Mull trip episode 4 - otter hunting

We're having a nice, relaxed time here on Mull; the sun's been shining, the sky is blue - and there is always the chance of spotting some amazing wildlife around any corner. We've spent the last two or three days ambling around a few of our favourite spots - and checking out one or two new ones. 

Otters have been one of my target species this week, so we've spent quite a bit of time checking out some of the most likely spots, with some success. We've seen the local large dog Otter several times, including getting a good view of him grooming himself on a rock, before resuming working the kelp beds for butterfish. We also saw another huge male briefly on Loch Spelve, from the track to Croggan, but it vanished very quickly. We've yet to see a female or youngsters this year, but hopefully before the end of the trip!

Dog Otter at sunset

Also at Croggan, I spent a little while under the lush green shade of the beautiful, twisted boughs of the Sessile Oak woodland, photographing the antics of a pair of Wood Warblers as they brought food to the nest.

Wood Warbler

Along the track from Croggan, I also had a close encounter with this rather engaging little Sandpiper, a beautifully coloured Fieldfare (which sadly was not at all willing to pose for me!) and a family of Lapwings with a very cute, tiny speckled chick. Despite the parents' warning calls, it was too distracted by a tasty-looking bug to do a very good job of pretending to be a stone! Lots of Greylag Geese with goslings of various sizes dozing on the Loch edge, too.

Sandpiper

Lapwing Chick

Driving on from Croggan towards Lochbuie, I was very pleased to come across two stunning Fallow deer does grazing in a meadow on the edge of a stand of ancient mixed woodland. These ladies were looking absolutely gorgeous in their dappled summer coats, especially with the sunlight streaming down on them! 

Fallow Deer

A visit to the beautiful bay at Ardalanish is always a wonderful way to spend a few hours. As well as the spectacular views across to Jura, the wildflower-laden streambed & orchid-studded dunes attract a good variety of birds and butterflies. I had fun photographing a gregarious family of Wheatears of varying ages.

Wheatear - Female

Wheatear - Juvenile

Wheatear - fledgling

 I also had a pair of Sedge Warbler in the reed beds by the stream. 

Sedge Warbler

There are lots of moths and butterflies, such as this lovely Small Tortoiseshell and High-brown Frittilary.

As well as the ubiquitous Hooded Crows!

An unexpected added bonus was a trio of Red-throated Divers in the bay. Not too close in, but wonderful to see these lovely birds in full breeding plumage.

I was also back for another look at the Mountain Hares yesterday evening, and was rewarded by a very obliging beast, right out on the shorter grass. We saw at least 5 individuals in the course of the evening, so they seem to be doing well.

In the same area, I also got some really good views of the resident pair of Hen Harriers - both the male & female this time. Both birds were seen quartering, with the female coming close at times. I even witnessed a couple of distant food-passes, which were fantastic to see.

Visiting a smallish, freshwater lochan added a few more species to our list. We spotted a fledging Cuckoo, still being fed by it's tiny adoptive warbler parents. There were also two Black-throated Divers, 4 Red-throated Divers, Little Grebe, as well as Turfted Duck, Herons and more Geese. I was particularily interested to note a pair of Whooper Swans, which flew in to the head of the loch just at sunset. 

Round Loch Scridain, we've mainly seen smaller birds, although we've seen both of the pair of White-tailed Eagles which nest across the loch flying past several times. Curlews standing sentinel above their chicks have been nice to see, as well as juvenile Goldfinch, Rock Pippits, Meadow Pippits, Sky Lark and Sanderling

Meadow Pippit

Curlew & Chicks

On the mammal front, we'd been commenting that we haven't seen too many Red Deer down by the loch this year, compared to previous visits. Apparently, this is down to the very high numbers of midges about after the rains, as the deer hate these airbourne pests & tend to keep to the hills when they are particularily bad. However yesterday evening, the stiff  breeze must have lured them down, as we had several groups of young bucks and more mature stags grazing in the meadows along the road, all with their antlers still re-growing & covered in velvet.  

We also clocked up another mammal species in the form of feral goats, with a small flock grazing along on of the rock crags above the moorland. Usually they stick to the more inaccessible coastal cliffs, so it was great to see a few in relative comfort! 

Goat - Nanny

Just to round things off, I've just been watching a Tawny Owl hunting in the courtyard of our farmhouse. It even landed just below my bedroom window. Too dark for photography, but always a buzz to see!

Mull trip episode 1 - White-tailed Eagles & a mackerel or two

We arrived on Mull for our annual pilgrimage to wildlife central on Sunday evening, after a long, hot and tiring drive up from Swindon. Although it was a lovely evening, after over 12 hours in the driving seat, even I couldn't motivate myself to go out spotting - at least any further than the bottom of the garden! 

Mind you, in our lovely accommodation there is a fair amount to be seen without stirring further afield. There are several industrious families of Swallows nesting in the eaves, so the air is thick with the adults whizzing to & fro from dawn to full dark. Starlings, Blue-tits, Pied Wagtails and Chaffinches are all also nesting around the old steading buildings, lots of cute little bunnies cheekily sneak onto the lawn to graze (much to the delight of the huskies) and best of all, directly in front of the farmhouse is a Common Seal colony. One of the estate's resident pairs of White-tailed Eagles are regular visitors to the reef at this time of the year while the seals are pupping, attracted by the possibility of a buffet-special of seal placenta!

Monday was a bit drizzly until late afternoon, but we weren't too upset to have a relaxed start, being rather shattered after the long drive up. We did venture out for a bit of a recce of a few of our favourite sites around the Ross of Mull in the afternoon. Lots of interesting small birds around, particularly Wheatears, Stonechats, Sanderlings, Spotted Red-shanks, Lapwing, Twite, and Oystercatchers - however the light wasn't really good enough for much in the way of photography.

Common Seals - Male, Pup and female

Stonechat - Male

Another drive out in the evening produced our first otter spotting; a big male fishing along the edge of the kelp beds - sadly a wee bit distant to be worth a shot. Lots of Greylag Geese, plus the ubiqutious Hoodie Crows. I also spotted a female Hen-Harrier quartering over the reedbeds at the head of the valley - she then sped off up the hillside after catching some prey - presumably off back to her chicks. 

On Tuesday, we went out on the fabulous Mull Charters White-tailed Eagle tour. This is an unmissable part of my trip each year, and it never fails to deliver a great day out. This morning was no exception, despite a rather damp & overcast start. The pair of Eagles we visited are nesting out on an inaccessible peninsula known as 'The Wilderness' - and the name is very apt. An awe-inspiring landscape of lowering cliffs, dank sea caves and stark crags, it's an atmospheric backdrop for these magnificent birds.

 Both of the adults came out very quickly as soon as the boat reached their territory, flapping very determinedly around in search of their lunch. It's amazing to see these 'barndoor'-sized birds diving down with great precision to snatch up a fish from the surface. After three passes, we'd all shot hundreds of shots and retired to a spot further along the headland for a quick coffee while the Eagles consumed their booty. I had fun earning my passage by fishing for mackerel for the next few trips! In just 10 minutes or so, myself and another guest had caught 30 or 40 fish - it's incredible to be able to drop a line in and pull it out seconds later with 3 fish on it! We pinched a couple for our lunch and I can testify that they are very tasty; no wonder the Eagles are keen! 

After a final pass by the Eagles, we headed back towards the landing point at Ulva Ferry, via another Common Seal colony, where we got some close views of several very young pups with their mums. We also saw Black Gulliemots, distant Gannets, Cormorants & Shags.

Common Seals - Males

Common Seals - Female & Pup

Common Seal - Pup

This afternoon, a little drive around the loch produced a trio of Red-Breasted Mergansers, a very noisy Sanderling family, Oystercatchers with half-grown chicks, Snipe & Curlews - including a chick and Stonechats. 

Curlew - Chick

Curlew

Diverse Divers

Although I do keep an eye on recent bird sightings reports, you couldn't really class us as twitchers - we're just a bit too lazy!
However, every now and then something appears that piques my interest - and the recent high winds have meant some very interesting birds have been showing up lately.  So, reports of an obliging White-billed Diver in Brixham Harbour, coupled with a horrible forecast for our local patch, made a day at the seaside too tempting to pass up.

When we first arrived, it was extremely gusty, making the breakfront an unappealing base of operations. However, the marina & old harbour are nice &  sheltered & some very friendly Turnstones - not to mention a cheeky seal - kept us amused while we waited to get a close view of the Diver. 



Turnstone

Thankfully the wind soon dropped, the sun put in an appearance, and eventually so did the Diver, coming right into the marina & inner harbour.

White-billed Diver



 

We also had some good views of Great Northern and Black-throated Divers, a Black Gullimot and a lonely RazorBill.

 

One of the nicest things about the day (apart from a very welcome fish 'n chip lunch) was that so many families who were out & about for a holiday stroll got interested in what was going on. It was great to chat to them and to see lots of youngsters getting excited about seeing a rare bird - even if they weren't quite sure why! Maybe one or two of them will become the naturalists of tomorrow, after seeing ' that really rare bird from the Artic'!