Birthday on Eagle Island.......Day 7

 Today was my birthday so I wanted to spend it somewhere really special. With the weather forecast predicting a storm coming in from the West the next day this was also our only chance to get over to Eagle Island, also known as the Isle of Mull.

 It meant an early start but first I had to retrieve the trail cam from the garden or be inundated with hundreds of birds clips taken throughout the day while we were out. No time to check the cam before leaving so that would have to wait until we returned from Mull. A half hour drive down through Fort William to the Corran Ferry was our first destination. The Sun was just making it's appearance over the mountains as we got the 5 minute ferry across Loch Linnhe.

 We disembarked and started our 90 minute drive across Morven to catch ferry number two at Lochaline. It is such a remote area full of dramatic landscapes and stunning Lochs. It is also a great place to see Red Deer as they congregate on the hills nearby.

 The ruggedness of Morven.

 We arrived in Lochaline and had a bit of a wait for the next ferry so watched the Cormorants, Oystercatchers and Common Seals along the Sound of Mull. The ferry only takes 20 minutes from Lochaline to Fishnish on Mull. You can usually stand on the deck and search for Otters, birds and Cetaceans but with the Covid restrictions in place we were confined to our car. 

 Waiting for the ferry to Mull with my new personalised Raptorwatcher travel mug, very apt for today.

 Arriving on Mull we headed South to follow our usual circular route. A quick stop at Craignure for the charity shop and then continuing on our way up into Raptor's paradise. Buzzards were everywhere, and distant ones at altitude always caused immense excitement making us think Eagles, til we got the binoculars on them.

 Some Buzzards were closer than others 😀

 Numerous Kestrels were also seen hovering around the jagged cliff faces.

 Mull is an amazing island with stunning scenery and breath-taking wildlife, the kind of place you never want to leave. Scenery of Mull.

 Red Deer could also been found over most of Mull. 

I think this Stag is saying "I can see my house from here!" 😉

 Turning off the main road back to Salen and heading towards Fionnphort which leads you to the ferry across to Iona(a place we still haven't managed to visit) is a good place to search the shores for Divers. Both Great Northern & Red-Throated Divers were seen.

 If you get out often enough to look for wildlife(we unfortunately don't get out enough) then every now and again you are rewarded with a mind-blowing encounter. Scotland though provides these most days, and today just became one of those days. Continuing on towards Salen, a Raptor in a hunting stoop shot down the hillside and over the road in front of us and down among some felled trees in the glen. Not quite Peregrine speed but still very impressive. It came back up with prey which looked to be a rabbit. The majestic Golden Eagle circled once with it's prey and then a second Eagle landed further on by the roadside calling, The hunter returned to it carrying the prey, and then they both disappeared out of sight down into the glen. The Natural World had blown us away yet again, though I do sort of wish that I had a better camera.

 What a way to spend my birthday. Our time on the Isle was coming to a close so we needed to get back to Fishnish to catch the ferry back to the mainland. On our way back across Morven, as it was later in the day the Red Deer were now closer to the road than before.

 The view back over Loch Linnhe to the Nevis mountain range.

 It was getting dark when we arrived back at the farm so while Majella started tea I turned on the laptop and uploaded the SD card from the trail cam. It is always exciting when you open the file and find numerous video files filmed during the early hours of the morning.This time was no different.Nothing much happened til around 4.30am then this appeared on the trail cam in the garden. PS Also need new HD trail cam for better footage lol 

 A Scottish Wildcat? There are no neighbours and no cats on the farm. The clips have been sent to Saving Wildcats and they cannot confirm from the footage if it is a Scottish Wildcat or hybrid but still an extremely exciting mammal to see on the camera.She's actually eating Hedgehog food that I put out. An awesome way to end my 50th birthday and then even better Majella had bought me a birthday cake 😉🎂

Photos by Stuart Pike & Majella Fox 

Many thanks for continuing to follow our Scotland adventure and for waiting the extra day for this update due to my illness. I do hope you are finding it enjoyable, informative and maybe even entertaining. 

Still 5 days left to come, so much more to see.

Stay safe.

  

 

Scotland 2020 - Day 2 - Curiosity Caught The Cat(on Cam)

  After the 10 hour drive up yesterday we didn't go far today and just stayed in the Fort William area and on the farm. After checking for the tide times we were able to do a bit of shopping before heading to a spot on the Loch Linnhe shoreline at low tide where we have viewed Otters on numerous occasions.

  Unfortunately no mammals this time but plenty of bird life with a Rock Pipit on the stony shore and rafts of Goosanders, Goldeneye and Gulls on the water.

  Goldeneye.

  

  The wind chill meant we stayed for less time than we planned so returned to the car and headed down Glen Nevis.Due to the return of the pouring rain we decided against a walk along the river and drove down the Glen.

  Hooded Crow in the gloomy Glen Nevis.

  Glen Nevis in which Harry Potter fans may know Hagrid's Hut was located.

  We headed back to the farm and caught up with the resident animals.

  My favourite boy, Tug.

  New boy and trouble maker ;), Shadow.

  The Sheep are always welcoming too lol

  

  I had a leisurely walk along the Spean River which runs through the farmland.It had been swollen by the recent rain and snow hiding the rocks I can usually sit down on but surprisingly I still saw a Dipper fly by me heading upstream.

                             

  Back indoors I now had time to check out the trail cam I had placed in the garden the night before.The only food I had put out were apples and peanuts in hope of the local Red Deer coming into the garden again as in previous visits.

  My trail camera is getting very old so no longer immune to the Scottish weather and so the first footage was a bit mysterious.

  Name the mammal....

                             

  

  No, it wasn't this one ;)  The first clear footage of the early hours caught this curious feline checking out the food on offer.

                             

                             

  A Scottish Wildcat?? I think it may be the same individual that I also caught on film around the same time the previous year.At the time it was suggested it was most likely a Hybrid.Hybridisation with domestic Cats is one of the biggest threats to the true Scottish Wildcat population.

  You can learn more about the Scotland Tigers on the Scottish Wildcat Action website below.

http://www.scottishwildcataction.org 

  The Wildcat wasn't the only mammal to visit last night.The answer to the first mysterious footage became clear around 5.30am.The peanut fancier, a Pine Marten.

                             

                             

                             

  This was the first time I had actually seen a Pine Marten on camera at the farm in 15 years of visiting.It meant there may be some long nights ahead in hope of catching a live sighting of this elusive Mustelid.

Day 3 coming tomorrow as we head West to the Cairngorms.

Many thanks for reading and watching the clips. :)