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.

  

 

Home From Home........Day 5

 It was time to leave Elgin and the Moray coast and head back South(but not too far as to get too close to the Welcome to England sign 😉). We drove down, cutting across Inverness-shire spending just a few minutes on the A9 before turning off and then South on the B851 towards Fort Augustus.

 As we were coming this way we decided we would check out RSPB Loch Ruthven just in case any Grebes had arrived earlier than expected. It is known as one of the best places in the UK to spot breeding Slavonian Grebes. Unsurprisngly there was no one else there and part of the Loch was covered in a thin layer of ice. The rest was perfectly still making it ideal for spotting movement on the water.

 As we headed up the small winding path ripples betrayed a skulking bird on the edge of the loch. We stood still as it drifted into sight. It was indeed a Slavonian Grebe, still in it's Winter plumage.

 Fantastic to see as we thought we were a bit too early. A few Tufted Ducks were also on the loch and a Robin bounced around the wooded path. On the way back to the car we spotted a pair of flighty Stonechats, our first of the year.

 Continuing our journey we scanned the skies for Raptors and saw a couple of Buzzards and the fields held several Highland Coos. This one having his afternoon nap.

The B851 runs just West of Loch Mhor so it was always worth checking out for more Waterfowl. As we approached the end of the loch we were greeted with the sight of hundreds of Pink-footed Geese.

 A few minutes later as we passed the Knockie Estate two more Raptors were flying towards our position.We pulled to the side of the road to try and get a better view. As they got closer we could clearly see the size of them and I shouted Eagles. Two White-tailed Eagles glided over us and continued East towards Loch Killin.

 Woohoo, Otters, Slavonian Grebes and White-tailed Eagles over two days and we hadn't even gotten to our main accommodation for the week yet. This is why Scotland is the best place 😉😀

 One of the reasons we come on this road is it takes you over moorland before going down to the edge of Loch Ness and Fort Augustus and so it is a good place to look for Red Grouse. We stopped at the main layby which was crowded with tourists, some of them wandering through the heather so thought it would be tricky to find any nearby. Among the dull Winter heather though the bright red eyebrows of a Red Grouse are easily spotted. A group of 6 moving alongside one of the fences.

View from the B851 layby where we watched the Red Grouse.

 It was just another 45 minutes down through Fort Augustus to Fort William to pick up some shopping and then half hour back up to Glen Spean and to the farm.

 On arrival it felt amazing to be back after 2 years, it feels more like home than being at our house in Lincolnshire.We were greeted by our wonderful hosts, Robert and Margo and the accompanying menagerie.

 It is the first time I've been back since the heart-breaking loss of Tug but this trio managed to put a smile on my face. Georgie, Shadow and Neville were happy to see us.

 I also found an instant new friend in their lodger, Chester. 

Thanks as always for spending your precious time browsing my wildlife blog 😀

I do hope you enjoyed it.

Much more to come over the next week with trips to Mull, the West coast and the Cairngorms as well as plenty of wildlife at the farm.

Til tomorrow 🙏😊

 

Tales From The Highlands

Day 8 - Going Further North

  It was our last morning and time to pack the car and leave the farm :( The fun though had not quite ended as one of the mischievous Sheep that inhabit the farm decided that the grass was indeed greener on the other side and tried jumping the fence into our garden.Unfortunately she was not exactly Sheep Smith the British High jumper and didn't quite get it right.The left rear leg had caught the top wires which had wrapped themselves around her foot and trapped her hanging there.I went out to see if we could get her free.It took both Majella and myself all our strength to pull the taut wires apart and around her ankle then push her leg through.When released the wires sprung back in place cutting Majella's finger on the way.The Sheep looked at us and then just carried on eating lol
  Sheep rescue

  We sadly then left the farm but instead of turning South and going home we turned right and headed North.We were in Fort Augustus by 10am and saw Loch Ness for the first time in 2 years.

  No time for Monster hunting as we continued up to Loch Tarff where Greylags swam on the loch and a pair of Stonechats were in the heather.
  Male Stonechat

  The area of heather increased on the hills so we stopped to look to see if there were any Grouse around.If you look very closely in the photo there is a Red Grouse just the other side of the fence.(photo by Majella Fox)

  From where I was I got some better shots :)

  The next scheduled stop was at The Falls Of Foyer.There were a few steps to go down to the viewpoint but it was worth the pain lol.

  After the walk back up we got freshly baked warm scones from the cafe :) We continued up til we reached a loch we love to visit.Our last visit though was back in May 2014 when we saw a Cuckoo and Slavonian Grebes.No Cuckoos this time as we are a few weeks early but a pair of Grebes didn't disappoint.

  Also seen at the loch were Little Grebes, Teal, Long-tailed Tits, Treecreepers and this Toad.

  We finally arrived on The Black Isle to the sight of two stunning Red Kites, one which flew directly over our car.Hopefully friends, Dolphins and more birds to come over the next few days.

Thanks for reading.
Back tomorrow ;)
 

Tales From The Highlands

Day 6 - A Mull Ferry-Tale

  We finally made it over to the Isle Of Mull :) Our journey began at around 6am with a 40 minute drive down through Fort William to catch the Corran Ferry over Loch Linnhe which only takes about 5 minutes for the crossing.

  There was then the hours drive across Morven to reach Lochaline and our second ferry which would take us over to Fishnish on Mull.The drive through Morven was quiet where the only other road users were the wildlife lol

  Loch Sunart on Morven

  There were plenty of Stonechats on the fence posts and more Meadow Pipits than you could count.We arrived at Lochaline about half hour before the ferry but the time flew by as we had the privilege of watching an Otter fishing along the far shore.

  A guy turned up also waiting for the ferry and asked if we had seen anything.I told him about the Otter(which had since disappeared) and he mentioned that he had never seen a wild Otter in his life and went to sit back in his car.Luckily for him the Otter reappeared further along the loch so I went and tapped his window, pointed out the Otter and let him use our binoculars.He went away a happy guy.
  20 minutes or so on the ferry and we landed on Mull :) It was fantastic to be back again despite the weather not looking great.
 A few pics of the scenery as we drove around Mull.

 
  With the weather closing in more with the clouds now lower than the tops of the hills it was not looking good for Eagles.We scanned the lochs and found a trio of Red-breasted Mergansers.

 Shortly followed by a pair of Great Northern Divers, the one on the left looks to have caught a crab.

  While watching these Majella noticed a bird flying behind us, definately a Bird Of Prey but too small to be an Eagle.She gave me the binoculars and I saw straight away the ghostly silver and black wing tips of a stunning Male Hen Harrier :) It must have seen my Hen Harrier Day t-shirt and thought to reward us with a few minutes of its time.
  Further along the loch were numerous Grey Herons.

  We also saw 13 Buzzards, a Kestrel and a pair of Ravens before we got round to Tobermory.

  Derelict boats at Salen.

  It was a little before 3pm when we made it back to Fishnish, just n time for the ferry back across to Morven.

  Driving back through Morven.

  Our fourth ferry of the day, back across the loch so we can get back up to Fort William.

  So an Eagle-less day on Mull but with a Hen Harrier, Great Northern Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Stonechats, Ravens, Red Deer and of course an Otter it was still very much an excellent wildlife tour :)

  Our last day in the Fort William area tomorrow :( Come back to read where we went for our last day. :)

Thanks again.

Stuart