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david sexton

Saturday 23 August 1000-1300

Chris & Ross were on duty at the hide today. They report the whole eagle family together on the south side of Loch Frisa down by the shore. After the exertions of yesterday, they looked like they were all taking a break. It is the weekend after all. Unlike the buzzards and ravens who continue to be very active and give them a hard time whenever they get the chance. Today there was much mobbing and the eagles got little peace. As I write, the weather has taken a serious turn for the worse after days of sun and blue skies. The wind has picked up and now the rain is coming down hard. At times like this the eagles won't go far; they'll either stay where they are on a rocky knoll or come dusk, they'll probably retreat to the relative 'comfort' of the forest to sit it out. They do look sorry for themselves when they're all wet and bedraggled. But by dawn, after a quick shake, a preen and holding their wings open to dry in the sun like giant cormorants, they're ready to take to the skies again. Fingers (and talons) crossed that this storm has eased by the morning and that our eagles survive the night unscathed. Think of them sitting out there in the wind and rain as you snuggle down under your duvet.

Dave Sexton RSPB Mull Officer

  • Thanks for the update Dave and the information.

    I wouldn't mind wandering around for 4 or 5 years before deciding on where to settle down !! Lets hope its not to far away and that one day there are hundreds of Eagles nesting in Scotland again..

    I hope they don't go to Ireland where it has been reported they are still allowed to use poisons...

    Is there anything we can help with in regard to putting pressure on the Irish Government to ban poisons ??

    I was upset to hear that young Ospreys taken from the nest in Scotland are being sent to Ireland to set up colonies there.!!

    Hope the young Eagles weathered the storm well..Talons crossed for them.

  • Hi Dave, have you had any sightings of the latest 'Fife' birds to be released? We hear one of the last batch turned up on Mull - can't say as I'd blame it! Although we live in the East and are looking forward to seeing our own birds over here, we will still be using any reason we can to come back over to Mull. Following one of the East Coast birds could be just the reason we need! Hope the weather has picked up again - don't like to think of the family cold and wet!

  • Oh dear sorry the weather up there has taken a turn for the worse, must be the stuff we've been suffering for the past few days. Today is the first time i've been into my garden for days, heard the birds alarm calling and sure enough there was the sparrowhawk looking for dinner! Love the names of the sea eagles, well done to the children who chose them. David your descriptions of the birds soaring upwards was truely poetic - didn't need pictures I could visualise the scene!! Would love to see it for myself one day. Will send and email to the Beeb asking them to give us an update on autumn watch.

  • Thanks for comments from yesterday. Sea eagles from Mull have been recorded in Northern Ireland and others from Scotland have travelled to England, Shetland - even Norway! The chicks will drift and wander for 4-5 years before reaching maturity and settling down on their own territory. As there is still so little known about exactly where they go in this period, the sat tag project should help us understand their needs more, what they require, which in turn will help us help sea eagles back to ALL their former haunts in the UK in due course. That's the dream.

    ps. Any delays in responding to comments are purely down to time, pressures of work and duties in this vast area of Mull, Morvern, Ardnamurchan and north Argyll and low technical know-how regarding Blogs, websites and all that computer stuff. But I get there in the end! Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting our work here and the sea eagle project in particular.