That thin ridge of high pressure has just nudged far enough in to the west coast of Scotland to at least give us a dry day and at times a few warm and sunny moments. I was at Loch Frisa first thing to try and locate the chicks for Gordon and co to film. The sat tag data told me late last night that they were on a hill to the south of the loch and the chances were they might still be there this morning. But some weird sixth sense made me drive straight passed the Glen Aros road junction which would have given us good views of that hill area and instead head up the hill towards the north shore of the loch. I'm glad I did! There was Breagha down by the loch edge where I'd seen both chicks having their first bath all those weeks ago and Mara was on the ridge by the lonely standing stones. It always sends a chill down the spine when I see them by those ancient stones. I can recall old Pictish stones from Orkney and Easter Ross with the unmistakable carving of a sea eagle on them - clearly they used to be held in such high esteem by ancient man and woman. And here was Mara reconnecting with that mysterious past. As I was musing what all that meant in the great scheme of things, he took off and flew east and out of sight. I called Gordon and the crew who were finishing their full Scottish breakfast in Tobermory and told them to get down here - fast!
The skies were just full of birds of prey. In that brief few minutes I watched several buzzards, three kestrels, a male hen harrier, a sparrowhawk racing along the edge of the forestry track and a distant young golden eagle. This was the first dry spell for a few days so they were just up and enjoying themselves. I was wondering where Mara might have gone to so headed back towards the hide. No sign of him or the crew (probably having another coffee).
Something else made me stop by the quarry and take a short walk out into the field. I remembered then that I needed new boots. The dew from the grass in the recently cut field soaked straight through my 'waterproof' boots. Great, I thought, wet, cold feet all day. I glanced back towards the landrover and could scarcely believe my eyes. There in the larches right above the vehicle and right next to the track sat Mara. I must have walked right underneath him and he'd have watched me the whole time. This was the closest I'd been to him since we fitted the satellite tags and it was the sort of shot the BBC NHU were desperate for. But still no sign of them! Now I had a dilemma. Did I walk back to the landrover and risk spooking him or did I stay where I was in the field? If I did that and Gordon's crew saw me, they'd stop, get out and mill about right beneath him, again without seeing him and that might spook him too! Needless to say there was no mobile 'phone reception for me to warn them. I was trapped! Unbelievable. We may never get this close again. It was as if Mara had shown up on cue for his starring role, only to find none of us quite ready. Suddenly there were the crew, still a long way off but heading down the track towards us and getting closer by the second. I had to act now...
Will Mara win a Bafta for his performance or will this 'sequence' end up on the cutting room floor? Find out tomorrow!
Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer
17 September 2125hrs
Dave Sexton, RSPB Scotland Mull Officer
Valerie