Isle of Mull part seven

 Some of the larger birds from our time on Mull.

Female Hen Harrier seen while we were on our way to Iona.

A different female seen while we were coming back from Iona.

This male Hen Harrier was hunting in the field opposite the cottage. He put in an appearance two or three times while we were there.

A “Tourist Eagle” (Buzzard) doing what they normally do, fly off from a telegraph pole when you stop the car to take a picture.

This Buzzard was hunting the fields not far from Lochdon and at first I was convinced it was a Hen Harrier because it was so light in colour.

This one was our local Buzzard which I saw every day outside the cottage.

Short-eared Owl. These are the best shots I could manage. It was the only one we saw and it was around a quarter of a mile away and unfortunately the heat haze has just about ruined the shots. We went back on another couple of occasions but the Owl didn’t show up.

We saw Hooded Crow everywhere we went on Mull.

This dot in the sky is the only Golden Eagle we saw while we were on Mull.

Lettoch Beag

Lettoch Beag is the cottage we stay when we go to Scotland and it is a great place to watch for Buzzards, I can stand for hours just waiting for them to fly over. This year a number of different Buzzards put on a great show.



One of the first pictures I took when we arrived at the cottage was of what I at first thought was a Buzzard it turned out, when I got it on the computer, to be a record shot of a distant Golden Eagle (please correct me if I am wrong).

Buzzard

Doing what Buzzards do but while in flight

A very distant Kestrel

Doing what Kestrels do while perched (not as sharp as I would have liked but it’s not often you get shots like this)

What a difference a blue sky makes as you can see from this shot of a Kestrel possibly the same one as in my last Blog.

 

Scotland

Got back yesterday from a couple of days in Scotland. We were staying in a fantastic cottage called Lettoch Beag not far from Pitlochry check it out at http://www.lettochcottages.com/lettoch-beag/. Friday afternoon I was outside the cottage when this bird flew over. I could not believe my luck it was a Golden Eagle the first one I have seen so close to Pitlochry. Buzzards that put in a regular appearance above the cottage were harassing it and it flew off toward the south. A little later, a Sparrowhawk did a fly by. There were also a few House Martin still hanging around and Goldfinch and Meadow Pipit were feeding in the fields at the back of the cottage.

Buzzard harassing a Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

Buzzard

Sparrowhawk

House Martin

Goldfinch (juvenile)