Hiatus well and truly over!

The months of April and May were not kind to me. For the first time that I can remember I didn't take any nature photos for 2 months. This was down to a variety of reasons. The weather wasn't that great thoughout the spring, birds were nest building or sitting on eggs and I was very ill and in bed for 3 or 4 weeks. Fortunately I am now better and thinner and the hiatus ended with a bang in the month of June.

Although June is only 12 days old, already I have had 3 photographic days out and have photos of Puffins, Razorbills, Brown Hare, Dipper and Gannets.

My first trip was last Saturday to the isle of Lunga. Lunga is a volcanic island which is part of the Treshnish Isles which lie a few miles off the West coast of Mull. Its neighbour Staffa is famous for its basalt columns and Fingal's Cave but for wildlife enthusiasts Lunga is the place to go. There are various boat trips from either Oban or Mull that take people out to the island where you will find Puffins, Razorbills, Shags and Guillemots.

Puffin headshot

I went on one such tour last year with a friend who is Puffin crazy. The trip went from Oban and gave us 2 hours on Lunga, 45 minutes on Staffa then 2 hours on Iona. This year Louise decided she would like more time on Lunga to play with the Puffins so she chartered a boat and off a group of us went.

Razorbill in Thrift

I'll be honest I am getting a bit blasé about Puffins and other auks. I have been to the Farne Island off the Northumberland coast more times than I care to remember. I think Lunga offers a different kind of shot. I see the Farnes in my head as 'bird on a rock' or 'bird in grass' but at Lunga there seem to be more habitats to explore. There are Puffins in flowers, Shags nesting in big rockfalls and Puffins nesting in the cracks under drystone dykes. There is also no restriction to your movement on Lunga and no landing fee!!

It was a good day out and I am happy enough with the images I came home with and they are definitely images I wouldn't have gotten on the Farnes.

Puffin nesting in a dry stone dyke

Collecting dead grass to line the burrow

Rest time

More burrow lining

My second trip was on Thursday. My Dad and I decided to take advantage of the nice spell of weather and went to Peebles for a walk and some lunch. We then went to an old family picnic spot where my family have been going for multiple generations. Last year I found a Dippers nest here and the birds are breeding here again this year. Before we got the the Dippers we passed a few fields with a number of nesting Lapwings and one field with a Brown Hare sitting low.

Flying Hare

Upon approaching the Dippers I spotted a youngster outside the nest. This was exactly what I was after because last year I got plenty of photos of the adults with food perching on the rocks before flying to the nest to feed the youngsters.  One thing I like about young Dippers is their wee short tail.  They pull off the same poses as the adults but with the short tail they look a little comical and lopsided (to me at least)

I spent a wee while with the youngster but didn't want to overdo it because I reckon it was just out the nest. While I was sitting with it the adult flew past and fed other youngsters still in the nest.

Newly fledged

Classic Dipper pose but with a short tail!

Parent bringing in a snack

My third trip was to Bass Rock for Gannets. Gannets are by far my favourite seabird. I just think they look so curious and colourful. Lots of people just see them as big white birds but they are colourful from top to toe – black bill, blue eyes, yellow head, cream body, dark feet with a neon green stripe. Whats not to love?

This was a short trip but I still rattled off over 200 photos. The Bass rock really is a Gannet city – it is the largest Northern Gannet colony in the world and it is believed that there is now no more space on the rock for breeding pairs so other colonies elsewhere are expanding.

Love

On the trip there is an opportunity for every type of Gannet photo. Flight shots are plentiful, shots of birds in the water, shots of birds on nest, behavioural shots of birds etc. I'd thoroughly recommend it. If anyone wants any more info get in touch.

Nest guarding

A pair watching the passing boats

I like the sense of context in this one with the out of focus Gannets behind the flying bird

Off to fish

Not much else to report. I was hoping to be getting some young Peregrine shots around now but the birds at the Falls of Clyde have failed this year. I'm not sure what my next target will be. I am heading up to Inverness for a friends 30^th at the end of the month so might detour to Chanonry Point for some Dolphins. If I do you'll see them here first!

Cheers

Neil

Thanks to all who came to todays Wedding Fayres!

Just a quick thanks to everyone who came along to either the Popinjay or Dalziel Park today.

It was lovely chatting to everyone and it appears those of you who went to the Popinjay eat more Jelly Beans than those of you at Dalziel Park!!

If anyone has any further questions just give me a shout.

Cheers

Neil

Easter came and went but no eggs!!

Ok I am a 26 year old adult male. I really shoudn't expect Easter eggs but I'm a big kid really. I was disappointed this year to have no Easter eggs however I do still have some of my Christmas sweets left over! I am told my Mum did buy me some Mini Eggs but now can't remember where she put them (I'm taking that as she feels sorry for me so will buy me some the next time she's out!!)

With the start of April comes the start of the Peregrine breeding season and I have started volunteering at Falls of Clyde again. At Easter the birds are normally on eggs but they too have no Easter eggs!  Normally the falcon lays her first egg around the 22^nd to the 24^th March but as of yesterday (1^st April) she still hasn't laid. There has been a lot of displaying, courtship and copulation but still no eggs. This is the latest we have ever been without an egg. On 2 occasions the first egg was laid as late as March 31^st. We are all a bit apprehensive but have been told by our ringer not to worry too much. All of the nests he rings are about a week to 10 days behind because of the cold weather so hopefully the next time I'm down we will have at least 1 egg.

If you are ever in the area please pop along to the Peregrine watch site. The site offers the closest views of Peregrines in the UK and this years nest is great for viewing. The watch site is open from 10am to 8pm daily and I will be there most Mondays.

Not much else to report today other than I will be at both the Dalziel Park and Popinjay Wedding Fayres on Sunday. Dalziel Park runs from 12 until 4 and the Popinjay from 11 until 4. I may not have any Easter eggs but I will have some jelly beans if anyone wants to come and have a chat!! If you need any further info please get in touch.

Cheers

Neil

Mull round up

When you are driving round an island with just the radio for company its amazing all the things you think of. Yesterday I was trying to think how to sum up my trip and I have decided it could be summed up as two rounds of golf – one by a tour professional and one by an average club golfer like myself.

From the pros round we had lots of birdies and a few eagles. From my round the Otters were a bogey and as I often ended up looking in the same place, some might say I had a few Mull-igans (sorry I've been trying to get that in all week. I'll get my coat!!). For those who don't follow golf a mulligan is when you get a second chance to hit a shot.  I often found myself stopped in the same passing places searching for Otters.

Yesterday followed the pattern of the first three days but with fewer birds. I met two other photographers in the morning who told me they had 31 Otter sightings in 12 days. This was the last thing I wanted to hear having only found 1 myself!!

As we were talking we were watching a female Otter with two youngsters. They had been very close to these photographers (within 5 metres apparently) but by the time I had arrived she had taken them further down the loch away from our lenses. It was a sighting though albeit a frustrating one. Further down the loch I came upon another Otter. Again I was frustrated. I had parked the car and gone to the shore for a speculative look and found this Otter bouncing along the tide line. Unfortunately it was downwind of me so quickly picked up my scent and was off across the loch. Still no photos.

With time getting on before I needed to go for my ferry home I had one last look on Loch Spelve. The Loch Spelve area is probably my favourite area on Mull. I can't explain why. There is a house that has fallen into disrepair that I'd love to have as a holiday house. The reason for going back here was threefold. Firstly as I have just said I love the area. Secondly it is where I saw my first Otter of the trip on Monday and thirdly it is where I had the most Eagle activity.

It turns out the White Tailed Eagle I saw on Wednesday was a bird that was released on the East Coast in 2009. I know this because it had wing tags and a satellite tracker. I had met Dave Sexton on Monday and he was looking for a bird released in 2009 so when I saw this one with tags and a tracker I got in touch with him and he confirmed this was a 2009 bird and the one that he had been tracking.

No eagles yesterday and no Otter where I had seen it on Monday. I was leaving to return to Craignure for the ferry feeling a bit disappointed that for the second trip in a row I had only 1 Otter sighting in 4 days. I then caught a movement on the beach and this time it wasn't an Oystercatcher but an Otter heading into the surf. It then swam out a short distance, dived and came up with a crab. It then came back towards the beach to eat it on a small island created by the tides. I finally had some photos I was happy with.

Finally a shot I was reasonably happy with!

I didn't want to push it so I kept my distance and once it was finished its snack the Otter swam back out to the same spot and dived again. Normally I would watch the Otter for a while trying to work out where it was headed and then try to get in front of it keeping it upwind of me but I didn't have time to sit and watch this animal as I normally would because I was going for the ferry so I decided to go all in. I clambered over the rocks to half the distance between me and the Otter. When it resurfaced it had another crab and this time swam straight in my direction rather than back to its island. It came ashore 15 metres from where I was and seemed completely oblivious to the fact I was there. I crept forward and got within 10 metres of it munching away.

Crab number 2

Happily having a snack.  Interestingly it only appeared to eat the crab body.  The claws and legs were left.

Probably my favourite shot from the trip.  An Otter doing what Otters do.

So to go back to the golfing analogy the trip was like one of my normal rounds. Lots of disappointment but enough brilliance to make me want to return to Mull!!

Insane...or creative?

Different day, same result. No Otters and no great shots of Mull's bird life either but lots of good sightings.

I saw another young White Tailed Eagle at exactly the same place that I saw the two at on Monday (Croggan). This is definitel a different bird because it is wing tagged. It was being pestered by a Buzzard and it quickly went high and away towards Lochbuie but I found it again a little later soaring in the thermals. That was until a Golden Eagle entered the same air space and the White Tailed Eagle moved back towards Croggan. Another very enjoyable experience watching 3 different raptors in such close proximity. Due to the height and distances I took no photos.

I headed to Lochbuie for my morning hot chocolate and as soon as I stopped and wound don my window the local Chaffinches were all over the car. One on my roof, another on my windscreen wipers and there were arguments over who got to sit on my wing mirror. They have obviously worked out that people equal crumbs but unfortunately for them I didn't produce any.

Cheeky Chaffinch!!

I headed down Loch Scridain through Pennygael and watched a Harrier hunt again. In all the times I've come to Mull I have never seen so many. It must be the time of the year and the run up to breeding season. I decided to try a different approach to the Otters and went for a walk/scramble along the shore. I was hoping to catch one sleeping in the weed or disturb one but as usual no joy.

For those of you who don't know Mull the majority of the roads are single track with passing places. As I pulled in to one of these passing places to let another car past a male Merlin was flushed from the long grass. I have only ever seen a Merlin once and that ws tied to a post at a falconry centre. It soon sped off across the moor and perched on a stone a long long way away. Fortunately the couple in the car I had moved for also saw it and were birdwatchers so they set up their 'scope and we watched hime for a few minutes before he moved on.

As the day was getting on I was beginning to find myself singing songs different to those on the radio and I felt I'd have to be a bit creative if I was going to get any shots from my day. I turned to landscapes and as I said to a friend recently I struggle to see the picture in a big landscape but prefer details within it. I'm not sure if this is because I like using a longer lens so much that my eye is trained to spot details. Who knows?

I really liked this tree and struggled to get a good angle for a photo

With the wind as strong as it is in Mull it is little wonder there are trees like this!

I spotted this tree and waterfall and knew immediately a photo wouldn't do it justice.

Ben More, the tallest hill (and only Munro) on Mull

These photos were all taken within 1 mile of each other on the southern shore of Loch Na Keal. I'll leave it up to you whether I've gone insane or whether the last shot is creative!

Straight shot

Blurred by panning while the shutter was open.  I like it but I think I'll be the only one!

Mull - Day 2

Well today was a good day for bird sightings but unfortunately no Otters and unfortunately most of the exciting birds were too far away for decent photos.

A Curlew in one of the rain showers just before lunch

Apart from the usual Oystercatchers, Herons and Curlews I saw 3 adult White Tailed Eagles and at least 3,maybe 4 Hen Harriers including one that was hunting for its lunch as I ate mine! It was interesting watching it hunt having never seen it before. In some ways it reminded me of a Kestrel but much less patient and at a very low height. It would fly to a spot, have a quick look then move on to another spot. It didn't seem to take a lot of time to determine there was no prey item there. It was very low, only about 10 feet off the ground. This was probably todays highlight.

Scanning for prey

Undercarriage down ready to dive on lunch - she missed!

On my way between sea lochs I spotted this pair of White Tailed Eagles flying together. Although they were a long way up it was great just watching them effortlessly glide in the thermals over the mountains.  Despite the distance the size difference was clear with the female being bigger than the male.  This is quite common in large raptors.  I reckon they were bonding as a pair as it will soon be time to settle down to nest.

The pair of Eagles - note the size difference between the male (L) and female (R)

With no Otters to photograph I turned my attention to some of the shoreline birds. This Oystercatcher was just back from the shore digging for food. Fun fact about Oystercatchers – the birds diet determines the size and shape of its beak. If the bird lives inland and predominantly digs for food like worms then the beak is pointed but if it predominantly eats molluscs at the shore then its bill is blunter so that it can use force to open the shells. The beak can change shape seasonallyor if the bird changes its diet.

The closest I got to anything today - this Oystercatcher gave me many poses before I had to move

The weather today was a bit friendlier for wildlife spotting and photography with bright overcast conditions. Didn't help me find any Otters though unfortunately, maybe tomorrow.

Not much else to report today. Hopefully more tomorrow!

Mull-ing it over

Firstly I must apologise for the bare bones look of the blog. I decided last week to start a new blog as I have a new nature site in the works but as usual I left it too late to do anything aesthetic to it so I'm afraid you'll have to take it as it is at the moment!

So I'm on Mull. At 6:30am this morning I didn't think I would be. I woke up to roughly 8 inches of snow in Lanark and had to clear it off my car. Although the residential roads were white I thought (mistakenly!) the main roads would be clear. I considered turning back twice in the first 10 minutes(you could say I was Mulling it over) but with nowhere to turn I just had to go with it. In the end I only just made the 10am ferry – it was already loaded when I arrived at 9:35 and the Calmac staff didn't look too pleased with me.

This is my second trip to Mull in the last 6 months. My trip in October was a huge failure. My main target species is Otters and unfortunately in October they weren't playing ball. I only saw 1 in 4 days and that was on the way to the boat home. I saw plenty of Curlews and Herons but not much else.

Skip forward to today and things are a bit different. I only found one Otter today but I found it in better conditions than the one in October. I also came across 2 juvenile White Tailed Eagles, lots of Red Deer, a few Kestrels, the usual Buzzards and a female Hen Harrier. Although Mull is famous for its eagles this is the first time I have seen eagles here other than during the breeding season so I was quite excited. Today was also the first time I've seen a female Harrier not at a distance.

Finding Otters is tough in weather like todays. Despite the snow at home here in Mull it is clear and today was a clear blue sky day. Great for most people, a nightmare for finding Otters. With the harsh sun there is too much contrast and it is difficult seeing an otter with so much glare coming off the water. Browns become black and I reckon I probably drove by otters today that I'd spot on a more overcast day.

I think I've rambled enough, I'm tired so I'm going to get into bed and read my book for a while before going to sleep. Here are a few unedited shots from today. Hopefully more of the same tomorrow!

This Otter fished for ages coming up with a small fish every time.

Same Otter

One of the two young White Tailed Eagles.  

My first female Hen Harrier

A nice Stag to end the day