Lots of eagle activity for the first week of Mull Eagle Watch trips.
Having located the new nest of our pair of white-tailed eagles - Iona (female) and Fingal (male) – we have made rapid changes to maintain and improve the visitor experience, which was again awarded the maximum 5-star rating from Visit Scotland last year. Two new shelters have been constructed to provide cover from which we can watch the eagle nest out of the worst of the elements. Our viewing points are further from the nest, but enable wonderful views of the birds and nest in their element as the fly above the tree tops and soar up over the moorland. Ben More, the tallest mountain on Mull, provides a spectacular backdrop and we have watched as the snow has gradually melted in the spring sunshine.
We have seen regular changeovers of our pair following the laying of the first egg late on Friday 29th March, with the departing adult often perching in the top of nearby trees to preen and stretch for long periods, while the other bird hunkers down on the eggs. Their distinctive yelping contact and pair-bonding call piercing the still air of the Glen. Golden eagles have been spotted too, often soaring high toward Ben More, but sometimes coming close as if investigating the new sea eagle nest.
Other interesting news this week is that a pine marten has been reported in the grounds of Tiroran House Hotel, just a mile to the south, on the shore of Loch Scridain where our pair do much of their hunting. These beautiful, but voracious, mammal predators seem to have appeared on Mull in recent years and are reputed to predate eagle eggs from the nest!
Visitor bookings for our second week are building up, prior to the Easter rush, so make your reservation on 01680 812 556 or call in at the Visitor Information Centre at Craignure where they will give you directions. Trips run at 10am and 1pm each weekday. Income from the trips helps support local organisations and projects via the Eagle Fund.
I will again be leading trips this year for the RSPB along with the new Forest Commission Scotland/Mull & Iona Community Trust Ranger Rachel Ann Evans, who is expert on birds of prey.