It's a new dawn, it's a new day...

Sunday January 3:  Hello everyone and welcome to 2010. I actually drafted this on January 1st, hit 'save' and promptly lost the lot...or so I thought. I've been unable to access the RSPB blogs for a few days (did the system crash?) but just now I tried again and amazingly here we are and my first blog of 2010 had saved and was still there! The wonders of technology. So here it is. More soon...

Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for reading the Mull Eagles blog. First of all a huge thank you to all who voted for us on the 'For Argyll Awards 2009' and the breaking news is that we've won again for the second consecutive year which is fantastic news. We're very grateful to you all and we'll do our best to keep this blog fresh and lively in the year ahead.

On this New Year's Day, I've been back to where it all began 25 years ago; the site where the first wild bred white-tailed eagle chick fledged in the UK for some 70 years. Many people and agencies across the decades had worked towards that moment. Today, that territory is not occupied by the original pair who raised that historic chick. The adult female Blondie died in 2000 and her mate in 2003; today the replacement adult pair were sitting in their usual tree by the loch. All around the land was frozen solid and even the edges of the loch were covered in ice. It's been sub zero for over two weeks now, like a mini-ice age! Beautiful, enchanting, magical but very challenging for the eagles and other wildlife. The female today was eating something, it looked a bit like a fish but it was hard to tell. Six whooper swans and a group of wigeon and goldeneye had kept an area of the loch ice free. They were busy feeding and dabbling but always keeping a close eye on the eagles. Down on the flood plain, large numbers of red deer stags, hinds and calves were doing their best to find something nutricious to eat amidst the frozen rushy stems.

From across the loch flew another sea eagle, a sub adult. The adults called briefly and as the new bird landed further down the loch I could see it had red wing tags. This meant it was a bird from 2005 so now coming into full adulthood. Despite straining eyes in failing light through the 'scope, the best I could come up with was the letter 'G' . But a quick check back in the records showed there was no 'G' in 2005. When I looked back, it had gone. Vanished into the thin wintry sunlight. Could the letter actually have been an 'S'? Was it our long lost Scratchy from Loch Frisa? The search for him and his brother Itchy (red tag, white letter 'I') is on. The last time we put out an appeal for sightings of them we got a great reaction and confirmed both were still alive and well. We already know that a couple of red tagged birds are now paired up with other adults and on territory on the west coast.  I wonder if Itchy and Scratchy have found mates yet? Do let us know if you come across them in your travels this year. The identity of our red tagged visitor on January 1st  will remain a mystery...but there's always tomorrow. Maybe time for another visit!

I wonder what lies in store for Mull's eagles this year? We hope for a good disturbance-free breeding season for both goldens and white-tails. In addition to the 25 year anniversary of the first chick, it's also 10 years of excitement, thrills and spills at the Loch Frisa Eagle Hide. So far this winter, Frisa and Skye have not given away any clues about their proposed nest site in 2010 although a few days ago they were both sitting in last year's nest tree which I've not seen them in since Heather fledged last summer. That nest has long since fallen out so it would be a new build if that's where they choose. On the same day, a young sea eagle, probably Heather, was perched nearby. Fantastic to see them all still together as we enter a new decade. Surely one day soon, Frisa and Skye will reveal their secret. Stay tuned and we'll be sure to share all their news with you on our 'award-winning' website! Thanks again and all best wishes for the year ahead. It's going to be quite a ride.

Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer

According to the Sky 1 TV listings page, 'Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza' will now begin on Sky 1/Sky 1 HD on Thursday January 7 at 9pm. This is a recent change to the schedules. First stop for the celebrity birding teams is RSPB's Mersehead Reserve on the Solway Firth. The programme filmed on Mull is Episode 4 and can probably be seen on Thursday January 28th. Don't miss it! Although if they keep messing around with the days and times, we probably will.