Wildlife Summary:
3rd - day 1
We met at the accommodation site in Tobermory before heading out to cover the northern side of the island. Our first stop on local moors was very quiet before we checked the head of loch Cuin to see Curlew, Greenshank and a White-tailed Eagle flying over the skyline. We then ventured up onto the nearby moors and a privilege to see five Hen Harriers in close proximity, possibly a pre-roost gathering. We enjoyed seeing a few Red Deer becoming more active as dusk approached and with the light dropping further we checked a few fields for mountain hares but no joy.
4th
After our first breakfast together, we headed down to the harbour to board the Rathlin Express for our boat excursion. We steamed out to the west to explore waters around the Isle of Coll and Tiree, and after the first Minke whale sighting of the day, we then encountered a few Great Shearwaters feeding to the east of Gunna. We then sailed westerly to cover waters off Coll and were privileged to see about 300 Common Dolphins and a count of about 6000 Great Shearwaters. This is the second highest count ever recorded of GSs in one day in Scottish waters, a highly noteworthy spectacle! Red-throated Diver and Black Guillemot in Gunna Sound.
We also saw about 300 Sooty Shearwaters, along with Kittiwakes and Herring Gulls feeding within the hurries. There were Minke Whales, popping up sporadically and Jimmy, the guide, thought that we saw 12 throughout the day.
After the boat trip, we headed to Glengorm to enjoy the views, and then it was back to the house to rest up before our evening meal.
5th
Today was our mainland adventure day, so we boarded the Tobermory to Kilchoan Ferry at 09:30. About 15 minutes to the east of Kilchoan, and we had a fantastic juvenile, a White-tailed Eagle low-flying over the van near to Loch Mudle. We stopped a bit further to the east to view Camas nan Gall, but it was quiet on the raptor front.
After admiring the amazing Oakwoods, in the spectacular autumnal state, we arrived to Sunart and did a short woodland walk to search for Red Squirrels. We managed to see three individuals, including one with a blonde tipped tail. A Brambling was in with the Chaffinch flock near Acharacle, seen by folk in the front of the van as it flew off from the road.
We had lunch at a wildlife hide, and it was a privilege to see an Otter along with some Harbour Seals and Red-breasted Mergansers.
After lunch, we ventured round the south side of Loch Sunart and got a magical view of three Otters, a mum and two Cubs foraging in the shallows.
A relaxing ferry ride back to Fishnish finished off our mainland adventure.
6th
A big focus on otters and golden eagles on the Isle of Mull today we ventured down the side of the island and our first stop was near Fishnish where we did a short woodland walk and managed Crossbills flying overhead and a party of 11 Bullfinches. Other birds were Chaffinch, Siskin, Coal, Tits, and Goldcrest.
We moved on to the south-east of the island, and at the start of a walk, managed to see a sleeping Otter curled up on the seaweed. Further to the east, we got a spectacular view of an adult Golden Eagle, taking short flights and perching up in exposed deciduous trees on the hillside. We all got great views in the scope of the Queen of the countryside.
We had our lunch back of the van and on our route travelling westerly we managed to spot an Otter working the coastline, so we parked up and hunkered down and got a lovely view of the animal passing by us and coming ashore a couple of times. To finish the day, we stopped in Salen Bay on the journey north, and got the two reported Velvet Scoters in the fading light.
7th - day 5
On our final day, we stopped at the river Aros and got a lovely view of a foraging Dipper. We were keen to try the Crossbills again, so it was back to Fishnish, and we managed to see one bird perched up in a Sitka spruce. The light was quite flat so couldn't get too much colour off it, but lovely to see. We then ventured round to the loch where we got two adult White-tailed Eagles up on the wing enjoying the increased wind. We went round to the south side of the loch and got fantastic Otters on a skerry with some nice interactions seen. Another White-tailed Eagle overhead and a Black-throated Diver was a nice way to finish off the five-day package.
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