Phew!  What a week that was!  Just about recovered from Wild Isles Week but what a fantastic week it was.  There were many events around the Island from Corncrake Walks, Evening Birdsong Walks, Looking for Otters and lots of talks on a whole variety of subjects, as well as the Eagle Hide open to trips twice a day.  The trips were fully booked all week and our visitors were treated to some great displays by Skye and Frisa…

It's been a good couple of days at the hide. Frisa and Skye have been very busy, in and out with tasty morsels. Today Frisa took some time out for a bath. The excited group at the forward hide watched as she swept round in front of them and then landed on the grassy spit of land jutting out in to the loch. Then, in she went - fully immersed. Imagine a blackbird in your bird bath in the garden and then multiply it a…

Click here now to see how the sea eagles are doing:

Live sea eagle webcam

There will now be a permanent link on this blog page to the fantastic live webcam from our friends in Estonia showing a pair of white-tailed eagles at their nest. This pair and their two chicks are at a very similar stage to Frisa and Skye and their two youngsters. Just click on the white-tailed eagle camera link. They have other great cameras too…

The signs were not good. No off duty bird perched nearby. By now, given the fine weather, I'd have expected to see an adult enjoing the sun a short distance away from the nest. I waited and watched but all was quiet. Under licence, I ventured closer, then closer still. There should have been a reaction by now. Sea eagles react strongly if disturbed at an active nest. If there are young they will call and fly close - one…

Well, when I woke up this morning with the sun streaming through the bedroom, I thought “won’t be long before the rain arrives”.  How wrong I was.  Today has been simply glorious – blue skies and warm sunshine, just what our chicks, and also our adult birds need.  The adults haven’t been out much this week, protecting the chicks from the cold, the wind and the rain – and they have done a sterling…

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…

We've just analysed some data from a recent typical day in the life of Mara & Breagha. From 4am to 7am Mara was roosting alone in a forestry plantation near Salen. He wasn't a particularly early riser and who can blame him after the recent deluge? He spent the day over the mountains of central Mull. Meanwhile his sister Breagha had also roosted alone near Glen More. She too was still at roost at 8am and then…

Well - just back from Loch Frisa, having been soaked and battered by the wind and rain.  I am pleased to say that both Skye and Frisa are well and Frisa has been feeding two chicks.  They are fantastic parents doing such a great job in this awful weather we are having!  The chicks are only 3 weeks old so still have a lot to get through but at the moment, both doing OK.

 The rain had eased for most of the day but was replaced…

It's late so just a quickie. As you'll continue to see from the weather forecasts, there is no let up in the current autumnal onslaught from the Atlantic. To say we're concerned would be an understatement. But it's raw, wild nature and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it. The good news - and we're mightily relieved about this - is that Frisa and Skye's nest is still there. Tonight at 7.30pm…

Oh how I chuckled to myself as that song came on the radio this morning!  As I drove up to Loch Frisa, I wondered why I had bothered doing my hair as I knew within the space of half an hour I would be resembling someone who had just stepped out of the shower!  The rain has been pretty persistent for a few days now, not heavy, just persistent.

This morning our forward viewing hide was moved into place.  It is positioned in…

We can't pretend it's always wonderful and perfect here on Mull. You only have to look at the TV weather maps at the moment to see what's going on. It seems like one low pressure system after another drifting in and then standing still. It's not been a very memorable day at the hide for Debby and indeed many folk took the sensible course of action and postponed their visit until a better day. Usually we still press on…

The highly acclaimed film about a year on the Isle of Mull by our good friend Gordon Buchanan is to receive its US TV premiere on Sunday May 3 on the PBS TV network in the 'Nature' series. It will be shown at 8pm on the East coast, for other US time zones check your local TV listings. In the UK this BBC film for the Natural World is called 'Eagle Island' and is available to buy in local shops and online from Amazon…

It's when the RSPB mobile 'phone goes early on a Sunday morning that you fear the worst. Mike who was camping nearby first raised the alarm. The extra help we get from Strathclyde Police were next on the scene. An extraordinary scene lay before them: two adult white-tailed eagles on the ground, talons locked together, wings spread out across the grass, heads high, hackles raised and beaks in full attack mode. They must…

Finally, one evening this week, I had the briefest glimpse of one of our precious sea eagle chicks. A weak, wobbly white wee head appeared for a second or two as Frisa looked down proudly at her new offspring. I could only see one. We hope there may be two. Frisa tenderly fed tiny morsels of food, pausing occasionally to gaze around and to look to the far horizon for any sign of Skye approaching with new prey for the…

In haste, as I need to get up there to check all is well today, but Frisa and Skye have successfully hatched young at Loch Frisa this year! They are right on schedule and so far, all seems ok. At least two rabbits have been taken in as food and Frisa has been tenderly feeding tiny morsels to the chick(s). We hope there are two but time will tell. A big thank you to all the local Mull Eagle Watch volunteers, Strathclyde…

It's been a tough weekend. We've had one scare after another. At Loch Frisa we've had marauding corvids - ravens and hooded crows - causing mayhem at Frisa and Skye's nest. Their alarm calls have had us all on the edge of the famous eagle bench. Then the local golden eagle decided to pay a visit and caused even more heart stopping moments. Both Frisa and Skye were off the nest leaving the eggs dangerously…

Day One at the Loch Frisa Eagle Hide: and so it begins...

Some 30 excited visitors joined Debby, Sue and myself for a day to remember as the Isle of Mull's famous Eagle Hide opened its doors for business. The sky was bright but a chilly wind blew from the south east. After a brief stop at the Mull Eagle Watch volunteer's lookout post to get our bearings, we descended to the luxury 'hide' and out of the cold. From there…

Hello everyone

Just a short update to let you know that with Frisa and Skye settled, we open the hide today for trips which you can book on to by calling 01688 302 038. Or visit our Date with Nature web page on this site. There was some concern yesterday when two adult sea eagles were seen high up in the clouds above the nest site. But it turned out not to be Frisa and Skye but another pair who are clearly not settled…

If she'd stayed in Scotland, there's no guarantee she would have been any safer. And yet I can't help feeling we betrayed her. A young golden eagle chick from Mull - like others before her - was donated last year to the bold and successful golden eagle reintroduction project in Ireland. She was from a brood of two and was whisked off to her new home along with other young Scottish goldies. Her sibling fledged successfully…

It's been a crazy and exciting week here on Mull Eagle Watch. Frisa and Skye have been up to their usual tricks and have made life even more frustrating than usual for us this year. There have been days when Frisa has been sitting on one nest and Skye has been building at another. Behaviour I've never seen before at this late stage in their breeding cycle. It's almost as if they've had a serious disagreement. …

Even with the thick cloud this week, it's been noticable how light it is at night with the full moon occasionally breaking through. And for several evenings running at about 7 o'clock, just as the moon is rising, there have been excited shouts from the children of "Barn Owl!" We've raced to the conservatory at the back of the house to watch the beautiful pale form of a barn owl floating over the rushy pasture at the bottom…

Well it's finally happened. It's been months of waiting. Sometimes we thought it would never happen. Where would she lay? Which nest would she choose? But at last, all the signs looked good. She kept herself to herself all morning and then quietly slipped away. We kept watch from a safe distance, checking in on her only occasionally so as not to disturb her at this most important moment.

The world around her carried…

I've been holding off writing, hoping to give some news on Frisa and Skye - like where they're going to nest this year. Not too much to ask by early March you'd think. But a combination of dreadful weather and the birds going AWOL means that we still have no definitive news. There have been occasional sightings but the wet and cold seems to have cooled their nesting instincts for now. Oh well, plenty of time yet...…

First of all my apologies for the delay in posting a new blog. It's been a very hectic week with interviews, admin and field work. The season seems to be kicking off earlier than ever! Most of the pairs of white-tailed eagles on Mull are busy refurbishing their nests or building new ones. One day I feel like I know what's happening with each pair, the next it's all up in the air again - literally. Needles to say…