11th April 2018

I’m excited to be returning to the role of RSPB Community Information and Tourism Officer this summer and will be running the eagle nest tours alongside Cian Burke-Brown (pictured) who is the seasonal ranger for Mull and Iona Community Trust.

This year, we are being hosted by the wonderful Craignure Golf Club. A team of volunteers has been busy refurbishing the club in time for us opening and is…

What a difference a week makes!  Last week I was wearing short sleeves and this week I have so many layers on I look like I could be auditioning for the Michelin Man (some of you may remember him!).  Lovely blue skies and warm sunshine last week, have been replaced by a cold wind coming straight from the North Pole - thankfully it is still dry but it is positively Baltic.

Its been a busy week at Tiroran, Fingal and Iona…

He had that same carefree swagger that I remember. I could see that 'I don't give a damn' glint in his eye. Everything about him said: 'don't mess with me' but still there was a deep vulnerability and an occasional lack of confidence. It made me respect him even more.

But there he was in front of me. KELLAN IS BACK! The accident-prone, 2010 Mull white-tailed eagle chick - who broke a wing, a leg…

Thank you all for your patience and interest in the progress - or otherwise - of Frisa and Skye and all their fellow white-tailed eagles on Mull.

As you can imagine it's been a hectic period throughout incubation and now into the early chick stage. Everyone here does their best to keep them safe and to try and ensure they're all successful but there's always the hand of fate which intervenes to make some pairs succeed…

I don't believe it!  I'm sat inside typing when outside the sky is blue with a few whispy clouds - hubby is out in the garden pruning a hedge in a tee shirt - is it nearly the end of October?  Walking the dog this morning, I had a lovely view of a flock of barnacle geese and a small flock of pink footed geese stopping off to feed before they move on, maybe to the RSPB reserve at Mersehead. 

There is something quite…

Well - I cant believe how quickly the time has flown this year.  It doesn't seem like 5 minutes that we were announcing Iona (our female) and Fingal (our male) were incubating and then the great news we had a hatching!  Over the last 11 weeks we have watched their two chicks develop from 2 little white fluff balls into a pair of very healthy, almost full grown white-tailed eagles.  And what stunning birds they are!

Just days after their first successful hatching in 2003 and hearing those chick feeding calls from the eyrie, the forest that morning seemed unusually quiet. On approaching my concealed observation point hidden in the trees, I could sense something was possibly wrong. A raven flew low over the tree top nest, but there was no reaction from Iona. Normally she would have called out in alarm or Fingal would have given chase…

(what a great song that was from Ian Dury!)

I know over recent weeks, its been hard to be really cheerful with the failure of the nest at Loch Frisa but we do have lots of things to be really cheerful about.

Our most exciting news is that one of the eggs on our buzzard nest has hatched!  Our female buzzard has been incubating two eggs for just over a month - there is a camera on the nest with pictures beamed back into…

The snowdrops and crocuses are out and bring some welcome colour to the garden at this time of the year.  The daffodils aren't far behind and for the last week, a robin has been singing his little heart out as I refill the bird feeders.  Is Spring just around the corner?  There are days when it certainly feels like it.  I had a trip to the hide at the end of last week and it was a lovely sunny day - in fact we stayed…

We were all thrilled when we were able to confirm that one of our original satellite tagged white-tailed eagle chicks Mara had settled to establish a territory of his own. It was even more exciting when we also confirmed that he had paired up with a female from the east coast project 'somewhere on the Scottish mainland'. You may have seen him on BBC Springwatch in June after cameraman Mark Yates managed to capture some…

For a brief time last night the skies were clear and the stars were twinkling at their best.  A distant tawny owl was taking advantage of the calm conditions to proclaim his territorial rights and some curlews were calling down on the bay. There really were signs of spring - daffodils now out in force and a garden pond heaving with frogs having fun - but the weather forecast for the next few days told a very different story…

In haste, as I need to get up there to check all is well today, but Frisa and Skye have successfully hatched young at Loch Frisa this year! They are right on schedule and so far, all seems ok. At least two rabbits have been taken in as food and Frisa has been tenderly feeding tiny morsels to the chick(s). We hope there are two but time will tell. A big thank you to all the local Mull Eagle Watch volunteers, Strathclyde…

Sunday evening, sat looking out on a flat, mirror like Sound of Mull with the sound of oystercatchers and curlews as my background music - I'm not sure it gets much better.

At Tiroran Community Forest South West Mull & Iona Development Trust I am lucky to have an office where I can listen to the sounds of goldcrests, buzzards mewing, song thrush singing, siskins creating havoc as the youngsters take over the…

The contrast couldn't have been greater. Strength and gentleness personified. Tapping quietly on the office door last week was a big bloke in his overalls. His hands and face were smeared in oil and grease. He had flecks of car paint in his hair and he sounded almost apologetic as he explained what was in the cardboard box he was holding so carefully in his hands. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to find as…

(apologies to the Pointer Sisters!)

Well - its happened! Fingal and Iona are now the proud parents of two eaglets. Last week we were pacing the floor - watching for any hint of a change in behaviour.  Indeed on Monday, Iona, our female, was very fidgety and kept looking down into the nest.  Then on Tuesday, Fingal, her mate, did the same.  There was also evidence of food on the nest, a sure sign things were imminent.  And…

(courtesy Chris Rea)

I always seem to start my blogs by commenting on the weather, so here we go!  It has certainly been a right old mix with days of blue sky and sunshine, followed by grey, wet days that make it feel like November.  It is really odd when you hear about the really warm dry weather other parts of the UK have been experiencing and yet, on a couple of evenings we have had to light the fire.  The schools on…

In Gaelic, Breagha means 'beauty' or 'beautiful'. She was named by children from the Salen Primary School Gaelic Unit along with her brother Mara (meaning 'sea' or 'ocean'). That was back in July 2008 when Gordon Buchanan and BBC Autumnwatch helped us to fit the Loch Frisa siblings with satellite tags as part of a study into young white-tailed eagle dispersal from their nesting area. We…

Well, September is certainly proving to be a saviour in terms of weather.  We are enjoying lots of warm sunshine and blue skies - you could almost be fooled into thinking it was May or June.  Tee shirts have come out of winter storage and its lovely to feel the warmth of the sun on your face.  Our family at Loch Frisa have been enjoying the warm weather too.  Skye and Frisa are spending long periods, perched on the larch trees…

Well, I can't believe I am writing this but Mull has been experiencing some real summer weather - it has been warm and sunny and many of the lochs have been like glass - hardly a breath of wind to cause even the tiniest ripple.   I have never seen so many dragonflies - the golden ringed variety and butterflies everywhere.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have not been able to run trips to Loch Frisa but instead…

Well as I sit here typing, the wind is howling outside and the rain is lashing against the window and it seems like the whole of the UK is getting a battering this time.  Incredibly, just yesterday we were enjoying blue sky and sunshine.  The car thermometer read -4C as I left home for Loch Frisa and as I drove down the forestry track, I could see the loch shining like a mirror and Ben More  looking splendid with a covering…

Autumn is in full swing - beautiful shades of red, gold, orange and brown are everywhere; the rowan trees are laden with berries which are being picked off by the fieldfares and redwings that have recently arrived on the Island.  Autumn is my favourite season - a chance to reflect on the season just past and time to look ahead as the evenings draw in - wondering what lies ahead.

The Mull Eagle Hide has had a fantastic…

Sorry for the delay in updating things for you. It's just that time of year...

It's been a long day and the eyelids are drooping so just for now, here's today's busy headlines. One day on Mull in 10 bullet points.

• 0900 Loch Frisa: now you see them, now you don't. Frisa & Skye AWOL. Not a hint. They're not where they should be. Worried.
• 1100 New pair just established have had their first…

There were moments over the next few weeks when you really had to wonder about the maternal and paternal bonds of eagle parents and their offspring. Birds of prey like white-tailed eagles are 'hard-wired'. It's all instinctive. When there's a chick around to feed, calling, food begging, they'll hunt, feed and protect it. If it vanishes overnight, the stimulus is removed and they move on. No food begging: no need to hunt…

by the Eagles (who else?)

Like some parts of the country, we've had some really wild weather here on Mull - our thoughts are with those people suffering from flood damage and the family of the Policeman who tragically lost his life as the bridge collapsed in Workington.  Just another reminder of the sheer strength of Mother Nature. 

This evening, as I went out to put the chickens away, I could hardly stand up …

I don't know what to make of Kellan today.

Kellan was the only chick from a pair of white-tailed eagles on Mull. He was found by a friendly farmer last autumn with a broken wing and other injuries. After months of expert care from the Scottish SPCA he was as ready as he was ever going to be to return to the wild and came home to Mull in December. Since then he has made amazing progress; he can fly and perch well;…