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HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS
MULL & KINTYRE
2-11 JUNE 2019
Guides: Julian Sykes and Sally Nowell
Guests: David & Yvonne Buckland, Melanie & John Parker, Linda & John Keating,
John Workman & Jeannine Collins, Stephen Evans, John Robinson,
Irene Phippen, Sary Davies
Day 1 Sally and Julian meet up with the group at George Square in central Glasgow
after driving their minibuses down from Aviemore that morning. It’s a decent
day now in Scotland’s largest city and we quickly make our way to the car park
where the buses are. We are soon loaded up and leaving the city, crossing the
Erskine Bridge, over the mighty River Clyde and out towards Loch Lomond.
As we travel along the western edge of this huge body of water we see
a Great Crested Grebe in the water along with Common Buzzard, Jackdaw,
Robin, Pied Wagtail, Herring and Black-headed Gull. Eventually we reach Argyll
and Bute, then at Tarbert we take the road south over the ‘Rest and
be Thankful’ pass dropping down to the head of Loch Fyne.
Here we make a detour to the sleepy hamlet of Cairndow where we hope
to find Mandarin Duck. We park, and it’s lovely now, as we make a short walk
to where the burn runs into the loch, but it’s running very fast – not great for
Mandarins. However, we do find some good species with Julian and Sally
pointing out Oystercatchers with chicks, Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper,
Grey Wagtail, Great Black-backed Gull, Mallard and a Red-breasted Merganser
in and around the water. In the adjacent trees, Sally finds a Spotted Flycatcher
along with brief views of Lesser Redpoll, Goldfinch, Blackbird and Woodpigeon.
It is a terrific wee interlude, made better by this lovely village with its quirky
19th
century church. After about 30 minutes we return to the minibuses and
continue along the road stopping again after 10 minutes at the famous Loch
Fyne Oyster Bar for hot drinks and using the facilities, which is most welcome.
It is around 5pm when we leave and make our final push to Ardrishaig and our
hotel for the next three nights, on the edge of Loch Gilp. We quickly get
checked in and have some time before we meet again for our first dinner
of the holiday, which is excellent Following this, Julian and Sally talk us through
the next couple of days, which are at the mercy of the weather – with the
forecast not being great! Once this is done we either head off to our rooms,
especially John and Jeannine who just flew in from their home in Georgia USA
this morning and now feel pretty jaded. Some of us go outside for a little walk,
including Julian, who goes to the harbour where he sees Common Seals
on an offshore island along with Gannets, Shag, Common Terns and an Eider
before heading back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Day 2 After a decent breakfast we meet at the vans for 9am and we set off south
towards Tarbert, with a forecast of intermittent rain and strong winds but
improving later. We drive along the edge of Loch Gilp briefly calling in at the
harbour in Tarbert, which is a lovely wee fishing village. We cannot see any
Otters, so on we continue south towards Kennacraig, with Sally seeing
an Osprey briefly over Julian’s bus. This is a good bird here, so we eventually
turn round and check the old harbour at West Point but no sign - there are the
expected Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, Grey Heron and
Red-breasted Merganser. A little disappointed, we carry on south stopping off
at the entrance to the Islay Ferry terminal, again looking for Otters. The only
‘furry thing’ seen is found by John and Melanie (in Julian’s van) who have found
a Rabbit close to the Curlew spotted by Sally. Julian points out a few Canada
Geese here, which are not a common sighting along the Kintyre Peninsular.
The rain is now getting heavy so we carry on along the narrow coast road,
looking out and seeing both Islay and Jura, then the quaint island of Gigha.
The wind is really blowing and causing ‘white horses’ out in the open water but
at least the rain has passed. There are lots of corvids with Hooded Crows,
Rooks and Jackdaws frequently seen in the roadside fields along with Greylag
Geese, Oystercatchers and Starlings.
We have got quite a few miles down the peninsular when Julian decides
we need a leg stretch and pulls into the Westport Beach car park.
Here we walk out to the beach and look out to sea and find Gannets – lots
of Gannets! They are fabulous being close inshore, and with some fishing right
in front of us. There are also a few Shags here too, but not much else out
to sea. Sally points out a Raven to most of us and also some interesting plants
with Sea Rocket, Red Campion, Silverweed, Hoary Mustard and Tormentil
being notable, as are the Cuttlefish skins found on the beach. It has been
a lovely interlude and a very welcome ‘leg stretch’ in the beautiful location,
however, time is moving on and a public convenience is required! Julian takes
us into Campbeltown and stops at a large supermarket where we are allowed
to use the facilities, which is great.
A hot drink is now requested so we head out of town to the Machrihanish
Peninsular and the seabird observatory run by an interesting Scot – Eddie
Maguire. We park overlooking the sea and next to the observatory, which
is ideal as we immediately find a cracking Common Seal ‘hauled out’
on a concrete plinth, the usual gulls and a nesting Oystercatcher right in front
of us. We make our hot drinks while Julian is finding a lovely Rock Pipit, along
with Stephen seeing a Ringed Plover and Sally pitching in with a Grey Seal also.
Our guide is on a roll as she now spots a Sandwich Tern heading along the
coastline. This is proving to be a popular stop as we all go and see Eddie in the
observatory (large bird hide really) and listen to his stories, but also searching
the area. Melanie and Linda have found some Eider in the next bay, as we get
our first proper view of these handsome ducks. Julian and Sally are very
conscious of the time and that Julian would like to have lunch at the iconic
Mull of Kintyre.
We leave Eddie counting the passing Gannets (at 647/hour apparently!) and
continue to drive south towards ‘Southend’ but turn off on to a 7 mile single
lane track with regular passing points (thank goodness). Along here we get
a great view of a Common Buzzard and several Meadow Pipits along the route.
It is nearly 2pm when we reach the Mull of Kintyre parking area with strong
winds battering the vehicles. We are undeterred and go to survey this scene,
realising we are actually looking out towards Northern Ireland, and feel
we could actually touch it, which is really bizarre. We have our picnics (in the
vans) before deciding on a walk down the hill to see the lighthouse.
This is superb as the views are simply stunning but we also see a few Sika Deer,
followed by John R. finding a gorgeous Roe Deer feeding on the heather.
This is brilliant as we add Stonechat to the list along with Green-veined White,
Bog Cotton and Milkwort to the list. We now need to head back to the
minibuses and return to our hotel as it’s a good two hours drive and we are
having an early dinner – going out later looking for European Beaver.
We set off but don’t get far before Sally points out a Spotted Flycatcher on the
edge of a small plantation. The journey back is seamless not having to stop for
anything unusual, so we can ‘crack on’ although Melanie does see a small flock
of Canada Geese in roadside fields, which is very interesting. Other species
seen en-route include Red-breasted Merganser, Common Buzzard and another
good sighting is a Jay flying across the road. Around 5:15 we get back to the
hotel with dinner booked for 6pm and the prospect of an evening visit
to Knapdale for European Beavers. After dinner we conduct our daily checklist
and then ready ourselves to go on this calm, muggy night – perfect conditions
for our arch-nemesis ‘The Scottish Midge!’ We (sadly without Jeannine and John
who are still fairly jet-lagged) leave and drive round to the Beaver Trail
at Knapdale Forest with a beautiful journey along the Crinan Canal. The midges
are starting as we leave the car park and soon we are watching a Willow
Warbler and Sary spots a male Blackcap, with Linda and John hearing a distant
Common Cuckoo. The walk is great and we are seeing fantastic evidence
of European Beaver around the loch and Julian points out the lodge - but the
midges are voracious! We abandon our vigil and make our way to the car park
with Julian getting a brief view of a smart male Common Redstart. It is back
in the minibuses quickly and we set off back towards Lochgilphead but stop
as our guide hears a Grasshopper Warbler from the van. Sally spots a bird,
which Julian confirms as the ‘gropper’ and we get some fabulous looks at this
normally secretive bird. It is time to get back to the hotel and a little after 10pm
we arrive, having had a very full day in Argyll and Bute.
Day 3 We awake to another fairly grey day but at least it’s not raining, but
it is forecast for later in the day. John, Melanie and John R. make a pre-breakfast
walk from the hotel seeing the first Common Swift of the holiday along with
Common Tern and some Eider around the harbour. We are ready to leave
an hour after breakfast and we head back the way we had driven the night
previously. It is a lovely drive along the Crinan Canal, seeing some beautiful
houses and gardens along the route until we reach the bridge over the River
Add. Here we park and walk to the old bridge and look out over the estuary
with the low tide slowly rising. Here we see lots of Canada Geese and some
Greylag Geese plus plenty of Mallard with their young. Our scanning continues
and we soon find Sand Martins with the Barn Swallows, distant Curlews and
Common Sandpipers, Grey Herons and Shelduck. Stephen now finds
a Common Redshank and Sally picks out a Goosander as a Cormorant flies
through. Julian is checking the salt marsh and finds a smart male Stonechat, plus
a Skylark song-flighting, which is great. Then Sally shouts “Osprey - over the hill”
and in her scope she shows us this uncommon visit to the northern Kintyre
area – a really great find. We stay a little longer but the morning is moving
on, eventually so do we.
We drive down past the ‘beaver lochs’ and continue through to the fantastic
fishing village of Tayvallich, having checked the bays for Otter along the route.
After a welcome stop at the facilities we drive on the short distance to the
parking area of Taynish NNR. This is a wonderful deciduous forest reserve
on the edge of Loch Sween and we are planning on spending the remainder
of the day here. However, it’s hot drink and biscuit time! Sadly on this calm,
humid day we also encounter the ‘Scottish Midge’ and they are out again
in force, so most of us sit in the minibus avoiding the tiny beasts. After this
we ready ourselves, firstly for a short walk to the edge of the loch some 400m
away. This is lovely as we see (and hear) Willow Warbler, Robin, Chaffinches
and Blackbird before getting to a small pond where we see our first dragonfly
– Broad-bodied Chaser. We stand from the watchpoint and see a male Reed
Bunting fly in, followed by a family of Blue Tits moving through the willows.
On we go to the loch edge, hearing a Common Redstart en-route but the calm
waters are pretty devoid of birdlife. Julian notices something on the edge of the
loch and is surprised to find a Great Spotted Woodpecker, which is also seen
by Linda and John. We now decide to walk back to the minibuses as it’s nearing
lunchtime – the return does not take long and on the way Irene finds
a fabulous Common Toad crossing the track. We reach the car park and Sally
breaks out the picnic lunches and again the voracious midges force us to eat
within the confines of our vans, which isn’t great but necessary.
After lunch, Julian warns us we are going on a long walk, so again we make
ourselves ready, getting protected from these pesky insects. We set off but
soon stop as there is a Tree Pipit singing and song-flighting from the top
of some nearby trees, which Julian makes a mission to find – and eventually
does! Also here along the water channel we see Large Red and Common Blue
Damselflies, Orange-tip butterfly and hordes of Common Toad tadpoles
– this place is awesome. On we go but John W, Yvonne and David are
struggling a little and decide to return to the buses until we get back. Our walk
is punctuated with stops for wildlife as we clearly hear Wood Warblers,
Bullfinch, Common Redstart, Blackcap and Tree Pipits along the route.
We have gone a couple of miles when we get to the junction to The Piggery
and down we slowly walk seeing lots of Song Thrush and Blackbirds. At the
end, Julian hears a scratchy familiar song and says “Whitethroat” as we get initial
views of it in song-flight before finding it on top of some nearby gorse.
Now Sally announces “I’ve got an eagle!” and sure enough there in the distance
is a circling adult White-tailed Eagle being mobbed by a Hooded Crow and
Herring Gulls – superb. This is another fabulous find in this area, a species
which is starting to show up more regularly having reached full density
on islands such as Mull. It is now mid-afternoon and we start back to the main
track where we make the decision to continue the long way back to the
minibuses – we hope it’s not too strenuous?
This second half of the walk, starts well as we pass Taynish House, seeing
a couple of male Lesser Redpoll in the trees. This track now narrows and turns
back north but also starts to get a little difficult with some steeper inclines and
big steps, which are not easy for some of us. We do make regular stops
for another Tree Pipit and Sary finds a fritillary, which turns out
to be a Pearl-bordered, which is another good find. Jeannine is starting to tire
so Sally and John P. stay by her side and make sure she reaches our destination
with a little help and encouragement. Sadly John K. does take a wee tumble,
thankfully it’s not too bad and he continues the final section of the trail in good
humour. We reach the picnic area, pretty tired and thankful to be back but
in one piece, it is nice of Yvonne and David to meet us there. After a short rest
we all walk to the car park, where we have another welcome hot drink before
driving home to the hotel, as the rain starts to fall. We have all enjoyed this
excellent day but now we need to make ourselves ready for moving on to Mull
the next day – another adventure begins…
Day 4 We have breakfast again at 8am on this really overcast and rainy day,
it’s actually quite good we are travelling to Mull later. After we have eaten,
we finally pack our luggage and make ready to leave our very good Ardrishaig
hotel. Making sure we fit everything in proves a challenge, but we are up for
it and by 09:30 we are saying goodbye to Jason and his staff. Julian and Sally
need to get fuel and after one failed attempt due to a refuelling lorry we find
a suitable one just outside Lochgilphead. Now we drive back along the Oban
road again to the lovely bridge over the River Add. We park and as soon
as Julian gets out into the light rain he shouts “Cuckoo” pointing above
us. Sure enough there is a Common Cuckoo flying directly above the minibuses
being pursued by a Meadow Pipit, which looks tiny in comparison. It’s a good
start and we now make our way on to the bridge and start scanning with our
binoculars and telescopes. Sally spots a group of gulls and is able to show us the
differences between Great and Lesser Black-backed, which is brilliant. Julian sees
a couple of Cormorants flying over, Stephen spots a Red-breasted Merganser
and Linda finds a Common Sandpiper along with the other usual species seen
previously. After a wee while Sally and Julian have a discussion on the day
ahead considering the inclement weather, arriving at plan shortly after. It is time
to leave now according to our guides, and after a quick chat with another local
birdwatcher who’s just arrived we set off along this single track road.
After about a mile we again pull over and after a few minutes Sally finds
an Osprey sat on top of a dead tree in the distance. So she gets out and using
the bus’s tailgate gets it in the telescope, which is brilliant. Julian is still looking
through the ‘chats’ and only seeing Stonechats but he sees something different
and through the telescope confirms it to be a fabulous Whinchat – the main
target species for this area. We carry on searching and a second Osprey
is found near the original and conclude there could be a nest nearby and
possibly young – who won’t be enjoying this awful weather. We get back into
the bus as the rain is getting a little heavier and only drive a short distance
to the Kilmartin Burn, where we have a welcome hot drink in the company
of the incessant midges. It is another lovely place, which is surrounded by ‘clear
fell’ and the Sand Martins are enjoying the flying insects associated with this
environment. We go in varying directions to check the stream and the
immediate area, with Julian and John R. seeing a Tree Pipit amongst the
commoner woodland species and Sally with Stephen and Linda seeing a Grey
Wagtail, possible Garden Warbler and a couple of Redpoll. It is now around
11:30 and time to set off north along the coast to Oban.
The drive isn’t great in the continuous steady rain on winding roads with heavy
traffic, but it is still incredibly scenic along the way. We reach Oban an hour
later initially stopping at the supermarket to use the facilities and buy provisions,
then on to the ferry port, where we join the queue for the 2pm sailing.
We have our picnic lunches now, sat in the van out of rain and also out of the
way of these hungry midges – and it’s not our butties they’re after! Julian looks
out over the bay and finds our first (of several) Black Guillemots along with the
usual gulls. At the allotted time we are invited on to the ‘roll on, roll off’ Calmac
ferry, setting off soon after with us all out on deck. The weather still isn’t great
but good enough to stand out scanning for birds and cetaceans for some
of us. As we reach open water, having had fantastic views of Black Guillemot
some of us go and find shelter in the lounge but there are a few hardy souls.
The crossing is always quicker than anticipated but we still manage to see
several Common Guillemots, Shag, Arctic Tern and a superb Great Northern
Diver, plus a Ringed Plover and a few ‘hauled out’ Common Seal on offshore
rocks. After about 50 minutes at sea we are docking at the Craignure Harbour
and very quickly we are on the island, driving a very short way to our hotel for
the next five nights. At the hotel Sally organises the check-in with reception,
while Julian and John P. help others get their luggage to their rooms, which is all
quite streamlined. Sally and Julian suggest we meet an hour and a half later for
an easy drive out north along the coast to Craignure golf course.
At 16:30 we reconvene at the minibuses and it’s still grey, overcast and
drizzling, but sadly there is still very little wind. We drive away from the hotel
and only 10 minutes later we are pulling up next to the coast on the edge
of 11th
green. Within moments of getting out Julian is finding an adult
White-tailed Eagle in the trees on the other side of the course. A great start
to our Mull adventure as we stand under the vans tail-gate looking at this huge
raptor through the telescope, shuffling position to stay under cover – like some
comical dance. Our attention is now shifted to the sea as there are a pair
of summer plumage Red-throated Divers close inshore, again looking fabulous
though our scopes. There are several dainty Arctic Terns on the rocks and
flying around, along with a few Shag and a Cormorant pointed out by Sally.
A little further out we identify another pair of divers, which are gorgeous
summer plumage Great Northerns and they drift closer showing off their full
glory. This fantastic half hour is somewhat blighted by the constant aerial
bombardment from the ‘flying teeth’ – aka the Scottish midge! We endure this
onslaught for a while longer but it’s tough and eventually we admit defeat and
take our shelter in the vans, as our guides take us back to the hotel. We agree
to meet for the checklist ahead of our evening meal, with Sally going through
the next day’s itinerary as this is her area of expertise. We head to the
restaurant a little after 7pm and we enjoy a delicious three courses before
retiring to our rooms.
Day 5 First full day on Mull and again it’s a pretty grey and damp start but Sally says
“things will improve” and she knows!. We are again ready to leave at 9am and
set off north to Salen along the coast seeing the usual waterbirds and waders
whilst looking out for our first European Otter. In Salen we turn west and soon
cross this narrow strip of land with a male Bullfinch flying across in front
of Julian’s van before reaching the edge of the mighty Loch Na Keal. At Gruline
we pull over for our first proper stop and stand on the edge of the loch seeing
Common Gulls with young, several Common Sandpipers and our first Rock
Doves of the tour. Julian and Stephen have heard a Whitethroat and go to try
and find it when Julian spots a large raptor sat in a larch tree and says “think
I’ve got a buzzard here?” Gets his telescope and now says “flippin heck it’s
a White-tailed Eagle!” We all now enjoy this fabulous raptor with its huge,
powerful, yellow bill, as it sits there occasionally calling. This noise is for a reason
as Irene now spots a second eagle flying in and lands next to her mate. We can
easily see this must be a female, looking much larger than the original bird
– superb. While this is going on and we are celebrating our luck, Stephen finds
the Whitethroat and we also get good views of this working its way through
a nearby Willow. What a great start to the day, even if the weather isn’t.
We now move on and after a relatively short time, Sally pulls into a lay-by
at Killiemor as there are other people with scopes trained on the adjacent
hillside. It is another pair of White-tailed Eagles and they also look sublime sat
on their Larch tree, also looking huge and totally imposing. We are loving this
as we have now seen four adult White-tailed Eagles in the first hour – as they
say ‘Mull rocks’. While we are watching this pair, Julian and Sally are checking
the rest of this area and Loch Na Keal, finding a few Black Guillemots, Common
Buzzard and a few Goldfinches. However, we need to leave as it is getting
towards our mid-morning hot drink and comfort stop, with Ulva Ferry being
the nearest place. On we go along this narrow winding road, hugging the
shoreline of Loch Na Keal, stopping occasionally at a passing place for a quick
scan but not finding anything new. We arrive into Ulva around 11am and our
first stop is the toilets at the quayside, so we park to allow for this. While
we are away Julian spots our first Sedge Warbler along with Arctic Tern, Shag,
Shelduck and Curlew in the harbour area. Once the ablutions have been
completed we move back along the road and park a little more sensibly
to have our very welcome hot drink and biscuit. The drizzle has now stopped
and it’s quite nice but the weather still does look threatening. We are looking
down into Laggan Bay and see a few Common Seals, plus Black Guillemots, but
they are distant. We finish our drinks and climb back into the buses.
Our traverse of the north of this island continues as we head towards
Calgary Bay, carefully avoiding the sheep and the on-coming traffic. A couple
of Red Deer are seen from the van but Sally spots another large raptor above
the hill, which looks good for a Golden Eagle – but we cannot stop.
On we go continually watching the ridges as our guides try to find a suitable
stopping place but sadly the bird has disappeared before this can happen, which
is a shame. We carry on as the rain starts again and now it’s heavy, which is the
situation when we arrive into Calgary. After a brief toilet stop we carry
on to the car park on the edge of the beach in what is now torrential rain!
Julian and Sally are ‘seasoned professionals’ and position the minibuses so the
tailgates create a canopy for us to stand under. They now hand out the picnic
lunches and most of us can stand under cover with our butties - how good
is this? The rain is easing as we finish lunch and once everything is packed away
we are ready for a walk out to the beach. This is superb and the views now are
spectacular (as they have been all morning) and we are also finding some new
species with good telescope views of Northern Wheatear, Linnet and Raven.
It is a popular place understandably but definitely not overcrowded as we stroll
across the beach seeing Rock Pipits, Pied Wagtails and a family of Eider
on some offshore rocks. There is a wonderful area of Machair, which is full
of flowers with notable species being Northern Heath Orchid, Birdsfoot Trefoil,
Milkwort and Sea Rocket, as we make our way back to the vans.
It is now mid-afternoon and we want to spend some time in Mull’s main town
Tobermory so off we go again. We reach the estuary at Dervaig and stop for
a short while seeing Common Redshank (with John and Jeannine now seeing
their red legs!), more gulls, Common Sandpiper and Curlew. On we go and
soon after we are dropping down into Tobermory, stopping at the main car
park by the harbour. Our guides allow us an hour to wander round this
interesting town, which has come famous through the TV series ‘Ballamory’ and
after one of the Wombles! The time goes surprisingly quick, but still very
enjoyable as there are plenty of quaint, colourful shops, museum, harbour,
distillery and cafes to attract us. We are all back on time at 4:30pm and some
of us indulge in our second hot drink of the day, which is lovely, and the light
rain has now stopped completely. Sally though, is keen to try at least one more
place before getting back to the hotel so off we go.
The initial road south is two-lane but quickly comes single track, which slows
our progress somewhat as this is ‘rush hour’ on Mull and this is the main road
to their largest town. We soon get down towards Salen Bay but get stopped
briefly as Melanie sees a couple of Mute Swans at the rivermouth.
Then Stephen says “pretty sure this is an Otter” and at the next ‘passing place’
Julian checks and excitedly confirms his suspicions. This is superb as Sally has
found a great parking place and is watching these two gorgeous European
Otters with Sary and John R. They are moving slowly south fishing for eels and
crabs constantly and playfully interacting together, which is just lovely to watch
through the telescope. Yvonne and David are really enjoying these two
beautiful mammals, especially when they climb out of the water and onto
a wee island – what a treat, and as Sally predicted, the sun is now shining
(in more ways than one). As they move away our focus alters slightly and
we spend a little time scanning the water finding a few Great Northern Divers,
a drake Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser and more Common Seals before
finally leaving for the hotel. We get back at just after 6pm and 45 minutes later
we are doing the daily checklist followed by our evening meal – rounding off
a superb day on this wonderful island.
Day 6 After our usual breakfast time we set off on what is looking like a glorious day,
which makes everything seem so much brighter. We set off north again
checking the coast as we drive, but it’s high tide and there isn’t much to see.
Just beyond Salen we turn off on the minor road, which can take us directly
to Dervaig and inland. This opens up into moorland and we are now scanning
for raptors with a couple of Common Buzzards seen early on. Julian suggests
we make our first stop at a bridge crossing a river, Sally is dubious as it’s
forestry land but as they say ‘fortune favours the brave’ and she turns into this
metalled track. Almost immediately we see a ‘chat’ on a small exposed willow
and it’s a gorgeous male Whinchat – superb. This bird flies out of site and
we continue down to the bridge where we park and get out into lovely
sunshine. There are Goldcrests singing in the Pine trees and we get a brief view,
but a beautiful Green Hairstreak is well worth the stop. After a while
(as we have limited time) Sally says we must go, and into the minibuses we get.
Our meandering drive continues through to Dervaig, stopping periodically for
on-coming traffic and giving the obligatory wave of thanks! At Dervaig we turn
towards Calgary Bay seeing much less in the estuary as the tide is still high, but
it is a beautiful place. We now turn off this circular route around Mull and strike
across country again over an area which looks fabulous for moorland raptors.
We do see again Common Buzzard and do get some decent views
of Common Snipe at the side of the road but it’s generally quiet, which is good
as we don’t have much time now to get to Ulva for our boat tour. As we drop
back onto the coast road we drive through a lovely oak woodland, which is just
wonderful and back at the coast we now quickly make our way south.
We arrive at the parking area at Ulva harbour with 30 minutes to spare giving
us enough time to have a quick hot drink, gather everything we need and use
the facilities before getting on board.
Onboard we are split with a few of us being ‘up top’ and some of us ‘below’
(hope that’s appropriate John K?) as there isn’t too much space outside. We set
off in bright sunshine and chug along the blue waters of Loch Tuath passing
an Atlantic Salmon fish farm, seeing our first Shag, but generally it’s quiet until
we get out into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. More seabirds start
to appear as we are heading to Staffa with initially Black Guillemots, Common
Guillemots and finally a few Puffins as we get near to this incredible basalt
island. Our skipper gives us a very interesting input on the history and where
we are geographically pointing out places surrounding us. We get to the
incredible rock formations that make up this island with Fingal’s Cave at its
southern end. This is just an amazing experience as our captain negotiates the
boat right into the mouth of the cave, something even Sally has never
experienced in all her visits here. We now move to the small jetty and with
care, alight the boat, although John, Sary, David and Yvonne decide to stay
on board, getting a tour of the island from the sea, which is great. We slowly
make our way up the steps to the grassy area that makes up this rock and
go our separate ways with some of us heading for another look at the cave and
some of us yomping across the island to look for seabirds. We have carried our
picnic lunches and some of us sit in the sunshine and enjoy our sandwiches
looking out over such a wonderful vista. There are lots of birds around with
several Puffins, Fulmar, Guillemots, clinging on to the ledges with their eggs and
nest holes – just brilliant. It is all too quick a visit as our hour onshore is soon
over and we make our way back to the jetty and back onto the boat.
We now are told that next up is Lunga a journey of about 40 minutes from
Staffa, and now there are seabirds everywhere, with the usual auks plus lots
of Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Great Black-backed Gulls and Grey Seals. We reach
Lunga and this time our ordeal for getting onto the island is much more tricky,
having to use a pontoon then jump onto the the rocks at the waters edge.
These rocks have to be walked over carefully, with us helping each other
across, which is much appreciated by Jeannine and David. Our captain gives
us a recommendation for our two hours on land but warns that the Puffins can
be a little distracting. We climb slowly up to the grassed area and here are our
first Puffins, around their nesting holes and they are superb as the
photographers ‘fill their boots’ with images of these iconic seabirds. Some
of us strike out for the far side of the island and the massive seabird stack,
which takes about 30 minutes – as we arrive the sight, sound and smell
is simply arresting. It is amazing to be surrounded by Puffins, Razorbills,
Guillemots, quite humbling really. There are also Rock Pipits here in good
numbers along with a couple of Northern Wheatears plus Sally and
John P. have even heard a Corncrake back along the track. Again our visit is all
too short and before we know it we are heading back carefully to the boarding
area of Lunga. Julian has braved the walk to the extreme south end of the island
that looks out over the strangely shaped Bac Mor (or Dutchman’s Cap) with
the inhabited, low-lying island of Coll and Tiree to the northwest. Our guide
is slightly behind us as he is stopped by the very distinctive call of Corncrake,
just metres away in the bracken. Still we all manage to get back safely and
onboard in our allotted time, which is brilliant and we have all had a magical
time in this fantastic seabird island.
A little after 4:30pm we set off back towards Ulva but Sally sees a Great Skua
(Bonxie) on one of the smaller islands, which is brilliant, and another good
addition to our growing list. We are now heading into Loch Tuath when our
guide spots a White-tailed Eagle in the distance, which a lucky few get to see,
followed by some Arctic Terns. Linda now sees some Common Seals resting
on some small offshore rocks and we are treated to a brilliant fly-past by a large
flock of Eider. We arrive back into Ulva at 17:40 and make our way straight
to the minibuses as we still have a good drive back to the hotel. We wind our
way down past Laggan Bay with Julian and John R. seeing our first Lapwing
of the holiday. We now head across the narrow part of the island to Salen and
then south to our accommodation with time to freshen up ahead of our
evening meal and checklist. It has been another wonderful day!
Day 7 We are surprised by the weather, it being much better than forecast, and again
at 9am we are ready to leave, apart from John W. whose feeling a bit under the
weather. The initial plan is to drive through to Lochbuie but this changes
as we approach the turning as this is ‘raptor weather’. We now continue along
the road, stopping to scan a couple of times with some fabulous scenery and
seeing a couple of Jays en-route. Julian suggests a stop at the small car park
overlooking Loch an Eileen and Loch an Ellen, which is beautiful. As we are
scanning this area, Stephen sees a pale bird crossing the water and initially
assumes a heron but soon realises this is not the case and he is in fact looking
at a gorgeous male Hen Harrier, which starts to quarter the moorland below.
It is an easy bird to follow being like a ghost against a dark background and
a fantastic view even through the binoculars. It makes its way along the edge
of Loch an Ellen, disappearing from our view under the hillside but we are all
really pleased with this sighting.
Our parking area is starting to fill up with other people, so we climb back into
the vans and head off continuing up and over the pass. We now drop down
the mountain with Ben More in the distance and pass a fabulous old bridge,
seeing a Northern Wheatear on the way. We soon reach the junction with the
Glen Road and turn passing An Leth-on Bridge, which is superb and hopefully
we will get a chance to stop there later in the holiday. A little further we stop
on the edge of Loch Beg, seeing a few Red-breasted Merganser, with Canada
and Greylag Geese, Mallard and Grey Herons. Stephen now says “I have
an Otter’ and we get a brief look at this marine mammal before it disappears
underwater. We are looking carefully for the European Otter for a wee while
before Julian refinds it a little away from the initial sighting and it continues
to show well both in and out of the water. We are enjoying this as Linda
and Jeannine spot a male Reed Bunting showing well on a nearby willow along
with Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Stonechat. It’s now 10:30 and a hot
drink is discussed but we feel it’s too early so it’s back into the minibuses
and off we go.
Julian takes the lead now and we drive slowly around the edge of Loch Beg
seeing Common Sandpipers, Grey Wagtail (sorry Stephen) and Raven over the
hillside, but not the ‘hoped-for’ Golden Eagles. Eventually we reach the junction
to the ‘Whitetail Gin Distillery’ overlooking the Kilfinichen Bay. We get out
of the minibuses and within seconds John R. calmly says “there’s an eagle above
us!” and we all look up. We see a stunning adult White-tailed Eagle right above
our heads and showing superbly, with us all getting great views. Yvonne now
says “I think there’s another one here?” and sure enough she has found another
adult White-tailed Eagle, this time a bit further away but clearly visible – superb.
We break out the hot drinks in celebration after a brilliant day so far and the
weather is still lovely before Julian finds a distant Sparrowhawk circling over
a conifer plantation, but it’s not easy to see as it climbs high into the sky. Sally
and Julian discuss the necessity for a potential site for an al fresco comfort stop,
deciding on the minor road to the distillery along the edge of Kilfinichen Bay.
Once we are ready we set off and slowly drive along this narrow road, seeing
House Martins collecting mud at the rivermouth before eventually finding
a suitable spot to relieve ourselves. It is a fabulous wooded glade with Eurasian
Treecreeper, Blackcap and Wood Warbler singing around us. Sally says
“crossbills here” and she has found a few in the adjacent Scots Pines and we all
manage to get some kind of view before they disappear. It is now time to leave
and drive back to the main road again checking the Loch Beg area again
as we make our way slowly along. Julian spots a distant raptor, which is clearly
an eagle and says we might need to look at this raptor. As it gets closer
it reveals itself to be an immature White-tailed Eagle and our third individual
in less than a couple of hours – brilliant! We now continue back to the Glen
More road as Sally is keen we go to Lochbuie.
We are continually watching as we move along the Glen More road, with
Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Northern Wheatears being seen, but Julian spies
a couple of large raptors in the distance. We stop and our guide confirms that
at least one is an adult Golden Eagle but it’s drifting away. Sally is a distance
ahead and Julian speaks to her on the walkie-talkie and they pull over looking
for the eagle up ahead. We now come together but the trial has gone a little
cold, we stay a while hoping to refind the eagles – but no sign until Julian sees
an adult Goldie again in the distance and watch it land on top of the ridge.
We want to try and see it better and go along the road passing underneath
Beinn Talach with it’s impressive crags, we also pass a few people with
binoculars, telescopes and cameras. We stop too - Julian starts to walk towards
this group and sees an adult Golden Eagle above the ridge, showing much
better. Our guide points out this eagle and we all get a good look before
it disappears down the valley and out of sight. We stay for a while hoping
to get another sighting and find out there is an eyrie high above us with a single
chick, but no sign at the moment, even with constant scrutiny through our
telescopes. We do wait for a short while seeing a cracking male Stonechat
on the side of the road, but no more eagle sightings – hopefully we will get
a chance to return tomorrow?
On we go turning now towards Lochbuie and driving down along the edge
of Loch Spelve and Loch Uisg in heavy rain until we reach the coast
at Lochbuie and the rain stops – how lucky have we been with the weather?
We set up our telescopes looking south west down through Loch Buie, out
to Colonsay in the distance. A fantastic Great Northern Diver is close inshore
and showing superbly in the ‘scope’ before we hear it give it’s haunting call
– just brilliant. There are a couple of Red-throated Divers further out along
with Common and Black Guillemots, Gannets and John P. sees a couple
of Ringed Plovers fly past. Julian is busy searching the bay and spots a shape
in the water and says “Otter” and we all get to see as it swims across the bay,
fishing along the way. Sally finds it in her telescope and engages with some
young tourist by giving him a world-changing look through it. This is becoming
a very special day with all these fabulous experiences and we still have more
places to visit.
We soon leave Lochbuie and start back along the loch edges, deciding to stop
at this likely looking place on the edge of Loch Spelve. Stephen spots an adult
Golden Eagle over the opposite ridge and this gorgeous bird puts
on a wonderful, extended view, with most of us seeing it in our telescopes.
We cannot believe our luck today, especially Irene who (for the first time) gets
to see a Golden Eagle in full plumage colour against a dark background
– leaving a tremendous, lasting memory. This ‘goldie’ eventually flies over the
ridge and out of sight so we now need to head on as it’s late afternoon.
We move on, stopping for a young Lapwing at the side of the road, with its
parent arriving as we are about to leave, with more adult Lapwings a little
further on. Eventually Sally stops, with Julian following suit at this lovely oak
woodland and proceeds to get out (as do we) and walk slowly along the road.
Julian is further back with David and Yvonne looking at Heath Spotted Orchid
and some interesting Butterwort alongside the wee burn. However, Sally, Sary
and Linda are ahead and see a male Common Redstart coming to a nest box
– we stake this out and wait. The bird returns and we get some superb views
of a gorgeous male Common Redstart in this wonderful oak woodland.
It is now late afternoon and we need to go so Julian and Sally walk back for the
minibuses and drive them back to where we are – very kind in this tiring day.
Soon after we set off back to our hotel at Craignure, having had such a fantastic
and memorable day on this wonderful island.
Day 8 It is an earlier start today as we want to be at Fionnphort before 10am for the
first ferry to Iona. After breakfast we are ready to leave at 8am with a good
start as there is a Greenfinch singing from the hotel roof – first time we have
seen this species! The weather looks threatening as we leave Craignure south
along the mainland and before long it’s starts raining and quite heavily too
– thank goodness we are driving. We head up and over the Glen More road
passed the Golden Eagle eyrie and down towards the An Leth-on Bridge
junction seeing the expected Meadow Pipits, Common Buzzard, Greylag Geese
and Oystercatcher. As we pass along the southern edge of Loch Scridain, Julian
first spots a Great Northern Diver followed by an immature White-tailed Eagle
sat on the end of a rocky peninsula near Pennyghael. We stop here for a short
while to ‘scope’ this bird and while out of the vans, John R. finds a second
White-tailed Eagle nearby – superb. Also along this stretch of coastline we see
several Common Seals ‘hauled out’ and in the water plus Common Redshank,
Curlew and Lapwing. Time is moving on and we must leave, driving
in improving conditions and seeing a couple of Common Snipe fly up from the
side of the road. The weather is actually becoming quite nice as we eventually
arrive into Fionnphort and park right down by the harbour in readiness for our
departure in 40 minutes. We actually have time for a hot drink, while Sally and
Julian sort out our tickets for both the ferry and parking for the day. We make
ourselves ready with layers and coats, carry our picnics and any other items
we deem necessary as the forecast isn’t that great – but it’s glorious now!
At the allotted time we board the ferry as foot passengers and the crossing
takes an easy 15 minutes, arriving and alighting onto this historic island
on St Columbus day. We convene at the top of the jetty and Sally talks
us through the plan but essentially we have all day to ourselves should we want.
Yvonne is keen to go as she is attending service at the Abbey, which starts
in 15 minutes, and we wish her well. John and Jeannine are just going to take
it slowly around the centre of the island sticking mainly to the village and
outlying buildings. The rest of us plan to go with Sally and Julian to the north
end of Iona as this could be our best chance of seeing a Corncrake, something
most of us are keen on.
Off we go through the village, past the beautiful Abbey and slowly along the
tarmac road north to the edge of town seeing Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Rooks,
Jackdaw and Goldfinches. We get to the outskirts and the associated farms
where we find lots of Iris beds but no calling Corncrakes, which seems unusual
as we have been told they are relentless! We carry on slowly now seeing
Northern Wheatear, Rock Doves plus Shelduck and Curlew along the coast.
We decide to continue out onto the open grassed, farmland, which makes
up the last third of the northern end and soon we sit looking out to sea.
There are lots of Gannets offshore along with plenty of gulls, including
Kittiwakes dip-feeding out over the open water. Sally is busy scanning with her
telescope and finds Common Guillemot flying past and Julian sees a couple
of Cormorants and several Shag. Another great debate now ensues on the
identity of the surrounding islands, with maps, mobiles and compasses being
sought to finally come to a conclusion, which is fascinating. Stephen decides
to go and check a beautiful sandy beach nearby for waders as the rest
of us break out our picnics for an early(ish) lunch on this glorious day.
Sary is right, we are so lucky again with the weather, and we are all thoroughly
enjoying it. Stephen soon returns and we decide to walk back towards the
village, again checking the iris beds and then heading out to the west side
of Iona. The farm beds are still very quiet despite everyone we meet telling
us their own ‘corncrake story’ of them calling all night and being seen out in the
open. We now become a little fragmented as some of us press on back to the
village for some retail therapy, some of us stick with Sally, and Julian hangs back
for a while. Our guide soon catches up and we all start along a ‘cut through’
that Sally knows to go to another beach. Here Julian hears the rasping call
of a Corncrake across a field covered in wild flowers but it does sound a long
way off. He now decides to go back and try to find out where it’s coming from
so leaves us to continue walk on over the island.
Julian has some success hearing again the bird, but this time closer but not able
to get anywhere near, although he does see a Sedge Warbler, Raven and more
Northern Wheatears near here. We walk up and over to the west to this
fabulous beach, where Sally and Melanie decide to go paddling in the beautiful,
blue Atlantic waters. Everyone else is enjoying their time in the village and the
surrounding historic buildings to be found. It is now late afternoon and time
to be meeting each other at the quay. This goes swimmingly and we are able to
board the ferry back to Mull at 3:30pm, with the weather still warm and sunny.
We get off at Fionnphort to the sound of bagpipes being played by a young
boy, very professionally, which looks to be earning him some serious coin.
At the vans we have ourselves another very welcome hot drink and stand
around recalling our time in this wonderful island. Around 4:30pm we now
leave and drive away from the harbour seeing a Common Buzzard being
mobbed by a Curlew. The roads are akin to something from the cartoon
‘whacky races’ as we pull in and out of passing places along this single track
road. We retrace our steps back along the edge of Loch Scridain to the Glen
More road, where we stop at the Golden Eagle eyrie to see if anyone’s home.
Julian gets a surprise as the young eaglet is there, but partially hidden with a few
of us getting to see it before it hunkers back down.
It is late afternoon when we leave this stretch of the road and continue through
to our hotel near Craignure, arriving just before 6pm with plenty of time
to freshen up. It is obvious rain has fallen heavily again here, making us even
more thankful for the weather we have had on Iona, along with the equally
wonderful time.
Day 9 We awake to a glorious morning with sun streaming through our bedroom
windows and we head to our last breakfast here at 8am in good spirits, despite
being a travelling day. We return to our rooms and by 09:30 the luggage
is packed in the minibuses, keys are returned to reception and we are driving
away from this excellent hotel. Our plan is to visit the site we first visited
on our arrival on to Mull – the edge of Craignure golf course. We arrive and
start to scan the flat, calm water, exposed rocks, and coastline seeing a Mute
Swan, Greylag Geese, Red-breasted Merganser and Mallards in the water.
There are several Arctic Terns flying around and we see some Common Seals
on an offshore islet, but generally it’s quiet. Sally and Julian have one of their
huddles and decide to try and catch an earlier ferry from Fishnish to the one
scheduled to leave at 10:40. We jump back into the minibuses and drive further
north along this beautiful coast. We arrive at the ferry port with 20 minutes
to spare and climb out of the vans to a Whitethroat singing on top
of a telegraph pole. Sally goes to sort out the arrangements, while Julian spots
a male Siskin singing on top of a nearby conifer but only Linda and Melanie get
a view before it flies off. At 10am we join the queue to get onboard the car
ferry to Lochaline, and 20 minutes later we are back on the mainland.
This is the Morvern Peninsular and we set off up and over to Gleann Gael,
stopping briefly to scan the ridges and valleys for raptors on this lovely day.
We now turn off on a very minor road with passing places at Lochuisge, and
drive along to Loch a Choire at Kingairloch. It is time for a break and hot drink
in this beautiful area, with Linda saying “there’s two raptors here?” as she looks
up at Beinn na Cille. These are both adult Golden Eagles and we are thrilled
to watch them soaring around in the blue skies – superb. As we really enjoy
this break we get decent views of Lesser Redpolls, Common Buzzard,
Chaffinch, Great Tit and a handsome male Reed Bunting plus a couple of Red
Deer. Sally says we must move on and grudgingly we hand in our coffee cups
and climb back into the buses – we could have stopped all day here in this
wonderful weather. The drive now continues and we start to hug the coastline
of Loch Linnhe seeing lots of Common Sandpipers, Black Guillemot, Gannet
and Rock Pipits along the route. We are transfixed by the scenery on offer here
with views right over to Ben Nevis, which is surprisingly visible! A thrush flies
across in front of Sally’s minibus and she excitedly radio’s Julian saying “Ring
Ouzel” – this is such a surprise! We stop and quickly climb out of the vehicles
as this bird sings from a tree on the adjacent rock face, but we cannot find
it, however it finds us, as this gorgeous Ring Ouzel flies down and lands
on some nearby grass, showing incredibly well – what a bonus. It finally moves
out of sight and we continue our journey to our next ferry port at Corran.
We have a short wait now and make full use of it by visiting the facilities and
seeing another Black Guillemot in the bay.
We now board this small ferry and cross the Corran Narrows to the other side
of Loch Linnhe, going now to a loch-side parking area for lunch. We sit in the
warm sunshine enjoying our picnics before setting off again around 40 minutes
later. We now head south towards Glen Coe, passing the village of the same
name to the new and impressive visitor centre on the edge of this famous
historical site. Julian allows us 40 minutes to make use of the centre, which
doesn’t seem long enough but we realise we still have a long way to go.
It is very interesting to read about the massacre at Glen Coe, see the
topography illustrated and see that there are some natural history walks from
the centre, which might be an option for future tours. Around 15:30 we leave
the car park and continue through this very scenic upland glen with steep-sided
mountains, either side of the pass.
We start to drop down through Black Mount am Monadh Dubh to the head
of Glen Orchy, where we turn off the main road and follow the River Orchy
– as the rain now begins to fall. We have two targets here, with a Grey Wagtail
for Stephen and a Dipper for us all (but particularly Yvonne) but this weather
is becoming a problem. Regular stops are made scanning the turbulent waters
and after a few miles we score with our first Grey Wagtail – Stephen gets his
‘bogey bird’ of this holiday and the ‘cheers’ go up in both vans. We carry
on and at one lay-by Julian calls to Sally “I’ve got one!” and proceeds
to describe where he has seen his Dipper, and we all get some sort of view
through the rain-soddened windows. Julian decides to try and put this water
loving bird in the telescope and does so using the tailgate as shelter from the
deluge. This provokes an interesting reaction as he proceeds to do his ‘dipper
dance, in the rain, which is most comical. This success means we can now ‘crack
on’ and drive the length of Glen Orchy back on to the A85.
It is raining for most of our journey to Loch Lomond, and we are slowed
by heavy traffic as we move down along its shoreline but there’s nothing to see
apart from a couple of Carrion Crows. Eventually we reach our hotel for our
last night, which looks very impressive looking out over the iconic Loch
Lomond. We go inside and get our allocated rooms, meeting an hour later for
the evening meal, which takes longer than expected as today has been superb
and we all wanted to relive it. Julian and Sally again have a wee meeting and
compile a ‘game plan’ for the rest of today and the following morning, which
involves doing the checklist and our highlight choices – we are all very tired
after the travelling and there is no argument. Soon after we head to our rooms
for the final night of the tour.
Day 10 Breakfast is at the very relaxed time of 08:30, and after dealing with this new
hotel regime we are all enjoying our final meal together. Once we are ready,
it is now time for the ‘main event’ with Sally and Julian first conducting
yesterday’s checklist followed by all of us giving our three categories of our
highlights from the tour and they are varied and bring back some fond
memories – superb. We conclude this event around 10:15 and a quarter of an
hour later we are loading the minibuses one final time leaving John and Jeannine
to continue their holiday here. Once ready Sally with Stephen, David, Yvonne,
John and Melanie head away to Glasgow Airport, Julian is taking John R, Irene,
Sary, John and Linda to Glasgow’s Central train station, ending this wonderful
holiday around Mull and Kintyre.
Species of the Trip
Sary White-tailed and Golden Eagles
Irene Dipper
John R Puffin
Melanie White-tailed Eagle
John P Lapwing chick
Jeannine Puffin/Sheep
John W Otters/meeting everyone
Linda Grasshopper Warbler
John K Everything
Yvonne White-tailed Eagle
David Dipper
Stephen Common Sandpiper
Sally Whinchat
Julian White-tailed Eagle
Place of the Trip
Sary Coffee stop
Irene Morvern Peninsular drive
John R Morvern Peninsular drive
Melanie Harp Rock on Lunga
John P Boat trips or near the water
Jeannine Iona
John W Iona
Linda Iona
John K Iona
Yvonne Treshnish boat tour
David Mountains in the sunshine
Stephen River Add Estuary/Moine Mhor
Sally Loch Na Keal drive
Julian Lunga Island and boat tour
Magic Moment
Sary Otters frolicking
Irene Seeing the Golden Eagle markings through the scope
John R Young man’s reaction to seeing an Otter
Melanie Otters frolicking
John P Otters frolicking
Jeannine Managing to get up to see the Puffins on Lunga
John W Hearing the piper at Fionnphort jetty
Linda White-tailed Eagle so close/early morning at the hotel
John K Being at Kingairloch on last morning in the sunshine
Yvonne The rainbow over Loch Fyne on the first evening
David Sitting on Iona eating mussels
Stephen Seeing the White-tailed Eagle so close
Sally Having coffee in the bay on final day
Julian Seeing all the Otters after struggling in April
BIRDS
Mute Swan
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Shelduck
Mallard
Eurasian Teal
Eider
Goosander
Red-breasted Merganser
Pheasant
Corncrake (heard only)
Red-throated Diver
Great Northern Diver
Fulmar
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
White-tailed Eagle
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Hen Harrier
Common Buzzard
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Common Sandpiper
Common Redshank
Curlew
Common Snipe
Great Skua
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Kittiwake
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Sandwich Tern
Puffin
Black Guillemot
Guillemot
Razorbill
Rock Dove
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Short-eared Owl
Common Swift
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
House Martin
Rock Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Tree Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Dipper
Dunnock
Robin
Common Redstart
Northern Wheatear
Whinchat
Stonechat
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Blackbird
Ring Ouzel
Greater Whitethroat
Blackcap
Sedge Warbler
Grasshopper Warbler
Willow Warbler
Wood Warbler (heard only)
Goldcrest
Wren
Spotted Flycatcher
Great Tit
Coal Tit (heard only)
Blue Tit
Eurasian Treecreeper (heard only)
Jay
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Hooded Crow
Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Twite
Lesser Redpoll
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Siskin
Bullfinch
Common Crossbill
Reed Bunting
Total Birds: 104
MAMMALS
Rabbit
Otter
Red Deer
Sika Deer
Roe Deer
Fallow Deer
Brown Rat
Harbour Porpoise
Common Seal
Grey Seal
Pipistrelle (sp)
BUTTERFLIES
Green-veined White
Small White
Orange-tip
Peacock
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Green Hairstreak
Meadow Brown
Gatekeeper
Speckled Wood
Small Heath
OTHER SPECIES
Common Toad
Large Red Damsel
Common Blue Damsel
Broad-bodied Chaser
Common Heath Moth
Chimney Sweeper
Total Species: 131
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