Otterly ridiculous..

Weather: A strong windy and wet morning eventually changed to a bright, occasionally sunny and breezy afternoon.

Theo's tour:

We headed straight for the sea lochs in search of Otters in the rain. 10mins into Otter habitat Theo spotted a young male Otter curled up asleep of a seaweedy rock on the shore whilst driving along! We had great views in the scope, 98% of the scope view being Otter!

Around to the other side of the loch we had brief views of another Otter, that was already well attended by photographers. Reaching the end of the loch there was yet another Otter, this time a female walking along the shoreline before heading out to feed. We went on a short walk and saw 2 sparring Sparrowhawks, a Kestrel and calling Goldcrest.

Back at the van at lunchtime, the earlier Otter was still out feeding before heading for her lie out, sprainting on several rocks on the way. Another Otter than appeared further out fishing but didn't hang around.

We headed in search of Eagles... into Mountainous areas now the rain had cleared, above the ridge we saw a Golden Eagle chase a young White-tailed Eagle briefly before heading out of view. A few Buzzards and Ravens were lower down. An Adult Golden Eagle then appeared right overhead and flew across to the hillside in front, majestically.

High on the hill, we noticed another eagle carrying something.. a huge female Golden Eagle struggling to carry a big carcass! She perched on it a few times allowing scope views. On driving away Theo spotted 3 Eagles together over the ridge, we managed to pull into a track and jump out... All 3 Golden Eagles! 2 of them chased the other off right over our heads before heading back to the same hillside and away, superb views.

Onto our next stop for a cup of tea, a guest spotted a flyby male Hen Harrier, we all just managed to get on it before it disappeared. Further down, there was a sizeable herd of Red Deer and an adult female Hen Harrier hunting the grassland. Plus a Carrion Crow with 2 Hooded Crows.

Onto our final spot we saw Curlews, Oystercatchers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Kittiwakes and Harbour Seals and yet more Otters, this time a female and her 2 sizable cubs, making it 7 Otters for the day! We headed for home, but the day wasn't yet done when a guest in the back row spotted an Adult White-tailed Eagle flying up the sound over the trees just before Tobermory, a good way to end.

Otter snoozing on the shoreline seaweed

Klay's tour:

The day began with an unforgettable encounter – a mother Otter and her tiny cub busy on a skerry. Drama unfolded when a White-tailed Eagle swooped in to pay close attention to the tiny cub, only to be fiercely chased off by the protective mum.

Further along the coast, another otter mum and cub delighted us with playful antics, before we watched Dolphins and Gannets feeding nearby.

Raptors soon took centre stage, with a White-tailed Eagle soaring overhead and perching for superb views, followed by a pair of Golden Eagles being mobbed by ravens out on the moors.

We rounded off the day with a magnificent Red Deer stag standing proudly right by the van.