Wild About Mull

2018

2018-05-04T11:00:00.002+01:00

White-tailed Eagle

Golden Eagle

Whinchat

Lapwing

Oystercatcher

Reed Bunting

Great Northern Diver

Mountain Hare

Otter

April.

2016-05-31T21:41:00.000+01:00

April was a bit of a mixed bag with the weather - a bit of sun, a bit of rain and a tremendous day of blizzard conditions. Quite a few of the migrant birds returned too.

Adders were on show all month.

Black-tailed Godwits in the blizzard.

Chaffinch in the garden.

Red Deer outside the house.

Snakes-head Fritillary on Iona.

Great Northern Diver coming into summer plumage.

Golden Plover arrived in good numbers.

Hen Harriers put on a good show.

Female Hen Harrier.

Iceland Gull on the patch.

Lapwings started breeding.

Mountain Hares are still around but the numbers are low this year.

Northern Wheatears were a welcome sight.

Quite a few Otter cubs around.

Puffins arrive in April.

Ring Ouzel was a cracking bird to see.

Short-eared Owl were pairing up.

Starling is a bird often overlooked.

Sundew were starting to emerge.

The Tawny Owls were breeding in the barn.

The views were spectacular!

Whimbrel passage was good.

A Wren was breeding in the brambles.

Quite a few young White-tailed Eagles were hanging around - 11 was my best count.

The adult birds were preparing for a new arrival.

Willow Warbler heralds the start of summer for me.

March

2016-05-15T19:39:00.001+01:00

March is always an interesting month. The winter visitors are still hanging around but by the months end the first signs of spring are there to cheer you up.

Adders have been out of hibernation since the begining of February so they can be quite active in March.

Sea Anemone in a rock pool.

Common Buzzard.

Changing light conditions will change the colours that you see on the bird.

Red Deer have still got their antlers.

Frogs in my pond.

Young Golden Eagle.

Glaucous Gull.

Great Northern Diver starting to get it's summer plumage.

Male Hen Harrier.

Iceland Gull.

Northern Wheatear just back from Africa.

Otter.

Raven.

Redwing will soon be heading back to Iceland.

The Tawny Owl is nesting already.

Whooper Swans having a rest before they do that last 1000 miles!

White-tailed Eagle bookends.

Almost the equivalent of holding hands.

Everyone likes a good sing-song.

If you want to keep up to date just follow the link.

Northern Cyprus and Turkey

2016-04-23T19:13:00.000+01:00

A welcome break to Turkey was more about relaxing than birding so I grabbed the opportunity while I could. Enjoy.

Blue Rock Thrush.

Crested Lark

Finsch's Wheatear

Graceful Prinia

Hen Harrier

Laughing Dove

Rock Nuthatch

Sandwich Tern

Serin

White-winged Tern (not 100% on that one) with a Sandwich Tern

Plenty of common stuff around too - Magpie, Jay, Hooded Crow, White Wagtail, House Sparrow etc.

Trip to Newcastle.

2016-03-09T19:30:00.002+00:00

A trip to Newcastle gave me a chance to catch up with a few species that I haven't seen for a while.

Kestrel.

Little Owl - not seen one of these since Oct 2008.

Smew - not seen one of these since early 2008. I've never had a view this good though.

Splendid looking bird.

Good to see the bird stretch it's wings.

I hadn't seen Roe Deer since 2007.

It was good to get into a feeding station and see the likes of Great Spotted Woodpecker...

...Magpie...

...Nuthatch...

...and Stock Dove.

A quick trip to the coast produced Short-eared Owl...

...and Tree Sparrow.

A trip to Turkey followed this so that'll be the next post.

January 2016

2016-02-25T19:48:00.000+00:00

A nice selection of images from January.

Common Buzzard on the shore.

Collared Dove looking forward to spring.

Cormorant drying it's wings.

Grey Heron posing.

Great Northern Diver with a crab.

Goldcrest - stunning.

Goosander in a flap.

Iceland Gull at the hatchery.

Jackdaw eyeing things up.

This Knot was a good find in January.

Little Auks were storm driven but soon moved back out to sea.

Merlin is usually seen flying off so this sitter was a bit special.

Plenty of Otter sightings...

...and a few cubs around too.

A few flocks of Redwing are fairly easy to find this winter.

The sun lights up the landscape as it sets - that's when you see the sun!

A White-tailed Eagle on a dull day.

This White-tailed Eagle landed next to the car - fantastic!

Merry Christmas!!

2015-12-24T08:24:00.001+00:00

Another selection of pictures from November and December to see you over the festive season.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - enjoy!

Mum and cub heading for the holt.

Goldcrest flitting through the gorse.

A nice view over Loch Beg.

A Redwing that was fresh in from Iceland in November.

It looks like the Raven is on the back of the sheep but it's actually on a rock just behind.

Goosander - a nervous bird up here.

Robin - I had to put one in here!

Good views of Kestrel over the last couple of months.

A passing shower with Ben More in the background - this image was shown on the BBC weather forecast.

Whooper Swans continuing their journey south. They left in the half light early in the morning.

The ever playful Otters.

Nothing more exciting than a male Hen Harrier in a blue sky.

White-tailed Eagle doing the same!

Size comparison between White-tailed Eagle and Hooded Crow.

Common Buzzard making a kill.

A pale morph Common Buzzard.

Immature Golden Eagle - very impressive bird.

A direct comparison between the two eagle species - Golden Eagle on the right.

Redwing.

Otter rolling in the seaweed.

I like this shot of Hooded Crow landing.

It was nice to see the moon a few times in December - it's been a bit wet.

Greenshank.

All the best for 2016.

October offerings.

2015-11-06T12:23:00.001+00:00

October was a decent month with, mostly, warm and dry weather. The down side to the good weather was that the migrating birds seemed to pass us by.
Adders were on show for most of the month.

The winter thrushes arrived at the end of the month but the best I could capture was a Blackbird.

It was nice to get a few Common Buzzard shots on natural perches for a change.

Lookinng good at the top of a conifer.

Coal tits have been hoarding food.

Field Gentian was visible for the whole month.

Grey Heron having a walk around.

Another Grey Heron on a grey day.

Great Northern Diver stretching it's wings.

This Great Spotted Woodpecker was a nice bird to see.

A nice male Hen Harrier.

This Little Egret was my first on Mull.

There have been quite a few Merlin sightings in October.

The Otters are always a big draw - one eating it's lunch.

This one decided to have a close look at me!

Mum and cub.

Two cubs together.

I managed to get a couple of shots of this Sparrowhawk just outside the shop.

Stonechat - a showy bird.

A panoramic shot outside the shop showing the passing shower complete with double rainbow.

A couple of White-tailed Eagle passing the time.

Young White-tailed Eagle flying past.

September

2015-11-05T18:12:00.000+00:00

I'm catching up with things eventually. A selection of photographs from throughout the month.

Bar-tailed Godwit is an annual bird on Mull but we don't get many.

Black-tailed Godwit is much commoner.

Curlew.

Some nice views of Red Deer through the month.

Golden Eagle with a full crop.

Golden Eagle on the hunt.

Grey Heron sunbathing.

Great Northern Diver with a flattie.

Greenshank on it's own.

Greenshank in triplicate.

Hooded Crow is a popular bird.

Otter.

Raven having lunch.

Skylark - look at the plumage on that!

Sparrowhawk - just stunning.

A migrant Whinchat.

There had to a White-tailed Eagle too.

Two months.

2015-10-20T19:28:00.002+01:00

July and August produced another good batch of photos.
Adders were seen regularly.

Common Buzzard on a rock for a change.

Common Blue taken with mobile phone.

Common Sandpiper.

Red Deer in velvet.

Emperor Moth caterpillar.

Golden Eagles had a poor year...

...but they showed well.

Harebell

Hen Harrier avoiding the Hoodie.

Lesser Redpoll.

Nuthatch was a surprise bird.

Osprey hung around for the season.

Otter with a fish tongue!

Otter heading for a culvert.

Snipe chipping.

Swallow stretching.

White-tailed Eagle coming in to land.

Just the one youngster this year but she's a big one.

WT Eagle flying over.

I'm back

2015-10-09T19:20:00.000+01:00

It's been a long time but I lost the will to live with blogger due to the internet problems. It took seven months to get it fixed - Facebook was easier to upload to so that has been a big help. I'm jut dabbling at the moment so here are few photos from earlier in the year - March to June in no particular order...

Buff-tip

Common Sandpiper

Golden Eagle

Golden Plover

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Male Hen Harrier

Female Hen Harrier

Montain Hare

Otter

Puffin

Razorbill

Redshank

Common Seal

Skylark

Common Snipe

Stonechat

Treecreeper

Whinchat

White-tailed Eagle

Yellowhammer

April so far

2015-04-13T08:36:00.000+01:00

Without any internet connection at home it has been difficult to compose a new post. Facebook is so much quicker and easier to manage that is where most of the photos have gone - you don't need to sign up to view that so don't be put off.
A quick update while I have an internet connection - a Yellowhammer in the garden was a treat.

As you can see the GN Divers are coming into breeding plumage and preparing to leave our waters.

There are quite a few Pheasants wandering along the shore - it looks weird with the sea in the background!

A nice size comparison between WT Eagle and Golden Eagle.

The Redshank are starting to move away from the shore and search out a nesting area.

Plenty of Stonechats around but none on the nest yet but it won't be long.

I had eight Whooper Swans pay a visit last week - they will probably be the last until they return in the autumn.

I had an early run out and watched the sun rise while an Otter swam around in the loch and a WT Eagle drifted past - awesome!

The Crossbills are still showing well with the young bird being the most photographed.

The Red Deer stags have been popular but not with the motorists.

The migrant birds are starting to appear with lots of Northern Wheatear, Chiffchaff and the delightful Barn Swallows all putting on a show.

March - Out like a Lion

2015-03-31T08:14:00.000+01:00

So much for the idea that if March comes in like a Lion it goes out like a Lamb - it's wet, windy and the ferries are cancelled again. Enough of that though.
Wildlife sightings have been pretty good over the last week. The Mountain Hares have performed well - poor picture but it was nice to see this one running about.

The WT Eagles will all be incubating eggs now but the final touches were still being added - the essential soft furnishings!

The good days have been awesome...

...the Red Deer seem to be hanging on to their antlers but they will be shed in the next couple of weeks.

A nice encounter with a Golden Eagle being mobbed by a Buzzard showed the size difference very well.

A particularly wet and windy day saw this Grey Heron sheltering on a river.

The feral Goats are still hanging around on the beach but they will soon drift off to the cliffs again.

Otter sightings have been difficult recently but it's not unexpected. Normal service will now resume!

I might be a bit quackers but not as quackers as this Mallard.

Home and away

2015-03-24T12:54:00.002+00:00

An exciting time over the last couple of weeks. We had a quick trip down to Newcastle to see the family but I did manage to see the Golden Eagle being released before we left Mull.

It was nice to catch up with a few different birds while we were away - Purple Sandpiper, Coot, Moorhen, Shoveler...

...and Great Crested Grebe.

Back on Mull the Grey Herons are always good to photograph.

Some birds have nested already but some are just getting ready to settle down to breeding. This Buzzard seemed keen to use seaweed as a nest lining!

The first Northern Wheatears have arrived so spring is on it's way but there is still time for a bit more snow.

It was nice to see a sub-adult WT Eagle flying around outside the shop the other day.

March - In like a Lion...

2015-03-13T10:01:00.000+00:00

...we'll see if it goes out like a lamb!
I still have ongoing problems with BT and their broadband so I'm doing this post at the shop. When it takes four hours to get connected you don't want to be writing a post as it's usually time for bed at that point! Enough of that.
The gales at the beginning of March had a plus side as a Ring-billed Gull turned up in my garden - result!!

The following day it was outside the shop.

A single Adder was seen on a sunny day but this Blue Tit singing was a much better photo opportunity.

More wind followed and made the waterfalls into water-rises!

You wouldn't think that this Reed Bunting photo was taken while the wind was blowing through at 40mph - quite calm at ground level.

Still only a single Adder on show a week into March - so I may have to find another site for them.

On the plus side I did see a couple of Common Lizards on the same day.

It was a lovely, calm, sunset that evening.

After the sun went down I picked up BB and headed out into the dark to search for Barn Owl - we were not disappointed.

End of February

2015-03-04T13:16:00.001+00:00

Can you believe February is history already?! There is nothing exciting happening on the wildlife front except that slow crawl into spring. There is something new every day - it might be another species of bird bursting into song, the Collared Doves getting frisky or the Crossbills eating shells on the shore!

You can't fail to be impressed with the splendid male Red-breasted Merganser - he has already won his mate.

I have seen my first bunch of frogspawn at the end of February plus the Primroses are starting to emerge.

The Treecreeper becomes more obvious for us during February and it's nice to get a shot of one being the tree mouse and scampering up the tree trunks.

The WT Eagle will soon be on the nest so they have less of the wanderlust and spent quite a bit of time flying around together.

I have seen quite a bit of this young Golden Eagle over the winter and it seems to like stirring up the Buzzards - come on if you think you're hard enough!

The year list stands at 89 species while PWC scores are 61 species and 73 points.

Facebook

2015-02-23T21:48:00.004+00:00

You may have noticed a lack of posting going on. I'm not giving it up, just slowing it down a bit and using Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/WildAboutMull) . There will be different photos on each one so you may want to keep up with both. The Facebook page will be more 'as it happens' while the blog might get a weekly update.Well, we'll see how it goes.
I'm guessing that it's bad luck on my part but I don't seem to be seeing that many GN Divers close to shore - hopefully that'll change as they come into summer plumage!

I watched this Otter come along the shore,make it's way towards the road before going through a culvert and then up into the forestry. It didn't even look in my direction despite being just a few yards away as it went under the road.

It's difficult not to see the Otters at the moment so just enjoy them while you can!

The Crossbills are a daily feature at the shop but the numbers can vary. I had a party of six the other day one of which was this years juvenile - too far for a decent shot but I did put one on facebook.

A sign of things warming up and day length extending is the frogs reappearing - good food for the Otters, Buzzards and Grey Herons.

Here is one that is easy to overlook - a young WT Eagle on the seaweed.

A pair of Dippers were seen together on the shore - one disappeared upstream calling as it went. I watched the other bird for a while until it flew off...and then flew back in a bit closer. There was a cow between me and the bird so I didn't pass that one up - result!

I've seen the WT Eagle taking grass to their nest to use as lining but it took a few seconds to figure out what this Raven was carrying - wool.

Could an eagle look more imperious than this - just awesome!!

Waking up

2015-02-15T18:59:00.002+00:00

Otter sightings are still good at the moment - you're having a bad day if you get less than four but females with youngsters help a lot.

There are still a few Iceland Gulls hanging around but they all seem to be youngsters.

This Buzzard allowed a close approach but he must have been having a messy meal - just look at the state of his beak and his feet!

No excuses for the Oystercatcher - if you dig in the soil you will get dirty.

Golden Eagle - overhead and away quick as a wink!

The Crossbills always seem to be backlit so when this one turned up just as the sun was hitting the top of the trees I grabbed my opportunity.

There have been a few nice days recently so the temperatures are creeping up and waking up the things that have been hibernating. There was a frost in the morning but by lunchtime the temperature was up to 8 degrees. A Peacock butterfly was basking in the rays...

...and not too far away my first Adder of the year was doing the same thing.

Speyside

2015-02-11T19:08:00.000+00:00

We had a quick trip across to Speyside to catch up with the specialities over there. On the way across most of the Black Guillemots were looking good...

...but there was still the odd one looking very mottled.

A trip into the woods in Speyside will always produce a few good sightings - Long-tailed Tit...

...and Crested Tit.

The weather was just fantastic - blue skies and very little wind. We had tried a couple of spots for Capercaillie and found nothing so it was nice to come across this handsome chap at our third attempt.

After he had shown us who was boss he settled down to feed next to the track before heading back into the forest - awesome!!

A trip up Cairngorm next. With the weather so good the car parks were absolutely rammed but not too many people in the area we were heading for. It took a wee while to find the Ptarmigan but what a fantastic bird to see. The male birds look like bandits...

...while the female birds just blend in.

The Red Grouse just stand out out like sore thumbs!

A cracking weekend away but it's good to be back.

February

2015-02-10T20:52:00.000+00:00

The first week in February has been quite busy as the weather was just superb. The bright sunny days mean that it does get a bit warmer but if you catch the breeze it's baltic!! The Common Crossbills have bred already but the male birds are still singing.

The Otter sightings are quite good at the moment too - anything under four sightings is a poor day but that does include the family parties.

There have been plenty of sightings of Merlin but I was struggling to catch up with it. Doc and I found this one perched beside the road and it did allow a close approach - awesome!

Plenty of sightings of WT Eagle as they prepare themselves for the the breeding season ahead.

Hen Harrier is a daily sighting at the moment but most of the sightings are distant or too quick - this female was leaving at great speed.

I still haven't found any decent looking stags close to the road but there are plenty to see as you drive around.

Plenty of sightings of Golden Eagle too but it was nice to see them getting back into a routine of being close to the road!

Fatal error

2015-02-04T20:49:00.000+00:00

A bit of excitement at the beginning of February as the laptop had a fatal error that resulted in me losing quite a few photographs. It took a while to get things back on an even keel but getting out viewing the wildlife helps the stress levels!! The WT Eagles were relaxing together before the start of the breeding season.

There are plenty of Buzzards on show, as usual, but it's nice to get one sitting on a natural feature for a change.

I was out looking for the local Jay (I did see it) and I just happened to walk right up to this stag. It was close enough to touch when it walked past me!

The local Otters are feeding well at the moment as they seem to bringing a lot of their catches ashore.

Duck weather

2015-01-29T21:04:00.001+00:00

It's the usual January weather - mostly overcast. The sunny days do make up for it though. A quick trip out in the sunshine didn't produce a great deal but it was nice to see the Oystercatchers wandering around protecting their mates and making a lot of noise.

The local WT Eagles were sitting out on an island too far away for a decent shot but still an impressive sight.

The usual signs that spring is approaching Robins singing, Starlings in subsong...

...and the RB Mergs doing a lot of displaying.

The rainy days have been good for the ducks like this Common Teal standing in a slightly sheltered spot.

Just to make sure that you know that winter isn't over yet we get another covering of snow - it'll soon be spring!!

New Family

2015-01-22T20:21:00.000+00:00

I had a nice start to the day when a male Hen Harrier was flying around outside the shop...

...then a few Red Deer wandered across the road.

A bit later in the morning I had a superb encounter with a family of Otters. They were just hauling out of the water when I caught sight of them. One of the cubs looked like it was suckling at one point but seeing them trying to sleep on mum was a bit special.

They were almost scared off when a Shag surfaced nearby then took off with a clatter but they soon settled down again.

A bit chilly

2015-01-20T08:46:00.000+00:00

We had an early run out and found a few Red Deer sleeping at the side of the road in the snow. The sun wasn't up so it was a bit dark at the time.

The sun did come out a bit later on which gave us a chance to get a few more snaps. The Common Crossbills are present every day at Pennyghael Stores.

There are loads of Grey Heron as usual so getting one with a fish is something different so worth getting the camera out.

We were watching an Otter feeding just offshore and this Greenshank came wandering past.

The views were just awesome too...

...but you have to be quick because the snow won't stay too long beside the sea.

It's not that often that you get ice in the sea - brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

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Stormy

2015-01-17T19:07:00.000+00:00

The weather over the last few days has been stormy to say the least. It does nothing for the amount of sightings that you get unless there is a hard weather movement - there hasn't been! It has pushed some of the commoner birds into the open though. Redshank feeding at the side of the road...

...Little Grebe feeding in the shallows near the road...

...Meadow Pipits can be difficult to find in the winter months as they stay in cover.

Stonechats have been hard to come by since the wind picked up but four birds in the same area just shows that they are sticking together.

Reed Buntings are usually easy to find in hard conditions but I can't find any at the moment but there does seem to be a few Skylarks on show.

I got a fleeting view of a Snow Bunting on the side of the road but I couldn't relocate it after getting out of the motor - the Red Deer were keen to see what I was doing though!