It has been a busy time at Mull Eagle Watch - lots of visitors coming to see the white tailed eagles, here at Tiroran and at our other site, West Ardhu North West Mull Community Woodland Fingal and Iona's chick at Tiroran is not far off fully grown and is now over 8 weeks old. We think it is a male but are waiting on the DNA results to confirm this. In the meantime he is doing some serious wing stretching, building up the muscles needed for the inevitable fledging which can happen between 10 and 12 weeks of age. Fingal and Iona, as ever, are proving to be excellent parents bringing in plenty of food - the chick is old enough now to feed itself. Just yesterday, Fingal flew in with a seabird and the chick grabbed it from him and took it to the rear of the nest where he proceeded to devour it. This gives Fingal and Iona some respite from the task of feeding and we have been having some great views of them sitting side by side, as well as enjoying some of the lovely weather we have had and giving us some spectacular flying displays against the backdrop of Ben More, our Munro on Mull.
As well as our eaglet, there has been plenty of action from other wildlife around the forest. On the feeders, we have enjoyed great views of newly fledged siskins, greenfinch, chaffinch, robin but the highlight for me was when the female great spotted woodpecker which came down to the peanut feeder with her youngster. I was lucky enough to capture a little video clip in between trips.
It seems no matter where you turn, there is something exciting to see; golden ringed dragonflies, dark green fritillary butterflies and behind our viewing area a vole has made its home and is a joy to see.
Come and join us on a trip - you never know what you might see. Booking is essential and can be done through our friends at Craignure Tourist Office on 01680 812556. See what Steph has been up to at West Ardhu blog
Debby Thorne
Ranger, Isle of Mull