Birding on Mull and Iona

 At last, after months of lockdown and being limited to where we could go, we finally escaped from Glasgow and stayed on Mull and Iona for a few days.

The weather wasn't great but we still had a grand time and saw some nice birds. A photo record from our days on Iona follows:

Iona - village

New Village Hall

Abbey

Swallow

Meadow Pipit

Road to the Bay at the Back of the Ocean

Rosy Starling (rarity!)

Wheatear

Twite

The Bay at the Back of the Ocean

Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover

Road to the north end of Iona and Ardionra croft

North end of Iona

Rock Pipit

Beach at the north end (in the drizzle)

View from Fionnphort, having left Iona (note the blue sky!!)

It was great to get away for a few days and especially more so with it being to Iona.

We did manage some birding on Mull, although it was too dull for any decent photos. We saw Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl in the 'usual' places and whilst on the ferry had distant views of various seabirds with Puffin and Manx Shearwater being the highlights.

Hopefully, we'll manage back later in the year.

Migrants arrive!

Since the last post I've travelled to Ayrshire, Mull and local sites in Glasgow!

On the 9th we travelled down to Ayrshire with Judith and Mike. We were happy to see a few Sand Martins and Swallows overhead plus a Willow Warbler at Doonfoot/ Greenan Shore before heading for Rozelle Park. Here we were entertained by a pair of Nuthatch whilst  Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap were of note. I also got great views of common birds enjoying the sunshine ..

Robin - Rozelle Park - 9/4/19

Blackbird -  Rozelle Park - 9/4/19

On the 10th (and 16th), I walked along to Bingham's Pond where a brood of Mallard had hatched and two pairs of Coot are on nests ..

Coot - Bingham's Pond - 10/4/19

… whilst in our garden a pair of Bullfinch made a welcome visit ..

Bullfinch - 10/4/19

The next day, 11th, I headed for Hogganfield Park LNR and was saddened to see yet more fly-tipping on the edge of the park …

On the plus side, this female Wigeon was very confiding .. 

Wigeon - Hogganfield Loch - 11/4/19

I also managed to photograph yet another ringed Mute Swan and have discovered that the bird was ringed on 8 November 2015 at Figgate Pond, Edinburgh.

On the 12th, we travelled up to Mull as I had been asked by the Mull Bird Club to give a talk on the 'Birds of Glasgow'. On the sea crossing we were happy to see Gannet and Great Northern Diver plus lots of Razorbills.The next day we tried some birding but despite the blue skies it was a 'bit breezy' and so we retired to the warmth of the pub!

Mull - 13/4/19

On Sunday (14th) we travelled, thanks to Stephen, to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Despite the overcast and cold conditions, we managed sightings of Osprey, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Crossbill and Black Grouse. 

Finally, on the 17th and 18th, I travelled once again to Hogganfield Park LNR. Over the two days I saw 39 bird species and added to my park 'year list' which now stands at 55.

Blackcap - Hogganfield Park LNR - 17/4/19

Cormorant - Hogganfield Park LNR - 18/4/19

Mute Swan - Hogganfield Park LNR - 18/4/19

Greylag Goose - Hogganfield Park LNR - 18/4/19 

With news of Garganey, White Wagtails, Grasshopper Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers having been seen recently in Central Scotland, the next few days are bound to see some good birds arriving. So get out and about and see what you can find. I'll certainly be doing that so apologies if there are no updates for a wee while!

Mull's Wilds Better

Having checked the weather forecast we decided to travel up to Mull yesterday - 06.34 Citylink bus from Anniesland X to Oban; breakfast roll in pub; ferry from Oban at 09.50 arriving in Craignure at 10.45 where we met our wildlife guide, for the day, Peter Hall.

Our target species were White-tailed Eagle and Golden Eagle and Peter did not disappoint as we had great views of 5 White-tailed Eagles and 2 Golden Eagles. Record shots follow:

White-tailed Eagle

Golden Eagle

Whilst out with Peter we saw another 34 bird species, Red Deer, seals galore and a couple of Otters, with this one giving amazing views ....

 

We were lucky in that we had Peter to ourselves as another customer postponed on the day. His vehicle was extremely comfortable, not always the case on wildlife trips, and he had a nice relaxed manner - thanks Peter!

On our return to Oban we saw a number of seabirds with Manx Shearwater being the highlight.

Oban

We arrived in time for the 18.15 bus to Glasgow and we were back in the house by 21.00hrs!

What a great day.

Otter on Mull

As promised, here is the link to a short video of the Otter I filmed on Mull

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxTotL-bBxI

Please view at HD 1080

Also another photo of this marvelous mammal ............

Otter on Mull

Mull and Iona

We travelled up to Fionnphort on Mull last Wednesday to stay a couple of nights in the superb Staffa House B&B. The current owners do a wonderful job - Gillian and Ali are very welcoming, provide excellent breakfasts and their accommodation is comfortable and spotlessly clean. We also really admired their environmental ethos. Sadly they hope to move on and the business is currently for sale.

We were joined by Mike and Judith and on the Wednesday afternoon we walked from Fionnphort towards and around Fidden. We had a  good start with a small flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover followed by c30 Whimbrel and 9 Black-tailed Godwit.

Ringed Plover and Dunlin

 

Other Highlights included Great Northern Diver and Twite not to mention a calling Corncrake! The Mountain Hare was a good sighting, as well............

Mountain Hare

On the Thursday we spent most of the day on Iona where, after a poor start weatherwise, it soon turned into a spectacular beautiful day.

The colour of the sky and sea kept changing - blue through to turquoise - whilst the white sandy beaches could have been from the Caribbean.

Lots of waders - Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Sanderling and Whimbrel; more Twite; a Peregrine; confiding Skylark and Wheatear; and an actual sighting of a Corncrake! There are apparently only four on the island just now so we were privileged to see one. Hopefully, more will arrive over the next day or so.

Whimbrel

Wheatear (female)

Skylark (video grab)

On our last day we travelled back to Craignure and birded in and around the local camp site and woodland. On the way, however, we had a surprise encounter with a male Hen Harrier - the first time I've seen one from the local bus!

At Craignure, the Bluebells were stunning ...

.... and we added lots of 'small' birds to our list with Wood Warbler, Goldcrest, Lesser Redpoll and Siskin just some of the many species seen. The key moment, however, was the sighting of an Otter by Mike. We watched it for a few minutes before it started to swim ashore. We got in position and had cracking views as it rolled amongst the rocks and seaweed. Watch out for a video which I'll be posting later.

Otter

Back in Oban we got close views of a Black Guillemot - up until then we had seen lots of these birds but all at a distance ...........

Black Guillemot

....... a perfect end to our 3 day adventure.

Mull's Wilds Hotter!

Please click on the photos to create a slide-show and enhanced viewing.

With a favourable weather forecast, four of us headed north to Oban, courtesy of our 'bus passes'. From there we caught the Oban to Craignure ferry and then the bus to Pennyghael (these bus passes are wonderful!)

We stayed at the Pennyghael Hotel for two nights and have to say it was very comfortable with good food and loads of bird feeders!

 

On the Monday afternoon we bird watched in and around Pennyghael. On Tuesday we travelled down to Fionnphort (bus pass!) and then over on the small ferry to Iona. Finally, on the Wednesday, we booked a birding trip with Bryan Rains (Wild About Mull - https://www.facebook.com/WildAboutMull)

Over the three days we encountered wall-to wall sunshine, temperatures of c25C and saw at least 71 bird species including White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier, Corncrake, Whimbrel, Whinchat and Twite. A few photos follow:

Meadow Pipit - Iona

 

Great Northern Diver - Mull

 

Tawny Owl - Mull

 

Whitethroat - Mull

 

Iona

 

A truly glorious three days and one we shall repeat, I am sure.