As I drove to the Hide this morning, my favourite band, Simple Minds, came on the radio singing "Dont you forget about me". As I started to sing along I also began to think about our youngsters at Loch Frisa. One has already left the nest and when I left the Hide on Friday, the second chick was doing some serious jumping and wing flapping. It was my day off yesterday so thought it had probably fledged too. I felt a twinge of sadness that these two youngsters I had help keep watch over from eggs, through to hatching and now to fledging would leave without a backward glance at this person who has watched their every move for the last 3 months. I certainly wont forget them!
When I arrived at the forward hide, I couldnt see the chick - my heart sank - its gone! But then later on in the day, he was back - he hadnt really gone - just jumped down a branch below the nest so he hasnt really fledged yet just branched out! Skye and Frisa as usual, have been providing plenty of food. Over the last couple of days, they have been sitting out on a hill giving our visitors great views. We still haven't managed to spot the first chick but believe it may be lower down the tree or in a clearing that we just cannot see from the hide. Of course, we shall keep you posted.
Its been busy on the Loch too - both our red throated and black throated divers and the red breasted mergansers have appeared showing off their chicks. The sand martins have had their second fledgings - I managed to count roughly 75 youngsters lined up on the fence down by the lochside. We now have a butterfly orchid in the field alongside the common spotted and fragrant varieties. One of the things I love about Loch Frisa is that it is constantly changing, as well as the weather the wildlife changes too - one of our buzzard families has now fledged and we are watching 2 youngsters learning how to fly and importantly, how to land!
And now some news of last year's chicks, Mara and Breagha. Breagha has recently been over to the mainland visiting Loch Awe but is now back with us on Mull. But Mara, the male is getting very adventurous. On the 30th June, he was on the mainland at Ballachulish, then flew round Ben Nevis over to Fort William, then across the head of Loch Linnhe, across the Morvern hills and along to Ardnamurchan - all in one day!! Imagine how long that journey would take you by car - incredible! You can follow their journey by following this link Mara and Breagha's journey
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Debby Thorne - White Tailed Eagle Information Officer, Mull