Our first tick for the trip list is a small group of Black Guillemots in Oban harbour, while queueing for the ferry across to Mull, quickly followed by a couple of Swifts screaming across the town, which is my first sighting of Swifts this season. On the very calm crossing, we also spot Kittiwake and Shag, a couple of Eider drakes resting on a skerry and two Great Northern Divers.
Once ashore on marvellous Mull, swathed at this season of rebirth with mauve patches of Bluebells amid the fresh bright green Bracken shoots, with plenty of Willow Warblers singing from the birchwoods, we begin with a visit to Grass Point, where we soon find a Wood Warbler singing in the ancient Oaks beside the narrow single track road, and further along the road, we also spot a small herd of Red Deer. At the end of the road, a short stroll down to the shore produces singing Skylarks, a drake Red-breasted Merganser and two passing Ravens, as well as Song Thrushes, Stonechats and Rock Pipits busy collecting food for hungry chicks. Off the point, we spot a passing Gannet and two more Great Northern Divers, close enough to see their black and white chequerboard breeding plumage. On the return walk, we add a couple of vocal Redpolls to the list.
After a picnic lunch, with Cuckoos calling nearby, we eventually see a Cuckoo in flight which then lands on the end of a dead branch, making a nice view in the scope. Shelduck is next on the list, and on the way to the hotel, a brief roadside stop looking out onto Scallastle Bay produces a Common Sandpiper on the shore and a flock of Arctic Terns on a shingle bank just offshore.
After checking in to our hotel, tucked away in the trees alongside the Sound of Mull, a stroll to the shore adds several new birds including Linnet, Ringed Plover, a smart male Wheatear and loads of Sand Martins, as well as more Eiders and a female Red-breasted Merganser, making a tally of 53 different birds on today’s ‘Mull safari’.
Along the shores of Loch na Keal, on our way to Ulva Ferry for a boat trip to the Treshnish Isles, we spot a Great Northern Diver and a male Wheatear. It’s sunny and perfectly calm for the crossing to Staffa, with a Harbour Porpoise, Black Guillemots and plenty of Shags along the way. After a circumnavigation of Staffa, with its curious polygonal columns of black basalt, a passing fishing boat is a magnet for Great Black-backs, Gannets and a Great Skua. Approaching Lunga, we pass a group of Grey Seals hauled out on rocks exposed by the tide, and add Common Tern to the trip list, while waiting to land on Lunga.
Once ashore, a trio of Arctic Skuas (one light phase and two dark phase birds) circle over the island, where our main target is the scarce Twite. Following the path from the shore past a colourful mix of Bluebells, Primroses and Thrift, we try to ignore rows of adorable Puffins lined up along the first low cliff at ridiculously close range and head for a cluster of abandoned croft ruins, where we soon find a Twite showing really well, along with Wheatear and Rock Pipit.
Next, we make a bee line for Harp Rock, a stack heaving with thousands of noisy Guillemots, along with a myriad Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Fulmars and more Puffins. We also enjoy face to face views of glossy green emerald-eyed Shags, nesting below boulders beside the path, and all in perfect tee shirt weather under a glorious blue sky. With Puffins galore, waddling around, displaying and occasionally squabbling, almost within touching distance, Lunga is a magical place on days like this. What a memorable experience.
After four hours ashore, we return to the Jack B back to Mull, with handsome male Eiders and more Black Guillemots and Shags along the way, while the Isle of Ulva is swathed with beautiful carpets of Bluebells.
Retracing our route along the shore of Loch na Keal, we get a distant view of a circling White-tailed Eagle and scope a Great Northern Diver in perfect light and full breeding plumage, close enough to see its red eyes! What a fabulous day.
It’s another calm sunny day, ideal for a cruise around Loch na Keal. On the way to the jetty at Ulva Ferry, we stop beside the loch at a favoured vantage point for the resident pair of White-tailed Eagles and by 8am we have fabulous scope views of one of the adults sitting pretty, high in a tall conifer. Further along the road, Lynne spots a Cuckoo on a fencepost being mobbed by Meadow Pipits and as we all pile out to watch the kerfuffle, another White-tailed Eagle passes right overhead! At Ulva Ferry, we add a singing Reed Bunting to the trip list and then board the Lady Jayne for a three hour cruise around the isles of Ulva and Gometra. Less than ten minutes into the cruise, we pass several Common Seals hauled out on rocks and then spot a Red-throated Diver. Less than twenty minutes after setting sail, we spot two White-tailed Eagles, one perched in a tree and one on a low rocky ridge. Within seconds the adult male approaches and circles the boat, giving us the eagle eye at remarkably close range, before swooping for a fish. Five minutes later he’s back for seconds, again returning to the shore with his latest catch. A few minutes later, as the engine starts and we move on, the eagle calls as if to say “don’t go, I want another fish”! Fifteen minutes later, the same bird circles the boat for a third time, providing another wonderful photo-opportunity as he tilts his wings and then swoops to grab another fish with his three inch long talons! Meanwhile, the immature bird from the previous year has been watching the show and approaches for a ‘piece of the action’. Lacking Dad’s aerial prowess, it takes several swoops before the youngster finally masters the snatch technique. An hour into the cruise, we enter the realm of another pair of eagles and a new adult approaches, circles and swoops; awesome! By now we had seen six White-tailed Eagles by 10am!
Moving on into more open water, we find a ‘shagfest’ with dozens of these flamboyantly coiffured birds in a tight raft. After a break for tea and biscuits on the calm sea in tee shirts, we watch a pair of Golden Eagles soaring above a distant ridge. Next, we find a few wild Rock Doves along the low cliffs and end a fantastic trip with a raft of displaying Eiders, going “oowuoo, oowuoo”.
Back on dry land, Willow and Sedge Warblers sing in close proximity, along with a Redpoll. Moving on, we enjoy a picnic lunch in the warm sunshine beside the nearby Eas Fors waterfall, interrupted by a couple of Geocachers who find treasure under Rita’s rock! On the high road across to Calgary Bay, we scope another Cuckoo, again being mobbed by Meadow Pipits, and then scope two more Red-throated Divers in the deep blue water of beautiful Calgary Bay. On the return route to Salen, we make a quick visit to the waterfront of Tobermory and add House Martin and Mute Swan to the trip list, but still no Otters.
We have a slightly delayed start this morning as Marion is locked in the bathroom, while others walk on by, ignoring the bangs on the door and accompanying cries for help! It’s cloudy, blustery and 10°C cooler than yesterday, so no longer tee shirt weather as we head west toward Fionnphort, where the first new bird is a male Hen Harrier patrolling low over the moorland beside the road, but it soon crosses without looking both ways and disappears! Driving on through the dramatic scenery of Glen More, a roadside stop at a vantage point for raptors blanks on these, but still produces a Whooper Swan on the lochan below the road as well as good views of a singing male Whinchat in smart breeding plumage, so that’s two more new birds for the trip list. Further west along the glen, we have a Golden Eagle soaring overhead, making four new birds for the list by 10am. Further west along the A849, at the head of Loch Scridain, Lynne spots a distant Otter, although it doesn’t hang around for long, and while watching we also see four Great Northern Divers and a drake Red-breasted Merganser here. With so many stops and passing places on the mainly single track ‘main road’ along the Ross of Mull, it’s virtually noon by the time we reach the end of the road at Fionnphort, for the foot ferry across to Iona, where our target is the shy Corncrake which breeds here after migrating from sub-Saharan Africa! Not far from the landing jetty, we hear the harsh “crex crex” call of this elusive bird, but despite a patient stake out, most of us fail to see it as it stays hidden in the dense sward.
After a break for lunch, we return to the Corncrake site, hoping for better views and remarkably, two crakes briefly rise up and drop back down into the meadow as if one is chasing the other. A few minutes later, one bird breaks cover again and flies for several yards across the meadow, showing off its rich chestnut wings. Once this imposter is seen off, the victorious male shows itself just a few yards away from us while calling loudly to reaffirm its territorial claim. Mission accomplished, we walk away from the calling bird for a cup of tea before catching the 3.30 ferry back to Mull. It starts to rain just as we set off on the drive back to the hotel, and back at the head of Loch Scridain we spot a male Hen Harrier being harried by a Common Gull, while trying to hunt over an area of rough grassland. Almost back at the hotel, we spot another male Hen Harrier hunting low over meadows, despite the rain, making three of these ‘grey ghosts’ in one day.
This evening, the flag outside the dining room is flapping furiously, with white horses out on the rough sound, in stark contrast to the previous evening when diners were enjoying their meals out on the sun terrace, with barely a flicker of the limp flag!
It’s a mere 9°C this morning, barely half what it was a couple of days ago, with a ferocious wind stripping leaves from the trees, but at least the overnight rain has largely abated. With such a strong wind the Swallows and House Martins are hanging on the wind just a few feet above the ground which is where the insects must be today. Our primary goal today is to get better views of an Otter, so we scour the north shore of Loch Spelve which has usually been a very productive site for these common but elusive mammals, but not this morning.
We arrive at Lochbuie, at the end of the road, in time for elevenses in the tearoom looking out onto the windswept bay, while those hardy enough to sit at the outside tables are accompanied by very tame House Sparrows and Chaffinches. From here, we retrace our route through a stupendous display of deep purple Rhododendron blooms and scour the southern shore of Loch Spelve. Along the way, we bump into a group of French ladies saying they had just seen an Otter. A little further on, there it is, the long sinuous shape of a large dog Otter, moving along the edge of the seaweed-covered shore, and blending in very well with the brown seaweed. Hooray, success at last! The Otter then disappears into the surf, but reappears at regular intervals, bobbing on the waves while munching on freshly caught shrimps with visibly needle-sharp teeth as it works its way along the shore just a few yards from the edge. After several minutes, we lose it behind some rocks, so we move on for a picnic lunch further along the shore.
After lunch we retrace our route and spot the Otter again, probably half a mile further along the shore from where we originally found it, while we are now going in the opposite direction, bound for Glen More in search of raptor action. Along the glen, we scope a Golden Eagle eyrie on a ledge, with fresh meat deposited on its rim, but no sign of any occupants. A short way along the road we stop again for a different angle on the eyrie but get distracted by the sight of a majestic Golden Eagle perched on a ledge just above us. The view in the scope must be one of the best views ever of this iconic bird which then takes off and rises into the clouds shrouding the summits. Wow, how lucky was that?
We still need to find a Short-eared Owl, so we stake out prime habitat at the western end of Glen More, but the owl is a ‘no show’, so we have to make do with an overflying immature White-tailed Eagle. Next, we follow the scenic route north to Salen via the single track B8035, and along the way we scope a nest in a clump of tall conifers with an adult White-tailed Eagle standing with its head down, as if feeding morsels of prey to a chick hidden within the bulky nest. With high cliffs on one side and Loch na Keal on the other, this really is a scenic route, with plenty of Oystercatchers, Wheatears and Greylag Geese with goslings along the way. At our final stop, near the inland end of the loch, we spot another Golden Eagle, soaring before it disappears into the cloud cloaking the summit of Ben Ghraig.
We were so lucky with the weather on the boat trip days and we ended up with a good list of sightings including Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, Whooper Swan, Hen Harrier, Corncrake, Great and Arctic Skuas, Black Guillemot, Rock Dove, Cuckoo, Whinchat, Wood Warbler, Twite, Hooded Crow, Puffins galore at arm’s length, and of course, those spectacular White-tailed and Golden Eagles and the Otter.