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david sexton

So we've made it through this horrible week. Enough of the weather. Apart from reporting that the rain has now stopped. The winds have now dropped and Frisa, Skye and the two chicks are alive and well. It wasn't an easy day at the hide for Debby with constant heavy squalls rattling through every time they ventured outside. But by the afternoon the eagles were out and about, they brought in prey and there were some happy visitors. The week ahead looks fine and settled. It's 'Wildlife Week' here on Mull & Iona, our 7th and biggest and best yet. There are loads of talks, walks and events. The RSPB mini-team (Debby, me and Jenny from the Glasgow office) will be running a corncrake walk on Iona on Tuesday, a coastal wander on Wednesday, a film show on Thursday and at some point yet to be decided, perhaps an evening eagle cruise out of Tobermory and maybe an all day seabird/whale watch. So quite alot going on but most importantly, I will be trying to fit in a complete check on all our nesting sea eagles to see how they've fared during this last horrendous week. There are some worrying reports to follow up on: both adults out and flying at one site where one adult should be brooding small young; another where hatching should have happened during the worst of the storms and another where the nest looked unattended when it should have had an adult nearby. The next week should reveal all. There will have been casualties but for the most part I'm hoping nests and chicks will have been well protected by experienced parents. Thank you for everyone's supportive comments this week. It helps to keep us going. Until next time...  

Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer

  • Mex, I agree totally with your comments, if we keep pestering maybe one day we will get a book or his blogs published in some form. Roy Denis has done it and your writings Dave are every bit as interesting and informative. Unfortunatly I am missing Wild Isles week it will be all over by the time I arrive on Mull. I know how very busy people you all are on the team but it would be fantastic if some of these events were repeated in some small way throughout the season. Heres hoping you find all your nests intact and birds and chicks thriving when you do your rounds next week.
  • I have been following the story of the Mull sea eagles with much interest from Australia. I visited Mull some 4 years ago to find my great great grans family and fell in love with the magical place. Keep up the good work fly free and safe all eagles!!
  • Dave - you mention being glad of the support you receive from this messageboard. Well, the goodwill of a huge number of people is pointing in the direction of you and 'your' invaluable birds. You must have a huge readership out here, I think - the great majority of whom don't ever leave comments. The RSPB should give serious consideration to publishing your blogs in the form of a diary: perhaps there were blogs before May 2007, too? They are all so brilliantly written that, with only a very little editing (you don't want to lose their spontaneity) a compilation would be easy to publish and would sell very well. 'Fascicules' could be added from year to year as time goes on. Its publication would be of great benefit to the RSPB as well as to the Mull project. For a start, you have in us a captive audience/readership who would all buy it instantly! If you, Dave, don't feel able to suggest it to The Powers That Be, for modesty's sake, perhaps Debbie could??
  • Oh Dave I do hope that all the nests and chicks have survived the weather !!! Can't bear to think of small frightened chicks falling out of nests !! Really hope too that no eggs have been stolen by the weirdos who seem to think it's fun to steal them With the bad weather they may have thought they could creep onto Mull without being noticed !! So glad that Skye and Frisas family are well and I hope you have a fabulous week showing everyone how beautiful Mull is and see lots and lots of wildlife..

  • Sounds like a frantically busy week but a rewarding one hopefully.  So much bad weather and so worrying thinking about chicks suffering cold and wet and parent birds potentially losing broods.  If chicks do succumb to something, do the parents mate and lay again or is that it for the season?

    Reply: sadly it's too late in the seaon now so that is that for another year if the worst happens