving great views
with 5 seen in the air at one
time. Golden Eagles as if to
say 'look we are here as well'
also performed with great
views of a total of 5 birds
seen, 2 of them being
particularly good views.
During the day 2 Otters were
seen both giving as good close
sighting. For me however the
hghtlight of my day was this
group of 5 Yellowhammers, the
most I have seen in one flock
in my life, and I remembered I
carried a camera. In the
evening we went to Tobermory
for a meal with our friends
Jaqui & Mike who were
celebrating their first
Wedding Anniversary, we had a
lovely time and to make the
evening complete we saw a very
close Barn Owl sitting on a
passing place post on our way
home.
Sept 21st
A nice day
and an Otter we all saw for at
least a quarter of an hour
giving great views, typically
we had a very good sighting of
another Otter at lunch time. I
was really pleased to get a
good Otter as 2 of our guests
today had been given the
Discover Mull tour as a silver
wedding gift by their
bridesmaids and Angela, the
bride, really wanted to see an
Otter. Soon after our date
with the first Otter we were
watching White-tailed Eagles
interacting with Ravens over a
sheep carcase while Mum sat in
a tree looking on with pride.
She was very good as she let
us finish our coffees before
leisurely flying off to join
the kids giving us a great
sighting of her size. This
sighting gave Neil, the groom,
a thrill as well as it was
what he was hoping to see.
Thanks to all my guests today
who were great and I did not
want any of you to feel left
out but it was Angelas and
Neils special present.
Sept 20th
The weather
for todays tour was much
better than predicted and it
stayed dry for most of the
day. It was a day of
White-tailed Eagles today,
they were everywhere, Golden
Eagles on the other hand were
thin in the air although I saw
a total of 4, none were
brillian but at least all my
guests saw the last one, a
reward for their patience, at
least it was quite close and
being mobbed by two Ravens. On
the nearly seeing front, I saw
an Otter on a distant island
and one guest saw it as it
disappeared over the back not
to be seen again. Red Deer
Stag was seen with a few
hinds, yes the rut is about to
begin. The pictures below are
of a Greenshank and Hooded
Crow, I took them on my way
back home although we had seen
them during the tour. My bird
of the day a Red Throated
Diver in Lagganulva Bay.
Sept
18th
Arthur had
to sort out our water again
today and I had a lovely warm
day to do the tour. All the
big stuff was seen but the
Golden Eagles stole the show
again today with 2 adult birds
souring right overhead.
Smaller species seen today
included 2 Bar-tailed Godwits,
1 single Lapwing, Stonechats
and a single late
Wheatear.Thank you to todays
guests Glynis and Kath, who
sent me this lovely panaramic
photo of me with Loch na Keal
in the background.
Sept
16th & 17th
No tours as
we were away in Glasgow for
scheduled appointments.
Sept 15th
Isn't
wildlife watching wonderfully
unpredictable which is why we
enjoy it so much. Zoos are
great and neccessary for
endangered species and for
grandparents to go to with
grandchildren, but they are
predictable. Go out on a boat
and throw the fish by a
White-tailed Eagle nest site
and you will predictably get
your great photo to show your
friends. Go out wildlife
wtching and you just never
know, today on our tour we had
a sighting that blew my mind.
A juvenile Golden Eagle was
messing around giving us some
nice behaviour, landing on
rocks and flying whilst being
mobbed by a female Hen Harrier
when it suddenly flew low
behind a small hill and
disturbed 2 Red Deer hinds
with their calves, it
proceeded to chase and attack
the smaller of the calves
right across the hill going
for it on several occasions.
We watched in awe as this
superb large raptor chased the
Red Deer calf until they both
dissapeared behind the hill.
The chase acoss the hill was
at least a quarter of a mile
and was still going on after
they dissapeared. If the Red
Deer calfs heart was beating
as fast as mine it could well
have have had a heart attack.
I knew Golden Eagles did chase
Red Deer on hills but I never
thought I would ever get to
witness it in the wild without
gimmicks or captivity and as
you can imagine my guests were
exstatic, Isn't wildlife
watching wonderful. I took
this picture of a pair of Mute
Swans in the sunshine
yesterday but obviously the
Dophins took precidence.
Sept 14th
A beautiful
day and Pam came out on the
tour with us as a guest
cancelled to go out on a whale
watching trip. I hope she had
as good a day, as we did, as
we had a mum Otter with 2
Cubs, White-tailed Eagles,
brilliant Golden Eagles,
Seals, several Wading bird
species, Red Deer, oh and then
there were Bottlenose
Dolphins. There were
about 10 of them and boy did
they put on a show for us,
leaping out of the water, tail
slapping and just about
everything you would want
Dolphins to do. I feel a
little sorry for friends of my
guests who will be watching
their holiday snaps from now
until Chrismas.
Sept 13th
Talk about
rain, well we had a right
downpour this morning just
before the tour started today,
a couple of my guests were wet
through just getting to the
bus. The rain stopped and out
came the birds with great
views of 2 White Tailed
Eagles, a female Hen Harrier,
a Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and
Buzzard at our first two
stops. Goosanders, a Wigeon,
Little Grebe, Curlew and
Greenshank were also soon seen
as were some Red Deer stags. A
brilliant Golden Eagle and
both types of Seal were to
follow and we had 50 species
on a very productive day. My
bird of the day was a
particularly nice but late
Wheatear towards the end of
the day.
Sept 12th
I was
sought of promised my van back
from the car repair shop
today, it didn't happen. It is
in to have the front door
fault repaired at long last
but as the passenger door was
very bad it must be taking
longer than the garage
anticipated. Saturday chores
today and I just got them
finished before the monsoon
hit. Yes you could say the
indian Summer is well and
truly over.
Sept 11th
A tour
today in lovely weather which
was a good thing as the
wildlife chose today to have a
day off. I think they must
have joined the White-tailed
Eagle save our forest campaign
and gone on strike, could this
be construde as ill Eagle
picketing. We did see a few
Waders and some very good
Golden Eagles but even finding
Red Deer was hard today.
Sept 10th
Our Indian
summer remains with us
although it is still very
breezy, at least it keeps the
Midges at bay. No tour today
and I watched as the Highland
Clearances take place on the
hill behind us, No not people
but all the Sitka Spruce
Trees, they have all gone noe
except for the stand where the
White-tailed Eagles sit. I
think I saw them holding
Placards with save our trees
on them the other day. One
plus of the deforestation,
more light for our Solar
Panels.
Sept 9th
A trip to
the nurse this morning for
some needles, innoculatiions
against Rabies, Typhoid and
Hepititus A, needless to say I
was not a happy bunny as I set
off to do the tour. We saw
some really nice Greenshank
one of my favorite Waders to
cheer me up a little and a Bar
tailed Godwit, Curlews,
Oystercatchers, Redshank and a
nice group of 3 Goosanders so
I was feeling better all the
time. We saw most of Mulls
special species although I
have seen them better but
thats wildlife for you and to
my mind what makes wildlife
watching so special.
Sept 8th
Yep, Summer
over, definite Autumnal
feeling about today with windy
conditions yet again. If we
thought the wildlife was slow
to appear yesterday today it
was having a laugh. We did see
a very nice Bar-tailed Godwit
and some lovely Goosanders to
keep our spirits up and of
course the Common Seals but
bird of the morning was
argubly Cormorants which were
everywhere, Shags beware. We
then much to my relief got a
very good Otter which pleased
Lynn more than a little bit.
Buzzards galore and a Kestrel
followed but it was a long
time before we saw 3 Golden
Eagles which gave us a good
show and at the end of the day
at Richards suggestion we
stopped where I don't normally
stop and had a fabulous view
of a Golden Eagle being mobbed
by about 20 Hooded Crows.
Thanks to my guests today who
made my day as enjoyable as I
hope I made theirs.
Sept
7th
Summer has
arrived, sunshine, no wind, oh
heck its September and even
the Bracken is changing
colour, me thinks too little
too late. A very good day
again with lovely guests and
all the Mull main species
performed, eventually. White-tailed
Eagles were everywhere they
were not supposed to be but
there were none where they
usually are, great views
though. Otter, when we had
nearly given up on one, it
turned out to be a big dog
Otter and my guests were over
the moon, sorry I dropped into
sports mode there. Red Deer
and Slow Worm were seen but we
had to wait for the Golden
Eagles as patiently as a Heron
waiting for fish, we got them
in the end.
Sept 6th
Pam and I
went up to our water course
with Malcolm who runs the
woodland company who have
felled their trees across our
water supply, although it
looks like a dam built by
Beevers the water a still
getting underneath so it is
not yet a disaster. Malcolm
has promised us that the water
course will be cleared in the
very near future and we can
then get on with fixing the
burn to prevent run off.
Whilst we were up by the burn
we took this photograph of the
two fledged White-tailed Eagle
chicks back on the nest,
totally unconcerned by us.
Sept
5th
After
yesterdays blog I derseve a
day off!!!!!
Sept 4th
Another
driech day and windy this
weather just keeps giving. A
great group out today
determined to enjoy themselves
whatever the weather threw at
them. We stopped to look for
Red Deer stags but could
barely see the hill, then on
for White-tailed Eagles,
nothing, the day had started
well? We did get to see a
sleeping Curlew, 4 Goosanders
and !7 Common Seals, yes we
were reduced to counting them.
Our luck then changed as we
got the mum Otter and her two
cubs, still counting then, hot
coffee and buscuits followed
in celebration. On to
look for White-tailed Eagles,
we knew they were there as we
could hear them although we
could barey see the trees,
then a break in the rain and a
youngster flew and then landed
where we could see it and then
it flew again, result. On to
lunch and a Buzzard with lots
of Ravens. The rest of the day
was a desert wildlife wise
except for a very good Kestrel
and 5 Red Deer, still
counting. At the end of the
day we had great views of 3
Greenshanks and as the clouds
lifted my guests decided they
would like to go for the stags
once more so off we went. At
least we could see the hill,
oh and the Red Deer stags and
two, thats 2, Golden Eagles
which put on a show for about
20 minutes till leaving us
wanting more. Before I finish
todays blog I should mention
the White-tailed Eagle chick
on the nest at the start of
the day and the Barn Owl seen
standing in the hole of its
box at the same time my first
on a tour this year but if I
had mentioned them I could not
have played down the rest of
the day so much.
Sept 3rd
A trip to
Fort William with the bus and
car, the bus to have the door
fixed, a Ford problem not mine
and the car to exchange it for
a new one. We now have a brand
new Ford Kuga which Pam is
over the moon about. We also
have a bus which the garage
lent us whilst they fix the
door problem so we can still
carry on with the tours. I
will say the garage have been
very good about the bus which
is more than I can say about
the Ford Motor company, it is
only because of the good will
and good customer service of
Ben Nevis Motors that we
did not cancel our new car
order. Thanks to Iain for the
ease of Purchase and Rory for
sorting the door problem for
us we are very gratefull to
you both.
Sept 2nd
A day spent
fencing out the Deer again,
many thanks to Nick for all
his help.
Sept 1st
Some days
are just not your day and
today was like that for me and
my guests. We nearly saw
otters twice, the first time
when a car was parked where I
wanted to park but couldn't
and the Otters appeared there,
we know because the man parked
in my usual space showed us
the photos much to the chagrin
of my guests. The other Otter
had just been disturbed by a
boat, we know this as a man
from the boat told us, much to
the chagrin of my guests.
Although we saw White-tailed
Eagles and Red Deer stags my
guests really wanted Golden
Eagles and Otters and on the
day got neither, such is
wildlife. They did get their
monies worth however by giving
me a lot of stick which I took
very well until the passenger
door nearly came off its
hinges, like I said it just
wasn't my day.
September
2014
Sept 29th
I am starting to see
better and am very hopeful
of a full recovery. Pam
found this nice picture of
a Robin in the garden that
I took before all my
problems.
Sept
27th A quiet day today, I'm
finding it very tiring doing
the tours I admire Arthur for
doing them day after day. He's
starting to get bored now it's
a good job he has the Ryder
Cup to keep him entertained.
Sept 26th
High winds and occasional
showers made for quite
difficult conditions but he
Golden Eagles seemed to love
it as we had 8 flying in
different locations, one went
right over the top of the bus.
We found a White-tail Eagle
after much serching hiding out
of the wind and an Otter
entertained my guests all
lunch time as it fished in a
sheltered bay. Red Deer and
both Seals were also seen but
the bird of the day was a
Kingfisher at Killiechronan.
Sept 24th
A lovely breezy day and Pam
did a tour and today there
were DOLPHINS Seen at Salen
Bay in the morning and
Tobermory Harbour in the
afternoon. At coffee break
they saw 4 Golden Eagles, 2
Hen Harriers and 2 Kestrels
having also seen Red Deer
Stags with hinds earlier for
the Rut. A close Otter
entertained the party
throughout lunch break and
White-tailed Eagles were seen
in the afternoon. I am not
going overboard with these
sightings as I am in danger of
losing my guiding position in
the company and baking and
house cleaning are not high on
my list of possible career
change. Whisper it but not too
loudly the wife did good.
Sept 23rd
Rainy and breezy and Pam went
out on the boat with Mike and
Jaq but although they had a
great time they only saw
Porpoise, no Dolphins or
Whales.
Sept 22nd
A dull morning with light rain
in the afternoon.
Congratulations and best
wishes to Mike and Jaq who got
married in Tobermory this
afternoon with Pam and I as
witnesses although I had
difficulty in seeing the
dotted line and had the
fountain pen held upside down
at one time. Thanks to all the
staff at MacGochans for making
it such a good day. Pam made
the Wedding Cake in the shape
of a Whale, Jaq's main passion
after Mike and family.
Sept 21st
Low cloud to start the day but
when the mist rose it reveled
a glorious day. My swimming
friends joined me on the tour
today and it is nice
taking people who live
on the island to somewhere
they haven't been before even
though it was only a few miles
from where they live. We had
lots of Eagles today, flying
and sitting, but what all my
guests really wanted was to
see an Otter and although the
tide was perfect for most of
the day the otters evaded us.
Red Deer hinds and a handsome
Fallow Deer stag were seen
along side seals and plenty of
raptors, then right at the end
of the day when I was
beginning to feel the tide had
risen too hight there was an
Otter sitting out on a small
rock in the middle of the
loch, a happy end to the day
for all. Meanwhile back at the
ranch I, Arthur, took 10
minutes to put coffee in a
cup, talking to our son with
the phone in my neck I
completely missed the cup with
the coffee, trying to push the
coffee off the table into the
cup was still no easy task but
I did manage half the coffee
the rest went on the floor.
Time for the dust pan and
brush, by closing my bad eye I
did manage to get the fallen
coffee off the floor as the
dustpan is bigger than the
cup. Now contrary to what you
are probably thinking the
coffee in the dustpan was
thrown away and another half
sponful of fresh coffee added
to the cup, time taken 10
minutes. My daughter-in-law on
the phone could not stop
laughing. The point I am
making is one eyed men can't
multi task.
Sept 20th
Another lovely day and I am
inside lying on my right side
for large portions of the day
as per doctors instructions
and Pam's nagging, neccessary
but bl...y boring. Pam bless
her heart running round like a
headless chicken when not
nagging me.
Sept 19th
Arthurs still resting and
starting to get a little bored
now. Dull, low cloud and heavy
with a few light showers
during the day and nothing is
flying but we still managed to
see both eagles although they
were just sitting. Red Deer
were good with the stags now
joining the females in ready
for the rut. A distant Otter
was seen and plenty of Seals
including a Grey seal bull who
was refusing to move from his
rock dispite the rising tide
until just his nose and tail
were visable above the water.
We were watching some close
waders resting on the high
tide when suddenly they were
disturbed by a female Hen
Harrier who was escorted away
by a flock of agitated Meadow
Pipits.
Sept 18th
Pam did a tour today in
calm dull conditions seeing 2
very good Otters, 2 Golden
Eagles, 2White-tailed Eagles
and a female Hen Harrier. Red
Deer and Seals were seen as
was a large skien of Geese.
Other notable birds seen were
Yellowhammer, Twite and
Stonechat, is this woman
trying to make me redundant.
Meanwhile I was lying on the
sofa listening to my record
collection on shuffle, good
job my hearing isn't impared
unless Pam metions gardening.
Thanks to everyone who stopped
Pam to enquire about my eye. I
went to the big vote this
evening and I think I put a
cross in the box i intended
but who knows, I certainly
don't, with my eye at the
moment it could have been
anywhere but there was a cross
on there somewhere.
Sept 17th
Back home today with gas in my
eye that makes it look and
feel like a bubble in a spirit
level as if I know what a
spirit level feels like.
Thanks to Pam for looking
after me getting me to
appointments and stopping me
bumping into people, she has
been great throughout. Thanks
also for your kind words and
get well messages they give me
a great lift and help keep my
spirits up.
Sept 16th
I had an operation on my eye
at Gartnavel Hospital in
Glasgow today and I would like
to thank everyone at the
hospital for looking after me
so well. Dr Hammer and all his
team, the prep nurses and ward
nurses and the porter who was
a real laugh when I needed my
spirits lifted. Thanks also to
the staff at the West Park
Hotel who were lovely and
found Pam a room when our
booking was up. The Taxi
Drivers who drove us to and
from the hospital were all
very kind and friendly I
cannot speak highly enough of
all the people we met and you
all played a part in making my
hospital stay less of an
ordeal. To Jeff Brown in for a
similar op to me I hope
everything went well for you
and you are now on the long
road to recovery with me.
Sept 11th
Hi folks an Eye update, not a
detached Retina as feared
hoorah, a retina bleed, still
can't see and back to the
hospital on Monday for more
tests and possible operation.
If you have booked tours Pam
might still be able to take
you out but ring when you
arrive on Mull to check so
that if we are away you can
make other arangements. Thanks
to those of you who have
emailed good wishes it is very
much appriecated.
Sept 10th
Scorcio, but the day
ended with me not seeing a lot
out of my right eye and a trip
to the doctor. Tomorrow we are
on the way to hospital in
Glasgow so there will be no
tours in the near future, the
doctor thinks I have a
detached retina which will
require surgery. We apolagise
for any inconvenience this
causes to guests for the rest
of the season but all being
well I EYE can be fixed and
will be able to resume the
tours next year. I will inform
you of my progress when I get
back from my op, sorry for any
spelling mistakes writing with
one eye not easy when you are
not used to it. Cheers for now
Arthur.
Sept 9th
Yet again dull calm conditions
and once more all Mulls main
species obliged with 2 Otters
seen, 2 Golden Eagles, 2 Hen
Harriers, Red Deer Stags and
at the end of of the day a
White-tailed Eagle,
unfortunately this was after I
had dropped 2 guests off to
catch their bus to the ferry.
Kestrels which having proved
illusive recently have
suddenly started to appear in
numbers now and we are seeing
some Red Throated Divers a
total of 3 today. Numbers of
visitors are getting less now
and it looks like I might get
a day off on thursday and Pam
is coming out with us tomorrow
so all being well we will see
lots.
Sept 8th
The weather was perfect for
wildlife watching, good
spotters on board and over 50
species seen. All the Mull
specialities were seen well
including 3 and at the
end of the day
unfortunatlyvery good Otters
and excellent Golden Eagles, a
Hen Harrier mobbing Ravens and
a Sparrowhawk disturbing Gulls
and Ringed Plover. Little
birds seen today included
Yellowhammer, Stonechat and
Twite, both Song and Mistle
Thrush were seen and a long
list of Waders including
Lapwing, and Whimbrel. As we
left Tobermory to go home the
Mull Magpie flew in front of
the van so all in all a great
day was had by everyone. On
the down side I have pulled a
thigh muscle so moving around
is quite painful at the
moment.
Sept 7th
A lovely day with lovely
guests but a very slow start
for the wildlife, we only had
Buzzards and 3 very brief
Golden Eagles in the morning
but very good Red Deer saved
my bacon. After lunch it all
changed with Seal 2 Otters one
of which was excellent, all
sing and dancing White-tailed
Eagles, lots of Red Deer stags
and then at the end of the day
a Greenshank, Lapwing and 2
Ringed Plover and a first for
a Discover Mull tour the Loch
Cuin Kingfisher giving
incredible views as it fished
on an incoming tide in lovely
evening sunlight.
Sept 6th
Another nice day and we had
Change over day and a trip to
get bird food from Salen. Lots
of gardeb birds on the feeders
at the moment with Great
Spotted Woodpeckers probably
the pick although Siskins run
them close. We have Swallows
gathering on the power lines
in readiness for their long
migration to South Africa as
well as Meadoe Pipits migating
through from the north, Autumn
is fast approaching so time to
look out for more exotic
migrants.
Sept 5th
A beautiful day and Mulls big
species all showed up today
with the stars being Otter,
Golden Eagles, Red Deer, Hen
Harrier and lastly
White-tailed Eagle which I
thought we were going to miss
out on but a late detour
proved to be a good choice as
I found one sitting on a hill,
not a great view but enjoyed
by my relieved guests. My
birds of the day were a flock
of Lapwing 22 in number flying
near the mouth of the River Ba
and Greenshanks in two
seperate locations.
Sept 4th
A nice day out in good, calm,
conditions and a little bit of
sea watching brought me
Porpoise for only the second
time this year, Shags,
Cormorants, Manx Shearwaters,
diving Gannets and Kittiwakes
as well as the usual Mull
Gulls. On the raptor front I
saw 3 Golden Eagles, 3
White-tailed Eagles, 4
Kestrels, several Buzzards and
a Hen Harrier. Waders included
Greenshanks, Curlews,
Oystercatchers and Ringed
Plovers but my bird of the day
was a Dipper another one of my
favorite birds. Otter and Red
Deer and Common Seals also
seen and I wasn't looking for
them.
Sept 3rd
A dull calm day and there were
Buzzards everywhere, a few
late Swallows flying round the
usual Gulls and very little
else apart from Curlews. At
lunch we saw two Golden Eagles
both sitting on top of
seperate hills with one being
mobbed by Hooded Crows but
they did not fly although we
gave them an hour to do so. On
to find a White-tailed Eagle
giving good views but not
flying either. We saw both
types of Deer and Seal, 2 Hen
Harriers, they were flying but
away from us so the views were
not brilliant and a Black
Guilliemot but bird of the day
had to be a Red Throated Diver
which we saw wnen waiting out
the Golden Eagles at lunch
time. My last stop before the
end of the day was to look at
a Red Deer stag on the hills
and just as we were getting
back in the van a guest
spotted 2 more Buzzards flying
in over the hill behind us
fairly close, these Buzzards
turned out to be a pair of
Golden Eagles which gave us a
terrific view as our reward
for our earlier patience.
Mistaking Buzzards and Golden
Eagles on Mull is not new and
Buzzards are sometimes
referred to as tourist Eagles.
Sept 2nd
A dreich start to the day with
low cloud and drizzle which
meant we were mainly looking
for stuff on the water. We saw
some Redshanks, a Greenshank
and Curlew as well as several
Goosanders and then a Robin
sitting on Crab Creels in a
harbour, it would have made a
nice photo if I had remembered
I had a camera. On we went and
although the weather improved
we saw little except for lots
of Buzzards and a single Red
Deer. We arrived at our lunch
spot and almost immeadiately a
Golden Eagle flew and then the
juvenile as well, boy was I
relieved. We had a good view
of a White-tailed Eagle in a
tree and then sighting of the
day a really close Otter, see
photo, my guests were over the
moon. Seals ended the day so
as the saying goes alls well
that ends well. We had not
been home very long when
Cheryl and Moira two friends
who live at the end of Loch
Cuin phoned to say they had
seen a Kingfisher, a rare bird
for Mull at the end of the
Loch. Pam and I were out of
the house and down there
quicker than Usain Bolt in a
Ferrari, it took some
searching but we managed to
find it and get this
photograph of it, yes I
remembered the camera this
time. Thanks to Cheryl and
Moira for the phone call it
was most appreciated.
Sept
1st
A very good day with sightings
you could only wish for and
the weather was also perfect
for wildlife watching. We
stopped to look for the Adders
but there was nothing there
but a Buzzard flew past very
close to us, then on to look
for Red Deer stags, once again
nothing there except a young
White-tailed Eagle that flew
past about 70 yards away at
head height an amazing
sighting. At a Golden Eagle
spot once again the Eagle was
not at home but we did manage
to get views of Ravens,
Kestrel and Hen Harrier and a
Red Deer hind. We eventually
arrived at our lunch spot
where we sometimes see Golden
Eagles and we eventually saw
Three at first distantly but
then the adults flew and
landed on a hill not far away
and again gave great views
through the scope. As we were
taking it in turns to watch
the Goldies an Adult
White-tailed Eagle was spotted
and it flew right over our
heads another spectacular
sighting. After lunch we saw a
Linnet my favorite bird which
made my day and then a
brilliant Otter for nearly
half an hour and my work was
done except for the beautiful
Greenshank which will appear
here when Pam has time to put
it on, I cannot do it myself
technaphobe that I am.
September 2013
Sept 30th
A sunny, warm,
breezy day so we went to Croggan
for the day with our friends
Jacqui and Mike. On our walk at
Croggan we saw 2 Golden Eagles, 2
White-tailed Eagles, a male Hen
Harrier, Red Deer and an Otter but
for me the sighting of the day was
a Curlew Sandpiper my first of the
year and rare on Mull with Ringed
Plover, Turnstones and Dunlin. On
our way home we detoured to Loch
Buie and watched about 12
Bottlenose Dolphins for nearly an
hour and when leaving Loch Buie 3
Fallow Deer in a field of sheep.
This evening we went to the
Bellachroy Inn for fish and chips
where Debbie confirmed the rumour
that she and Nick had sold the
hotel. This is good news for them
and we wish them well for the
future they have worked very hard
at the hotel and it has a very
good reputation for both food and
beer and we will miss them. Let us
hope that the new owners maintain
the high standards that Nick,
Debbie and their excellent staff
have produced over the last few
years. Thank you Mike for the
photo's below.
Sept 29th
Scorcio, well
maybe not but it was pretty warm
for late September. We had one of
those wow moments today as with
the sun shining on our backs we
watched a White-tailed Eagle drift
slowly across the sky, then a
Sparrowhawk flew past at great
speed and as I was trying to see
where it was going into the trees
I glanced up and there right above
the van were four adult
White-tailed Eagles all together
with the sun shining on their
wings and tails it quite took your
breath away. Now as regular
readers and guests know I much
prefer Golden Eagles to
White-tailed Eagles but this
sighting was really special so
much so that it made all other
sightings on the day pale into
insignificance, even I was blown
away. I had a guest on the tour
today who is soon going to have a
serious operation and I take this
opportunity to wish this
delightful lady all the very best.
Sept 28th
A beautiful Autumn
day and a White-tailed Eagle flew
over our house early this morning
disturbing our resident Buzzard.
We had friends arrived today and
so we went out with them on a
short trip to Calgary Bay where we
saw a single Pink Footed Goose in
a field by the old cemetery, this
was my first one seen on Mull this
year and took my Mull year list to
140 which I consider par. A lovely
meal at the Bellachroy this
evening and the beer was excellent
as always.
Sept 27th
A much warmer day
with some afternoon sunshine. What
a rapturous day we had with birds
of prey everywhere, a Merlin
interacting with a Sparrowhawk
shortly after we had left
Tobermory and then a Kestrel
joined the mix. We then saw our
first White-tailed Eagle of the
day 4 more were to follow, then at
Calgary Bay a Peregrine Falcon
interacting with a Buzzard and and
as guests were watching this
spectacle I spotted an Otter, we
saw 2 more later in the day. Next
Kittiwakes, Ringed Plovers and
Turnstones and a Grey Seal and
then on for a late coffee break
where we saw the first of 6 Golden
Eagles. Other good sightings were
Bar-tailed Godwit, Slavonian
Grebe, Red Throated and Great
Northern Diver, Goosanders and
Whimbrel. A total of 50 bird
species were seen on the day and 5
mammals not a bad return for this
time of the season.
Sept 26th
Dull and breezy
but dry and another new bird for
my year list with 2 Red Grouse
seen at Reudle. 3 more Otters
today they are becoming easier
to see now that days are getting
shorter. I did see a
White-tailed Eagle today but
only one and that was sitting on
a hill, good Goldies though with
one being mobbed by a Buzzard.
The red Deer rut is now underway
and I hear roaring stags every
morning when I wake up.
Sept 25th
A bit a a
different tour today as we had
guests coming over from Oban and
this late in the season the
connecting bus to Tobermory from
the ferry does not run so for an
extra charge we picked them up
from the ferry. The day started
slowly until coffee break when we
spotted a female Hen Harrier
hunting, this was soon followed by
a flying White-tail Eagle, things
were picking up. As we drew up at
our lunch break stop we saw an
Otter in the Loch and a very Close
juvenile Golden Eagle hunting low
over the hill behind us. The Otter
gave us a brilliant show bringing
out a crab and eating it just
below us as you can see from the
photo's. After she returned to her
fishing we relaxed and ate our
sandwiches when suddenly we heard
a close splash from the water we
turned to see the female Otter
dashing out on to the shore
closely followed by a large dog
Otter, she stopped and curled over
into a submissive position whilst
the male sniffed her all over
before he promptly returned to the
water and disappeared, she waited
a couple of minutes for him to go
before returning herself to the
water to start fishing again and
she was still there when we left.
At our next stop we had great
views of Fallow Deer and then in
the Loch a breeding plumaged Great
Northern Diver. We finished to day
with the waders Redshank,
Greenshank, Curlew, Bar-tailed
Godwit, Dunlin, Turnstone and
Ringed Plover. Not a bad day on a
route totally different from my
usual one.
Sept 24th
A great day for
wildlife watching dull dry and
calm but apart from early Golden
Eagles, good Otters and Red Deer
everywhere it turned out to be
somewhat of a struggle, with
little flying and not much on the
water. My guests all good spotters
were sympathetic to my plight as
they could see my problems and for
that I am extremely grateful. We
did see a distant Red Throated
Diver, Goosander, Red Breasted
Merganser and Wigeon, a
Greenshank, Curlews, flying Ringed
Plover and thankfully the Whimbrel
put in an appearance courtesy of a
very good spot from one of my
guests.
Sept 23rd
After a driech
start it turned into a very warm
sunny day and As I had no tour I
went out birding and saw my first
Sanderling of the year at Calgary.
There were 3 Red Throated divers
in Lagganulva Bay and Dunlin with
the Ringed Plover at Killiechronan
camp site. Whimbrel and Curlew
were also seen as was a Golden
Eagle although I was not really
looking for one. A total of 44
birds and 3 mammals were seen in
under 4 hours. Ii could only have
half a day birding as I had to
finish mowing the lawns while the
weather was good, back on tour
duty again tomorrow.
Sept 22nd
A driech day until
4pm when the cloud started to lift
and the birds came out to play. A
very patient group of wildlife
watchers all of whom had a sense
of humour and got on with each
other which makes my day so much
more enjoyable. We saw waders
Whimbrel, Curlew, Snipe,
Greenshank, Ringed Plover Knot and
Turnstone, birds of prey today
were White-tailed Eagles, Golden
Eagle, Merlin, two Hen Harriers,
Kestrel and Buzzard. 3 Otters in
total were seen and Common Seals,
Red Deer and let us not forget the
Rabbit. We were rewarded with a
nice view of a Stonechat after a
little bit of patience and we also
saw a flock of Mistle Thushes, so
a very good day out for all
concerned including me, a very big
thank you to all my guests you
made what could have been a very
difficult day easy. MANCHESTER
CITY 4 the other team 1 a good day
got even better.
Sept 21st
A dull mainly dry
day and I so wanted to get out
birding but the lawns kept saying
cut me, cut me, maybe it wasn't
the lawns but Pam's voice I heard,
in any event I cut the lawns
discretion being the better part
of valour. We do have a buzzard on
the drive fence most mornings
which is nice to see and the
garden birds keep me company when
I can't get out birding. Pam, my
lady of the sea, went swimming
with the two other mermaids this
evening in her new wet suit, she
found it more difficult to swim
but did not get cold, I am sure
she will soon get used to swimming
in the wet suit and can swim long
into the autumn as she enjoys it
so much.
Sept 20th
The day began with
a drought, yes it was not raining
but it did not last as I drove
back from Tobermory this evening
it was pouring down again. Another
great Otter sighting today they
are certainly becoming more
visible now that the days are
shorter and visitor numbers less,
so there is less disturbance. Some
superb interaction between a
Golden and White-tailed Eagle
today as well as 3 Golden Eagles
being mobbed by squadrons of
Ravens, what a fantastic half hour
watching that was. It was a
quieter day for Seal and Deer
sightings, we saw them but not in
great numbers and not doing a lot,
to be fair Seal of both types
rarely get my pulses racing.
Goosanders and Whimbrel were the
other best sightings of the day.
Sept 19th
Another day of
wind and showers and yes more
great Eagles and Otters and Red
Deer today including 2 Stags
squaring up to each other
without actually fighting, oh
yes they are on the starting
line for the rut. I keep saying
to our guests when I pick them
up sunny nice days are not the
best for wildlife watching and
this week has more than proved
my point. A nice lot of Waders
were seen today which were
Oystercatcher, Greenshank,
Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit,
Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A late
flying House martin, a flock of
Linnets, diving Gannets and a
hunting female Hen Harrier were
my birds of the day.
Sept 18th
A carbon copy of
yesterday except it felt colder
and the showers were more frequent
if that was possible. Golden
Eagles at my favorite spot again
put on a great display as did a
couple of Ravens emulating a Red
arrows flying display. Good views
of a Grey Seal with Common Seals
also seen, A distant view of a
Fallow Deer, I will ignore the
sarcastic comments from my guests
lest the poor creature takes
offence, Red Deer were seen
well. With Otter, 3 White-tailed
Eagles, a Greenshank, Curlews and
Linnets as well as all the other
usual suspects a good day was had
by all and they even ate all Pam's
cakes despite my little accident
that is how good they are. great
guests again today and it makes
such a difference when the weather
is as poor as it has been this
week.
Sept 17th
Weather
unchanged but did become better
in the late afternoon. 2 Otters
today one very close which
encouraged one of my guests to
say to me it was worth the money
if we see nothing else, pressure
off then. Fortunately for my
guests the wildlife didn't relax
like me and came out and
performed, not quite on Q and in
different spots to which I
normally see them but by then I
was so relaxed I hardly realized
how excited my guests were
getting. Another tough day
weather wise but my guests this
week are just taking it in their
stride and Mull's main species
grateful for all the attention
are performing well.
Sept 16th
Another very windy
day with even more prolonged showers
than yesterday and feeling very
cold. 5 White-tailed Eagles were
seen today 3 sitting and 2 flying
but once again they were upstaged by
the Golden Eagles which put on a
very close for Golden Eagles
flying display which had our guests
enraptured for about a quarter of an
hour. A very good Otter running
across the rocks giving our guests a
great sighting before going into a
sea full of big waves where it had
as much trouble swimming as we did
trying to find it in the waves. All
my other regular species were seen
with the highlights being 2
Greenshank and diving Gannets.
Sept 15th
Windy and heavy
showers all day and with trees
down, roads closed with floods and
land slips it was difficult to do
a tour today and we had a
journalist from the Sunday Express
out with us today. We managed a
much abbreviated route so that the
tour could go ahead and managed to
see Red and Fallow Deer, 2 Golden
Eagles, 2 Otters, (one fairly
close who climbed on the back of a
fishing boat to eat his fish) 2
White-tailed Eagles, Buzzards,
Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk,
Greenshank, Curlew, Whimbrel,
Goosander, Eider Ducks and
Common Seals. On one occasion we
had to reverse a long way to turn
around as we had happened upon a
deep flood which the council had
not been told about. Considering
the very poor conditions for
driving, wildlife watching and for
anyone to be out in at all we had
a really good day and the
waterfalls were more than
impressive. Afternoon tea in our
kitchen was more than welcome as
we thawed out and reminisced about
what we had seen and what an
awesome place Mull is.
Sept 14th
A lovely day which
turned out to be the calm before
the storm. Valeted and cleaned the
van and then noticed a flat tyre
so That put paid to any wildlife
watching today as it warranted a
trip to Tobermory to get the tyre
fixed. Water system then had to be
checked as both our self-catering
properties are occupied this
coming week. This evening the
storm and it was a ripper high
winds and lots and lots of rain.
Sept 13th
A cloudy but cool
start to the day and as we had no
tour I went out to see what birds
were about locally and saw Red
Deer, 5 Goosander, 3 Dunlin,
4 Redshank, Curlew,
Oystercatchers, 2 Red Throated
Divers, 2 Eiders, Merlin, and a
flock of Missle Thrushes. At 10am
Pam went sea swimming and as she
was out on her own I had to
chaperone and as she swam I was
watching a Buzzard, Robin, Rock
Pipits, a charm of Goldfinches and
an Otter. After morning coffee Pam
and I took the dogs on a local
walk and saw 11 Goosander, a
Greenshank, 2 Redshank, a Little
Grebe, a Cormorant, A White-tailed
Eagle 28 Greylag Geese and 2 more
Otters all this as well as the
usual birds which we always see
like Herons and all before lunch.
In all the time we were out we
were never more than 8 miles from
home isn't it amazing what you
have on your own doorstep.
Sept 12th
A fine start to
the day followed by heavy
afternoon rain so it was a race
against time to find Eagles before
the rain set in and we managed
it....just, my favorite Golden
Eagle flew on cue at noon and by
12-30pm it was pouring down. It
had taken a mad dash from watching
an Otter and a pair of flying
White-tailed Eagles to get to the
Golden Eagle sight in time and our
guests were very impressed. We saw
another very close Otter during
the day and a Red Deer at the end
when it looked like we might miss
out. Both types of Seal were seen
as was a Red Throated Diver and we
even threw in a brief view of the
Red Backed Shrike which is still
around the Dervaig area. All in
all not a bad day considering the
afternoon deluge, our guests
enjoyed it anyway. We got some
more ice cream from the new ice
cream parlour after we had dropped
off our guests, we must stay away
from that place as it is not good
for our waistlines but it is soooo
good, is there an ice cream
anonymous? Today she was making
Apple Pie flavour using real
apples with cinnamon and the
Island biscuits, she gave us a
spoonful each to try, I am still
in ice cream heaven.
Sept 11th
Low cloud and
mizzle not our favorite wildlife
watching weather but undeterred we
ventured forth more in hope than
expectation. The first birds of
note were Missle Thrushes not a
bird we see too often on our tours
and another rare tour species a
Great Spotted Woodpecker was also
seen. We saw a flock of mixed
Finches including Twite, Linnet
and Goldfinch and waders seen
included Redshank, Curlews, Ringed
Plover, Black tailed Godwits and
Snipe. Kittiwake and Gannets were
seen and 4 types of Gull. Red
Throated Divers, Mallards, Shags,
Cormorants, Eider Ducks, Red
Breasted Mergansers and Goosanders
were seen on the sea lochs. There
were also great views of Golden
Eagle and Otter and very good
sightings of Red Deer and
White-tailed Eagles and I nearly
forgot the Common Seals and Grey
Seal, Not bad for an awful driech
day.
Sept 10th
A dull, breezy,
cool day and a great group of
guests who got on well with each
other and enjoyed a good laugh and
had a great deal of patience and
not just with me. We had to wait
for two and a half hours for our
first Mull big 5 sighting a Very
good Golden Eagle, yes we had seen
Curlews, Redshank, Common Seals,
Widgeon, Greylag and Canada Geese,
Red Breasted Mergansers, Shags,
all our 4 species of Gull and a
very nice and close pair of Red
Throated Diver. Just after lunch
we picked up the most elusive
Otter I have ever had to deal
with, we saw it in open water
briefly and then second guessing
it again at Ulva, lost it found it
lost it found it and then spotted
it going back from where it had
come from. Back at the lunch spot
we found it, lost it and
eventually found it as it came out
on a small island and proceeded to
give us an Otter oscar winning
performance. At no time were we
close enough to disturb the Otter
and in fact the closest we got was
when it was on the island but my
guests patience was rewarded with
an excellent sighting. 2
white-tailed Eagles were to follow
and Red Deer a great view of a
Grey Seal and Kittiwakes and at
the end the end of the day 2 Slow
worms and then the most fabulous
sighting for a quarter of an hour
of a hunting male Hen Harrier at
times really close, well done
Derek on spotting it in the first
place it was arguably the best Hen
Harrier sighting I have ever had
and I live here. Patience and a
sense of humour rule OK, what an
incredible day.
Sept 9th
Another beautiful
day and a Golden Eagle fest today
with lots of them seen very well
both sitting and flying, I don't
know if the abundance of Goldies
had some sort of effect on the
White-tailed eagles but we did not
manage a single one today. After
lunch we kept seeing large birds
sitting on hills and thinking it
must be a White-tail this time but
no it was another Goldie, today
they were as common as Buzzards
and we saw a lot of them as well.
Brilliant Otter after we had found
our first Goldie and our first Red
Deer stag with hinds, a young 8
pointer much too early in the
game, I imagine the older stags
watching and thinking good on you
son, you round them up tire
yourself out and leave the glory
and fathering to us. Lots of
Stonechats about at the moment,
their numbers appear to have
picked up well since the two hard
winters.
Sept 8th
Super weather,
super wildlife, super guests, what
more could a man wish for. The day
started with the Red Backed
Shrike, then Red Deer Stags on to
Common Seals, Curlews, Greenshank
and Redshank. We had missed the
White-tailed Eagle at coffee break
but that disappointment was soon
behind us as we watched 3 Otters
who gave us a half hour of joyful
watching. Golden Eagle at
lunchtime kept the excitement
going and after lunch a brilliant
view of an adult White-tailed
Eagle flying right above out heads
a most welcome if unexpected
sighting. Then a first for our
tours a bit of horse dressage on
Calgary beach. the day finished
with 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 2
Wigeon and 2 Snipe. My guests said
the day had exceeded their
expectations, I did not let on it
had also exceeded mine.
Sept 7th
A day of rain,
showers, heavy thunderstorm and
very close lightening, do we care?
no because we had a rare bird at
Dervaig, A RED BACKED SHRIKE only
the second one I have seen, never
mind the weather today was a great
day.
Sept 6th
A really beautiful
day for being out with outstanding
views of Mull in its autumnal best
and wildlife behaving perfectly.
The sighting of the day was a very
close Golden Eagle I cannot recall
when I have had a closer encounter
on a tour. A superb Otter which
also kept coming closer and closer
and performing brilliantly and
another at the end of the day
hiding. 2 White-tailed Eagles
sitting in a tree and then at
afternoon tea break a wonderful
view of one right overhead in the
thermals enjoying the lovely
sunshine. Waders seen today
included Redshank, Greenshank,
Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlews,
Oystercatchers and the Black
tailed Godwit. Great day wonderful
chatty guests who threw themselves
into the day, I really did have a
ball.
Sept 5th
Another lovely
autumn day and particularly for
Eagles with both White-tailed
Eagles and Golden Eagles being
seen well at several locations. We
saw Dunlin and Ringed Plover as
well as the Curlews which are
appearing in greater numbers now
and along with some very nice Red
Deer, a very good day was had by
all. The day ended on a high with
great views of the Black-tailed
Godwit and a flying Snipe.
Sept 4th
Despite the
national weather forecast saying
it would rain again it was a very
decent day weatherwise with only
one short sharp shower. A very
good Sparrowhawk sighting,
Whimbrel, Snipe and Dunlin with
the Black tailed Godwit were the
more unusual sightings of the day.
Both Eagles and Otter were seen
very well along with Red Deer and
both types of Seal. I had my first
guests from Malta on the tour with
me today and they were delightful
as were my other guests. Pam went
out to Iona with friends who are
staying with us at the moment and
saw a flock of over 20 Twite on
the island, a Great Skua amongst
the hunting Gannets in the Iona
sound and some very late swallows
still in the nest. Thanks to Jerry
Sullivan for the photo's for the
last couple of days.
Sept 3rd
After a poor start
weather wise it soon picked up to
give us a great day wildlife
watching. 4 Otters were seen with
2 of them very close, 3
White-tailed Eagles at 3 separate
locations, each one better
than the one before, 7 Golden
Eagles, Red Deer, Seals, Red
Throated Diver, Razorbills, A
brilliant Black-tailed Godwit,
Superb Basking Sharks and finally
a good sighting of a Snipe. Great
Day, very good company, Mull at
its best, roll on tomorrow.
Sept 2nd
Wet and breezy all
day yeuk, a White-tailed Eagle in
the mist was an unexpected start
to the day, a surprise to my
guests and a relief to me. A very
good Otter was seen one of two on
the day and a Red Deer was found
only one but at least we all saw
it. Basking Sharks were also seen
well but the highlight of the day
was the waterfall at Eas Force it
was tremendous. We went out with
friends in the evening and had a
great sighting of a female Hen
Harrier.
Sept 1st
A windy cool day
but not the forecast rain until
the end of the day. We saw 3
Wigeon today my first sighting of
returning winter birds unless you
count the 50 whimbrel from the
other day, we also saw a Lesser
Black Backed Gull in the same
area. 2 Otters today but neither
could be called great or even that
good, but we saw 2 Otters. Eagles
and Deer performed well though but
the sighting of the day were at
least 10 Basking Sharks very close
in, our guests were in seventh
heaven. Pam has taken up sea
swimming with a couple of friends,
at the moment they don't wear wet
suits just T-shirts (over their
swim suits) I think they need
certifying, they call themselves
the Ladies of the Sea, I can think
of other names not printable here.
September 2012
Sept 27th
Weather cloudy,
breezy with some rain in places -
Today we had a great tour with
lots of banter and laughs just the
way I like it. Wildlife wise we
saw 12 Mistle Thrushes, 11
Oystercatchers, 10 Grey Herons, 9
sitting Shags , 8 Kittiwakes, 7
Brent Geese a flying, 6 Otters a
swimming, 5 WHITE-TAILED EAGLES, 4
Mull Hen Harriers, 3 Red Deer
stags, 2 Twite on a fence and a
single Rook nowhere near a Pear
Tree.
Sept 26th
Weather sunny but
breezy - As I keep saying dull
days are best for wildlife
watching but it is more pleasant
to be out in sunshine. At our
first stop we saw lots of birds
and Common Seals but due to the
reflected sunlight some of them
were difficult to see properly.
Great Otter day today with 3
separate Otters 2 giving very good
views despite the sun, a
white-tailed Eagle flew so close
over the van as we were watching
his mate that one of my guests
took a photo and could not get all
the bird in the frame, we nearly
had a total eclipse of the sun,
definite Wow Factor here. Red Deer
stag on the hills and a brilliant
Golden Eagle ended a day
where notable other birds
were winter plumaged Guillemot and
a Sparrowhawk.
Sept 25th
Weather light
showers in the morning followed by
very heavy rain in the afternoon -
The day started with 3 female
Goosander and lots of Herons.
White-tail and Golden Eagles plus
all the other raptors were all
taking the opportunity to fly
between the showers in the morning
- I think they knew as well as us
what we were going to get in the
afternoon, so we had good views of
all of them. We searched all
morning for an Otter but it was
not until after lunch when We
spotted one playing on some
seaweed below us we watched it for
15 minutes, feeding and rolling
around when suddenly 2 small cubs
came to join their mum, they were
still tiny as when they swam they
stayed on the top of the water
with out putting their heads
under. They all played together
for another 10 minutes before
swimming off out of sight,
wonderful. By this time we
suddenly realized that it was
starting to rain heavily so it was
decided that we should come back
to our warm kitchen for afternoon
tea.
Sept 24th
Weather a nice day
after heavy early morning showers
- A day off so I just checked
water supply, moved sheep, and
watched sport on the T.V. it was a
good day England won at Rugby, my
team won at football and we can
still win the Soldheim Cup in
ladies golf. It is not very often
I take a complete day off from
wildlife watching but today I did.
Sept 23rd
Weather better - I
went to Calgary early this
morning, it was a bit of a dead
loss as all I found there were a
dead young Common Seal on the
beach and a young dead Gannet on
the Machair, nature can be cruel
sometimes. Later in the day I went
down the Ross with Alan Spellman
and saw very little except for a
small flock of Twite and some
Mistle Thrushes and a few Golden
Plover.
Sept 22nd
Weather early
showers, then brighter with
lighter winds - Avery good tour
today with basking Shark seen at
Calgary being the surprise
sighting of the day. we had a
great sighting today of a male Hen
Harrier always a nice bird to see
as was the Red Throated Diver and
Whimbrel. we had both types of
Eagle fly right over our heads and
a wonderful view of an enormous
red deer stag sure to be heavily
involved in the rut.
Sept 21st
Weather strong
winds gusting and heavy showers -
Not a pleasant day to be wildlife
watching in glasses but we did
manage very good White-tailed
Eagles and Golden Eagles during
longer breaks in the showers, we
also saw a very close large bull
Grey Seal and some Common Seals
and Red Deer. The waterfall at Eas
Force was terrific today as was
the light, even on tricky days
Mull has more than enough to
please our guests and visitors to
the Island.
Sept 20th
Weather the same
as yesterday with a more windy
afternoon - Another good day
for Mulls target species With Red
Deer Stags, Otters two of
them and a brilliant Golden Eagle
Sitting with prey, then flying
around with it taunting the Ravens
and Crows as if to say look what
I've got. The Eagle eventually
found a quiet table and began to
devour the Rabbit with great
gusto, eventually it flew off with
what remained of the Rabbit,
called out his equally hungry
daughter and left her to finish
the meal. All in all a spectacular
treat for our guests, me and also
the young Golden Eagle.
Sept 19th
Weather low cloud
and drizzle in morning but
improved in the afternoon - The
day began with 5 Sandwich Terns
and a Whimbrel and finished with a
tremendous Otter which we watched
for nearly an hour. In between
White- tailed Eagles, Golden
Eagles, Seals and this Red Deer
stag with hinds at the top of a
hill, the best red deer of the day
which all our guests enjoyed.
Tonight I heard my first roaring
stag of the Autumn, this years rut
is underway.
Sept 18th
Weather another
beautiful day - Golden Eagles put
on a show for our guests today
with 4 at two separate locations
flying very close and even I who
see them most days was very
impressed. A good Hen Harrier
sighting and White-tailed Eagles
were the other main highlights on
a good bird of prey day, with
Otter and Red Deer and both types
of Seal being seen well.
Congratulations to
Mike Gibson who after a visit to
Mull and a tour with Arthur was
inspired to enter the Daily
Telegraph
writing competition
he won this week and was
printed in Saturdays edition.
Sept 17th
Weather sunshine
with frequent short showers - No
tour today so as it had rained
heavily through the night and I
could not mow the lawns I went for
a drive round looking for waders
but the good weather of the last
couple of days meant they had
taken their window of opportunity
and moved on. Treshnish Farm won
the RSPB
farming for wildlife and bio
diversity competition so many
thanks for those who took the
trouble to vote, this is another
feather in the cap for this
wonderful island and
congratulations to Somerset,
Caroline, Prassad et al.
 
Sept 16th
Weather another
nice day - Bird of the day were
Sandwich Terns at Laggan Bay where
2 were flying round until one
landed and guests wanting to see
one close up got to see it through
the telescope. Another good Eagle
and Otter day and we also had a
brief view of a distant Skua
chasing Kittiwakes but it was too
brief and far out for a positive
identification, so I am now 2
short of my 150 Mull birds seen
target for the year.
Sept 15th
Weather SUNNY
SUNNY SUNNY best weather of the
year even the midges were out - A
great day for all the Mull
specialities, 5 White-tailed
Eagles all flying some very close,
3 Golden Eagles sitting and flying
not so close but still good views,
Hen Harrier we watched her for 10
minutes the little show off. We
saw 3 Otters, well 2 and a half
really as one was out in the
middle of a Loch and appeared to
be travelling, the others were
great and finally Red Deer in
humungous numbers including stags.
Other Mammals seen well Common
Seal, Fallow Deer and Rabbit. Bird
of the day Goosander.
Sept 14th
Weather sunny at
last with light breeze - No tour
today so I went sea watching today
and saw lots of Gannets,
Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters, a
few Fulmars and Guillemots and a
Great Skua. Later in the day we
met up with Alan Spellman and did
some more birding seeing some
waders including 4 Bar-tailed
Godwits, Greenshank and Ringed
Plovers. Mammal of the day a Hare
seen at Cailaich Point in the
early morning.
Sept 13th
Weather More wind
and rain all day but brightened a
bit in the afternoon - Knot and
Ruff at Calgary to add to my Mull
year list, Curlew, Oystercatcher,
Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Redshank
and Greenshank were also seen on a
very good wader day. Desperation I
think brought out Kestrel,
Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Merlin,
Golden Eagle and White-tailed
Eagle as the birds of prey were
getting hungry. Otter again a
highlight with one running up a
river across the beach then
catching and eating a fish in
front of us. Afternoon tea was had
in our Kitchen where we all dried
out after another soaking wet day.
Sept 12th
Weather HEAVIER
RAIN AND STRONGER WINDS -
White-tailed Eagles and a
brilliant Otter with another also
seen don't ask me how or why.
Birds of the day for me Kittiwakes
and 2 Purple Sandpipers at Calgary
Bay. On getting home another very
hot relaxing bath was required, my
waterproofs are getting a real
testing at the moment, I have just
seen the forecast for tomorrow,
more of the same, BLISS.
Sept 11th
Weather RAIN and
WIND - Into everyone's life a
little rain must fall, well today
it fell on me and my guests big
time, my sincere thanks for the
way guests took the foul weather
in their stride with such good
humour. Trying to see an Otter in
a large swell is difficult but I
think all my guests got a short
glimpse of it. We had great views
of 3 White-tailed Eagles, 1 right
over our heads, amazing given the
conditions, Red Deer
including a young stag were seen.
My highlights were a Grey Plover
at Calgary another one for my Mull
year list, 3 Rooks at Lagganulva
as they are not common in North
Mull a Greenshank at Dervaig and a
Hot Bath when I got home.
Sept 10th
Weather showery
all day - A spot of sea watching
this morning brought me lots of
Gannets, Kittiwakes, Fulmars and
Manx Shearwaters and also my first
Basking Shark of the year as I had
missed the one on Thursday. During
the rest of the day I finished
pulling Ragwort which was getting
to be a real problem in my
woodland.
Sept 9th
Weather sunny with
showers in some places - A birding
group of guests today so we were
not just looking for Eagles and
Otters although we did see all of
them. Birds of the day for me were
Black tailed Godwit and Sanderling
at Killiechronan As I had not seen
either species before on Mull this
year and it took my Mull yearly
total to 144 getting nearer my 150
species target.
Sept 8th
Weather sunny,
calm and a bit warmer - All Mulls
major species seen well again
today with a great Otter to end a
very successful day. Basking
Shark the first seen on a
Discover Mull tour this year
surrounded by diving Gannets
thrilled the guests. For any of my
blog readers with small children
or grand children here is a
picture of a real live MY LITTLE
PONY photographed at the
Killiechronan pony
trekking centre.
Sept 7th
Weather heavy
showers with short sunny breaks,
very windy - We started the day
with lots of ducks and waders,
very suitable given the weather
conditions. We saw Curlews,
Oystercatchers, Whimbrel, Ringed
Plover and Turnstone ducks seen
were Eider, Red Breasted
Merganser, Teal, Mallard and
Wigeon. At coffee break during the
longest sunny break we saw
Buzzards, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk,
Peregrine Falcon, Merlin and
White-tailed Eagle. A pair of
Stonechats were seen as were both
types of Seal and Red Deer
including a stag. No Otter today
but the day ended with a Golden
Eagle so all the guests went home
happy.
Sept 6th
Weather awful wind
and rain for most of the day with
a small break of about an hour and
a half - Many thanks to my guests
today for their patience. The day
started alright with 7 Goosanders,
a Whimbrel, A white-tailed Eagle
in a tree and some Common Seals,
then it poured. I went in search
of Otter but even they were hiding
from the awful conditions but my
guests never complained and just
accepted that this is what the
weather can be like in Scotland
sometimes. I got us to an area
where we might see some good
wildlife if weather conditions
improved and we stopped for lunch
as the rain eased. A quick lunch
and we set off and no sooner had
we started off when we spotted a
Buzzard and then a Kestrel and
then a White-tailed Eagle all up
because it had stopped raining,
the Eagle flew very close to us
giving us great views. Wow the day
had not been a complete washout
and so we moved on. We stopped to
check out a Seal when a guest saw
an Otter in some scrub, out we
leapt and sure enough there it was
not 50 feet away and sloping into
the water, we had really close
views of the Otter before it
disappeared up a burn, things were
looking up. A short while later
and we picked up a male Hen
Harrier not a close but very good
sighting and very unexpected. It
was still not raining so we raced
to a Golden Eagle site and after
carefully looking I managed to
pick up a pair sitting on a hill
some distance away, after we had
all seen them through the scope
they flew off giving us good but
distant views. A guest wanted to
see some red Deer stags so we
quickly drove off to a place I
know where you can sometimes see
them and when we got there 2 more
Golden Eagles were flying, much
closer this time and yes there
were also 7 stags on the hill. The
weather was again fast closing in
so off for afternoon tea and
another Golden Eagle and then the
monsoon set in for the rest of the
afternoon. The only reason we saw
all the Mull specialities in
little over an hour was that
guests did not complain as I just
drove through the morning rain and
accepted I might have a reason, we
were lucky that the rain stopped
however briefly but we were in the
right areas to take advantage of
the situation so they were well
rewarded for their perseverance on
what was otherwise a very trying
day.
Sept 5th
Weather the same
as yesterday - If it could be
possible we had better Golden
Eagles and White-tailed Eagles and
Hen Harriers than yesterday, as
well as Sparrowhawks, Buzzards,
Kestrels and a Peregrine falcon.
There has to be a down side the
Otter we saw today was not as good
as yesterday but we compensated
with Red Throated Diver and a
Greenshank to finish another super
day of wildlife watching on Mull.
Sept 4th
Weather sunny and
calm - Red Deer stags at the start
of the day so we were all in a
good mood by the time we reached
our first stop by water of the day
and lo and behold a single Wigeon
my first since the spring and then
an Otter. The Otter was great and
we watched it for some time and
then went to see some Common
Seals. We were now running late
and in need of coffee but as we
pulled into the coffee stop a
Golden Eagle appeared and gave us
a wonderful display, now off for
coffee I thought but no there were
now White-tailed Eagles flying and
Buzzards a Sparrowhawk. Phew time
for a break, 'any chance of Fallow
Deer?' asked one guest, so after
the break we went in search and
yes there were 2 a mother and
fawn, a pretty good spot for me
and so on to find Grey Seals and
also some diving Gannets. We then
rushed to get to the lunch stop
catching up on time a little and
came across a lovely Northern
Wheatear check out the photo
below. The afternoon was not so
hectic but Hen Harrier were seen
and to end a terrific day another
brilliant Otter. Guests today were
fantastic and I have not had so
many laughs on a tour in a long
time so many thanks to you all
particularly Jayne Moorland who
made me laugh all day.
Sept 3rd
Weather low cloud
and drizzle in the morning sunny
afternoon - I went out this
morning and spent half an hour
watching an Otter just after
sunrise, as we keep telling our
guests early mornings are the best
times to see Otters. A drive out
in the afternoon and I saw Fallow
Deer and my first Golden Plovers
since the spring, now is the time
to see returning breeding migrants
as some are still in breeding
plumage, fabulous.
Sept 2nd
Weather similar to
yesterday - This evening was the
seafood extravaganza at Dervaig,
this is when local cooks get
together with local fishermen to
produce a meal which if you like
fish should not be missed. The
food is excellent the price is
more than reasonable and I defy
anyone to eat it all. The proceeds
from this event go to the village
hall and the Lifeboat association
and as 2 people were recently
pulled out of the water by the
Tobermory crew it could not go to
a better cause.
Sept 1st
Weather sunshine
but mostly showers - A day of very
good Eagles and many other birds
of prey with Golden Eagles again
carrying prey, they are certainly
keeping the Rabbit population in
check in one particular area. The
Slavonian Grebe is still around
and returning waders are starting
to be seen, so look out you never
know what might be passing through
in the coming weeks.
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This
is the web site of Pam
& Arthur Brown,
Ardrioch Farm,
Dervaig, Isle of Mull.
PA75 6QR
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