ORIOLE BIRDING TOUR REPORT MULL & IONA 18 th 24 th JUNE 2012
Monday 18th June Having stopped overnight in Doncaster we travelled North to Oban today on the beautiful Scottish West coast, where we met the remainder of the group at the Caledonian Macbrayne ferry terminal in time for the 1600 sailing to Craignure on Mull. BLACK GUILLEMOTS were easily seen in Oban harbour and a good range of species seen on the crossing included several Northern Gannets and ARCTIC TERNS, European Shag and even a circling WHITE-TAILED EAGLE over the Morvern peninsula. The drive down through the island produced two cracking SHORT-EARED OWLS hunting at the Three Lochs Viewpoint and a brief ringtail HEN HARRIER drifted over the road. We checked in at our hotel in Pennyghael and enjoyed an excellent meal before turning in for an early night. Tuesday 19 th June A grey and drizzly start to the day didn t stop us starting out with a bang, as two OTTERS were feeding in Loch Scridain just outside our hotel, one even coming right out onto the rocks. Two Red-breasted Mergansers were also present and some people saw Spotted Flycatcher before breakfast. Heading up Glen More, our first impromptu stop was just past Kinloch with a superb SHORT-EARED OWL hunting right beside the road it was clearly going to be a great trip for this species! There were no sign of any Golden Eagles in the glen but at least two more SHORT-EARED OWLS included one being mobbed by a Common Kestrel, and a sprinkling of Common Spotted Orchids were noted along the verges. Further up at the Three Lochs Viewpoint, we had Eurasian Curlew but little else, so we continued on towards Craignure. Yet another SHORT-EARED OWL floated across the road, but this one landed on the fence right by the road allowing for a great photo opportunity oh and we d also seen one sat on a rock beside the road a bit further back up the road! It was almost impossible to keep track! Continuing on we turned towards Croggan and took the road through the oak woods towards Loch Spelve. A stop here produced a female COMMON REDSTART visiting a nest box, and excellent views of a TREE PIPIT perched nicely by the roadside. Along the shore of Loch Spelve, a couple of Northern Wheatears and a Common Stonechat were noted, with Rock Pipit and a close up Common Snipe being other species noted. At the end of the road we spent some time overlooking Loch Buie, where a pair of Red-throated Divers were showing really well as usual. Two GOLDEN EAGLES appeared briefly, and distantly, over the ridge while we were having coffee and a few Common Buzzards were also noted. Heading back along the road we stopped along a sheltered valley of Rhodedendron and enjoyed superb views of a dozen or so Lesser Redpolls including mainly fine summer plumaged males. A GOLDEN-RINGED DRAGONFLY put in a brief appearance too as the sun started to appear and lift the temperature. Round-leaved Sundew and Bog Asphodel were among the more interesting plants noted here. Time was ticking on so we stopped by the roadside for lunch at a good spot for Orchids. We found both Common Spotted and Heath Spotted Orchid, Heath Fragrant Orchid and some budding spikes of a Butterfly Orchid species. Common Blue Butterfly and Chimney Sweeper Moth were also noted here with another TREE PIPIT in the birches too. Now we headed on to Craignure and made a toilet and coffee stop [Eurasian Siskin and Bullfinch were seen here], and at Inverlussa we stopped to get good views of a pair of WHINCHATS nice and close to the road. A male HEN HARRIER didn t linger though as it floated across the bracken covered hillside out of sight. We rounded off the day by heading back down Glen More and along Loch Beg to Glen Seilisdeir to view the WHITE-TAILED EAGLE nest. As we arrived one of the adults was circling right overhead, before flying out to Loch Scridain. It promptly caught a fish which it bought back to the nest to feed to the
two hungry and well-grown chicks. The adult bird then flew and landed in a conifer giving superb views as it was mobbed by two Common Buzzards. To round off the experience, a GOLDEN EAGLE appeared and crossed the valley before circling high over the crags on the eastern side, giving a nice comparison between the silhouettes of the two eagle species. Four Common Eiders with ducklings and a Common Whitethroat were our final list additions of a superb day. Late evening a dog OTTER was fishing in the loch right outside the hotel. Wednesday 20 th June A superb day today with the classic variety of wildlife that Mull offers including mammals, cetaceans, dragonflies, butterflies and orchids as well as birds! An adult WHITE-TAILED EAGLE could be seen sitting above the nest in Glen Seilisdeir viewed from the hotel car park before we set off this morning, but the midges were particularly bad in the calm weather so we didn t hang about too long. Heading straight down the Ross of Mull to Fionnphort we caught the 10am boat trip out to the Treshnish Isles with Gordon Grant. As soon as we moved away from the jetty, a pod of BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHINS appeared and started riding with our boat, giving stunning close range photographic opportunities as they breached right under our noses. The journey out through the sound of Iona produced our first Black-legged Kittiwakes, Arctic Tern, Common Guillemot and Razorbill, with a bonus GREAT SKUA which flew right over the boat. As we approached Lunga, large numbers of ATLANTIC PUFFINS were seen on the water and about twenty MANX SHEARWATERS passed really close giving some nice views. As we approached the island, a pair of dark phase ARCTIC SKUAS breezed past really close, much to the annoyance of the Common Terns but to our delight! Three birds were eventually seen in total, and they were on show on and off throughout the morning. Upon disembarkation, we enjoyed some stunning views of a small party of TWITE on the rocks, including some flashes of their lovely pink rumps. Rock Pipit and Common Ringed Plover were seen here too and we had some nice comparisons of Common and Arctic Terns together, as well as both the species of skua again. Taking the path up onto the clifftop we had ATLANTIC PUFFINS visiting their burrows just inches away from our lenses and we spent some time in the warm sunshine admiring this brilliant little birds with an island backdrop of Tiree, Coll, Rhum, Canna, Skye, Ulva and the Dutchman s Cap. Walking along to the main colony of auks and kittiwakes, we got within touching distance of Razorbills and European Shags nesting by the path, saw throngs of Common Guillemots and had great views of Northern Fulmars. Back at the boat we had lunch [still in the sun!] before heading across the water to nearby Staffa. Nothing new was seen here but people had the chance to visit Fingal s Cave and we got nice views of BLACK GUILLEMOTS. Steaming back to Fionnphort was uneventful, but on arrival back at the quayside we picked out the summering immature GLAUCOUS GULL resting on the rocks and had distant but good scope views of this arctic gull. After a welcome coffee we decided to make the most of the glorious weather and head straight back up Glen More to look for raptors and this proved a good move. Common Kestrel, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzard were seen and a pair of GOLDEN EAGLES eventually appeared above the ridge, circling for a few moments and even being dive bombed by an angry MERLIN before dropping over the ridge again out of sight. In the warm sun, a good spot for butterflies proved very productive and we found a smashing specimen of MARSH FRITILLARY here alongside several other species including Large Heath, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Common Blue, Dark Green Fritillary and Green Hairstreak. Four-spotted Chaser and Golden-ringed Dragonfly were also noted. Heading a little further up the Glen we stopped again to scan for raptors, picking up a hunting SHORT-EARED OWL and then a cracking ringtail HEN HARRIER which dived down into the valley and started hunting right in front of us. It then flushed a second SHORT-EARED OWL and the two started having an aerial tussle brilliant! We returned to base weary but happy with another excellent day.
Thursday 21st June A superb day today despite the slightly inclement weather. With rain and wind forecast to move in over the next few days, we decided to head down to Fionnphort again and take the ferry to Iona while it was still dry and not too windy. Catching the first boat over, we soon relocated our GLAUCOUS GULL from yesterday, only this time we were only 100 metres away and got fantastic views through the scope. Being in first-summer plumage, it stood out like a beacon it was so white! Our first Rooks and Jackdaws of the tour were noted here as we made our way to the Fire Station which is normally the best place on the island to listen for Corncrakes. We waited around for a bit but could only hear a distant bird crekking from some distance away so after adding Sedge Warbler we walked up the road towards the west side of the island. We were stopped in our tracks by some very loud crekking right by the path though, and we scanned the flowers and irises hopeful of a sighting. We were fortunate today, and over the next twenty minutes had at least ten views of a calling male CORNCRAKE at close quarters. We had the classic head and shoulders glimpse amongst the Yellow Rattle and Ragged Robin, then the bird right out in the open, scurrying through the grass and eventually giving a lovely flight view as it crossed the road in front of us. Feeling very pleased that everyone had connected, we made our way over to the west side and a secluded beach. Here Common Eiders and Common Shelducks both had young, a female Red-breasted Merganser was close in and a group of Manx Shearwaters passed offshore. Several Northern Wheatears were hopping about as we re-crossed the island, and we also saw our first Common Linnets and beautiful ROCK DOVES feeding in the meadows. Back on the east side, another Sedge Warbler showed well and several Black-legged Kittiwakes were feeding close inshore. The GLAUCOUS GULL was still present when we reached the pier, and allowed approach to within twenty metres for excellent photographs. We enjoyed a coffee in the very busy Martyrs Restaurant before catching the next ferry back to Mull. From here we drove down to Fidden for late lunch, adding Common Redshank and Dunlin in the tidal creek here. Working
our way back along the Ross of Mull, we visited Uisken Bay but other than a few Manx Shearwaters offshore, it was pretty quiet so we continued on. An impromptu roadside stop produced two cracking Red-throated Divers really close inshore, the best we had seen so far. By the time we neared Pennyghael a few heads were nodding but all were soon roused as we spotted an adult WHITE- TAILED EAGLE on some exposed rocks in Loch Scridain! Setting up scopes we watched the bird lumbering off across the water being mobbed by gulls but then realised a second adult was present and this one perched on top of the rocks for us in the open. Common Seals and their pups were looking sheepish at the sight of this huge predator and a menagerie including Common Gulls and Arctic Terns continued to mob it before it too took off and flew across the loch. A cup of tea and a fly past Common Swift were other highlights here! Finally we rounded off the day in Pennyghael with a short walk along the Carsaig Road. This proved productive with our target species WOOD WARBLER being seen extremely well. A female was gathering mayfly for her young and the male was singing in the Beech trees behind, where a male COMMON REDSTART was flitting around calling and showing occasionally. Finally a pair of Spotted Flycatchers gave lovely views with the female on the nest right next to the road in a tree hole. Friday 22 nd June A wet start to the day as we set off around Loch Beg towards Glen Seilisdeir and across to the southern shore of Loch na Keal. This was the first time we had driven along this road but the weather was a bit grim and the best thing we noted was a SHORT-EARED OWL briefly and a few Northern Wheatears. Stopping at Scarisdale Rocks though the rain stopped and we had superb views of three calling Redthroated Divers and a group of moulting male Common Eiders, as well as the ubiquitous Common Sandpipers and a few Rock Pipits. Around at Killiechronan, two adult WHITE-TAILED EAGLES were perched in the trees giving great views, with one flying off low over the hillside being mobbed by various species! Our first Woodpigeon of the trip was seen here and a family of Common Whitethroat were in the bracken. A little further along the road, we saw the eagle again perched on a crag being mobbed by a Common Buzzard, and three Mistle Thrush were also a list addition. We took the Torloisk road across the moorland to Dervaig, where we stopped to scan the reedbed and intertidal area. Sedge Warblers were in the reeds and from the road we picked up a few Red-breasted Merganser on the estuary. Over the adjacent ridges, a male HEN HARRIER was perched and then circled away and over the top, another SHORT-EARED OWL was seen briefly and a large flock of over fifty passerines which flew up from the forest turned out to be COMMON CROSSBILLS. They alighted again in the treetops allowing for some very distant scope views with one or two red males visible. Moving on we stopped on the track to Loch Frisa for lunch and as soon as we pulled up an adult WHITE-TAILED EAGLE flew along low right in front of us, being chased by a ringtail HEN HARRIER! A family of WHINCHATS were about while we had lunch and we also saw the male HEN HARRIER quartering over the bracken covered ridge to the north. The midges were out in force here though so we didn t linger, continuing instead towards Tobermory. We attempted to stop here but the place was so busy, with a clan gathering going on, that we decided to carry on south along the coast road back to Salen. A stop at Aros Bridge yielded our first Grey Wagtail of the trip and just upstream,
the sun came out and a few insects were on the wing. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Golden-ringed Dragonfly and Beautiful Demoiselle were all out and showing well, while TREE PIPIT was also noted. At Salen, a roadside stop produced excellent views of a fishing OTTER among the seaweed covered rocks, and we watched the animal for about twenty minutes a Wood Warbler was singing but not seen in the trees behind us. After a welcome coffee break in Craignure, we could see rain clouds approaching so made haste down Glen More to finish the day with some raptor watching. Our first stop looking down Glen Fora quickly produced a circling WHITE-TAILED EAGLE, and two ringtail HEN HARRIERS included one flying right beside the bus. A GOLDEN EAGLE appeared briefly and circled above the ridge in the only remaining patch of sun, but with such brief views yet again, we were left feeling still not totally satisfied with the views we have had of this species despite several sightings. TREE PIPIT and Lesser Redpoll were also noted at this location. Further down the Glen, our last stop produced yet another, this time immature, WHITE-TAILED EAGLE and a male HEN HARRIER crossing the valley before the thunderstorm that had been following us finally hit and put paid to the afternoon. We returned to Pennyghael after a long drive but successful day. Saturday 23 rd June A bit of a bonkers day today, with absolutely awful weather writing off the morning and early afternoon. We couldn t even see the loch when we looked out first thing! We set off regardless and trundled up Glen More to the Croggan turn off where we wanted to check if the butterfly orchids we d found on Tuesday had come into flower. We found about half a dozen flower spikes and careful examination of the flower heads showed them to be GREATER BUTTERFLY ORCHIDS. Continuing on we took the Grasspoint turn and just as we crossed the stone bridge, a superb OTTER was lying on the grassy bank feeding. It slipped into the water and was seen a few times in between dives before reemerging again on the opposite bank where it came right out of the water again. Moving on to Grasspoint itself, we parked and walked down to the bottom again looking mainly for orchids given the grim conditions. A nice showing of LESSER BUTTERFLY ORCHIDS provided a good comparison with the Greaters we had already found, and it was good to see that there were no cattle grazing this excellent orchid site this year. Male and juvenile Stonechat and several Willow Warblers were also seen, and we had a coffee here before heading up through Craignure to Salen and then along towards Knock. The rain was getting harder and visibility decreasing, so we decided to take a drive along the North shore of Loch na Keal to Eas Fors waterfall. Given the volume of water coming down all the other small waterfalls in the glen we thought this fall might be spectacular, and indeed it was, particularly the final 50ft plunge over the cliff into the loch below. Back at Knock, we had lunch by the path to Loch Ba with the intention of walking down afterwards but we all decided that the weather was just too unpleasant and that we would return to the hotel to get our things dried out and take a break. Two hours later and things had improved dramatically, the sun even having a go at peeping out as we set off from Pennyghael about 1630 to head up Glen More. We didn t get very far though as we spotted an adult WHITE-TAILED EAGLE perched in a dead tree behind the shop! After scoping the bird and getting tremendous views as it dried its wings, it then took off and flew right over our heads no more than 100ft up! As it flew out over Kinloch, it was mobbed persistently by a female HEN HARRIER, a couple of Eurasian Curlews, Common Gulls and Hooded Crows. It continued to circle around at low level and as we drove a bit further down to the Salen turn, a SHORT-EARED OWL came up to mob the eagle! Two Common Buzzards then joined in and the poor thing eventually lumbered off over the valley leaving its entourage behind. Amazingly, just as we were about to head off, a stunning male HEN HARRIER appeared beside the road, flying right across in front of our vehicle before heading off into the distance. We felt as if we were on a role, so we continued up the glen noting another three SHORT-EARED OWLS on the way including one sat on a post right next to the vehicle. At Glen Forsa, we stopped to scan the ridges and almost straight away picked up a GOLDEN EAGLE circling. It quickly disappeared but then a second bird came up and soared high above the valley before beginning a superb rollercoaster display flight, giving our best views of the week so far of this species. Another ringtail HEN HARRIER was also seen, with yet another SHORT-EARED OWL on the way back hunting right beside the road.
Sunday 24 th June We said farewell to Kieron and Jo and headed up the glen towards Craignure for our 1055 ferry back to Oban. Two SHORT-EARED OWLS were seen along the way, and we had now lost count of how many we had seen during the week! Our ferry departed on time and the crossing produced a distant GOLDEN EAGLE and a few BLACK GUILLEMOTS around Oban harbour. We then embarked on our long journey back to Norfolk where we arrived around 2130. Systematic List Birds 1. Red-throated Diver 2. Little Grebe 3. Great Cormorant 4. European Shag 5. Northern Gannet 6. Northern Fulmar 7. Manx Shearwater 8. Grey Heron 9. Mute Swan 10. Greylag Goose 11. Canada Goose 12. Common Shelduck
13. Mallard 14. Common Eider 15. Red-breasted Merganser 16. Common Pheasant 17. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 18. Common Kestrel 19. Common Buzzard 20. Golden Eagle 21. White-tailed Eagle 22. Merlin 23. Hen Harrier 24. Corncrake 25. European Oystercatcher 26. Common Ringed Plover 27. Northern Lapwing 28. Common Redshank 29. Common Greenshank 30. Eurasian Curlew 31. Common Snipe 32. Common Sandpiper 33. Dunlin 34. Black-headed Gull 35. Common Gull 36. Herring Gull 37. Lesser Black-backed Gull 38. Great Black-backed Gull 39. Glaucous Gull 40. Black-legged Kittiwake 41. Great Skua 42. Arctic Skua 43. Common Tern 44. Arctic Tern 45. Common Guillemot 46. Black Guillemot 47. Atlantic Puffin 48. Razorbill 49. Short-eared Owl 50. Woodpigeon 51. Collared Dove 52. Rock Dove 53. Common Swift 54. Common Cuckoo [H] 55. Skylark 56. Meadow Pipit 57. Rock Pipit 58. Tree Pipit 59. Pied Wagtail 60. Grey Wagtail 61. Sand Martin 62. Barn Swallow 63. House Martin 64. Winter Wren 65. European Robin 66. Dunnock 67. Common Stonechat 68. Whinchat 69. Northern Wheatear 70. Common Redstart 71. Common Blackbird 72. Song Thrush 73. Mistle Thrush
74. Willow Warbler 75. Wood Warbler 76. Common Whitethroat 77. Sedge Warbler 78. Spotted Flycatcher 79. Blue Tit 80. Great Tit 81. Coal Tit [H] 82. Long-tailed Tit 83. Rook 84. Hooded Crow 85. Common Raven 86. Western Jackdaw 87. Common Starling 88. House Sparrow 89. Chaffinch 90. Greenfinch 91. Goldfinch 92. Bullfinch 93. Linnet 94. Lesser Redpoll 95. Eurasian Siskin 96. Twite 97. Common Crossbill 98. Reed Bunting 99. Yellowhammer