Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd - New kids on the block

Tuesday's tour was led by Jack and took us to Ardnamurchan, the most remote and westerly peninsula of the British mainland.

On the Ardnamurchan trip, the group connected with a huge dog otter hunting in the swell close to shore. It was a fantastic way to start the tour and great to see how large these otters can grow—up to 1-1.3 meters in length and weighing up to 10kg.

An uncommon sight on tours was a small flock of four dunlins. These fascinating birds migrate from the northern to the southern hemisphere. They have an incredible adaptation where they change their migratory routes depending on weather conditions and climate, allowing them to find food more efficiently and avoid extreme climates.

Ardnamurchan also offers stunning mountainous and coastal scenery, thanks to its incredible beaches and geology. It is also a stronghold for some ancient temperate rainforests, which are very rare and thought to be more threatened than tropical rainforests.

The good thing about going to Ardnamurchan is the opportunity to spot wildlife both going and on the way back on the ferry. Fortunately, the tour managed to see a pod of dolphins and a flyby of Manx shearwaters. What a way to end a great day trip with a variety of brilliant sightings!

Wednesday's Tour: Mull Nature Explorer

Wednesday was a fun day full of new life. To start the day off, the white-tailed eagle nest that most of our tours visit had some amazing news. A white-tailed eagle has fledged, and Jack's tour saw the parents flying back to feed the newly fledged eagle. These young eagles are dark brown and do not attain full adult plumage until they are 4-5 years old.

In addition to this, there are some more new kids on the block. A female otter was swimming with her new pups. Otter pups usually spend 10 weeks in the holt before joining their mother for around a year until they become completely independent.

After this youthful beginning, the tour ventured to another spot near a grassland where there were animals to spot both on the ground and in the air. There were some slow worms that, contrary to their name, are actually legless lizards and can grow up to 20 inches. To finish off the tour, there was an absolute treat of a ghostly male hen harrier quartering above the long grass—just such a special bird.

Conclusion

Two very enjoyable tours with an abundance of amazing sightings in very wet and challenging conditions. Thank you to the guests for their patience, which was definitely rewarded.