I was up quite early, about 2am. There was quite a wind blowing and I could hear the rain beating down.
So far we've not had the best weather on our holiday but it is not stopping us enjoying the fabulous wildlife that Mull has to offer. The cottage we are staying in is nice and comfortable and has some magnificent views from the conservatory at the front which is overlooking the sea. It has been very tempting just to stay in the cottage and do all our wildlife watching from the conservatory. I have to admit I'm struggling a bit with the stairs and the shower but that's not a reflection of the cottage more of a problem with my lack of mobility, it just means that it takes me a while to get up and down the stairs.
Dawn came just after 6am and revealed an Island covered in low cloud and frequent heavy showers, it was also notably cooler. There were plenty of Curlew calling from the mud flats and although I could see lots of birds moving it was difficult to see them clearly; someone needs to invent windscreen wipers for conservatories.
As the early morning light strngthened the showers became less frequent and it was possible to get a clearer view of the bay. I could see Curlew, Heron, Redshank, Hooded Crows, Herring Gulls, Mallard, and Turnstones.
Jan joined me about 7.45am and started to make breakfast. Unfortunately she wasn't in the conservatory when a female Hen Harrier (a Ringtail) passed about 20 metres in front of the cottage, it was being mobbed by 2 Hooded Crows and it sought refuge in some trees to our left but we didn't see her again.
As the tide came in there were more and more birds coming in. One of the more notable incomers was a male Red Breasted Merganser which was fishing not too far from the cottage, it was active for about an hour. I also saw 4 Red Deer on the opposite bank of the bay, 1 lone Stag and a Stag and 2 Hinds. There was a small group of Greylags who landed on the small island in front of us and were grazing on the grass.
The storms were coming in straight from the Atlantic, they were heavy and fast moving, there was quite a strong wind.
We decided to go out and drive along the Southern end of the Island. As we were getting ready to go Jan noticed 2 Buzzards right above the cottage, these were the first of 12 we saw during the day. We decided to go to Fionnphort and have a look for a place called Fiddon, where yesterday there was a report of some Greenland White Fronted Geese plus it is an area noted for its Mountain Hares.
The drive from Lochdon to Fionnphort is a very dramatic one, you go through a varied lanscape which opens up in a dramatic way before your eyes; forest, mountainous areas, marshland, farmland and coastal areas. We couldn't help reflecting on the beauty of Mull and the excitement that around every corner there was the possibility of seeing some type of wildlife; and so it proved.
We got to Pennyghael and stopped in the small hamlet because Jan wanted to post something. The light was pretty dramatic at this point and this was the view from the Post Office.
Coming out of the hamlet I noticed two birds in a little inlet, Jan was dispatched to get some shots of them. She returned and we looked at the video she had shot, they weren't Divers as I first thought, I only had a quick glimpse of them, they were a male and female Red Breasted Merganser and for once they stopped on the surface long enough for Jan to get a decent video of tham. Eventually when we get back, I'll process all the videos and post them on our YouTube Channel.
We hadn't gone to much further along the road when we noticed some Rooks that were agitated about something and once again Mull revealed to us some of her treasures. In a roadside field (remember that most of the roads on Mull are single track and are not much wider than what we might consider lanes to be) a Male Hen Harrier was quartering the field. Personally I think male Hen Harriers are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic birds that we have in our country and here was one not more than 20 metres fom us but if that wasn't enough a Merlin was perched on one of the fence posts but as we pulled up to try and get some shots of the birds the Merlin took off and the hen Harrier drifted off in their almost effortless way to the further edges of the field. Also, almost apologetically in the field was a group of Greylag Geese. We watched the Hen Harrier for a little while till he drifted over some rocks on the far side of the field. The only thing we could say was wow! Everything that we had been talking about on our journey had just happened to us.
We carried on to Fionnphort coming across some Hebridean Sheep that I wanted to film but we said we'd do it on the way back, only they weren't there when we returned. We stopped at Bunessan to get some supplies and shortly afterwards arriving at Fionnphort to see the Iona Ferry leaving. This brought back some lovely memories of our sabbatical, five years ago when we actually stayed on Iona in January.
We then went to Fiddon, just a few miles from Fionnphort but apart from beautiful scenery, a rainbow, some Buzzards, Starlings, Greylag Geese, Mallard and Sheep there was nothing much there. We did scour the countryside for Mountain Hares but without success. We were regretting the fact that we hadn't brought a flask of coffee with us, it would've been nice to park up for a while.
We made our way back to Lochdon without any other great sightings apart from Herons and Buzzards but as we did so the weather really closed in and a gloom descended over the Island, it was almost as if she was saying to us I've shown you enough of my treasures for today, you'll have to wait for tomorrow to see some more.
Being on Mull is like being a child in a sweet shop (Candy Store for my American cousins) where there is just so many goodies that if you're not careful you end up not appreciating any of them.
A new day tomorrow and we've yet to see any Otters or Eagles (Golden or White Tailed) so there's still much to look forward to and of course it would be nice to see a little less rain and a bit more sun but we have to remember it is November.
Wherever you are, keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.
No comments:
Post a Comment