Mull

The prime reason for going to Mull was to see White-tailed Eagles and we weren't disappointed. Sometime last year, whilst on a visit to the Farnes I met Iolo Williams, he of BBC fame. During our conversation I asked him "Skye or Mull for eagles?" - "Mull" was the direct reply. Good enough for me. Then at Christmas our local Ornithological Society had a presentation on Mull and its wildlife. From then it was just a matter of time. I had no idea how popular Mull is as a holiday destination and that getting a cottage for a couple of weeks in September  would be difficult. However, in the end, we managed to book Riverside Cottage on the Aros River which turned out to be an ideal choice for us.

Before travelling to Mull I had been monitoring Alan Spellman's Mullbirds  for sightings of Eagles so when we arrived I had an idea where we might go. Well, just 20 minutes after disembarking from the CalMac ferry at Craignure, we passed by the golf course and I spotted a sign about watching eagles. So we pulled in and scanned the horizon and with some help from some really friendly birders, located our first ever White-tailed Eagle. Great joy and huge celebrations - unfortunately as you can tell by the photograph, it was at some distance. I could have stayed for ages but the bird wasn't going to move and we needed to be at our holiday home.

An invitation that you can't refuse

Not much of a photograph  but a life tick for me.

We arrived at Riverside Cottage in warm sunshine and everything augured well for our stay as we could see Dippers, Hoodies and a variety of LBJs in the "garden" and further off in the distance Heron, Red-breasted Mergansers, Eider Ducks, Mallards and Curlews.

The Hoodies were more reticent about coming close but over the next fourteen days Messrs. Hovis and Warburton's products had them sitting in the trees waiting expectantly.

The Red-breasted Mergansers were a different kettle of fish, as soon as the front door was opened, no matter how quietly, they were off down river in a mad panic.

There are much photographed derelict boats on Mull, the ones on the shoreline as you enter Salen have featured in countless magazines worldwide. Everyone stops to capture them and we were no exception. However, on the Aros I had a boat to myself, well almost, as I had to share it with a pair of Pied Wagtails which were constantly perched in the dead branches adjacent to the wreck.

I am no artist and my composition is pretty rubbish, at least I removed the "road furniture" with Photoshop.

Surprisingly few coats of paint during its hard life.

Like everyone else I couldn't resist these, at least I used a camera and not a mobile phone.

Clearly, it has been a good year for Buzzards on Mull. During our meanderings around the byways of the island we came upon lots of them, perched on the utility poles at the side of the road. Trying to photograph them was a bit of a game, creeping up to the nearest passing place wasn't a problem but open a door and they were off. However, only to the next pole down the road.  So the game of "raptor on a stick" developed with Liz driving and me sticking the camera out of the car window.



Not always on a "stick"

It wasn't just about wildlife, Mull has some stunning scenery and we toured around most of the island visiting such places as Calgary, Lochbuie, Croggan, Grasspoint, Killiechronan, Dervaig and even Tobermory when the weather turned driech.

Head of Loch Na Keal

Ben More



Loch na Keal

 
These unusual distance markers also proved popular with photographers so we didn't hesitate to join in. It's remarkable how they have survived for so long.

Another bonus is that there is virtually no light pollution on Mull and therefore we had stunning views of the night sky, especially the Milky Way, something we don't see at home.

Finally we had one last visit to the golf course viewpoint, just to see if we could have one more view of an eagle. Sadly no one was at home.

I can heartily recommend the cottage, very comfortable and ideally situated for travel any where on the island. Another recommendation is the world famous fish and chip van located on the fish pier in Tobermory - proper fish and chips. During my first visit to Mull I realised that things such as a high performance sports car, lawn sprinkler and a non Vodafone mobile are virtually useless.

White-tailed Eagles (II)

My second day out was much different, the birds were the same just the weather changed. Cloud, rain and sun and in any combination of all three made photography much more difficult, add to that a mild chop on the water and things didn't quite go to plan.

If your White-tailed Eagle shots are normally taken at this sort of distance....

 

......then you need a day out on this vessel....

........with these two experts.

Enough of the adverts - just take a look at Mull Charters here.

Just a few more shots - not as good as the previous trip but still better than the ones I had before going to Mull!

I missed it!

White-tailed Eagles (I)

At long last I managed to get a couple of days out on Mull Charter's Lady Jayne to get up close and personal with some White-tailed Eagles. I met up with Martin and Alex at Ulva ferry, along with 10 other souls who were making the three hour trip. There was hardly a cloud in a perfect blue sky and hardly a breath of wind,  conditions were just perfect, would we see an eagle?

Well just ten minutes out into Loch Tuath we were set upon by our first bird, total excitement as it circled the boat, eyeing up the fish that had been thrown as an offering. Now, before any birder says that this isn't real birding and to the photographers that, like me, thought that it was a doddle to capture these birds - think again sunshine. These birds are not performing to order, sure they recognise the boat and they get a free offering, albeit a small one, but they can totally ignore you as they did on my second trip. Martin has a very responsible attitude, after all it is in his interest, the birds get a feed once a day and that's it - they definitely have no dependency on the boat. The bird made two strikes - presumably a fish for itself and one for the youngster and it was all over.

We made our way up to the top of Loch na Keal, where a couple of days previous I and lots of other eagle watchers had found four birds perched in the trees. Two adults and two juveniles had been active but today - not a sign. In fact the only excitement during the journey up and down the loch was provided by a flyby Gannet.   It looked as though we had had our only visit but as we turned for Ulva we were "bounced" by two birds, an adult and what appeared to be a juvenile. It doesn't matter how prepared you and your camera are, the birds will always confuse the issue - choosing to dive out of the sun or whatever condition that will have you cursing your luck. I never managed to capture a fish pick-up in focus - I can assure you -  it ain't easy!

Anyway here are my offerings, most of them taken with a lot of luck and a bit of judgement.

Oops!  Just a little too close.

On the way in we were treated to a swim by of a small Otter, the perfect end to a perfect trip.