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Catering Holiday Cottages Mull - Ardrioch Farm
Dervaig, Isle of Mull |
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Febrary 2020 Feb 26th Yesterday someone saw the Kingfisher again at Loch Don and as Pam had not seen it this year off we went in search of the dratted bird again. As you can probably guess it was not there, so we went in search of Snow Buntings and Whooper Swans in Glen More, no luck with the Snow Buntings but we did see 5 Whooper Swans and also got a fabulous sighting of a Golden Eagle. I decided to take a photo of Beinne Taladh covered in snow and as we got out of the car a Common Crossbill came into a tree right above our heads. Back at Loch Don another look for the dratted Kingfisher and yes you guessed it, THERE IT WAS HOORAY.     Today was somewhat of a mixed bag, we had to go to pick the van up after its service and MOT so decided to take the bank bus bag to Tom at the Bellachroy to save us a job, no one was in. Never mind we have time to go to Calgary to look for the Grey Wagtail for Pam, that was not there either. Back to Dervaig and the bank bus was late so into the shop for milk and Pam got stuck behind a couple of people doing a big shop which made us late, at least the bank bus which had now arrived was a quick stop. We got to the garage at their lunch time fortunately there was someone there but the van was trapped in by 4 other vehicles which all had to be moved. When I got the van started the tyre warning light came on, they had not fixed a slow puncture and so the mechanic who moved the cars from in front of the van then had to mend the tyre in his lunch hour, so his day was not perfect either and he had not worked on the van in the first place. Tyre fixed and van fueled up we went home, many thanks to the very friendly mechanic who must have been really annoyed but just got on with the job without any fuss. All's well that ends well. Feb 24th The weather was better than forecast, which is not saying much although it did allow me to get out in the garden to start clearing up after the storms this morning. As Pam was entertaining the book club this afternoon I decided to forget the cold and get out birding locally. At Cailaich I saw a White-tailed Sea Eagle which drifted across the cliffs being harrassed by Herring Gulls. On the hills were some Red Deer and as I was watching them a flock of 4 Skylarks flew past. Out at sea were Shags, Guillemots, Razorbills, a single Black Guillemot and a single Gannet. At Calgary there was the usual Greylag Geese, Oystercatchers and Curlews although I did see a Stonechat and the lovely Grey Wagtail in the photo below. The highlight 0f the trip were 9 Rock Pipits, I cannot reca. ll seeing so many together in one place at the same time. On my way home I took a photo of some of the many Redshanks at Dervaig.   Today we went for a walk down Loch Ba in search of Snow Buntings, in the event we did see a Bunting, not Snow but Reed in fact we saw 6 Reed Buntings and no matter how much I tried I could not turn one into a Snow Bunting. On the walk we also saw a pair of juvenile White-tailed Sea Eagles and also a flock of Fieldfares, up to 20 Lapwings, about a dozen Skylarks, Chaffinches and Great Tits. On the Loch itself we saw Goldeneye Ducks, Red Breasted Mergansers, Mallards, Wigeon and Teal. Lucy had a great time on what was for her a new walk, lots of new smells and even another dog to be frightened of. On our way home we stopped and were looking at an Otter when one of Pam's swimming buddies came and offered us a lovely warming cup of coffee.  Gale force winds and sleet, rain and hail showers mixed with occasional thunder and lightening not the greatest for wildlife watching. Feb 20th A trip to the tip today and I took Pam and Lucy, No not to the tip but so they could go for a walk up the Glengorm road to look for the Common Crossbills. Pam had not seen Crossbills last year but she has seen them this year in the same group of Pines I saw them in a few days ago. We also went for a walk to Loch Frisa from the Dervaig end car park and on our way back to the car we saw 4 Golden Eagles 2 of which were displaying in the beautiful sunshine (it didn't last) and they were joined by a passing pair of White-tailed Sea Eagles and a couple of noisy Ravens.   We took the van for its MOT and sevice today coming home via Loch Na Keal and Loch Tuath and Calgary with not a lot to report unless you count the awfull weather. White-tailed Sea Eagles and a few Great Northern Divers, Red Deer and Seals were the only notable sightings, oh and a couple of Kestrels. I was more excited by the 2 Collared Doves that landed in the garden as these were the first Collared Doves we had seen in the garden this year. Feb 18th A trip around the block today in cold showery conditions and although I did not see a lot except Gulls of which there were plenty. A couple of sightings made the trip very worthwhile. Firstly about 20 Lapwings which took off as I approached in the car with their spectacular flight, they flew round for a few seconds before alighting again on the field which allowed me to get this photo. Later at a known site on Loch Na Keal a White-tailed Sea Eagle flew over its nesting area as if there was no wind at all, its grace for such a large bird was a joy to behold.   Stormy weather and just a bit of local birding today at Calgary and Cailaich, there was a lot of Auks going through Cailaich, Guillemots, Razorbills, a Black Guillemot and possible Puffins although through the drizzle it was hard to make them out and standing upright was difficult in the gale force winds. At Calgary there were 7 Great Northern Divers in the Bay and I took this Photo of Curlews with Oystercatchers in the field opposite the Machair. Feb 16th I try to get out birding most days but even in retirement work can get in the way so today I have been tidying the hedge, overgrowing trees and gorse up our drive. That was the first job, the second was cleaning the path outside Inch Hame the larger self-catering, it is now pristine, well as good as it gets anyway. The third job clean the windows so when they arrive in the Spring the guests will be able to see the array of garden birds that we have. Pam is also busy making new curtains to go in the newly decorated Self-catering living room, gosh you can get very busy in retirement. Feb 15th The night before the storms so we went for an evening drive in the local area and saw not one but two Barn Owls, we also stopped to admire a white plastic bag stuck on barbed wire that looked remarkably like a Barn owl, we didn't count that one. Although it is very windy it is not too bad, anyway we are used to windy conditions living on a west coast island and the rain is only showery and not bad unless you get caught out in one as they are heavy but relatively short. Pam and I and Lucy managed to get out for a walk but we saw little in the way of wildlife although the Great Tits were in good voice with their spring calls. Feb 14th A windy showery day, just a warm up to storm Dennis although it look like we could miss the worst of it. After a bit of gardening in the better weather I went out to see what I could find for todays blog even though it was difficult to stand up in the wind. On my way to Cailaich a squall went through and I managed, for once, to get a half decent photo of a double rainbow. At Cailaich I watched facinated the wonderful flying artistry of Kittiwakes in very strong winds, it was like watching an air ballet, mesmorised I forgot the cold and just watched the action for over half an hour. Also at Cailaich given that it was Valentines day I took the touchong photo of a mum Highland Cow with its newborn calf. On my way back home I picked up Pam who had taken Lucy for a walk and had a very close view of a Woodcock.   A beautiful day so Pam and I went round the block to see what we could see, we saw over 40 species of birds but considering the beautiful weather we were quite disappointed. As we got back to Dervaig there was this very close Goldeneye in the photo below and the Treecreeper landed on a tree in the garden just after we got home, always a lovely little bird to see. Taking advantage of the beautiful day Pam and her friends from around north Mull went for an Arctic swim off Kininian Beach as it will be their last chance for a few days as we await storm Dennis this weekend.  A decent day weatherwise and Pam went for a walk with Lucy and I decided to go and see what was about in the Tobermory area. To start with apart from a couple of Gulls on the Mishnish Lochs there was very little so I decided to go to the tip and see if any rarer Gulls were there. Lots of Gulls but none that we wouldn't expect to see on Mull although The Ravens were very impressive. I went on down the road towards Glengorm Castle and stoped for a listen at a forest track crossroads and heard the familiar chip chip of Crossbills, it took awhile but I eventually saw them in a thick pine tree eating the seeds from the pine cones another good bird for my Mull year list. A walk around the loch in Aros Park brought 2 very close Dippers but guess who had forgotten his camera. In the late afternoon up on the Hill Road I saw these Red deer in the photo below as the sun, yes sun went down.  Out with Pam in still very windy conditions and she saw the Black Carrion Crow in a field with lots of Hooded Crows, she also saw her first Fieldfares on Mull for the year and has nearly caught up with me now. With the Fieldfares there were some lovely Redwings along with starlings and Chaffinches. We saw an Otter on the North shore of Loch Na Keal in a sheltered spot, Fallow Deer at Knock and a White-tailed Sea Eagle in the same vicinity. On our way back through the Glen from Salen to Dervaig we saw a beautiful male Hen Harrier hunting between the showers.   Out and about locally in pretty unpleasant conditions and although we did not see much we did see a field in which there was several yellow coloured sheep which brightened up a dull day. The treecreeper put in an appearance today clinging onto the tree like grim death in gale force winds and the other birds on the feederes are more like acrobats as they try to get out the seeds. Feb 9th Not a lot of change from yesterday but we have managed some work on Inch Hame in readiness for the new season. As far as I can tell only small branches have s fallen off the trees in our garden during the gales. Feb 8th Let the wind blow high let the wind blow low I can't wait wait for Ciara tomorrow, it will be attrocious if it's worse than this and on top of that I have an aching mouth and jaw Feb 7th Many thanks to the dental practice for fitting me in even if today I am one tooth less than I had yesterday and I am sure the pain of extraction will soon be less than the pain of the toothache. As you can imagine birding wasn't high on my list of priorities today although like always I took my binoculars with me just in case. Nowt showed. Feb 6th A trip down to the Ross of Mull today which was quite dissapointing birdwise as we expected a few species which we rarely if ever see in the north of the island, in the event we only saw Rooks and Skylarks which we have not aready seen north of Loch Beg this year. One bird we did see a lot of was Songthrush, we saw several of them so now we know where they have been hiding since the turn of the year. The highlight of the day had to be the 2 Hares at Fidden, we don't often see Hares so to see 2 together was a bonus. The standing stone photo at Pottie was taken when we were unsuccessfully looking for White-fronted Geese. The worst part of the day, I had a tremendous toothache, a visit to the dentist beckons tomorrow.     A new bird for the year and for our garden a Song Thrush, 36 days into the new year and our first Song Thrush sighting, that's how birding is sometimes. We went looking for the Kingfisher for Pam today and drew a blank we did see lots of other stuff however with the highlight being Hen Harriers both male and female giving great views at Grasspoint, unfortunately no photos. When we returned home Pam spotted the Treecreeper in the garden always a delightful bird to see just ask the presenters and viewers of this years winterwatch. Feb 4th A wet day and Nick came round and erected the table that goes with the chairs from an earlier post it looks fantastic and now just needs a polish to match the chairs. This evening we went out looking for Owls and Woodcock, no sign of Woodcock but we did get a terrific view of a Tawny Owl. Feb 3rd Another wet day so we stayed home and got on with chores and self-catering, mainly re-hanging pictures after the redecorating of Inch Hame. Feb 2nd It's raining again with gales forcast for tonight so Pam and I escaped the house for an hour and went to see if the Barnacle Goose was still at Calgary, it was but now it seems to have been sent to coventry by the Greylag Geese as it was in a seperate field on its own. We both managed to see a tiny Goldcrest in trees by the bus stop at Calgary another new bird species on Mull for the year and one I often have trouble seeing. Also a Great-northern Diver close enough in to photograph. As I am writing this the rain is pouring down, anyone out there with plans to make an Ark.   At last a break in the rain, today it was dry between the showers. I took the opportunity to get out and about seeing an Otter, a White-tailed Sea Eagle, 2 Golden Eagles, Red Deer and both types of Seal. The highlight for me was not the 80 Barnacle Geese on Inch Kenneth, no it was the single one in a field full of Greylag Geese at Calgary, I can't remember ever seeing Barnacle Geese at Calgary before. I saw my first Fieldfares of the year at Knock associating with Redwings and Starlings. At the Knock Salmon hatchery there was a black Carrion Crow a scarce bird on Mull as we have Hooded Crows and I found the Jackdaws at Torloisk that Pam has been seeing.    Jan 31st Surely the weather will be better in February Rain all day again. You can tell how bad the weather has been in January Pam only got in 2 sea swims. Jan 30th Rain and wind not great for my optics Jan 29th After the snow comes the rain, it is pouring down but I can't let my blog readers down so I vertured around the local block, my patch to bring you news of what wildlife had risked the weather. An early appearance of the Woodpecker in the garden started the trip followed by 4 Red Deer across the road. At Cailaich I saw a lot of Shags, a Gannet, Great Black backed Gulls, a Buzzard being harrased by a bored Hooded Crow and an inquisitive Grey Seal. At Calgary 17 Oystercatchers in a field, a Great Northern Diver in the Bay and this lonely Curlew on the beach. Back at Dervaig, Common and Herring Gulls, a Goosander, a Greenshank and 3 Little Grebe and Greylag Geese.   More snow and I decided that apart from a visit to Dougies store in Dervaig that discretion was the better part than valour. So it was just the birds in the garden and hammering tacks into chairs for me today, this was after lifting myself up from the guttering after I had cleaned it out on the big shed, the water now goes into the downspouts which is what it is supposed to do. The tacking is on the six oak chairs which we brought back from our son's after Christmas and which Pam has made a great job of re-upholstering. Jan 27th Snow today although not to bad and I did manage to get out for a few very cold hours this afternoon. The purpose was to try and see the 3 Jackdaws which Pam sees when she goes sea swimming mixing with Hooded Crows at Torloisk, the Jackdaws not Pam. Through luck and a farmer moving cattle I was able to find the Jackdaws but they flew off as I tried to get a photo, maybe a sparrowhawk was about. At Killiechronan I saw 2 new birds for the year, a flock of Meadow Pipits flying north associating with a small flock of about 8 Pied Wagtails. In the same field were Greylag and Canada Geese and a flock of 14 Redwings and a single Mistle Thrush, and then a Sparrowhawk flew throgh and off went everthing but the Geese.  At Ardrioch we know we have a visiting Sparrowhawk although we hardly ever see it, because occasionally all the other birds disappear for about 15 minutes before spasmodically reappearing. Today however we were doing the big garden birdwatch hour and our Sparrowhawk decided to do it as well in it came scattering all the birds everywhere and proceeded to sit in the tree where a lot of my feeders are hanging. It sat for some time before flying off and 15 minutes later just as the little birds had started returning back it came and sat in the same position as before. The dratted bird flew in and just sat 5 times in the hour, have you ever tried to count traumatised birds that won't sit still for more than a few seconds, it is almost impossible, one bird we did count, A SPARROWHAWK, thanks a lot. Jan 25th Another attempt to see the Kingfisher and yea, success, check out the not great photo but certaily a Kingfisher. On my way back at Garmony a very large flock of Turnstones and I got my first Dipper of the year although my photos were so bad they didn't even make my cut. I walked to the sewage outfalls at the Salmon hatchery but did not see the Shoveller Duck that has been reported, although there were a few Teal and Mallards there. On my walk I saw my first Pied Wagtails of the year taking my Mull yearly count to 76.   Nick and I spent the morning finishing the guttering and putting up the second Barn Owl Box which Nick had made from his old post Box. I have to say it is really sturdy and heavy and would keep any wildlife that cared to use it warm in winter. I took Lucy across the road today and we saw 11 Greenshank a large number for Mull. Jan 23rd With big garden birdwatch this weekend I decided to clean my bird feeders a chore I had been putting off which I shouldn't as it is important to keep feeders and water containers clean to avoid disease in birds. In the afternoon my mate Nick came down and helped me fix the guttering on the big outside shed which had suffered in the recent gales. Jan 22nd A slightly better day and a trip to look for the Kingfisher, once again unsuccessful although at Garmony we saw 3 Knot amongst the Turnstones and Ringed Plovers. Just off the coast on an island of seaweed were 2 Otters, Pam's first of the year. On islands from Craignure Golf Course was a White Tailed sea Eagle, also seen there our first Red Throated Diver of the year. Finally shortly after leaving home we saw a couple of Red deer stags and I managed to get a photo of one of them. Pam took lucy for a walk across the road after lunch and saw a Dipper on the burn near the first cottage.   Another day of very warm drizzle and cloud although I did manage to get a photo of one of our Lesser Redpolls in the garden. Jan 20th A very driech day with low cloud and heavy drizzle even birding was not possible so I stayed in. Jan 19th Before going to look for the Kingfisher and Iceland Gull which we did not see I took Lucy across the road for a short walk and see if there was anything about locally. On the beach was a White tailed sea Eagle on prey with 4 Hooded Crows looking on hopefully and on the field before the Loch was a herd of Red Deer and a few Greylag Geese, we also had a good view of a very busy Greenshank. We saw a total of 6 Golden Eagles and 4 more White Tailed sea Eagles in the day but my highlights were my first Guillemots and Razorbills of the year, some very close Kittiwakes and my first Merlin which flew in front of the van no more than a couple of feet from the front window, that was a wow moment.        Jan 18th The first half decent day of weather for some time and Pam got in her first sea swim of the year off a beach which had been cleaned of litter before christmas, after the storms she and her friends had to climb over the seaweed which was covered in plastic and rope to get to the water to swim, she showed me a picture on her phone and it was awful. On a more pleasant note I went birding for a few hours and whilst watching a Black Throated Diver and Great Northern Diver at Calgary a White Tailed sea Eagle flew past. There were Kittiwakes at Cailaich and a Flock of Golden Plovers with Turnstones at Killiechronan. A lovely Grey Wagtail interacting with Stonechats on the north shore of Loch Na Keal and from the south shore Black Guilliemots and Slavonian Grebes. Mammals seen today Red and Fallow Deer, Common seals and of course Rabbits.  Jan 17th A trip to Tobormory and we managed to see and photo the long staying Nuthatch at the theatre. This evening we went for dinner with friends in Salen and saw a Barn Owl our friends have returned to the wild after it was injured. The Owl has lost the sight in one eye but is attracting the attention of another Barn Owl, perhaps it thinks it is being winked at. Dinner was great, the company great but I am certainly not used to such a late night and with Lucy wanting her breakfast little chance of a lie in.   The weather remains bad although the weekend looks brighter. Pam braved the elements and took Lucy for a walk to the Croig turn and saw a flock of Long Tailed Tits. A Barn Owl was seen hunting the area where we have put the Barn Owl box up so that is a promising sign. Iwas able to get up to my water supply today, the first time since my fall and I hope to get some birding in tomorrow. Jan 15th There is good news and bad news, first the bad news I took a nasty fall yesterday when I slipped on some wet leaves and my left leg went backwards at great speed and I felt my thigh muscels go and thought I had torn them. The good news the thigh is badly bruised but not torn although quite painfull if Lucy jumps on it. More bad news the weather is still awfull with rain, gales thunder and lightening. The good news having a bad leg means I have a perfect excuse not to go out in the awfull weather, you see every cloud has a silver lining. On the bird front an Iceland Gull was reported on Loch Scridain today and leg permitting I will try and see if it is still about at the weekend.   A day similar to yesterday with the only difference add hail and snow showers, at least it's more like Winter now. Still its a very good day for spring cleaning the self-catering cottages. This winter we have had Inch Hame redecorated throughout, I (Pam) have been busy making new curtains and brightening it all up and we look forward to our guests coming to enjoy their stay with us. Jan 13th I had to go to Salen today and thought I might get in a spot of birding but gale force winds and driving rain soon put an end to that. Even using the van as a hide still did not help as the sea was just a mass of waves and white water. Jan 12th Today was windy and showery, no change there then and as we were expecting visitors but did not know when we were hampered somewhat on what we could do, so between the showers we managed to take Lucy for a walk arriving home just before the heavens opened. On the walk we saw a Buzzard and Kestrel, the Kestrel being my first on Mull this year so I was quite pleased. Back home I took a couple of photos of bird in the garden, including one of Chaffinches feeding on the floor under one of our feeders, there are over 35 birds in the photo, there were more in the tree which the feeders hang from, another two feeders in other parts of the garden with as many chaffinches in and around them and yet we still get quiries about the number of Chaffinches I put on the BTO weekly garden bird count. I put 100+ Chaffinches which is a very low estimate but have you ever tried to count in and around 3 feeders at the same time. Once we had friends staying and conted 4 seperate parts of the garden at the same time and the count when added together was 160 Chaffinches. This week the Goldfinch count was 24 and the Greenfinch 16, with Siskin numbers rising each day my bird feed bill is astonomical.   As predicted it rained all day and although it has not flooded yet it is still very wet with water everwhere, check out the photos.    The day began not to bad weatherwise but in the afternoon the wind got up and the rain started and as I write this 18 hours after the rain started it is still raining although the wind has dropped a little, there could be some watery photos on tomorrows blog. Back to today and Long Tailed Tits, a large flock in the woods on the farm was a great start to the day, I managed to get Pam to see them but they had moved to far away for a photo opportunity. Whilst the weather held this morning I went with my friend and neighbour Nick to put up a new Barn Owl box in the tree in the field opposite the electric sub-station on the Calgary road just a mile out of Dervaig. The original box which had been used for several years had produced around a dozen fledged chicks over the years. The Isle of Mull Bird club had provided the box so we put it up in the same tree as the original box so that it could be viewed at a safe distance from the road to avoid disturbance if Barn Owls choose to use it.   A lovely cool, bright January day so we went out birding and had a lovely day, the highlights of which were, Black Throated Diver, Great Northern Divers and A White-tailed Sea Eagle near Crainure from the golf course 8th green. Ringed Plover and Turnstone at Garmony and a Golden Eagle on a hill over Loch Spelve. We looked for but did not see the kingfisher at Loch Don bridge but did see a Buzzard there. I took a photo of mist in front of the trees going through the Glen from Dervaig to Salen nearer the Salen end. At Aros Bay under the castle was a Bar-tailed Godwit and at the Salen end a Whimbrel.  Little improvment in the weather still wet and windy although it became drier as the day went on. In the morning we worked on some chairs we have aquired from our son and Pam is going to reapolster them but first we have to take the old seat bases off, that's where my distructive gene come in handy, pliers and hammer, man that's me. Before lunch we went with my mate Nick to look at sights for the new Barn Owl boxes that we are going to put up soon, both will be local to Ardrioch, Pam saw a White-tail Sea Eagle and a female Hen Harrier hunting the area where the Barn Owl box is going on her return from a walk with Lucy. This afternoon we went to Cailaich Point and saw Gannets, kittiwakes and a female Sparrowhawk. Jan 7th This morning when I got up it was still (Black is Black - Los Bravos) or maybe we are on the (Darkside of the Moon - Pink Floyd) we are certainly on the (Darkside of the World - Diana Ross). I hope the weather doesn't try to (Keep it Dark - Genesis) I am certainly not (Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springstein) but hope to soon be (Coming out of the Dark - Gloria Estefan). As well as dark it is still very (Windy - The Association) it is not unusual to get (Winter Winds - Mumford and Son) on Mull and the birds are all flying with the (Wind beneath their Wings - Bette Midler). The birds are in fact trying to (Reap the Wild Wind - Ultravox) as it is a very mild (Mistral Wind - Heart). When will this weather stop? I ask myself, well I suppose the answer is (Blowing in the Wind - Bob Dylan). Jan 6th Much ado without nothing, another driech wet windy day, just a few outside chores and put my feet up listening to my new music. Oh the joy of retirement. The rain stopped for an hour so I went out with Lucy to investgate tree sightings for the new Barn owl Boxes. Jan 5th A driech wet and windy day and I eventually went for a trip out and although I did not see anything really exciting I did see some decent stuff including the Hebridean Sheep on a mound with a tree as the backdrop. I took a photo of them, trying to be a bit arty for me. Other birds seen were 6 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Turnstone flying with Teal at the Salmon Hatchery and a flock of Ringed Plover at Killiechronan. I had a brief view of an Otter but lost it in rough water and I took lots of photos most of which were rubbish which is why I did not make a career out of photography. With the arrival of a House Sparrow bird species regularly seen in the garden in 2020 has now reached 13.     Brambling and Jack Snipe seen across the road towards Loch Cuin today, Pam also saw a Jay, I didn't. there were 14 Redwings in a local field and down by the Loch 2 Canada Geese associating with a much larger flock of Greylags. There were not many ducks about although Pam saw 2 Mallards, I didn't, I did however see 2 Goldeneyes and a single female Goosander, and at least 6 Little Grebes. Waders seen today were 4 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, Curlews and Oystercatchers in good numbers and 5 Snipe. At Loch Cuin this morning I saw an Otter and on my way home 4 Red Deer.     We returned home from our Christmas Travels yesterday and today the first bird we saw in the garden was a Treecreeper, not a bad start to my 2020 Mull and Iona bird list. After I had refilled the bird feeders the birds returned throughout the day with zillions of Chaffinches, loads of Goldfinches, lots of Greenfinches and these were joined by Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Lesser Redpolls, Siskins, Dunocks, Robins and Blackbirds. As the day drew on the Rock Doves started to appear, I don't know how they know when we get back home but they do, they must have spies. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOG READERS Dec 12th to 17th You might have noticed the none appearance of the Hen Harrier photo which could have won prizes (not) but some numpty forgot to save it or if he did it is so well hidden nobody (Pam) can find it. Not much birding in the last few days as the weather has not been too kind and I have been enjoying myself on the delights of such things as cleaning out gutters, voting in elections and making sure that the water system keeps working as all the rain keeps bringing more leaves down to block up the filters. In the garden Siskins have returned in good numbers and Chaffinch numbers now total more than 100, we now have 14 species of birds in the garden daily and also Rabbits. We did do some birding today, the 17th, and the highlights being A Shelduck at Killiechronan, an early return for this species, MistleThrushes and Redwings.     Today was the day we went for our flu jabs, tonight we are trying to decide which of us has the sorest arm, if Pam's is worse than mine it must be bl..dy sore. After the jab attack we went delivering Christmas cards and birding and the highlight was a male Hen Harrier just before we got to Ulva Ferry School I even managed a photo which for me and Hen Harriers is a bit of a novel experience. Other good sightings were 2 White Tailed Eagles, Grey Wagtail, Turnstones, Stonechat, Mistle Thrush and Dipper. Finally a lovely view of the top of Beinne More in a covering of snow.    Dec 10th Batten down the hatches, gale force winds and driving rain all day, so I stayed in and Pam cut my hair once we had charged up the machine. Dec 9th A good day weatherwise sandwiched between some dire days so I took the chance to get out and about. I was rewarded with a special sighting of a Velvet Scoter, which was later confirmed by Jaqui Murphy of (Enjoy Mull Wildlife Tours) please take pity on me and not laugh too much of my photo it was taken through the scope quite a distance away. Other notable birds included Turnstones and Teal although their photos ended on the cutting room floor. White-tailed Eagle, Otter though did make the cut... just. I had a lovely 4 hours and saw fifty bird and mammal species in total.    Just a wee note about Whooper Swans which should have been in the last blog post, a large flock landed for a few hours on Loch Cuin, some of them visible from our kitchen window, about 7 I think, you could say there were 7 Swans a swimming. It is Pam's birthday today and last night our lovely friends and neighbours invited us for supper and games, I won't say the game wasn't easy to follow but I found some of the questions on only connect easier, great night. Dec 1st to 7th inc November was a great month for Mull weatherwise the first week week of December has returned to winter normality, gone are the crisp cool but sunny days to be replaced by driech wet and windy days, yuk. On a happier note I did finish the gardening between the showers as going out in the wet windy weather birding did not really appeal although we did try on a number of occasions without seeing a great deal. We went out for lunch at the Bellachroy at the start of the month and had a lovely meal with friends and later in the week a trip to the Isle of Mull Hotel at Craignure for the bird club Christmas dinner and had a good meal and a lot of laughs. I went out with friends on the 6th and we saw White-tailed Eagles, 2 Otters, Red and Fallow Deer and 3 Dippers. The Dippers were forced to come down to the burn and river estuaries as the were all in spate after heavy rains. The forecast for next week is not looking promising but I will try and get out and photograph some wildlife for my next post. Nov 25th-30th inc Just local birding between gardening except for one day trip down to Finnaphort on a very cold but still day. Near Finnaphort in a field and on telephone lines were more Jackdaws and Rooks than we have seen on Mull in a very long time, a bit of good news on the birding front for a change. At Fidden at least 100 Lapwings also a very good number and in a field on the way to Ardalanish beach a very large number of Golden Plover. In the day we had good sightings of 3 different Otters, several Red Deer and some Fallow Deer that walked in front of the car although the Mammal sighting of the day were number of Common Seals along Loch Scridain. Pam conted over 50 in the largest group but there were many more in smaller groups. Near the boathouse for Inch Kenneth were a good number of Barnacle Geese and we saw a Golden Eagle sitting on Eorsa. Waders included lots of Ringed Plovers and Turnstones at Loch Beg opposite the old Kinloch Hotel. Finally at Loch Pottie Tufted Ducks, Goldeneye and a single Whooper Swan.    A wildlife watching morning with 52 birds and 5 mammals seen. The mammals seen were Otter, Red and Fallow Deer, Common and Grey Seals. The highlight of the birding had to be the pair of long Tailed Ducks in Lagganulva Bay, a most unexpected find, if I did emojies imagine smiley face and thumbs up. A mixed flock of Fieldfares and Redwings were nice to see as were the Lesser Redpoll associating with large flocks of Chaffinches and Goldfinches. 3 Lapwings and lots of Curlew in a field by Ulva School and Whimbrel at Salen were also good spots. In the garden a Great Spotted Woodpecker was present shortly after sunrise. Todays photo Red Breasted Mergansers at Lagganulva and Long-tail Ducks (taken in Spitzbergen)   A short trip out and about the highlight of which was a Golden Eagle at Calgary, there were 3 Great Northern Divers here as well and the long staying Black Throated Diver was still there. Snipe were amongst the waders seen at Dervaig with an unusually high count of 15 Little Grebe at the Dervaig end of Loch Cuin  We had friends around tonight for a meal and a film show of our trip to Spitzbergen find below some of photos from the trip of birds (Pomerine Squa and Northern Fulmar) that can also be seen on Mull and Polar Bear and Arctic Fox.     No birding today although I did see this Hooded Crow in our field and they are now turning up in the garden. I spent the day gardening in between putting my feet up, gardening has that effect on me.  Our van had to go to the garage at Salen for a brakes check and I had to give blood and pick up meds from the doctors also in Salen so Pam and I decided to go and try to see the Loch Don Kingfisher whilst we were down in that area. After waiting around which was no great hardship as we spent some of the time watching a couple of female Hen Harriers hunting on the left side of the Grasspoint road just up from the bridge, we managed at last to see and get some photos of the Kingfisher with a catch in its bill. Another single Whooper Swan at Loch Don, Gorten end and to complete our morning a Dipper at Garmony.    A trip to Tobermory brought 2 surprises, firstly a single Whooper Swan on Loch Torr see photo and then no fuel at the garage the main reason for the trip. I took Pam to the Mull theatre to see the Nuthatch even though it was perishingly cold and the Nuthatch, for a laugh, kept us waiting for half an hour before it put in an appearance, I an shocked that I could hold the camera I was that cold. We did make the most of our journey to Tobermory with an exciting trip to the tip, we really know how to enjoy life.   Birding locally this morning in great weather, yea... Gardening this afternoon too. The birding was not bad nor were the views in stunning weather, at Cailaich a Peregrine Falcon on top of a hill my photo got vetoed as it was pretty rubish. On my way out at the gate a Meadow Pipit and to my surprise a Grey Wagtail. On to Calgary and the Black Throated Diver was there with a single great Northern Diver I just got a photo through the scope of the Great Northern with a fish. Oystercatchers and Shags at Lainne Sguer and a few Ringed Plovers on the beach at Calgary. Back at Dervaig and the Common Scoter still present as were 2 Greenshank, 2 Redshank and a Snipe, an Ok morning now that gardening.      I decided to go birding this morning but did not get too far as I spotted a bird on Loch Cuin that although distant I thought looked a bit like a Red Necked Grebe ... it wasn't. After trying both sides of the Loch I eventually got close enough to realise it was a female Common Scoter, my first of the year and another bird which is not seen that often on Mull and I have never seen one on Loch Cuin before. The Treecreeper was back in the garden again this afternoon and so was the Great Spotted Woodpecker, more birds are returning to the garden now as other sources of food become harder to obtain. The first Common Scoter picture taken with the phone through the telescope by Pam as it is too technical for me to do.   We put out a night camera trap which our lovely friends Pete and Jenny gave us when we retired and found that a Woodcock had visited the garden in the early evening. Yesterday my mate Nick kindly took a trailor load of scrap to the tip for me, I followed in the car to get a fill up and to go to the Mull theatre, not for a play but to see the Nuthatch which has been in the vicinity of the car park for three weeks. Thanks to Debbie who put out some peanuts on the bird table which allowed me to get some great views of this scarce visitor to Mull.   I was cleaning a bedroom window yesterday when I found this little Pipperstrell Bat having a lovely sleep inside the opening window, he squeaked at me when I put him on the window sill for safty, probably feeling the cold a bit. After giving the window a good clean I moved him on the outside window sill to where he could crawl back inside again and it wasn't long before he'd dissapeared into the window again. Note to myself - don't open this window again until spring. Pam  this week I have been out on a couple of birding trips in variable weather conditions, once in drizzly rain and wind and once very cold with a lot less wind and on this trip Pam came with me with Lucy our dog. On the two trips White-tailed Eagles, Golden Eagles, Otters and Red Deer were seen although not all on the same day. The highlight for me was a Black Throated Diver in Calgary Bay and other highlights were to see Common Snipe back at Dervaig along with Ringed Plovers, Greenshank and Redshank. We had great views of a female Kestrel at Reudle near the Old Schoolhouse and Slavonian Grebe on Loch Na Keal. There are less birds than normal in our garden but we hope this improves as the Winter really gets going, we will just have to wait and see. We are having dinner parties at the moment and showing friends some of our photos from our holday to Spitzbergan and I will inlude one or two in following posts.    I took a trip around the North West of Mull yesterday and was quite dissapointed at the number of species that I saw with only 30 bird species seen in the day, this does not include the 11 species seen in our garden which is also down on previous years. I am not the only one who has noticed that species numbers are down as some of my neighbours have benn noticing less birds in their gardens as well. A friend from down in the South of England has also noted that birds are less prevalent, lets hope it is a blip and not a permanent trend. The three photos below are from my trip out.    Arthur and I are now taking a well earned rest from work and family commitments. We are pleased to say that our daughter-in-law is now well on the way to recovery and planning to go back to work. Their daughter has now started the local school and the little boy is in the nursary attached to the school making life easier for the whole family and they now need time to themselves to get back to normal life. Arthur has been doing some jobs around the farm, working on his dam, mending fences and tidying the big shed, all jobs that have been put to one side when he was working. He has also been able to return the kindness to our neighbours by watering polly tunnels and feeding cats whilst they have been on holiday. He has taken a total break for a couple of months from bird watching but I'm sure he will be back to it soon when he will then resume writing his blog. The last time I returned from Cheshire I brought back with me a large bag of material and have been making new curtains for my self-catering cottage which I am having decorated this winter and I have also been swimming in the sea whenever I can making up for the lost time in the summer. As our regular readers can see I am in the prosess of making a new page for Arthurs blog and below you will find just the hightlights for 2019 which I will be putting in during the next couple of weeks. We are still keeping the old email address of enquiries@discovermull.co.uk if any of you wish to drop us a line, we'ed love to hear from you. 31st Oct We have been seeing large flocks of Fieldfare and Redwings at Ardrioch for a few days now, they have been feasting on the Rowen berries on our woodland, then a couple of days ago they came onto the tree right infront of our kitchen wndow which although it was laden with berries there were so many of them they stripped it in 2 days, on the 3rd day they came back and cleaned up all the berries that had fallen on the ground. The trees are now completly bare and the flocks have moved on, maybe you will see them in a few weeks time!    
Out and about
early again this morning and
there is still not a lot about
although for those planning on
coming to Mull I did see an
otter today and I wasn't even
trying. My sighting of the day
was by the Killiechronan
campsite where a flock of at
least 70 Ringed Plover flew in
to feast as the tide went out,
they were joined by a few
Dunlin. The Autumn flowers are
out in abundance now with Grass
Of Parnasus seen as well as the
Bell Heather and Ling. On my way
home I was able to photograph
the Goosanders on Loch Cuin,
they would be some of the same
ones we saw when out walking
with Lucy on Moday.  
This morning I
went out early in lovely
weather, light breeze, sunshine,
4 degrees centigrade, I was
wearing thermols for goodness
sake, talk about climate
change. Being out and
about on Mull in such calm
conditions was wonderfull and
the views even more so, with
Coll and Tiree looking
resplendent from Calgary Bay, I
felt I could reach out and touch
them. On the birding front the
highlight of the morning had to
be the flock of approximately 20
Twite seen at Cailaich Point,
Kittiwakes, and Gannets here as
well. There are lots of Meadow
Pipits everywhere and Pam and I
saw at least 12 Goosander on
Loch Cuin and also 3 Greenshank.
Red Deer and of course Rabbits
were the Mammals seen but really
it was just being back on Mull
that was the real highlight of
my morning. This afternoon once
again the weather has
intervened, I was supposed to be
mowing lawns but it is pouring
down, the suns still shining
though.
    July 20th Last night we had a retirement party at the Hebridean Lodge for our friends and all the people who have helped us with Discover Mull Tours. Helen, our host at the Hebridean Lodge did us proud, the food was amazing and more than enough for at least another half dozen guests, many thanks Helen from us both. The harp was played by Becky Roth, one of Pam's swimming buddies and was absolutely beautiful, many thanks Becky for adding a touch of class to the evening. Thanks go to everyone at the party for all your help you all know what you did, but you cannot know how much we appreciate all your love and friendship, We hope that last night showed how much we value everything you have done for us. On a birdy note one of our neighbours died earlier in the year and he used to feed the Rock Doves which meant we shared this chore, now I feel we are feeding all the Rock Doves on Mull in our garden as well as all the Chaffinches.   July 18th The second day of our retirement and we went out in Nick and Mikes new boat which spent the winter in my shed. It was lovely day weatherwise and we saw lots of great wildlife, mainly seabirds. Puffins, Razorbills, Guilliemots, Black Guilliemots, Shags, Cormorants, Gannets, Manx Shearwaters, Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls, Great Black Backed Gulls, Grey Herons, Oystercatchers and a White-tailed Eagle sitting on an Island. Both types of Seal were seen and now there are lots of baby Common Seals are out and about with their mothers. The main purpose of the trip however was to do some sea fishing and Pam caught a good sized Pollock with her very first cast. Pam obviouly has a penchant for fishing as she caught by far the most fish on the day although Nick caught the biggest. A wonderful day was had by all and Pam and I would like to thank Nick and Catherine for giving us such a great day out and a fishing lesson, we could be eating fish for some time as Pam is now preparing the catch for the freezer.     July
16th We have now retired from doing Discover Mull wildlife tours and would like to take this opportunity to thank all our guests for their support over the past 18 years and the kindness of guests who have sent us cards and best wishes on our retirement. Pam has been away for most of the Spring as a close family member was diagnosed with very bad cancer just after Easter and so we decided to only do tours which were already booked and to that end we must thank our friends and neighbours who have helped both with the tours and the self-catering whilst Pam was away. The news now is more positive and Pam was back for our last tour and we will be having a celebration party for both our retirement and 46th wedding anniversary later this week. Many guests have kindly told me how much they have liked my blog and how much they had missed it in the last few months so I have decided to continue to do a blog about what Pam and I are up to and wildlife happenings on Mull although it probably won't be done daily. Photo's taken of our final tour, we had a great day out.   May 3rd
A tour today in cool windy
conditions with both types of Eagles seen
well, a brief Otter sighting, both Fallow
and Red Deer and both types of Seal.
Whinchat and Dunlin were seen which were
two birds Sue one of my guests really
wanted to see. The Highland Cows and
calves were a highlight for some of my
guests as was the lovely Bluebell wood.   A lovely day for a tour although it got a bit colder later in the day. We saw several Golden Eagles and White-tailed Sea Eagles in one location they were flying together and interacting giving my guests a great chance to see the differences between the two species. 2 seperate Otters were also seen although one was quite distant. My guests enjoyed seeing the new migrant and passage birds including Whimbrel, see photo below, Wheatear and Common Sandpipers appearing everywere and we now have more Whinchats joining their resident cousins the Stonechat. Finally Willow Warblers, we don't see many but they certainly let you know they are there with their constant singing.  A trip with Pam and Lucy to Iona to try and see a Corncrake, they should have started to arrive but nobody had reported any so it was a bit of a shot in dark. On our way across to Iona on the ferry Pam spotted a couple of Common Terns, my first of the year and the first reported on Mull this year. On Iona no sound of Corncrake near the Abbey or around the fire station so we decided to go to the beaches on the north of the island. On our walk we saw lots of little birds including Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Wheatear and Linnet as well as Rooks and Jackdaws. At the gate at the end of the road Pam thought she had heard a Corncrake, I on the other hand hadn't and as I have better hearing we went on. Then we both heard the distinct sound of a Corncrake and the rest as they say is history, check out the photigraphs. Another Mull first for Pam and I this year, we were really pleased and then a Merlin appeared chasing small birds another Arthur first of the year, the day was going spectacularly well.On our way back to the ferry we saw a pair of Twite a first for Pam this year and on our way back to Ardrioch we found a Tree Pipit a bird that had been eluding us this last week and Pam at last got her Common Whitethroat. Lastly Lucy loved her time on Iona, not sure about the ferry journey though.     |
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Pam & Arthur
Brown |
enquiries@discovermull.co.uk
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