Manic May - if only the month was twice as long!

Nasty north - hats, gloves and layers!

Cold northerly winds hit the island this week with guides and guests all layered up and ready for action! It did mean lots of dry weather and good clarity and visibility with the fresh temperatures! The wind switched to easterly later in the week and got slightly milder but still a real nip in the air!

Greening up and the arrival of midges!

The island has transitioned into a rich verity of greens now! It looks so lush and spectacular! Most trees are in leaf with the Atlantic Hazelwood the last to come through normally. Spring blossom including bluebells, lesser celandine and wood anemone are adding wonderful colour to the landscapes and the first yellow flag iris are coming into flower as well.

I was out checking on Wood Warblers and Redstart in a local woodland got the first midges nibbling me on the 14th May.

Eagle updates - Busy parents

Incubation has been successful for some of the eagle pairs on the island, so we are now seeing an increase in activity of parent birds, indicating that chick or chicks have hatched and a large increase in food is required!

Sadly some of the Golden Eagle pairs we have been monitoring on tours have failed mid-incubation so that is the end of their breeding efforts for another year.

Golden eagles have very low productivity on Mull and western Scotland, successfully raising a chick on average once every five years! Low food availability and more hostile weather are the major factors.

Otters on tours?

We have managed to connect with otters on most of our day tours in the last week or so. The strong glare from the sun and the choppy sea states have made spotting harder in some cases, and also we find during May and into June animals can still be illusive at times, possibly due to alternate prey inland and nocturnal hunting efforts as well.

It is lovely to see mum and cub combinations, seeing those detailed interactions like hunting efforts and play time!

How are the Hen Harriers and Short-eared Owls doing?

The Hen Harriers go a bit more secretive during May as incubation efforts remove one bird from the equation! Off duty male birds have been seen active around the moors and delivering food for the hen bird etc.

Short-eared Owls are almost absent from all moorland areas on Mull. We were hoping it would be a better year, but sadly it appears to be one of the worst years for them in my 17 years here and so far away from the 'boom years' around 2011 - 2013. This is strongly connected with fluctuating vole numbers and the SEOs follow the food around their large continental range.

What other birds of note?

The passage of Whimbrel moving through has been wonderful again, and I counted c80 birds together near Calgary on a tour last week.

2 Twite, Ardmeanach. Garden Warbler singing just west of Kellan farm. Raven fledglings at Killiemor with a singing Yellowhammer.  4 Common Dolphins also off Killiemor. 

Grass Point - PECTORAL SANDPIPER above hump-backed bridge, 'Leth fhonn' creeks.

3 Dotterel were on Iona and also a Pomarine Skua seen on the Sea Life Mull boat trip.

Finally, the Great-northern Divers are looking amazing before they head N and NW to breeding grounds!

What to look forward to in the weeks ahead?

Some of the small beauties like Chequered Skipper, Marsh fritillary and the endemic Slender Scotch Burnet moth!