Mull, Part Two.

A notable omission from my tale of Mull so far is an otter. Last year we saw one within an hour of leaving the ferry, but it was midweek already, and neither of us had seen one, though I had seen something resembling one far out in the loch from the cottage, but couldn't be sure. The locals did mention that they had been harder to see than before, so I thought I'd concentrate on finding them instead of wasting time staring at an empty marsh in hope of a hen harrier flying nearby. 

Early start and while I was supposed to be looking for Tarka, I couldn't resist a buzzard perched on a post at the back of Scridain. Soon buzzed off when it realised it was on camera, but they're too hard to resist for shots. 

Back to a layby and scanning the water. It was fairly calm, so the water was smooth and I have to say, it didnt take long to spot the tell-tale wake of a swimming otter! Parking closer, I scuttled out of the car, and down to the shore. Usual mistake - not from spooking the otter (I move when it's under the water, and freeze when it's up, checking the wind direction first), but forgetting to take my hat and midge-spray. 

So while I was chuffed to be crouched watching and photographing the first otter of the trip, the midges' biting soon forced me back to the safety of the car. The otter didn't seem inclined to go ashore anyway, as it was busy fishing. And it was time for some toast, a cuppa and take Dad out for the rest of the day. Stopping momentarily on the way to get shots of a pair of ravens. 

After checking for the otter again (it had vanished) Dad and I headed over to the WTE site, and were slightly miffed to have missed the boat trip, by minutes, but on the plus side, all four of the eagles were visible. Before we could train our bins on them, a cry of "Otter" distracted us, and we both watched an otter swim past, close to the shore. So that was Dad's otter-duck broken now too. Phew! 

Turning our attention back to the eagles, we could see both the juveniles sat in one dead tree with their father, nearby in another tree, probably drying out after bringing back the fish from the boat. The juveniles occasionally took off for short flights, reminding us how massive they are even when young. 

While the adult just sat there, looking magnificent. 

When the adult male had finished posing, he headed back to the taller trees, displacing one of his offspring, and then crying out loudly, maybe saying "Get orf my perch" or words to that effect! 

Tootling round to the Ulva Ferry turn off, we failed to see anything of note, apart from more biting insects (I'm a Midge Magnet) so we headed back again, towards Craignure for a pint and bite to eat. Saw a razorbill on the loch along the way, and stopped for the obligatory shot of another buzzard perched up. 

Another early one saw me looking for otters again but finding one of the hen harriers hunting over the ferns, where its markings hid it very well to be honest, making it hard to see in the morning gloom, and hard to make anything of in terms of a picture. 

Round the next corner I thought I'd found an otter on the rocks, but the shape looked wrong, and I quickly realised it was a seal! Lying on the seaweed, obviously enjoying some early morning sunshine, which we'd found to be sadly rather rare during our stay. 

Also taking advantage of the sunny weather was the pale buzzard, which was circling over the moors, and begged to be photographed with some blue sky behind. 

With such a backdrop we couldn't resist heading over to see the WTEs again, in the hope of some shots with the sun on them, but while we did see them, they never flew close, so we had to make do with more cropped-in shots than desired. 

Typically, that was about it, for a sunny day. The wildlife seemed to go into hiding when chances of some brighter shots increased. That didn't stop us watching the last of the light disappear from a viewpoint on the marshes. Saw a short-eared owl, albeit from a considerable distance, and one of the ringtails chose a perch miles from the road to soak up the last sunlight of the evening.

We knew it wouldn't last, and the next day was wet. Very wet. Dad again chose to stay in the warmth of the cottage, whereas I opted to take a look around. Carsaig proved fruitless once more, less so as the low cloud made it difficult to even see up top. The road to Fionnphort was very gloomy and rather depressing, and aside from gulls, nothing else seemed to be braving the weather. I returned to the marshes, to see if anything was around. There was, an otter sat on the rocks beside the loch! 

Sadly he heard my car pull up, and made a hasty exit back into the loch, but I managed a handful of pics before he did. 

Around the loch were the usual suspects, mainly hooded crows and curlews, feeding on the shore. Though one did pose for a second or two on a branch for me, which was kind! 

The rain then started to get worse, and having seen the road through the marsh flood earlier in the week, I thought to park up the right side of it, for getting home, and as it happened, there was a rather bedraggled looking buzzard perched up, to amuse me. 

It seemed to be looking for anything to eat, and dropped down a few times, returning shortly after, amusingly moving its beak as it to say "Yuck, yuck, that was horrid"! 

Despite the risk of the road flooding, I wanted one last look around the loch before the light (?) failed, so I set off, and quickly realised folks had an otter performing. I joined the fray, and despite the pouring rain, watched and photographed the otter with the fish he'd brought ashore. 

Seemed a bit spiny to eat, and rather rubbery! 

But as seems to be always the case, the otter got it all down, had a brief scratch and sniff around, before heading back out into the water. I guess they're less bothered by the rain than the birds. 

Speaking of which, the soggy buzzard was still sat on the post when I headed back to the cottage. Poor thing! 

And so ended the first week on Mull. Weather had been mixed, but the wildlife had still entertained. And Ian with his folks was due to arrive for the second week. Bring on some more Mull madness!

Mull, Part One.

After the enjoyment of last year's trip to Mull, I had decided to return but for twice as long, as I found the journey too much to cope with for just the one week. Unlike last year, the drive up was rather uneventful and Dad and I had a few hours to mooch around Oban, take in a lovely sunset and try one of the local, seafront restaurants, before getting some kip at the B&B, ready for the morning's crossing to Craignure. The sailing over was pretty calm too and we were able to take in the views from the top of the ferry, though some showers forced us inside just as we reached the other side. 

Not being able to get into the cottage until 3pm, we headed straight for one of the white-tailed eagle nest sites, which had been so successful for pics last time, but this time, nothing. No birds even calling from back in the woodland. And so this panned out for the first day, with nothing of note being seen and worse still, in my excitement and relief at finally arriving at the cottage, I misjudged the entrance gate and put a deep scratch / dent in my car. Idiot. 

The day ended with some distant shots of both a male and female hen harrier hunting over the marshes, but way too far off for a decent shot. 

The first full day started as I meant to go on, with a get-up at dawn, leaving Dad to enjoy a lie in, and me driving over to the marshes. It turned out that the birds enjoyed a lie in too, as I didn't see anything for the first 90 mins of being there! The hen harriers showed briefly, but I had some more success with buzzards, perched up on rocks on the hillside of the loch. 

Having bought and read Dave Sexton's birding book about Mull, I was keen to try a couple of places he'd suggested, and one was Carsaig. The road climbs up from Scridain, through woodland and over the moors, before dropping rather steeply to the shore. Apart from a distant hen harrier circling the tops of the hills, we drew a blank, and headed back again, to try around the back of Scridain, and head north, looking at whatever caught our eye. 

Buzzards again, sat on posts. One even stayed still when we parked up, got out, took some shots, had a bite to eat and allowed Dad to walk pretty close up to it, before it flew off. And even then it was to another perch a few yards away! And we managed to break our ducks on seeing eagles, when a white-tailed flew over, albeit high up. 

Near the white-tailed eagle site were a pair of juveniles sat at distance on the hillside, way too far off for a decent photo, but it was good to know they were around. When they failed to entertain, we headed off again, and called in at a site I know has a decent chance of seeing golden eagles from. And what happened next was pure Mull magic. 

I spotted a golden eagle hunting along the ridge of the hills, and expected it to soar off, high into the skies like usual. It didn't, dropping down behind the hills perhaps after some prey. Looking all around, I eventually picked it up near where it had dropped, and it was low, flying along... towards us. Grabbing the cameras, we began to fire off shots as it approached, expecting it to change direction at any point, but it didn't. 

In fact, it flew right over our heads, so close I couldn't get it all in the frame! To say I was buzzing with excitement was an understatement and I still grin thinking about it now. 

Awesome - it was huge! It made its way up the hills from us, before vanishing over a ridge, and we didn't see it afterwards. 

The day ended as it started for me, hoping to see hen harriers over the marshes, but as usual, they kept well away from me. Swines. 

Monday was forecast to be wet, and so it proved. I was out early again (mad given the lack of light) though I saw the hen harriers hunting despite the poor, wet weather. Dad wisely opted to stay indoors, leaving me alone to waste diesel looking for something to photo. On the loch itself was a red-breasted merganser and as I followed her line of sight, I spotted 3 chicks preening on the edge, partially hidden in the seaweed. Never seen chicks before, so that was good. 

Over on the marshes, I got some half decent shots of the hen harrier, though the sharpest of course were those when its back was to me, or its face obscured. 

And I was pleased to see a pair of ringtails chasing each other. 

Given the number of predators in the area, I was surprised to see a pair of stonechats had not only avoided these hunters, but also brought up a couple of young, and they gave their location away with the familiar chattering sound. Both male and female showed well. 

Later, watching from a usual perch was the pale buzzard. It rarely stays still, so perhaps the weather had played its part, as it sat on the post while I took a few shots. 

And I even saw one of the ringtails perched on a post, and not a mile off like usual. 

While I was sat in the car, watching over the marshes, all the geese suddenly went up, and I wondered why. Then moments later, I saw a white-tailed eagle circling quite low, and another one on the ground, where all the geese had been earlier. I was a bit far to see clearly what was going on, but when the bird took off, it became clear that they had been hunting together, and the victim was a grey heron, hanging limply from the huge eagle's talons. 

I took a few shots as it powered off down the loch, and moments later spotted the other following. I chose to do the same, and drove around the back of the loch to the old RSPB view point, where I was taken by surprise when the eagle with the heron suddenly appeared from behind me, and headed off at pace towards the nest site in the woods. Again, I grabbed a few shots. Quite a surprise to find such aggressive and large birds as grey herons on the white-tailed eagle's menu! 

And not to be outdone, as I scanned the skies after the WTE had vanished, I realised a pair of golden eagles were high up, watching the events too, though they didn't come down, and sailed off up the coast. Not bad for a rainy day. 

Tuesday brought less rain, but stormier conditions; windy with blustery showers. The light wasn't bad though, so we headed over to Grasspoint for a look. In the harbour was a great-northern diver, but even when I braved the showers and gales to try to get a bit closer, the bird was almost impossible to lock on to, and I came away with some dodgy record shots. Shame, as it was in breeding plumage. Over the other side of the bay was a pair of WTEs hunting, and we thought it might be worth a go to drive over that way, to see if we could get closer. The road through Gorten leads to a dead end, but a parking area overlooks the bay and we tried from here. It was raining, so we were sat in the car. Dad, however likes a smoke on his pipe, so as the rain eased, he got out. Leaning back in, he says "What's this flying over us?". 

An adult WTE!! Another mad scramble for the cameras, and we bagged a few keepers before the eagle floated away out of sight. 

Both adults were around but it was a juvenile that surprised us. It was so low as it came over the hill behind us, and it seemed to look down at us as it went over. The rain didn't help trying to get shots, and the eagle filled the whole frame. Incredible to see one so close up. 

As the weather started to improve, we headed north to look around some more sites suggested in Dave's book. Croig reminded us of Devon somewhat, with the farming and lay of the land, and the harbour at the end was slightly Cornish in its appearance. Lovely, though quiet in terms of wildlife. Glenmore had potential, but seemed to be a favourite spot for folks from Tobermory to venture to, so was busy, relatively speaking. Again, nothing of interest there. Around at Calgary the beach was very busy, and we abandoned plans when there was nowhere to park. Turned out to be a good move, as a few miles around the headland, I noticed a couple of people looking skywards with bins, and caught a bit of conversation as I drove past, along the lines of "I'd never have noticed them there." 

A rapid 3-point turn and I was back to investigate. Very wise move. There was a pair of golden eagles, gliding on the on-shore breeze, above the hillside, hunting. Fabulous. One seemed rather tatty - it was either old or suffering a bad moult. Looked quite evil, actually. 

The other was in splendid condition, with a fiery golden crown, and rich dark brown feathers. 

While they never came as close as the one from earlier in the week, they were near enough for exceptional views and decent shots. 

They eventually decided to hunt elsewhere, and soared magnificently off across the bay over land where I could see no roads. Was a bit late to try the marshes when we got back so it was a night to review images and look forward to what Mull would serve up next. 

Stay tuned...

Great Things At Grimley

My word, it's been a while since I posted on here, which is terribly lazy. I kept meaning to post, but as it happened, kept going back to the same place, so postponed each time, in case I had something else to add. 

Grimley (Worcs) is a spot I have visited before, but on previous occasions I have considered it to be one for the birders, with scopes, to watch from a distance the goings on. I suspect I didn't give it a chance and after heading over recently to view the great white egret, I realise I may have been missing out on a cracking local site. 

The endless rains we had during Spring and Summer have flooded the meadows, so instead of being out on the edge, you can now walk right through the pools, on raised pathways, which is superb for getting closer to the species present. Though this sign has had me in stitches.

Anyway, the great white egret was what originally attracted me, and has now been "resident" for a couple of weeks, and really is a cracking bird to have locally. I have seen them before down in Berkshire and Somerset, but to have one so close is a treat. 

It is quite shy though, and I have managed to spook it a couple of times (sorry Carl!) when trying to approach it. That said, it also flies around a fair bit, so can be easily photographed.

Also present are 3 little egrets, and a fair few grey herons, all of which are making the most of the bonanza of trapped fish in the pools, and spend ages poking about in the shallows, snapping up the tiddlers. 

And there are a handful of common terns also making the most of the small fish, and I've not been as close to these since Shetland last year. 

The conditions must also favour insects, and aside from the swarms of horrid biting flies, there are masses of dragonflies and damselflies. And having a macro lens allows me to attempt to photograph them! 

Around the tops of the embankments are plenty of wildflowers, which attract butterflies, most of which fly off before the lumbering oaf carrying a camera can get close, but occasionally they allow me close enough for a pic. 

Dragonflies in abundance also can attract hunters, hobbies. I love watching and trying to photograph these agile birds of prey. They're a real challenge to photograph in flight, simply from the speed at which they whizz around chasing the insects, and also their habit of changing direction when least expected. You sort of need two pairs of eyes, one to use the camera, and the other over the top to follow where the bird is headed. 

The one that arrived when I was trying to get pics of the great white egret, is a juvenile (according to my more knowledgeable friends) and if I'm being honest, is what tempted me back to Grimley several times, for more attempts at getting shots of it. 

When the bird flies against the sky, focusing on it is a dream. Sadly they like to hunt low down often, so the AF on the camera really struggled to keep a lock on, and I had to alternate between manually focusing and using the AF. This again, is a benefit from having the AF on a separate button to the shutter release. 

Heading to Grimley has meant I've been limited to local sites, as afterwards I haven't the time or interest in driving miles to another site. Holt is nearby and while I didn't manage to see any spotted flycatchers at the church this year, I did see some local buzzards, which like perching atop of various posts.

Upton Warren is also reasonably close, and will definitely be a place to head again more now that they have a new hide at the Moors. That said, the Water Rail hide is again a hotspot for kingfisher-lovers, as several have been fishing from the perches laid out on the edge of the pool. While not as close as the Feckenham birds of recent years, they can still offer a chance of a decent shot. 

As was a kestrel over at Marsh Lane on my last visit. It seemed to favour the new fence posts laid along the tops of the embankments, and while it tested my patience a tad, to get it to land close, when other folks weren't around to spook it, it eventually did. 

And then chose to hover right in front of me, which was fab. Almost too close to photograph! 

But as mentioned at the start of this entry, Grimley has been the favoured location, and I'll be definitely going again, especially while these stars are around - look, all three in the same shot! 

Yes, I know. Lucky!