Buzzard - Photo Debby Thorne
Dave is busy dashing round the Island - its leg ringing time and we have Blue Peter helping out! I will let Dave tell you all about that.
Well - what a start to the day - blue skies, sunshine and very, very warm that I was forced to wear short trousers (not a pretty sight!).
Our first group in the morning consisted of 5 visitors - which I thought was a mistake as the trips have been virtually full since we opened. It turned our one of the ferry's to the other Islands had broken down and the Mull ferry was helping out so quite a few people didnt make it over - hopefully everyone is back where they should be now. We stopped halfway down to the hide and had beautiful views of both Skye and Frisa basking in the sunshine. With the sun glistening on their pale heads, they are still a stunnning sight and quite breathtaking. We then went down to the forward hide and had some great views of the chicks - I think I need another word instead of chick - people are expecting small balls of fluff - our two are now quite a size, dark chocolatey brown with their feathers coming through - a couple of times you have to look twice through the scope as you think you are seeing an adult when in fact it is one of the youngsters - that gives you an idea of their size. You can check how they are doing by comparing them to the Estonian pair Live sea eagle webcam
Both Skye and Frisa provided us with some stunning flying displays - lots of oohs and aaahs. We also had another adult sea eagle over the far side of the Loch, visiting from another territory - too far away though to upset Skye and Frisa.
Our afternoon group, again was a small one, just 10 so we went straight down to the forward hide. It wasn't long before we spotted a juvenile golden eagle flying quite close to the nest area - he was being harrassed by the hooded crows - he gave us a lovely fly past so we could admire the markings on his underwing. Then someone spotted a peregrine passing through, followed shortly by a merlin - this was getting exciting. Then someone shouted eagle from behind us! We all swung round - a juvenile, there's another and another - that was 3 - and oh yes - another - 4 juveniles heading our way. By now Skye was up flying heading out to meet them - Frisa was sat a couple of branches above the nest, giving out some warning cries. The four juveniles circled, they were directly above our heads - then one of them and Skye locked talons and did a short tumble - we all held our breath unable to speak - it only lasted a short while but enough to cause heartbeats to race. The juveniles did not want to leave and continued flying around the above the Loch for a good half hour - but they kept their distance from Skye - they had their warning! Eventually they drifted off - Frisa never left her perch and Skye was her hero! As we all got our breath back, another juvenile was spotted - this time flying across the trees towards the nesting area - oh no - what was going to happen (now if I was Dave I would leave this as a cliffhanger but I'm not that cruel!) - the strange thing was Frisa did not give out any alarm calls as she had with the other juveniles - Skye continued to fly but did not go in to warn the bird off - strange? the youngster flew directly over the nest - I would have expected a reaction from one if not both birds - but nothing! The question is - was this Mara or Breagha popping home to say hi? We shall have to wait for the data from our satellite transmitters to answer that one. The afternoon didn't stop there - we then had female hen harrier being mobbed by the crows - she would be possibly protecting young ones if the crows had got too close - and of course, not to be left out of the action, our buzzard gave us a beautiful display. What a day! Someone once asked me if I ever get bored working at Loch Frisa - I dont think I need to tell you the answer.
Golden Eagle - RSPB Images
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Thank you all for your support - we love receiving your comments too!
Debby Thorne - White Tailed Eagle Information Officer, Isle of Mull
I am one of those who reads but doesn't comment. The blogs are fantastic, and it's great having the pictures. I folow Mara and Breagha on Google Earth since the wonderful stories last year. I'm coming to Mull for a week in Aug with my husband. We pass through Mull most years but this year we are actually staying for a week with a view to seeing eagles. I normally comment on the Loch Garten site. Things are pretty fraught there at the moment, so that might be keeping some bloggers occupied. den&ann, I think I live near(ish) you, as on of our local sites is Shapwick Heath although we haven't seen the hobbies yet.
Reply: We are certainly keeping an eye on Loch Garten too, and crossing everything for them! Hope to see you at the Hide in August!
Den&ann: the large number of Loch Garten bloggers reflects the huge readership there, as you will see if you have a look at the figures on http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/ A quick calculation suggests that the proportion of Mull bloggers is quite high in relation to the number of views. If it's of any interest, Sainsburys once told me that they operate their policy based on the assumption that for every comment or complaint they receive on any subject, there are ten times that number who do not make their views known. But if any of you are mad enough to try checking the proportion of bloggers, notice that the overall figures given are stated to be views (not viewers) of the blog and it may be that each of the bloggers logs in ten times a day..... Do any of you happen to know the 19th-century axiom attributed (perhaps erroneously) to Disraeli and made famous by Mark Twain? He identified three degrees of veracity (or, according to Twain, ‘three kinds of lies’), namely: “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Hmmm.
Hi Debby oh c'mon folks must be more people out there to comment on a wonderful blog like this and some of previous blogs by Dave.Must be at least equal of ospreys and see they get over 100 comments.We find it surprising as nothing beats Skye and Frisa for wow factor.Best wishes.Any way of knowing how many people read this blog?.We think lots must read them without commenting.
Reply: Thanks for your support! We do get lots of readers and would love people to comment!
Hey Debby...you are starting to sound like Dave .....but without the cruel streak that leaves us worrying all night after one of his cliffhangers!!!
Seriously, glad to hear the birds are doing so well. Now that you have turned my mum into a birdwatcher we had to go to Bempton on Monday to see the seabird colonies. It was a great visit. There is no holding her back now :}
Thanks for the update Debby! I can fully understand your love for Mull!