Thursday 25th September

Weather: Bright and breezy sunny day with little cloud.

Klay's Wilderness tour:

Bright skies set the scene for a fantastic day on foot. Along the coastline, Shags, Goosanders, Bar-tailed Godwits and Curlew kept us busy, before the stars of the morning appeared – a big dog Otter and another close by, both bringing large catches ashore. Watching them feed, roll on the seaweed, and even scratch on the rocks was a real treat, topped off by yet another Otter further along the shore.

In the afternoon, we headed into the glen in search of raptors. Kestrels and Buzzards were active in the wind, soon joined by our first Hen Harrier. Red Deer stags bellowed on the ridgeline, adding to the wild atmosphere, before a Golden Eagle soared overhead, mobbed dramatically by two Hen Harriers. To round off the day, we enjoyed superb views of two juvenile Hen Harriers hunting nearby.

Theo's private tour:

We started the day with a soaring Juvenile White-tailed Eagle. At the next stop a Grey and a few Harbour Seals were hauled out and Sparrowhawk flashed by. Onto the grassland moorland the usual Red Deer were out including the big Stag bellowing a few times. Onto to coastal habitat we spotted an Adult white-tailed Eagle on an island not too far out and further down a dog Otter fishing, before it headed for shore to enjoy its catch and had a roll around in the seaweed. A Golden Eagle flew off peak opposite and over the glen. Further down we watched another Otter but this one sped to shore so we left it be. After lunch we enjoyed a coastal walk with Red Deer on the high hills, lots of feeding seabirds offshore and a small pod of Harbour Porpoises.

Back in to the van we had another Otter feeding tight against the shore before coming in and fluffing itself up on the seaweed. Into the mountains.. despite the breeze there was little flying until we did spot a Golden Eagle flying in the sun and lots of Red Deer on the hills including a few bellowing Stags. On our final stop 2 Golden Eagles were flying over the hills in the scope before an Adult White-tailed eagle flew through the field of view by chance! A large Air Force plane flew by spectacularly low behind us to finish the day.