Having recently experienced a drought on Mull, I think I can safely say, that it is over! We have had our fair share of rain over the last few weeks so when it is dry, you have to dash outside and get all those outdoor jobs done such as cutting the grass which seems to grow at a phenominal rate on this Island!
For those of you who haven't been to the eagle hide at Loch Frisa, this is the view taken one day last week, looking down the Loch. On the Loch we have a pair of red throated divers, a family of red breasted mergansers, grey heron and their youngster, curlew, our colony of common gulls and our mallard family.
If you look in the opposite direction, this is the view:
On the far right in the distance is our only munro Ben More, a breathtaking sight as you drive down to the eagle Hide.
We have our colony of sand martins, who are now ready to lay their second clutch of eggs. Usually flying across these fields are our swallows swooping and diving catching insects in the process. Our family of buzzards also hunt over these fields too with the parents showing our youngster how its done. We often get golden eagle soaring across here too.
In front of the hide, we have several feeders which attract a variety of small birds including chaffinch, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, greenfinches, chaffinches, redpoll, greater spotted woodpecker and one of the most popular, the siskins.
Female Siskin
As you can see, Loch Frisa is a great place for birdwatching. Of course, our resident white tailed eagles, Skye and Frisa are here all year round. They love to sit in the larches just in front of the hide - even when its raining they have been delighting our visitors. It really makes my day when we have visitors to the hide, who have never seen a white tailed eagle before and Skye and Frisa are sitting proudly, sometimes together on a branch. Recently, one gentleman had travelled all the way from Australia just to see them - it was certainly worth the many thousands of miles he had travelled. There was also a couple, from our Land Rover fan club, who were speechless and just in awe of Frisa's beauty.
Across Mull, our sea eagle chicks have been fledging. It is still a nail biting time as we wait for them to safely leave the nest. When they fledge, they dont take off in a spectacular fly past but drop down onto the lower branches or onto the ground. Gradually they build up their confidence, practice their wing flapping and will do short flights encouraged by their parents. The parents will also continue to feed their chicks until they are able to feed themselves, dropping food nearby or holding on to it, to encourage the youngsters to "come and get it". This year, 10 chicks have safely fledged and as they enter the big wide world, we wish them well - their adventures are about to begin - let's hope they stay safe and like Skye and Frisa, bring delight and joy to anyone lucky enough to see one fly past.
To book a visit to the eagle hide, call our friends at Visit Scotland in Craignure on 01680 812556 Mull Eagle Watch
Frisa
Debby Thorne
White Tailed Eagle Information Officer, Mull
Yes another nice boost to the S E population.