01/09.2017 to 09/09/2107 Isle of Mull in the Rain!!!

Saturday 2nd September 2017 to Saturday 9th September 2017
Isle of Mull, Scotland

Spent a very wet week on Mull with Sue and friends Chris and Anne.  With rain, every day and with 3 days completely washed out, it turned out to be a real struggle.  Nevertheless, we used the intervening times to the full and we were rewarded with some good sightings.

• On our best day, we travelled from our cottage at Bunnessen in the south of the island, to Tobermory in the north, calling at Loch na Keal on the way where we saw a rather bedraggled White-tailed Eagle on the rocks on one of the tiny islands.  We spent the rest of the morning at the Information Centre in Tobermory trying to plan for the rest of the week.  

• Thankfully the rain stopped just after lunch so we headed to Dervaig where we enjoyed some memorable views of the eagles over a period of 90 minutes.  We saw at least 2 of each species with a magnificent White-tailed Eagle flying overhead and really good close views of Golden Eagles.

• Thankfully, our cottage overlooked a superb heathland site where we saw a male Hen Harrier come back to roost most nights - when it was not raining.

• We spent one day on Iona where the highlight was seeing flocks of Twite.  Unfortunately, there were no lingering Corncrakes to be heard.

• The biggest disappointment was not being able to see the White-tailed Eagles feeding at sea.  Our much-awaited boat trip was cancelled on Thursday and then again on Friday.
• On the final, early morning, drive to Craignure to catch the ferry to Oban we saw a Barn Owl and, soon after, a Tawny Owl.

Beaten by the weather - almost!