The Stuff of Dreams

For the next two weeks I'm volunteering with Sea Life Surveys, based on the Isle of Mull, thanks to Ewan. 


I arrived at Tobermory on Friday evening, only venturing a far as the harbour, the weather was pleasant, and the Peregrine on the church kept me company for a good hour or so. That night I couldn't have dreamt of what was to follow.

Saturday morning Ewan took me to one of his favourite local patches, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and Siskin could be heard as we left the car and headed down the track. After a short while we picked up the bird Ewan had intended on showing me, a Golden Eagle, the male was up, although relatively low, being mobbed by a Hooded Crow. We stood and watched for a good 10 minutes as the male circled over head, soon to be joined by the female. A breath-taking experience. We continued on towards the forest, not far down the track I spotted a Tawny Owl sitting out in the open, providing excellent views and a good opportunity to take some photographs.

We left the Owl and continued around to the Bay, where after seconds a dog Otter appeared along the shoreline, showing for 5-10 minutes before both it and us headed off. A sign of good things to come?


It was Ewan's bosses birthday and a boat trip and BBQ had been planned, we met on the Sula Beag at lunchtime and headed off towards the Cairns of Coll. Gannets, Great black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Manx Shearwater, Guillemot, and a Harbour Porpoise with a small calf were seen on the journey out of the sound. An adult Minke Whale broke the surface off Ardnamurchan point, providing some great views.


On Arrival to the Cairns of Coll we were hit by wildlife, a Great Skua came to inspect the boat within seconds, and a Basking Shark was picked up not far away, as well as another adult Minke Whale close to the boat! A few of us climbed into the rib to try and join the Basking Shark in the water, unfortunately it moved off after a short while and I missed out, although being so close to it in the rib was an experience in itself. Instead I got the chance to swim with the Seals, an amazing experience, even though I was confused by the snorkel. Great Black Backed Gull, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Turnstone, 2 Great Skua, Raven, and Eider were all seen in the area. The Sula Beg stayed out in the Atlantic until the early hours of the morning.

 Look at that water !

from the Cairns of Coll, looking towards the Isle of Rum

Today we headed for Burg, a Scottish National Trust site, with the plan to follow the fossil tree trail. This area has some dramatic scenery and great habitat, the highlights of the day being, Whinchat, Dark Green Fritillary, Scotch Argus, Slender Scotch Burnet Moth and Golden Ringed Dragonfly. There was also a large number of young Wheatear in the area.

Oh and these characters…

An amazing experience already, I can't wait to see what the coming days hold.

Tonight

Had a quick visit down to Holywell this evening,  the Barn Owl hunting on the reserve and a Great Crested Grebe on the pond being the highlights. There was a distinctive lack of Grey Herons on the pond, and 20+ Pochard formed a sleeping raft in the centre of the pond.

Young Rabbit in the meadow, thriving.

Carried on to Blyth pier to see how my Dad was getting on. Plenty Terns fishing in the area.

Dipper success !

A wander down the Dene tonight found me stumbling upon a young Dipper, the first I've seen in the area. I'd found their nest a few weeks back with four eggs, and checked it again last week, it was empty although it seemed to have raised a clutch, I was more that ecstatic to gain conformation.

This Grey Heron was one of a few lurking around at the public hide, the female Mallard had its work cut out.

Holywell this evening

Myself and Phil have been helping at Cramlington's Learning Village with a Wildlife Week for the year 9 students. 26 students are participating and they seem to be both enjoying it and also gaining knowledge rapidly! 


After helping out this morning I headed to the hide to film the Sparrowhawks. The chicks (at least two) are now visible and I got some footage of the female feeding the chicks and preening, hopefully I'll upload it in the next few days. A real privilege to see.


19:30 saw me down at Holywell the heavy showers were on and off, the rain hitting the water and the silence afterwards made the pond very atmospheric. A male Sparrowhawk flew up from the deck as we approached, at the pond 3 Reed Warblers were in full song, a Grasshopper Warbler could be heard reeling West of the hide, 9 Mallard were present with 4 broods of ducklings, 8 Redshank were resting on the island, a single male Teal, the Mute Swan family still strong with 7 cygnets, 7 Grey Heron hunted in the West corner and 4 more in the Public hide bay, 7 Pochard, 6 Tufted, 4 Little Grebe, and a Oystercatcher flew overhead. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Willow Warbler, Chiff Chaff and a single garden Warbler could be heard in the North wood. At the public hide the Canada Geese seem to have lost 2 goslings, and a male Shoveler stood on the shore, with no sign of the Garganey.

A little something

I've been filming these Sparrowhawks for a past few days now, they have at least 2 very small chicks, a couple of days old at the most when I filmed this.


The female leaves the nest for about a minute, you can hear both birds calling as a food pass occurs in the background, the best shots are when the female returns. 


Best viewed in HD.

Drake Garganey

Drake Garganey at Holywell a few days ago.
Best viewd in HD, have a look at foghorn's tutorial here.