The 'phone rang at lunchtime. It was Linda. She'd just seen a juvenile sea eagle fly low over her house on the NE coast of Mull near Ardnacross. It was so close she could see "some kind of aerial" on it. But her description initially suggested it was one of the east coast releases with a radio pack rather than one of our Mull twins. Surely it was too soon for one of the Fife birds to have drifted this far west? But a call to Claire Smith tracking her birds in Perthshire confirmed one bird was unaccounted for...
A quick scramble to the landrover and on the road north towards Tobermory. The mist came and went; it drizzled, then the sun shone. A complete mix including a magical rainbow arching high over the Sound of Mull almost from the island to the Morvern mainland. I looked hard at the end of the rainbow hoping my pot of gold - a chick - might be sitting there. But no sign of anything. Well, ok, a heron. An eagle could have been miles away by now. As I was leaving, my eye glimpsed an odd shaped rock by the shore. It was an adult sea eagle. The 'scope zoomed in to show it had a BTO ring on its left leg. Skye has his ring on his left leg. What was he doing here? Moments later he took off and flew SW straight back in the direction of Loch Frisa. I was sure it was him. Had he followed one of his chicks over here to keep watch, a protective parental eye? Still, there was no sign of a chick as I left.
There was only one way we would ever know for sure. Today, Roy Dennis from the Highland Foundation for Wildlife who helped us fit the tags, forwarded the latest satellite data and there was the proof! It wasn't an east coaster. It was our adventurous Mara on his first big (-ish) flight away from Loch Frisa and indeed his father had followed him to ensure all was well. Fantastic news! The satellite tags were working properly, they'd already proved something we'd never have known for sure and best of all, he has found his way home again. Today, they were all back together at Loch Frisa. One big adventure was enough for now. Where will Mara go next and when will his big sister follow him?
Dave Sexton RSPB Mull Officer
I have to agree write a book there would be a queue at the bookshop when it was published,this takes me back to bedtime stories when I was little (that was not today nor yesterday ) you can't wait to get to bed and read as much as you can before you are told lights out time. Go on David it would undoubtedly be a best seller.
Another beautifully written blog Dave, full of mystery, intrigue and this time a happy ending. Carrie is right, you should write a book. You have a way with words that captures your readers and of course wonderful stories courtesy of these fantastic birds. Aren't birds brilliant !
The increased knowledge that tags are unfolding is absolutely fantastic. Oh for a tag small enough to track our diminishing flocks of twite. Until then we will continue to 'bog hop' around our moors trying to persuade the birds to perch so that we can see their colour ring combinations. Great fun though!