then I'll begin. How many times have you heard that phrase - for me as a young girl watching Jackanory and waiting with baited breath for the latest instalment of a story - and then counting the hours until the next programme to find out what happened next.
And so at Loch Frisa - we begin the next instalment of the story of Skye and Frisa - only its not fiction, its real life. Well I am delighted to report that Frisa and Skye are now settled on to their nest and we are in the midst of watching them closely. Everything so far is going well and as it should. Mull Eagle Watch is in full swing and our nests are now under the watchful eye of a team of locals and volunteers.
If any of you use Twitter, there is now a dedicated account for Skye and Frisa - their address is @SkyeandFrisa - and you can keep up to date with the goings on at Loch Frisa as well as Mull's other sea eagles.
I am sure you will all join me in crossing everything possible for Skye and Frisa this year.
Frisa, our female sea eagle - photo Debby Thorne
The one really important change this year is that trips will start from the north end of Loch Frisa. The meeting point is on the Tobermory to Dervaig road - the signs are in place and details can be found at Mull Eagle Watch Bookings can be made via our friends at the Visitor Centre at Craignure on 01680 812556.
This morning as I drove up the track this morning, I was delighted to see 6 sand martins flying over the loch - what a welcoming sight. We were lucky to see a pair of grey wagtail and a pair of bullfinch too as well as the usual flock of siskins and chaffinches on the feeders. The black throated divers and curlew are calling too and we had a great view of a male goldeneye and goosander.
Its that time of year when there is so much activity - we are seeing flocks of grey lag geese heading off to their breeding grounds and watching the arrival of our summer visitors such as the sand martins and swallows. I wonder how long it will be before we hear our first cuckoo? And of course, the days are longer now - with the clocks changing at the weekend, it was gone 8.00pm here before it started getting dark.
The latest news on Kellan - the Garnett family are great supporters of our sea eagles and were delighted to catch sight of Kellan having a good old feed - its great when our visitors take the time to let us know of any eagle sightings - each snippet of data is valuable and helps us fill in tiny pieces of a huge jigsaw puzzle.
And finally, just heard some incredible news - The Lady of the Loch, or Marge, depending which website you follow, the oldest osprey has returned to Loch of the Lowes for the 21st time - absolutely amazing.
Stand by for the next thrilling instalment!
Debby Thorne
White Tailed Eagle Information Officer
Isle of Mull
Please consider signing the petition to save Strathclyde Wildlife Co-ordinator Post - www.petition.co.uk/save-the-wildlife-coordinator-post-in-strathclyde-police
This post has certainly helped in the protection of Skye and Frisa, and the rest of Mull's wildlife over the years.
Thank you
Hi Jillian - its about 3.5 miles from the meeting point to the observation point - we dont have our big posh hide in place at the moment - you can find more details here www.rspb.org.uk/.../146979-mull-eagle-watch
Its still on the Forestry track so should be ok for a motorhome.
Debby
If you check on google and then onto streetview the sign at the north end can be seen and a little car park to wait for Debby to show us the way to the hide.
Can Debby confirm if it is a similar distance then to the hide as approaching from the other end, and is the road still suitable for a motorhome still?
Thanks Debby.
Jillian
Thank you Debby - and yes, not only fingers and toes crossed, I'm crossing my eyes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi - as you can see in my blog above, it mentions that the meeting point for trips to the hide this year will be from the NORTH end of Loch Frisa - it is on the Tobermory to Dervaig road B8073 and is well signposted. There is NO access from the south or Aros end of Loch Frisa.
Cirrus - regarding your query about the 2nd egg last year, our only theory as to why it didnt hatch was that it probably got cold - you may recall that the first egg hatched but sadly the chick perished over night following a spell of really severe weather of snow, hail, and strong northerly winds. For the first ten days or so, the chicks are unable to control their body temperature so if they get cold and wet, they chill and can perish which is was we believe happened to Skye and Frisa's first chick. This year we are crossing everything.