| Self
Catering Holiday Cottages Mull - Ardrioch Farm
Dervaig, Isle of Mull |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
July 2020 July 16th to 26th We spent the first few days getting ready for the arrival of our family from South Devon, Simon, Becky and our three grand daughters who, like a lot of Grand Parents, haven't seen family since Christmas 2019. I have been cleaning through the water supply and putting new filters in place and making sure the garden is looking good. Pam, she has been cleaning and baking for all she is worth. For relaxation Pam has been swimming in the sea with her swimming buddies on as many days as the weather would allow and I have had a couple of days fishing with Nick. It was lovely to welcome the family and we have been on some nice walks down Loch Ba and to the beach at Langamull. We went out for a meal at the Hebridean Lodge and had a great meal thank to Helen, the chef and proprietess and as we were the only paty allowed in we did not have to safe distance. Last evening Pam dressed the Grand Children up in clothes she had made and worn herself nearly 50 years ago, Mary Quant and Twiggy eat tour hearts out. The photos are of some of the time and things we have seen and done with our family during their visit this week.    It is very quiet wildlife wise at this time of the year so I have been out fishing 3 times with Nick. Even out at sea there are not many birds about although we have seen a few Guillemots, Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Gannets and Kittiwakes. On one trip despite it being a little rough we did see a Great Skua my first of the year so I was really pleased. On the fishing front we are catching a few Mackeral now and I caught a decent 4 pound Pollock which should keep us well fed for a few meals. We are getting ready to welcome family up for the next few weeks, we are really looking forward to it as we have not seen any family since last Christmas, only on zoom which although better than nothing it is just not the same. I have taken a few photos of wildflowers and other flowers growing in the garden at the moment see if you can spot the odd one out.          3 days of no wildlife watching except in the garden and a late evening trying to see a Long Eared Owl but only succeeded in seeing a Tawny on top of a Fir Tree. The first day was spent working, in particular fencing the field in front of the house after a tree had fallen across the fence and broke 4 posts last winter. We decided not to graze the pasture until the Autumn but at least it is now stock proof once again. In the afternoon I put some fencing around the new bird tables with the help of lucy our dog, for those of you who remember the cartoon the wakey races, I was Dastardly and Lucy Mutly the dog and it was a case of 'STOP THE PIGEONS' or in this case Rock Doves. Friday we went to Tobermory and Salen for stuff we can't get in Dervaig like gas for the Midge Machine and fuel for the car and boat. Friday evening we looked for the Owls and I took some sunset photos over the Loch at Dervaig. Saturday it rained for most of the day and we stayed at home recovering from the late evening which because of lockdown we definately we are not used to.    Pam and I went fishing with Nick, another great day for me but a red letter day for Pam as we saw our first Bottle Nose Dolphins of the year. They came really close to the boat leaping out of the water so she was delighted as seeing Whales and Dolphins is her main reason for going out on the boat. Thanks once again to Nick and to Catherine who looked after Lucy for us whilst we were out. Lucy for first time readers is our dog who loves Catherine nearly as much as she loves us. Fencing tomorrow but I will try for some photos as it was too rough on the sea to take any of the Dolphins. June 2020 June 30th The weather is dry and I spent the day mowing lawns which as the grass had grown so long meant several trips with the wheelbarrow full of grass to the wood. No doubt the workout did me good but by the end of a warm afternoon I was knack...., erm tired. Over the last few months Pam has made plenty of trips over the hill road for her swimming only seeing Hooded Crows, Stonechat, Wheatears, Meadow Pipits and a pair of nesting Curlew, today she was pleased to report a hunting male Hen Harrier. June 29th All I can say it was a very wet day. The upside the burn is full, the downside,the grass is growing, the lawns need mowing and it is to wet to get the job done. June 28th Just a short trip out and about today and an Otter at last, close, but not that close, enough to get a photo. We also had a great view of the Stonechat and I thought this will be a good photo, but you what thought did, it did not take into consideration the background light, so this is the result of the picture I got. The rest of today was spent doing very little although we did meet up with our friends for a social distancing coffee and catch up this morning now we are allowed. Good news Pam has started to make some more curtains which allows me to watch croudless football on TV.   A trip around Loch Na Keal and back home through Glen More brought us an unusual sighting for June, a Whooper Swan seen shortly after we came to the water on the south shore of the Loch just past Knock House. A little further down the south shore at Gribun we found the Peregrine Falcon on its usual stamping ground giving us a very good view through the scope but to far away for even one of my fuzzy photos. After we had got throgh Glen More and past the Inverlussa Mussel Farm we stopped to look for Short Eared Owls and Hen Harriers and were really lucky to see both check out the photos. Sorry about the Short Eared Owl taken at distance through the telescope, very fuzzy, Alan Spellman will be pleased to see I still have my fuzzy photo skills.     Today I went fishing with Nick and Catherine and caught quite a few fish including 5 Sand Eels which Nick said he had never caught before, I have to say they were a lot bigger than the ones I have seen Puffins carrying, before you get too concerned we threw them all back. Icaught a few Coly and some Pollock of varying sizes but only one keeper as Catherine the size controller was only allowing 3 pound and over to be kept, so Nick and I got to take home one each. As I was out at sea around Cailaick I was able to take a few photos of birds, which was not easy as the boat was moving on the waves but at least they were resonably close.    Pam and I went to Calgary and Cailaich this evening and had a lovely couple of hours seawatching and although we saw only a few birds it was just great to be out on a beautiful evening with only the farms barking dog to spoil our enjoyment, he seemed to be having a great time as well. On the bird front we saw our first Manx Shearwater of the year and a Gannet flew past the point and we might have seen a Puffin another first for 2020. On our way home we had to stop for a Hedgehog ambling up the road, when we stopped the Hedgehog shifted gear and almost ran into the grass on the verge and dissappeared.   Lots of rain and so we spent most of the time indoors watching our garden birds although I did manage a couple of hours strimming Rushes and Bracken and I got a photo of a Meadow Brown Butterfly which unfortunately closes its wings almost as soon as it alights. I did not have too much patience to hang around as I was being eaten alive by Midges at the time as they love the moist still air. June 22nd Yea, it has rained and more is expected, at last the burn is filling up and hopefully we won't have to worry about water again this year, well about a shortage of water anyhow. We went out with Lucy today on the regular lockdown walk and although there were not too many birds about (they are all in our garden) we did see lots of wild flowers so todays photographs are of some of the most beautiful we saw. Talking of birds in the garden we had 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers today at the same time on three different feeders, and then just like children one youngster decided that it would join dad on his feeder, no social distancing there then.     The longest day of the year, fathers day and a visit from our local Jay and for once it stayed around long enough for me to get a photograph. Pam and I went to Cailaich to look for seabirds and we had a very good sighting of a Fulmar, not as common at Cailaich Point as they used to be when a few pairs used to breed on the cliffs there. Pam is now one bird ahead of me on her Mull list for the year on 129. At Cailaich we saw a Common Snipe on a fence post calling to its young and Pam took the photo through her telescope with her phone, I took the the photo of the Rock Pipit through my scope with my camera. There were a few Gannets going past the point and a few Auks and we think we saw a Puffin amongst them. There were lots of Gulls at Calgary includind Black Headed and Lesser Black Backed. We saw Swallows, Sand Martins and a House Martin hunting insects that were being disturbed by the Gulls from the seaweed line. Finally at Lainne Sguere a pair of Shelduck with six well grown ducklings.      A lovely day and football is back on th TV so I watched the sport and Pam went swimming, a typical Saturday. This morning we went to our friends garden and had an enjoyable couple of hours drinking coffee and chatting, I must say it is nice to have a little normality back in our lives although we must not take liberties this desease is not over yet and we should try to get back to a new normal for everyones sake but without taking unnecessary risks. June 19th A red letter day for me as I went fishing with Nick as he has now got his boat in the water and I was able to try out my new rod a reel given to me for my seventieth birthday. I have to say the rod was great but the reel was fantastic, particularly for a beginner like me. I had caught my first Pollock in no time, a nice size but not a keeper but I did manage to catch 3 reasonable ones and one much larger one which I must say made my day although I can't say the same for the Pollock. Thanks to Nick for his help and I promise to get better at handling the fish that I catch as I get more experienced. June 18th We went to get fuel for the mower and strimmer today and as it involved going to Salen we stopped in and had coffee with our friend Jaquie, we took our own coffee in flasks and social distanced in her garden, it was great to see her again after several weeks. The trip brought us our first Otter sighting for some time as well as both types of Deer and Seal, a pair White-tailed Eagles, we also had a great view of a Whinchat which is a bird I always like to see. I managed today to get photos of two birds I hadn't managed to photo before this year, A Cuckoo and a Willow Warbler. With the lawn mower filled up there were no more excuses and I had to mow lawns this afternoon.   A sad day as it was the funeral of a friend but even in this time of social distancing it was nice for the family that several of us who knew Bev chose to have their excersize by walking to the graveyard where the service was held and social distancing in the field surrounding the graveyard were also able to say our goodbyes. Back at Ardrioch a new visitor to our bird feeders, a Herring Gull, not a bird I have had in the garden before, and don't particularly want, where are the lovely Common Gulls we usually get.   A driech day of low cloud so we went out locally to see what was about and saw a pair, well there were 2 of them, Black Guillemts in Calgary Bay and just outside the bay were 2 Razorbills. On the beach again deserted of people there was a large line of fresh seaweed which was covered in a mixed flock of Gulls, mainly Herring Gulls and Common Gulls but there was also a couple of Lesser Black backed Gulls amongst them. A family of Rock Pipits on the crash barriers was followed by a young Red Deer stag. The mist decended making it almost impossible to see anything although I did take a photo of a Meadow Pipit on a twiggy bush in the mist, a bit atmospheric for me.     We had a lovely morning on Sunday with friends for a social distancing chat and afterwards just enjoyed a Lazy Sunday (Small Faces) I threw that one in for you Blake and Sheila and thanks for the lockdown George Formby diities, they kept us amused during this unusual and trying time. On the 15th I took Lucy on a long walk, well I say it was long, for me it was for Lucy probably a short stroll. This is all well and good but Lucy is nowhere to be seen when it comes to strimming, might have something to do with her being a dog. June 13th Today I joined my mate Nick for a fishing lesson from shore, I have never fished in the sea from shore before only from Nick's and Mikes boat so it was a lesson in the art of casting for me. Although I can't say I was the perfect student I was able to cast a reasonable distance and managed to catch 4 fish, 3 were Coly, 2 of which were thrown back but I did manage to catch one to bring home big enough for eating. The other fish I caught was a Pollock but that was only a tiddler and would hardly have made a fish finger. This Oystercatcher which was a spectator for most of the morning.  I finished the strimming this morning and have decided to have a long weekend off, so a long relaxing bath listening to my music. Now I don't want you all thinking I'm a slacker, after all I am supposed to be retired. I have taken some photos of the property to show what we have been up to during lockdown, ENJOY.   Above our Birch and traditional woodland after we have removed the plastic guards and below the sun coming through the trees by our garden gate and Lucy completing her jumps.   Today I started to strim the orchard not an easy job as it is on a bank and quite tiring for my ageing bones but needs must particularly as the solar panels are also in the orchard. we are still in the midst of some very dry weather and so Pam and I spent a couple of hours working on our water supply. Now I would like to say it was 2 hours well spent, in the event after we had finished nothing had changed which means a daily walk up to the dam for me and Lucy. Oh well back to the strimming.  Today I mowed the lawn in front of the Sheiling and a few paths through the other lawns to the bird feeders as we are leaving chunks of the lawn for the wildlife. I am not being too altruistic but more in hope that with the grass going to seed it might cost me less in purchesed feed. The theory behind the plan was good in practice they are just getting more food and still eating at my 5* seed restaurant. We also have no sheep this year and just letting the fields grow wild, I must admit the meadows do come up a treat.    Pam has another pet project at the moment, it involves re-covering a large lamp shade for a standard lamp in our living room. I don't know much about upholstery although I have leaned some things about it during lockdown. The main rules appear to be stitching fabric and then unstiching fabric, this latter part involves some bad language. The next step involves stretching the said fabric around a frame, if the fabric is too short even more bad language is required. Finally upholstering requires a lot of pricking of fingers which can turn the language quite blue, me and Lucy prefer mowing lawns when this his happens.   In my defence I have not covered a lampshade in about 40 years and am kind of making it up as I go along. I had to take the old covering off very carefully to make a pattern for the new covering and lining which you can see I am sewing on at the moment. Pam Today I mowed our lawns which took longer than expected as after the rain the grass had grown considerably, although it is not my favorite job it does look good when I have finished. The photos below are of Thrift or Sea Pinks which are blooming great this year and do look spectacular, The Flag Iris are also in bloom now and add to the overall beauty of Mull. The wind dropped today after the gales and Pam managed to get a swim in which always puts her in a better mood. Unfortunately gales at this time of the year do damage the trees which are covered in leaves and often lose branches, the leaves also get salt burn from the spray carried on the wind and they seldom recover.    Today was a very good day as a couple of friends of ours rang and told us of a place on Mull where we might see A Redstart, yes it was a little more than 5 miles but as we have been mostly keeping to the government guidlines we thought we deserved a little treat. We were very fortunate and were able to find the bird and I managed a few photos to prove it. We have seen Redstart on Mull several times before but not in this location and as it was our first for the year and probably the only one we will get we are very grateful to our friends. On our way home we saw this lovely Wheatear, and for the first time this year I got a photo of it. Back home Lucy and a neighbours cat met up, please note they kept strictly to the two metres social distancing guidelines.    June is well under way and the weather has turned, we have had a much colder 3 days, it was bound to happen Pam put the Summer sheets on the bed and we are having to wear thermol pyjamas. As well as it being colder we are also getting gale force winds so most of the little birds have gone into lockdown, it is a good job that I continue to feed the birds in the Summer even if they are eating us out of house and home. I have not been able to take any photos for 3 days so the ones below are pictures I took before the weather changed. the forecast is better for the beginning of next week so I hope to get out locally again then.   As lockdown has eased slightly we went on a couple of walk/drive excurtions on one of them to try and see Redstart, the mission was a failure but not a total one as we did manage to see our first Arctic Terns of the year. The machair at Calgary is starting to look good and I took some photos of some Northern Marsh Orchids along with Birds Foot Treffoil and also a picture of Pam and Lucy walking on an otherwise deserted Calgary Beach, lockdown in action. On our travels and walks we noted the amount of wildflowers coming into their best and I took quite a few photos to show you guys who are usually here at this time of year what you are missing. More and more birds are appearing with young and at Calgary I watched a pair Blue Tits feeding chicks in an old field gate. I took 2 pictures of different Waders in different locations but holding similar poses on small mounds.     June 1st   May 29th to 31st We got the midge machine going check out the photo. As I was still a little incapacitated I took a few photos of things in the garden, hope you like them. Hopefully I will be more mobile next week.     First the good news, on the way to Tobermory today Pam spotted this Osprey and after turning round and going back to Dervaig we were able to get great views of it flying over Loch Cuin being mobbed by gulls and Oystercatchers. I took about 30 photos and there were only two that were passable and one is the picture below. Now the bad news and the reason for our trip to Tobermory, if you haven't already guessed the Midges have put in an appearance and they are definately not social distancing and so we were off to get calor gas for the midge machine. More good news, we collected another 5 bags of plastic guards on Tuesday. Bad news in the evening I pulled a muscle in my calf which has left me somewhat incapacitated. The good news; I now can't mow the lawns, the bad news the grass is growing fast. Good news we have a pair of swallows nesting just outside our bedroom, well it's certainly better than on the inside. Finally we are seeing more fledglings in the garden with the first Goldfinch on the 27th and the first Greenfinch today the 28th.  May 23rd to 25th Bank holiday weekend and a bit of good news for those of you who should have been on Mull this weekend, the weather was awful high winds and rain, the bad news it's looking good for the rest of the week. My new bird table is proving a hit, particularly with the Siskins, we regularly have 8 of them on the table at the same time, the roof is great as it overhangs and the birds can keep dry in wet weather and get a snack at the same time. I managed to take the photo below of a Lesser Redpoll on the table through the kitchen window and the little bird did not seem bothered at all. Today, the 25th we had a rare treat as I had to go to Craignure for a MOT blood test, don't get excited, just routine but it meant we could go for a walk with the dog in a new area as since lockdown we have been restricted to the Dervaig area. We went for our walk up the Grasspoint road and got a good view of a Wood Warbler in the trees, no photo as it was flitting about in the trees now covered in leaves but nice to see none the less. Further on we saw a Garden Warbler, a bird we don't always see on Mull but again although we got good views the little blighter never stood still long enough for a photo. Both these species were firsts for our Mull lists this year, which despite the lockdown is coming on better than we could have hoped. On our way home Pam spotted this Dipper in the photograph below on the Aros River and unlike the Warblers this bird was a little poser.  A shorter epistle after last weeks epic as we have done very little birding except watching the birds in our gardem, (see the birds on my new feeding table below) although on Monday after a grocery shopping visit to Salen I did see my first House Martin of the year. On the subject of grocery shopping we went to Salen and the Co-op in Tobermory, not on the same day to try and get stuff that Dougie hadn't got in his wonderful store. We got none of what we wanted in either Tobermory or Salen, the moral of this story if Dougie ain't got it neither has anyone else and you don't have to travel so far. Another epic has again reared it's head, yes the Deer saga has not yet been sorted, we saw a deer in the field on Monday evening and so Tuesday was spent once more try to drive out what we hope is the last Red Deer on our property. There is a little bit of evidence that it has gone out but the odds are still in its favour and not our trees. Whilst on Deer patrol we did find a Buzzards nest in a glade at the far end of of the woodland and we suspect it has chicks, I will keep you informed also lots of bright Marsh Marigolds. We have just seen the weather forecast for the weekend and have decided to go into lockdown.   I have spent some time up the jungle which is our burn this week but can now report that I have reached the point where the burn leaves our property, an lengh of some 400 metres is now devoid of vegetation. You know the saying do a job, make a job, well at the fence where the burn goes out of our property the burn gate, which keeps the Red Deer out of the woodland was pretty useless as the burn had dropped 3 feet during the very wet winter and Deer, if they so wished, could just walk underneath it. I had to carry a sheep hurdle up over half a mile and secure it to prevent another Deer invasion. Talking of Red Deer, which we thought we had got rid of, well it seems we had only halved the problem as we found fresh prints by a stream. Now here's the thing, try finding a single Red Deer in 35 acres of mainly woodland when there is only 2 of you and a little dog, not easy. Another morning of walking and trying to drive it out of the gate at the far wnd of the farm which we had opened. We had a couple of brief views of the Deer after we had disturbed it then nothing, even after 2 extensive searches round the property. Back at the gate which is at the far end of the property we saw a scuff mark and a couple of new, although fairly indistinct, hoof prints due to the dry weather and are hoping the blo..y Deer has found its way out, time will tell. The air has been blue in our house this week as Pam has been making more face masks, apparently it is a fiddly job with many pricked fingers, lots of cotton reel, and broken needles, It doesn't help if you make them back to front and have to unstich and start again, cover your ears Lucy. She has made 50 face masks for the NHS and volunteers. There were a few wildlife moments this week, we saw our first Bullfinch of the year, it is a lovely bird to see although it was taking to good a look at our apple blossomed trees for our liking. Another first a Spotted Flycatcher, seen in its regular haunt, this one is for David Yates, a regular guest and friend who usually finds it first but of course can't be here due to lockdown. We are seeing a few youngsters in the garden, a baby Mistle Thrush, a baby Robin and a baby Siskin and the Bluebells are now flowering. I will finish this epistle with 2 unusual birds seen on Mull this week, A Hoopoe and a Hawfinch.    The pictures are from the night camera, the ones of the Hedgehog were taken when it was still dark and is a bit like spot the Hedgehog. The pictures of the cat, the Blackbird and the worm told there own story after daybreak. There is a saying, the early bird catches the worm, if they survive the cat. I spent most of today totally knackered after c hacking through the jungle on either side of the burn, I should not have to work this hard at my age, Coronavirus has a lot to answer for, I cannot escape. On the wildlife front, we are seeing a lot of Orange Tip Butterflies now and today a Green Viened White.     I spent most of the week working on the burn where I get my water supply from, due to the dry weather I could get right up to our boundry fence with waders on, it was quite entertaining with at one point only enough room to put one foot in front of the other, in other places it was a metre wide. at some points the water was barely one inch deep but at one point it 3 feet deep. The reason for going up the burn was to get rid of the overgrowing vegetation, Gorse, Briers, Grasses, Bog Myrtle and any other stuff which prevents a steady flow. It took me all week but I finished at late lunchtime today the 8th. Pam put out the night camera and we discovered we have a Hedgehog in the garden, joining the numerous Rabbits and Moles which we don't see but there is deffinite evidence. I put up 3 new bird tables this week a present from Pam made by my good mate Nick with help from my other good mate John. (social distancing was observed)     Today I became an endangered species, yes I have gone from middle age to old age overnight, I have reached the ripe old age of 70, I actually feel great although some of my bones feel like they reached this age many moons ago. Thanks to my family for the zoom conference, it was great fun, now will somebody tell me what the heck is zoom. They tell me that we are all going to be kept in contact through an app on our phones, where the dickens is my phone and what is an app? Thanks go to Pam, Nick, Catherine and John and Jo for the new birdtables, fishing rod and beers. Thanks also for Dougie at the Dervaig shop for the Fillet Steak for my special birthday stroganoff which was brilliant. This morning we added 2 more birds to our year list a Whitethroat check and Eider Ducks taking our Mull year total to 120 mostly seen in the Dervaig area, particularly since lockdown. Another first, we had a Grasshopper Warbler in the garden for a short while this morning and I took a photo of one of our regular Dunnocks.   We made it to the big city this morning and Tobermory was deserted, so this is what lockdown looks like in the city. We decided to take Lucy for a walk in Aros park and even that seemed deserted of wildlife although it was early and perhaps they were having a lie in. On our way out I heard the call of the bird we had been hoping to see and lo and behold there it was a Chiffchaff another first for 2020. Whilst in the park I took a couple of photos not of birds but of Tobermory from the Aros pier and one of the lower Falls in the park. We then went into Tobermory to our brilliant pharmacy and Brown's hardware and everything else, another great shop and also the co-op where Pam was only the second person in and because it was way before 10am they took the bottles of cider off her which I can assure you went down like a lead balloon.   April 30th The strimmer started without a kick and I strimmed the areas around the solar panels, if you hadn't guessed ours are not on the roof. When the vegitation grows back I shall hit it with weed killer before re-newing the black covering to stop vegitation growing at all which means more light on the solar panels and more free green power for us, shame we have an oil fired aga. We give with one hand and take back with the other, the aga however does make exceedingly good toast which was great until I bacame a bit allergic to yeast, so my toast days are now more limited. More plastic work today on our trees not our bodies. We are going to Tobermory tomorrow, this will be somewhat of an adventure, we haven't been since lockdown, I hope we remember the way. April 29th Tomorrow I'm going to kick the strimmer to see if I can spark it into life so that I can keep the grass from growing over the solar panels, I could have done it today but why not put off till tommorow what you can leave today. Today however we took Lucy for a walk to Loch Frisa, isn't it great to be able to walk the dog in these troubled times. On the walk we had a very special view of a male Hen Harrier hunting, Hen Harriers are so persecuted by shooters in this country that we on Mull where there is little shooting are extremely fortunate and must look after their habitats. On our way back we saw our first pair of Whinchats and got a nice photo of the female on a post. I took another picture of a Black Tailed Godwit as they are a scarce Mull bird. Back at the farm I managed a photo of a female Yellowhammer and at last saw a Cuckoo although it was not the one that has been driving me mad playing a game of heard but not seen.    Firstly today the downside of Spring, yes the grass grows and that means that the lawns have to be mown however there is always a chance the lawn mower won't start after winter hibernation, damn it, it started after only one kick. We have decided not to graze our fields this Summer to leave more seeds for the birds, we are also leaving some parts of the lawn unmowed for the same reason. We shall get our local farmer to put cattle on the fields in the Autumn to eat off all the grass which will have accrued, notice I got all 4 seasons mentioned in this blog. There are a few pictures of what birds are doing during the lockdown, some athletic ones are excersising like the Tree Pipit and Grasshopper Warbler in the photos and this is after migrating all the way from Africa, I call it showing off. Then there are the ones who prefer relaxed gluttony, like the Whimbrel and Black Tailed Godwits which were certainly not wearing themselves out. For your information all pictures were taken locally as we were excersising the dog.     I thought I would share a few pictures of what Pam and I have been doing during the lockdown in our woodland. There is some debate about the amount of plastic guards left on trees planted in government schemes, so we decided to do something about ours, although it is a pretty back breaking job. To date we have half filled a holding pen, filled a sheep feeder, 6 large dustbins and 32 bags and have cleared 4 acres since lockdown began. Pam has also sewed 18 cotton face masks for the NHS and a couple for our own use if the government says we can't go out without a mask on. Pam says she misses her trips to the hairdresser as I'm thinking of standing her in a plastic bucket as her hair has started to look more like a bush, if she's not careful one of our birds might try nesting in it.        The plastic removals continue and isn't nature wonderful, we take the plastic off a seemingly dead tree and there is a green shoot as the root still intact as it tries once again to produce life, it makes the back breaking task seem worthwhile and gives us pause for thought about the frontline NHS staff doing something similer, although obviously more important trying to save their very ill patients lives. Last Sunday morning we took Lucy and walked to the Dervaig Reedbeds and saw our first Grasshopper Warbler of the year, I say first but we are delighted to see one a year as they are annoying little critters who prefer to be heard and not seen. We also saw our first Common Sandpipers and a pair pair of Redshanks full of the joys of Spring if you get my drift. Swallows are now back at Ardroch and we have several Willow Warblers in the woodland and the Cuckoos are back and just starting to call in earnest. We are seeing Butterflies and Bees and other insects but fortunately for the plastic removal people there is so far no sign of Mulls favorite insect The MIDGE.     Pam and I are very busy during the lockdown removing plastic guards from around the trees which have survived the Red Deer debacle, we had got all the Deer out of the wood from when some kind people opened a gate and let some back in, as you can imagine we were thrilled. I made a blockade around the gate to try and drive them out but Red Deer can be very crafty and difficult to find when they don't want to be seen and we could not find them although when we went back to close the gate we saw Deer footprints in the gateway and as we have not seen hide nor hair of them since we hope they found their own way out, hence the tree guard removals. Birdwise we had a pair of Linnets in the garden, which as it is my favorite bird was a real treat. The Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker are also daily visitors and we heard our first Cuckoo of the year yesterday. On our search for the Red Deer we stumbled across the Slow worm in the woodland which looked as if it had not long woken up from hibernation. We stood outside last evening and watch as the bats flew arond the house and Woodcocks roded over the garden it was a real treat in these difficult cercunstances.     March 21st to 5th April. We are strickly observing the lockdown restrictions however we did manage to see a Wheatear on our way to get our medicines from the surgery in Salen the other day. We are very lucky in having 35 acres to wander around in, that's a pretty large garden and of course it means we can get out and about to try and find a few species of birds and to that effect I have taken a few photos of birds seen in the garden since lockdown. The most unusual was the Redwings, 5 of them turned up briefly and gave us great views from the kitchen window. I would advise anyone with a garden however small to put out food for the birds and other wildlife, it is surprising how much nature in all its forms is so uplifting.     I am sorry for all of you who can't get your Mull fix this year but I hope the blog helps to get you through these difficult times. Today we took Lucy, (isn't it great having to walk the dog) down Loch Ba and the weather was perfect, check out the photos. On our way and on the walk we saw a female Hen Harrier, an Otter, Red and Fallow Deer, a hunting Golden Eagle and a White-tailed Sea Eagle, all of Mull's target species in one morning. At the end of Loch Ba were Skylarks, Lapwings, Curlews and Snipe. On the lochside were lots of Pied Wagtails and a pair of Grey Wagtails. All in all it was a 'perfect day' (Lou Reed), just slipped that one in for you Blake and Sheila, keep well.    More SUNSHINE spoiled only by one very small shower. Apart from taking Lucy for a walk today we remained at home and contentented ourselves with watching the birds in the garden, as mentioned in the blog on many occasions we have zillions of Chaffinches so I took a photo of a few to put on the blog. As I was watching the birds I noticed that the Daffodils have started to appear and it brought to mind the Wordsworth poem (yes more poetry) so once again I took to the internet to read the poem, you can also listen to it on the link below and in this time of self isolation and worry it is very uplifting. I think nature in all its forms is a panacea for lots of ills and misery, enjoy the photo and read or listen to the poem. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/video/77369/daffodils   Yes, there is something to smile about, SUNSHINE, except for the 5 minutes hail storm on my newly shaved head, it bl...dy hurt. We took Lucy for a walk to Croggan again and after some searching we found the Purple Sandpipers hiding behind a rock and if you look at the photo I took you can see why it was difficult to see them. Oystercatchers are looking good at the moment and this one in the picture was very obliging. The views today were spectacular and the sheep photo is for all holiday makers who can't make it to Mull this year due to the unmentional virus. We stopped on the way home to check for Snow Buntings but only got Skylarks which are brightening our time in isolation with their lovely singing. If you cannot get out to hear this wonderful bird you could go and read The Lark ascending by George Meredith on your computer or whatever device you use, it is very uplifting and describes the bird complely.       The weather is still fairly poor with lots of wind and rain so birding has been a bit of a premium. I can say that although I have not been out to much we have seen a few new birds for our year list and Pam has at last seen a Grey Wagtail and typically once you see one like buses see one see lots more. I have seen the Jay only briefly but glad to have seen it at last as it was driving me crazy as I had heard it a few times. Today the 17th a Yellowhammer appeared in the garden the first we have seen this year, well I saw it as Pam was out walking Lucy. On her walk she watched 2 courting Goldcrests with the male showing off its orange crest in a beautiful display, I was slightly jealous until I remembered the Yellowhammer. We went out to try and see snowbuntings again without success although this was more than made up for with lovely sightings of lots of Skylarks and their singing always lifts the spirits. A mention of the Coronavirus do take it seriously, follow the guidelines and keep well.  After a heavy weeks birding last week and the weather changing for the worse again this weekend we had a weekend off birding although we did have a new visitor for the year in our garden, a Mistle Thrush. So instead of a long blog just some more pictureas from last weeks birding. Pam did manage to get her first March swim in on Sunday although she said it was a bit choppy, like swimming in a washing machine.    I did manage to get to all parts of Mull except Carsaig and Glengorm and in total saw 85 species of birds and as the weather was on the whole very wet and windy I was pleasantly surprised. All Mull's notable bird species were seen including birds of prey - White-tailed Sea Eagles, 14 on one day, Golden Eagles, Hen Harriers, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk. 4 types of geese including Barnacle and Greenland White-Fronted Geese. All 3 types of divers were seen with the almost breeding plumage Black Throated Diver the highlight. We saw 9 species of waders the most interesting a single Sanderling off Craignure golf course as well as 19 Dunlin at Loch Don. Early sea watching prodeced Gannets, Kittiwakes, Guillemots and Razorbills. Small bird highlights were very good numbers of Skylarks in several locations and an influx of Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails as the weather improved later in the week. Finally on the bird front a Barn Owl at Dervaig, we hope it is using the box we put up for the bird club earlier this year. On the mammal front 2 Otters on Loch Pottie, a first for us was a surprise, as was the Polecat Ferret that ran across the road just south of Salen and of course Red and Fallow Deer.      Feb 29th I am hoping to get round the whole of Mull this week to see what bird numbers I can find in the week so a trip morning round the North West Of Mull and a list of these 49 birds. Great Northern Diver- Black Throated Diver- Little Grebe- Slavonian Grebe- Gannet- Shag- Grey Heron- Mute Swan- Greylag Goose- Canada Goose- Mallard- Wigeon- Teal- Red Breasted Merganser- Golden Eagle- Buzzard- Kestrel- Pheasant- Oystercatcher- Lapwing- Curlew- Bar Tailed Godwit- Kittiwake- Black Headed Gull- Common Gull- Herring Gull- Great Black Backed Gull- Guillemot- Rock Dove- Skylark- Rock Pipit- Wren- Dunnock- Robin- StoneChat- Blackbird- Song Thrush- Blue Tit- Great Tit- Coal Tit- Hooded Crow- Raven Starling- House Sparrow- Chaffinch- Goldfinch- Greenfinch Siskin- Lesser Redpoll.    These photo's are from yesterday showing some typical trees by a stream covered in lichen the views were from just outside our friend Mari's boundry fence Feb 28th A trip around the block this afternoon and we saw Barnacle Geese at Ulva Ferry in a field with Greylag Geese and Canada Geese and I managed to get a photograph and in the same field were these Lapwings. The other highlights White-tailed Sea Eagles and some Red Deer.   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.     |
|
Pam & Arthur
Brown |
enquiries@discovermull.co.uk
 |
