I could hear the Oystercatchers call from the beach just before 3:00 am this morning. Sun rise is around 4:30 am, but it never really gets dark, full night never arrives as the sun is just below the horizon and we have a period of astronomical twilight. When I finally got up it was clear it was going to be another lovely day.
This is the view from the bedroom window, looking out across the beach and out to the Sound of Mull.
With binoculars you can see the White-tailed Eagle sat in the usual tree.
Not a bad way to start the day.
I could also hear the calls of Eider coming from the water so I decided to walk along the road to get a better view. As we close our bathroom cabinet it sounds like the call of an Eider. Down on the beach it was easy to find the Eider, two drakes and seven females were in a group and amongst them were several little dark spots that kept diving.
Despite the fact that they were a way off shore they were aware of me and as I broke cover they would swim away. Once happy I was far enough away to be a threat they resumed display, the male throwing his head back and cooing to the females.
I had brought my moth trap with me and had put it out last night. There wasn't a lot in it overnight, these were the most interesting ones from a small collection:
Nut Tree Tussock
Peppered Moth
We were off to Iona today, a small island just off the west side of the Ross of Mull in the south west of the island. The journey there took around an hour on the single carriage way roads, travel slowed down by the frequent passing places. A regular ferry goes from Fionnphort, with a short 10 minute crossing to the island.
Iona is a small, fertile, crofting island, currently
inhabited by around 130 people. For many
centuries, Iona has been an island of special significance for all Christians.
In AD 563, Columba and his followers arrived here from Ireland to spread the
gospel in Scotland and the north of England. The restored medieval abbey
continues to hold daily services today and St Oran’s Chapel and Reilig Odhram in
the abbey is reputed to be the burial place of 48 kings of Scotland, including
Macbeth.
After getting off the ferry we turned left and headed south, Another feature of this tiny island is that the farming practice is all geared up to support the Corncrake, one of the united Kingdom's rarest breeding birds. The National Trust for Scotland works in partnership with
its tenant farmers to ensure that the corncrake, is conserved.
A meadow full of Iris behind the fire station is considered the best place to wait and watch to see the corncrake. I stood and watched and listened but with no joy. After a while we decided to walk on, there are other patches where it is possible to see or hear the Corncrake.
The walk passes through cottages and small gardens. Feeding on the lawns in the gardens were several Rock Doves. These are the genuine Rock Doves, no interference from the feral pigeons. The grey plumage and solid bars on the wings diagnostic.
The landscape is different from the majority of Mull, here it is more like that of the Outer Hebrides, landscape that is known as Machair, the gaelic word for a low lying fertile grassy plain. This is one of the rarest habitats in Europe and only found on the west coast islands of Scotland
Sheep grazed across the plain that also makes up the local golf course. I heard the call of a Twite fly over, unfortunately they did not stop, but I do know they breed on the island. Common Gulls and Hooded Crows could be seen feeding amongst the daisies and grass of the plain.
The Hooded Crow is closely related to the carrion crow,
which until recently was regarded as the same species. In areas where the two
species overlap there may be some interbreeding with hybrids showing a mixed
grey and black body plumage. Like carrion crows, hooded crows also feed on dead
animals. Unlike crows they can be more sociable in the feeding habits and
groups of them may be seen together in fields.
We walked over the spine of the island and down to a beach on the west coast of the island. Glorious white sand greeted us with crystal clear water that was a vivid blue in the sunshine.
A Grey Seal could be seen just off shore and on the rocks were a few Eider.
Looking north there was a spouting hole, as the sea washed in water was forced under the rocks and then burst out in a huge spout. This was highlighted against the dark form of the granite rocks.
We headed back and then turned north walking past more iris fields and farm land. Wheatear could be seen feeding on the short grass, this one posing nicely on one of the fence posts.
We passed through a farm and then the path wound around and headed downhill into the small group of shops and cafe near the ferry terminal.
Another view of the machair plains leading down to the Sound of Iona.
After a break for coffee we walked around to the Abbey where there were more suitable fields for the Corncrake, but again without much luck, not a single call in any of the recommended places.
I returned to the meadow behind the Fire Station, on my last visit 13 years ago I had heard one here but did not see it. I stood and watched as a Sedge Warbler sang from the reeds and a Wren crawled amongst the Iris. There was no sign of the star bird and the best I could do was provide a photograph of what I was staring at so you all can share the misery.
Fortunately others who were searching were not successful, but I did hear accounts of those who had seen and heard them later in the week from exactly this spot!
With time moving on we decided to head back to the car, waiting on the ferry provided the ideal opportunity to photograph views of the island across the water.
The island of Iona seems remote today. But it was at the
centre of the life of the Irish Church, as it was easily accessible by boat
from mainland Ireland and Scotland. Iona became an internationally renowned
centre of spirituality, learning and art.
The only visible remains of Columba’s monastery are:
- The great vallum (earthen bank) that enclosed
the holy site and which pre-dates the monastery
- Tòrr an Aba (‘Hill of the Abbot’) where Columba
is said to have had his writing hut
Iona is a rich archaeological landscape, and much more of
the early monastery may survive beneath the upstanding remains.
St Columba’s Shrine, a small stone building beside the door
to the abbey church, may date from the 9th or 10th century. By this time,
Viking raids blighted the coasts of the British Isles, and raids on Columba’s
monastery were a frequent occurrence.
After a quick tour around the Fionnphort area in another hopeful search for Corncrake we headed back east along the main road through the Ross of Mull. The road follows the shore line of Loch Scridain and as we passed through Pennyghael we noticed parked cars and several persons on the rocks with binoculars and cameras.
Fortunately I was able to park alongside a Sub-station and we jumped out of the car and walked over to the rocks. Just behind one of the rocks close to the shoreline a dog Otter was ripping apart an octopus it had caught.
It was a large Otter with a very broad head indicating a male or dog Otter. Otters are very territorial although territories may overlap between male and female otters.
The Otter is one of the sought after species here on Mull and with plenty of shore line and plentiful food they do not need to be as secretive as those further south that inhabit the rivers and lakes of England and Wales, this makes them technically easier to see, but with 300 miles of shoreline it is still a challenge and wonderful when you manage to find one. Getting views like this though is extra special.
A truck then went by and this spooked the Otter and it disappeared from sight. We stayed watching the sea weed and water around the rocks in the hope that it would return. I wandered around the area checking around the rocks. From behind there was a strange call coming from an Oak Tree. My thought was a Common Sandpiper, but coming from a tree? It turned out though it was a Sandpiper and it was in the tree, but flew out and across the road to the rocks where it continued to call in more appropriate habitat.
There was a pair present and it seemed that there was probably a nest below the dry wall taht ran close to the tree I had originally seen on bird in.
Then from the rocks some one called they could see the Otter once again. It was a little way along the beach, at the base of a rock on the sea weed.
The views were now much better, out in the open we could see the whole body as it wriggled and rolled around on the sea weed exposed by the falling tide.
I was not sure what it was doing as it rolled around, maybe drying out the fur, the water here is brackish and all the otters like to bathe in freshwater burns to remove the saltwater from their fur. This means in many cases they have to cross the road which can result in death as they are hit by cars. Around the island you see warning signs for otters possibly crossing the road.
Then it moved away again around the rock. I walked down the side of the road and was able to get some height alongside an old metal frame. This allowed views of the Otter again in the sea weed.
Again. more rolling and a view of the teeth
Then it was gone again and the best views I have ever had of an Otter in this country was over. We stood waiting to see if would show again, but it didn't and we decided to move on. Where to next that would better what we had just experienced? Well we decided to drive around the loch's north side towards Loch Na Keal.
Driving under the cliffs at Gribun an Otter was seen swimming and diving in the sea below just off shore, this though is not one of the best places to stop so I wasn't able to get any photos.
We pulled into the site where we had waited for possible Golden Eagles yesterday. Once agai there was not any sign of the Golden Eagles, but we did get a good display of the two White-tailed Eagles from the other side of the loch.
The first one appeared distant to the east of the nest site on the other side of the loch. But as we watched this one and wished it o come closer another came over our heads from no where
Here showing the classic white tail of the adult bird.
Head on views as it glided towards us
The
White-tailed Eagle was trapped, poisoned and shot to extinction in Britain,
with the last bird killed in 1918. However, over the course of a decade from
1975, 82 young sea eagles were brought from Norway and released on the island
of Rum. They flew over to Mull, and now around 22 breeding pairs have been
noted on the island this year.
Weighing up to 15lb and with an eight-foot wing span, it’s
the UK’s largest bird of prey and the fourth largest eagle in the world. The
Gaelic name Iolair Sùil na Grèine means ‘the eagle with the sunlit eye’.
The white-tailed eagle’s distinctive features make it easy
to spot and identify. Look out for the huge wingspan, large, pale,
buff-coloured head, enormous bill and short, wedge-shaped, white tail. It’s
also quite vocal; the call is a mixture of a bark and a yelp. The white-tailed
eagle prefers sheltered lochs or sea lochs rather than exposed coastal sites.
It also prefers to nest in trees rather than on cliffs.
They then drifted away to the west and out of sight, but provided some of the best views I have had of White-tailed Eagle.
We were here for the Golden Eagle nest but were more than happy with the White-tailed Eagles. For the record here is the site of the Golden Eagle nest. I must admit over the course of the week I became fed up staring at it as nothing seemed to happen. The nest supposedly is in the open patch of grass just below the peak of the main mountain, supposedly.
And that brought to the end a really good day, the only downside being the missing out on Corncrake on Iona
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