DAY TWO OF MULL

DAY 2 OF MULL - The Safari On the first proper day of the trip, we went on a wildlife safari in hope to see golden and sea eagles, otters and hen harriers. We left the hostel at 9:30 for Craignure where we were getting picked up. The tour began at 10:30 but we left enough time to go to have a look for the black guillemots on the old pier. We did see them although they were flying in the distance. As we walked back to the car from the pier we saw some house martins drinking from a puddle with a greenfinch. Then we went back to the ferry landing to start the tour. Just as the tour started someone said “what’s that!?” and we all looked up to see a sea eagle flying along with the van. We started to go fast to try and get in front of it to get some photos but just as we got out, it flew behind the trees and out of sight. So we went on. Our next stop was a lake to look for otters. I don’t know the name of the loch but there were houses next to it. Anyway, we did see some otters but they must have been ¼ mile away! On the way back to the van we heard a cuckoo. So we all got back in the car to look for it. Then when we turned a corner, we saw it on a telegraph wire. It took flight when we came but then it came back to the wire. After watching that for 10 minutes, we went on. A bit further down the road we saw a bird of prey flying across the field, it was grey. Say no more, Hen Harrier. We all scrambled out of the car to see it and get photos. As it drifted away into the distance, we all got back in and went further along to try and see it again. While we were looking we spotted a whinchat and a willow warbler. We didn’t see it anymore sadly so we went on to see the sea eagles chicks in the nest. We got there and everyone got there scopes out to have a look. The male was sitting next to 2 chicks in the nest. We wanted to see the female come to the nest but it never did so we got back in and went to see some golden eagles. We got some distant views of some goldies but not close enough for a photo. That concluded the tour and we got dropped back at Craignure. The main highlight of the day for me was the hen harrier although the day still wasn’t over. In Craignure, we saw some house martins building nests under the eaves of houses We drove back and saw a buzzard sitting on a post eating what looks like a frog? As we drive further down the road, we saw over 6 wheatear on rocks or on posts. Just as we were nearly back, we saw a sea eagle fly over the car with some great views with some good photos. A very special day!

Buzzard on a post eating a frog? House Martin Building Nest

Hen Harrier WT Sea Eagle Willow Warbler Wheatear

Male Greenfinch

Warblers all around

On Sunday, we went on a dawn chorus walk arranged by the NWT in Plessey Woods. On our way round we heard lots of common birds like chiffchaff, willow warbler, robin, blue tit etc. We also saw a male blackcap singing but it soon moved when we got close. We also saw a grey wagtail on the river. Just as we were nearly back, we saw a juvenile mistle thrush flap into the bushes and when we passed this is what we saw:

What you lookin' at?

After the walk we went to Cresswell to see if we could find any sedge warblers. Sure enough when we got there, we saw a sedge warbler fly into the reeds in front of the car. It sat there for quite a while until it decided it had had enough and left. We went onto Druridge to find some whitethroats on our way to the hide and some waders on the pond. We didn't see any whitethroats on the way but from the open hide, we saw the spoonbill. There was also a yellow wagtail calling from the grass but we couldn't locate it. The spoonbill was on the far side so I had some attempts at digiscoping it. However, that is all there was so we went to Hauxley. On our way to the Eric's hide we saw a willow warbler singing it's heart out. Not much from the Eric's hide but the wader hide was a lot better. When we went in, we heard two sandpipers calling but we couldn't locate them until they flew straight in front of us and landed on the rocks to the left. Seconds later, 2 grey partridges flew in front disappearing into the distance. There was also the resident redshank in front of the hide that is always there. Unfortunately there was nothing else except for this whitethroat on the way home on the beehive road:

The Warblers we saw:

Sedge Warbler

Willow Warbler

Whitethroat

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Common Sandpiper

Willow Warbler

Spoonbill Sedge Warbler