For our family holiday this year we decided to head north rather than south for once, spending just over a week on Mull. My experiences of Scotland are relatively limited, especially for bird watching. I was hoping to spot some of the Scottish specialities and get some close encounters with some of the other wildlife on the island.
Wednesday 28th
We travelled up towards Loch Long, where we were staying the night before catching the ferry from Oban the following day. With most of the day spent driving, it was good to catch up with an Osprey hunting over Loch Lomond during a brief stop - my first of the year. At our stopping point, near Luss, there were also lots of Common Sandpipers, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers, a Red Kite over and the first of many Hooded Crows. A family of Eider greeted us in the evening on the inlet of Loch Long which was adjacent to our hotel.
Thursday 29th
Reaching Oban mid-morning, we were queueing up for the ferry when I spotted a couple of Black Guillemots on the sea and taking food towards the sea wall in a small quay. These felt like lifers, my only previous sighting a distant speck in winter plumage off the coast of Northumberland! The ferry crossing was windy and (apparently) not very productive - though I did pick out a small pod of Dolphins (Common most likely), lots of Harbour Seals and a few groups of Guillemot. The highlight of the day though was on the drive from Craignure to our accommodation, when me and my Dad picked out a mammal running along the road some 200m ahead. My first thought was Rabbit or Hare, but it was obviously a carnivore as we approached - large, long and agile. About 50m away, the yellow throat patch became apparent and we both shouted Pine Marten! My first one and absolutely not expected! The weather for the rest of the day was pretty garbage but we did see the first of hundreds of Red Deer nearby.
 |
| Black Guillemots were common pretty much everywhere! |
 |
| As were Harbour Seals! |
Friday 30th
The weather was truly awful today, though a brief walk from Tobermory to a lighthouse along the coast gave good views of a Spotted Flycatcher family and a Harbour Porpoise close inshore. There were a few terns around, but all Common Terns as far as I could tell. Back near the property, we saw a couple of Hedgehogs just before dusk, accompanied by the usual Red Deer herd.
 |
| The background slightly ruins it - but you get the idea, close Red Deer! |
Saturday 1st
With less rain than the other days, we decided to head to Iona via the small ferry crossing at Fionnphort. On the crossing, a brief Skua was probably Great but I didn't get onto it quite in time. The island was really cool, the Abbey well worth a visit in particular. Wheatear were everywhere, but the main attraction didn't want to show. I heard at least 3 Corncrakes, but they stayed resolutely in the centre of the meadows for the 30 minutes or so I waited.
In the evening on the mainland, I finally caught up with my first eagles - a pair of White-Tailed Eagles near Loch Na Keal. These were super impressive, dwarfing the local Buzzards. All of my eventual 11 White-Tailed Eagle sightings were from this general area, and probably related to the same two pairs.
 |
| White-Tailed Eagle with blue sky for once! |
 |
| The Eagles occasionally landed in the pine trees up the slope from the Loch |
Sunday 2nd
More rain today, so perhaps fitting we had a walk in the temperate rainforest fragment at Aros Park. Birdlife wasn't particularly abundant, but we did note a Dipper along the fast-flowing burn, not phased by the 10m high waterfalls at all! The ferns were awesome, though my limited botanical knowledge showed!
Near the property, we caught views of our first Otter of the trip, moving slowly along the coast. On the walk back uphill, we noted a Hare in one of the meadows. Before it shot off, we snapped a few shots and it was clear it wasn't a Brown Hare. Instead, it was an Irish Hare, a subspecies of Mountain Hare introduced to Mull many years ago - apparently a really rare sight and a lifer for me!
 |
| This Dipper was literally hanging off the hedge of a cliff! |
 |
| Both of my Otter sightings were at low tide close to dusk |
 |
| Totally unexpected, an Irish Hare but not in Ireland! |
Monday 3rd
Feeling brave, three of us decided to try and climb Ben More (a Munro at near 3,200ft) in less than ideal conditions! A Dipper shot along the burn which followed the path much of the way up the mountain. Birdlife was limited in poor weather conditions, though Meadow Pipits seemed abundant. At around 400m up, a family of Red Deer looked somewhat out of place. Then, at 550m, a Golden Eagle flew just above head height towards a nearby ridge - really cool with it fading in and out of the clouds which surrounded us. At 600m, the last bird - a brief Ring Ouzel flew from the top of a boulder, and it was just 60mph winds, horizontal rain and cloud to the top!
 |
| The photo doesn't do it justice, but Golden Eagle halfway up Ben More |
Tuesday 4th
The best weather of the holiday, we went on a boat trip from Ulva to the small island of Staffa. This was a really enjoyable trip despite the lack of Cetaceans. Black Guillemots and Harbour Seals were abundant close to shore, with Puffins, Guillemots, Gannets and Manx Shearwaters dominant further out to sea. Staffa was really impressive, in terms of the geology (particularly Fingal's Cave) and the Puffin colony, which was the closest I've ever been to this species. Surprisingly, Snipe were also common on the island.
Driving along the road following the Sound of Mull on the way home, we picked up another Otter which spent some time on a rock, albeit distantly. There were also two Red-Throated Divers and a Little Grebe fairly close in, though a larger diver (almost certainly Great Northern) remained more elusive. A family of Red-Breasted Mergansers in and amongst the Greylag Geese was also cool to see.
 |
| There must have been thousands of Puffins in the Staffa colony |
 |
| Many showed down to less than 5m |
 |
| My first Red-Throated Diver in breeding plumage! |
Wednesday 5th
Almost completely rained off again, though we had two probable Golden Eagles over a distant ridge near Loch Na Keal, and a decent-sized herd of Fallow Deer in the favoured woodland location near Knock.
Thursday 6th
A coastal walk near Calgary Bay was the plan for the day, which started sunny. Birds were few and far between, with lots of Stonechat being the highlight! A few butterflies came out in the sun though, including my first Grayling for a few years and my first ever Dark Green Fritillaries, which again wasn't expected. Unfortunately, the weather turned after lunchtime and it literally poured it down until nightfall!
 |
| The underwing pattern of Grayling is super distinctive |
 |
| Took a while to confirm ID, but happy to have found several Dark Green Fritillaries |
Friday 7th
Our last full day was split between some sight-seeing in the morning and a bit of Eagle hunting in the afternoon. Pulling into the road towards a castle, we noticed a couple of birders with scopes up. As we passed them, it turns out I recognised them - Austin and Gary, who I knew were coming up to Mull but in my head later in the month. After sharing some gen we ended up meeting again at a viewpoint towards the south of the island, where I had another Golden Eagle and Gary's first. While looking for more Eagles in the afternoon, we had a rush of Hen Harrier sightings, with two males and a female in different locations, clearly making the most of the lack of rain! Unbelievably, back at the property, it turned out Austin and Gary were staying in the house next to us! Proper coincidence!
 |
| The only Hen Harrier I saw that wasn't from a moving car - also the furthest away! |
Saturday 8th
The ferry back to Oban proved more fruitful with great views of two Harbour Porpoises just out of Craignure, and then a group of 10+ Bottlenose (I think) Dolphins further out.
 |
| The best I could get of the Porpoises! |
 |
| The Dolphins were surprisingly hard to ID - I would guess Bottlenose! |
Overall a fantastic trip despite the poor weather - I'll definitely be back! 98 bird species seen/heard, with two lifers (White-Tailed and Golden Eagle) and two more than I've only had brief views of before (Black Guillemot and Manx Shearwater). Also 12 mammal species, with two lifers (Pine Marten and Mountain Hare).
Comments
Post a Comment