Mull Trip Episode 5; Treshnish Isles - Puffin paradise

Despite having made an annual pilgrimage to Mull since 2009, we've somehow managed to miss visiting the nearby Treshnish Isles; an important breeding colony for thousands of seabirds, particularly puffins. Yesterday, we finally rectified that omission, and with blazing sunshine & barely a breeze stirring, we could hardly have picked a nicer day to be out on a boat. The sea was as flat as a proverbial mill-pond, making the ride out to the rocky, uninhabited small isles very pleasant indeed. Although an overcast day might have been easier for photography than the strong sunlight, I'm certainly not going to complain, as it made for a fantastic day out. The waters were so blue & crystal clear, you;d have thought we were in the Mediterranean, rather than the West Coast of Scotland!

We sailed out from Ulva Ferry with Turus Maras on the Island Lass - which calls first at Staffa, for a look at Fingal's Cave & the famous columnar basalt geological formations; before sailing on to Lunga, the main bird sanctuary. As we drew closer to the Treshnish Isles, we passed large numbers of birds out on the water, including Puffins, Guillemots and even a Little Awk. 

Disembarking at Staffa, we made our way over to the far end of the island,for a little introductory Puffin action in preparation for the main event. There are a few Puffins nesting there, but mainly on overhanging cliffs, so although it was lovely to see them, it was tricky to get much in the way of decent shots - particularly as the surrounding vegetation was quite high!

However, this proved not to be reason to be despondent, since it became very clear that obliging & accessible Puffins were not in short supply almost from our first moments on Lunga! After a bit of a scramble up the boulder beach and a short, steep climb up to the main ledge, you are met by hundreds of very confiding Puffins, with the added bonus of neatly nibbled-short grasses sward, courtesy of their rabbit neighbours. 

Baby Rabbits - The Puffins also make their home in unused Rabbit burrows

An aside here on equipment; I get quite a few comments about why I use a 500mm lens in situations like this, when it's possible to get so close to the birds that a much smaller lens will do - and in fact, on Lunga, it's perfectly possible to get decent snaps of Puffins on your phone! There are a few reasons; firstly, for many shots, I prefer the blurred-out background that a large fixed prime lens gives. Secondly, it gives me the flexibility to go for shots of the more distant birds - especially the Guillemots & Razorbills on the main stacks, as well as flight shots. Finally and most importantly, it also means that, as I don't have to get so close, I'm not directly on top of the Puffins and their burrows, like so many people with their wide-angle lenses getting right over the entrances to get their shots. I did have a smaller lens with me, but it didn't come out of the bag!

Puffin calling

Razorbill

After a few warm-up Puffin shots, we hiked round to the main Guillemot colony on a craggy stack further back from the landing site. It was a bit of a puff up & down steep & narrow paths on such a hot day, but well worth it. The site, sounds - and smell!- of so many Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes all packed onto the ledges was quite unforgettable. I was pleased to spot a number of Bridled Guillemots (my secret target species) amongst the standard colour- morphs. The path also passed with about 15ft of a Shag nest, wedged in the shelter of a crevice between two boulders. Again, with the advantage of a larger lens, I was able to take a few shots without disturbing the adult bird. 

Bridled & Normal Guillemots

Shag Chick - Adult in forground

After spending a little while with the Guillemots, I headed back round to the main Puffin burrows, in search of the elusive, iconic 'beakful of sand-eels' shots. Despite the number of Puffins present, it was more challenging than you'd expect! I suspect this is largely down to the marauding Fulmars, which were patrolling along just a foot or so above the cliff top, ready to ambush returning Puffin parents & pirate their cargo. This meant that incoming Puffins first did a reconnaissance circuit of the cliff edge, before usually flying straight into the mouth of their burrow; with very few birds actually pausing on the open while carrying food. So, to be in with a chance of a sand eel shot, you do have to be observant, react fast - and have a bit of luck, too! Two hours on the island is just about enough, depending on what shots you have in mind, but 4 or more would be even better, I'm sure! I didn't quite get the pictures I had in mind, but then, that's wildlife photography for you.

Fulmar

After leaving Lunga, the skipper took us round some of the skerries, and Large & Small Carnaburgh - passing a number of Atlantic Grey Seals hauled out on the rocks - mainly juveniles. We also saw Shags, both Artic and Great Skuas - colloquially know locally as 'Bonxies'. It was really pleasant being out at sea on such a calm, clear day - we could see all the way to Skye in the North, and Jura & Coll were both clearly visible to the south. Coming back towards the North end of Gometra & Ulva, I even had a very distant view a pair of Dolphins, bow-surfing a small rib. All in all, a great way to spend a day, and well worth a visit.

Artic Skua

Great Skua

Atlantic Grey Seals

I mentioned in my last blog that we'd been visited by the local Tawny Owl. She seems to be a regular caller at the farmhouse, preferring to perch (and making slightly disturbing screeching noises) on the porch directly below our bedroom window in the small hours. I managed to get a rather blurred record shot of her last night - will try and get something a bit better before the end of our stay if I can! A barn owl was also spotted floating over the field next to the house last night, although I'm not holding out any hope of getting pictures of it, since neither species seem to be active until full dark up here, which at this time of year means 11.30pm onwards!

Tawny Owl

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 3; double-dose of Eagles

Every year, I always end up wishing I'd done 'just one more' White-tailed Eagle trip with Mull Charters. So, this time around, I'd booked up for a double dose, spending the full day on the Lady Jane for both the morning & afternoon session. 

The journey round from Pennyghael to Ulva Ferry is always a pleasant one. I tend to take the scenic route, which offers lots of possibilities to bag some sightings on the way round, passing as it does a range of different habits including high crags, moorland, marsh, broadleaf woodland, wildflower meadows and of course, the clear waters of Loch na Keil. This time was no exception, with Fallow Deer near Gruline and a large flock of Rock Doves on the crags. Always interesting to see non-feral pigeons. I also spotted several otters on my way around the Loch, as well as the usual Sanderlings, Oystercatchers & Geese.

Fallow Deer

One of the great things about this trip is how close the Eagles come to the boat. As anyone who knows me will testify, it's hard to prise my beloved 500mm out of my grip, but even I'll concede that it is just far too large for this occassion (well, unless I'm after extreme close ups of beak & talons only!). I normally use my 300mm with good results, but I've also been known to use a 200mm too, coupled with my 1DX and/or 1D4.

The morning session was great - nice to revisit my old friends, the pair of Eagles nesting in the pines towards the river outlet. The chicks were obviously clamouring for their lunch, since both birds met us well down the Loch, long before we got anywhere close to the nest site. You can really see the size difference when both birds are in the air together - the huge females make the males look positively puny by comparison! Both birds fished well, and we had 4 passes.

Pair from the 'Wilderness'

On the way back to Ulva Ferry, we passed through the Seal colony & as it was low-tide, had great views of lots of Common Seals & pups hauled out on the reef. It was interesting to get a good look at how much variation there is in their colouration, with some being very rufus, others more buff & creamy, and some very dapple grey. There was also one solitary Grey Seal, plus Cormorants, Black Gulliemots and assorted gulls - including one adult Icelandic Gull. We also heard & got a glimpse of a cuckoo on one of the skerries.

Common Seal

Common Seal - looking pregnant

Grey Seal

Shags

The afternoon session was a return visit to the second pair of Eagles nesting on the crags in the Wilderness. Again, both birds flapped out to meet us well before we got near their usual fishing area. Although both birds came out, only the female fished today; the male seemed content with supervising! After a couple of passes, we moored up for a coffee and a quick spot of pollock fishing, further along the loch to let the birds have a bit of peice with their catch. There were several Gannets fishing further out, as well as the usual assortment of gulls. After a final pass from the Eagles, we headed back to Ulva feeling very satisfied. Although the route again passed through the seal colony, by now the tide was high & there were a lot fewer seals present. 

 

 

All in all, a fantastic day... although I have to admit, I am still thinking that maybe just one more trip wouldn't go amiss!