courtesy Black Eyed Peas
We are back! Today was the first day at our new location in Glen Seilisdeir on the western side of the Island. Set against the stunning backdrop of Ben More, with lochs, forestry, plantations, we are in fantastic eagle country.
Due to ongoing forest management, Skye and Frisa will be stepping (or flapping!) out of the limelight for a while - they are fine and we will bring you news on them this spring as and when there is anything to report.
Glen Seilisdier, which means Glen of the Irises is home to Blue 9 (male) and Green T (female), a pair of white tailed-eagles who have made this stunning location their home since 2002. It was with great excitement that I greeted our first visitors this morning. We settled into our new forest hideaway and watched as Green T carried out the important duties of incubation. Every now and then, she would gently lift herself up onto the edge of her nest, gently roll her precious eggs before settling back down again. And then we saw a white flash - and in came Blue 9 to give his mate a break so she could go off to feed. She took some persuading but eventually lifted off and flew just a short distance to the conifers directly in front of us. We hardly dare breathe as the 2 of them called to each other. Blue 9 settled down and his mate flew off to find some lunch. Back at the hide, we had great views of the siskins on the feeders, chaffinches looking for nesting spots, goldcrests flitting about the trees, and a buzzard displaying to its mate. A great start to the season. Just time for a quick bite then off to collect the afternoon group. It was funny to watch him re-arranging the contents of the nest, that his mate had painstakingly arranged earlier in the morning. Then out of nowhere, unable to stay away too long, Green T returned. She was happy to sit on the edge of the nest and let her mate do his fair share of incubation. Then we caught sight of something large flying close to the nest and as we were trying to work out what it was, a third adult white tailed eagle flew straight over the nest - where it came from and who it was, we have no idea but what a sight.
Here is a photo of the male Blue 9 taken today having relieved Green T of her duties - shortly after taken this picture a snow blizzard came through! Please note photo only possible from the Mull Eagle Watch viewing area; Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) licence required for schedule 1 species (photo Debby Thorne)
Back at the hide, high above the glen, 3 huge birds were circling together. Even without looking through binoculars, there was no doubting they were golden eagles. On two of them, the white markings were clearly visible indicating juveniles and an adult. Across the ridge by Ben More, 3 buzzards enjoyed the an uplift and swooped and dived effortlessly.
What a fantastic start to the season. Our first visitors of the season went away on cloud 9 - a great start to their Easter holidays and raving about our new location.
Trips run Monday to Friday at 10.00 and 1.00 and can be booked through our friends at Craignure Visitor Centre on 01680 812556
Day 1 of the all new Mull Eagle Hide
L-R Michael Russell MSP, Moray Finch (General Manager, Mull & Iona Community Trust and Mike Cantlay (Chairman, VisitScotland)
at the VisitScotland Visitor Information Centre, Craignure who take the bookings for trips. Mull Eagle Watch and the new Eagle Hide at Glen Seilisdeir opened for business today. Call VisitScotland
on 01680 812556 to book a trip Monday to Friday 10.00 and 13.00.
Photo courtesy Alan Jack
Dont forget you can get up to date information by following us on Twitter @skyeandfrisa and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/groups/65385337670/
Debby Thorne
White-Tailed Eagle Information Officer
Isle of Mull
Thanks Debby, we will wait with anticipation to find out how many eggs!
Hope the snow and cold winds don't last too long for you, and for the birds.