It was time to ground-truth the satellite tag data which has been coming in recently for one of the two 2010 white-tailed eagle chicks. The data was suggesting that the chick might have fledged but the last time I checked, the youngster was still firmly on the nest although it frequently jumped out onto a nearby branch and then back again. It wasn't quite ready just yet.

This sunny Sunday afternoon, I bumped along…

Well they certainly are at Loch Frisa.  What am I talking about?  Well, we have just been awarded 4 Stars "Excellent"  Wildlife Attraction category by VisitScotland!  

As you can imagine, we are over the moon.  It is great to receive the recognition that the whole experience of paying a visit to the Eagle Hide is truly "Excellent".  Of course, we knew that but to be told officially, receive a certificate…

"So no one told you life was gonna be this way?"

I often wonder how some of the white-tailed eagle chicks that have fledged from Mull have fared over the years. The biggest question mark of all is what became of that first historic chick in 1985? We didn't wing tag, satellite or radio tag chicks in those early days. Especially not the first one for 70 years!  We just couldn't risk anything going wrong. But…

There are some good dates which stick in your mind. You know the kind of thing - birthdays, wedding anniversaries, happy times. Then there are the others. Less good times. Much less good. Two dates are now etched into my memory for all the wrong reasons and I need to explain to you why that is. January 21st and June 6th 2010 are the two dates concerned. I've already written about the first date January 21st which is the…

Sorry couldnt come up with a song title about how much our buzzard chick has grown.

Our buzzard was 4 weeks old yesterday and just look at the size of it!

Mum has been brilliant bringing in voles, frogs, slow worms and even moles.  The rate of growth is phenominal.  Each day there are huge differences.  The feathers are really coming through now and our chick (still has no name!) is grabbing food…

Can you recall where you were and what you were doing 25 years ago?  I was living in Hertfordshire, sitting behind a desk working for a large pharmaceutical company and listening to Wham 'Careless Whisper', Dire Straits 'Money for Nothing' (remember that video?), and my favourite band, Simple Minds singing 'Don't You Forget about me'! In the news that year - fire engulfed a wooden stand at Valley Road, Bradford during…

(what a great song that was from Ian Dury!)

I know over recent weeks, its been hard to be really cheerful with the failure of the nest at Loch Frisa but we do have lots of things to be really cheerful about.

Our most exciting news is that one of the eggs on our buzzard nest has hatched!  Our female buzzard has been incubating two eggs for just over a month - there is a camera on the nest with pictures beamed back into…

It is now. 

Frisa and Skye have spent more time off than on the nest this week. They still managed to clock up 73 days. Or was it 74? To be honest we have struggled to keep up with them. One minute they're both sitting together on the distant hillside. You look away to talk to a visitor to the Eagle Hide, then you look back and there's only one bird left!  Where did Frisa go? Did she just fly off or did she sneak…

Well the latest news from Loch Frisa is that our eagles arent ready to give up their nest just yet!  Its actually 67 days today they have been sat on that nest - Everyday I drive up the track to check on them, half expecting to see an empty nest.  It nearly happened mid week. 

On Wednesday, Dave and I travelled to Iona to lead a Corncrake Walk.  It has been Wild Isles week on Mull with a whole variety of events taking place…

We've been hearing alot this week about the 'hung Parliament' and of the state of the nation 'in limbo'. Life seems at times to be almost at a standstill. Sounds a bit like Loch Frisa.

I don't know why we keep torturing ourselves! Tonight at 7 pm on yet another evening check to see what they were up to, there was the familiar alert but relaxed eagle head watching me go past. I was really hoping,…

At last we have some warm sunny weather on Mull, following what has seemed like day after day of rain!  I know it has been wet in the south today but this was the scene at Loch Frisa. 

Sadly Frisa and Skye are still taking turns at sitting on the nest.  At the moment, its just a waiting game until they decide to eventually give up on this year's nesting attempt.  Its been a huge disappointment for everyone…

Today at Loch Frisa, as we all prepare ourselves for the inevitable, an eagle's head in the clouds is pretty much all that's been visible. The dreich weather continued to cast a gloomy blanket over the forest and loch. And over the eagle's nest . As the rain fell, the soggy head and beak of Frisa (or was it Skye?) was just about visible above the rim of the nest. Sometimes the head shook, sending a small shower…

First of all, major apologies for the delay. Debby and I are flat out at the moment with monitoring the eagle nests on Mull and trips are also running daily at the hide. There never seems to be a spare moment. I suppose too, if I'm honest,  I've been putting off having to write this news. How can I put this? Things are not going according to plan for Frisa and Skye - or us.

Despite a good, normal incubation and…

At last, we and indeed the eagles, have been enjoying some warm sunshine - and I really mean warm.  In the last week, the larches have started sprouting and have that lovely green hue about them.  The number of sand martins has increased and there is a really frenzy of activity with them relining their burrows.  Peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies are out and about and a lovely sound to be heard was the welcome return…

As I sit and type this, the rain is lashing against the window and its blowing a hoolie outside.  By complete contrast, yesterday was a beautiful, warm sunny, spring day.  On Wednesday we had snow and blizzards!  There is a saying on Mull that you can experience all four seasons in one day - well it is certainly doing that at the moment -  I daren't put the winter woollies away just yet!

Well what a week it has been…

For a brief time last night the skies were clear and the stars were twinkling at their best.  A distant tawny owl was taking advantage of the calm conditions to proclaim his territorial rights and some curlews were calling down on the bay. There really were signs of spring - daffodils now out in force and a garden pond heaving with frogs having fun - but the weather forecast for the next few days told a very different story…

I like mine with a pair of eagles!!

As Dave mentioned in his last blog, Skye and Frisa have decided on this year's nest and are now well into the routine of incubation.  Both adults take turns in sitting on eggs, although Frisa will tend to do a bit more.  It's fascinating watching their behaviour.  They are incredibly careful when they perform their changeover of duty.  The incoming bird will land on the edge of…

Wow. Where does the time go? All of a sudden, the harsh frost-filled icy winter is fading and spring is racing towards us like an eagle after a rabbit. The title of this blog (The Eagles 1972) doesn't exactly sum up this phase of stress and worry all of us feel as the white-tailed eagles settle down to nest again but it does portray the sense of satisfaction we feel when an old friend comes home.

Gazing out from…

courtesy of Vanilla Ice and more recently Jedward!

The beautiful weather continues on Mull.  Crisp, frosty mornings with blue sky and sunshine with the thermometer creeping up to about 5 degrees at lunchtime.  Crocuses are out and love is definately in the air.  I have been watching oystercatchers displaying and males chasing off the competition.  The garden birds are singing their hearts out as the circle of life turns…

Nature always has a way of surprising you, however long you’ve been observing it. Take today for instance. A glance out of the office window at the flocks of chaffinches on the sunflower seeds; lovely in their own way but nothing out of the ordinary. Some were even coming into their bright spring breeding plumage now. Further across the lawn (or what passes for a lawn – it’s more a bed of moss) several blackbirds were…

(sorry couldnt think of a song title for this blog)

Its true I tell you!  I am sitting here on Sunday evening with after sun cream on my face!  Mull has been experiencing some amazing weather over the last few weeks.  Beautiful crisp, clear days, and last night the snow returned.   It  has been the half term holiday for English schools, and there has been a noticeable increase in the visitors to the Island.  We had a  couple…

At last Frisa and Skye have been revealing a few secrets of their hidden world of courtship. At first light last week I discovered them cosied up on an old favourite nest. If this is their choice, there is much to be done to this trusty old eyrie to get it ready in time but they seemed to have a distinct lack of urgency about them. Or at least Skye did.

While Frisa was busy rearranging sticks, Skye was perched to one…

(courtesy of The Carpenters, Close to you - cant stop singing it now!)

Well bit of a busy week - last weekend was The Big Garden Birdwatch.  Why is it that birds that come into the garden every day of the week, suddenly disappear when you need to count them?  On the other hand, you can be surprised at birds that appear that you've never seen before.  As we settled down last Sunday, I noticed a strange looking bird…

Only this week I was watching the fabulous Frisa with the winter's sun beaming down on her and thinking how much like her mother she looked. Of course to some, all white-tailed eagles will look the same. Maybe they do? But for a while there I was transported back 25 years to those lonely but wonderful days on the edge of the loch watching Frisa's mum Blondie raise the first wild bred chick in the UK for 70 years. How…

Last week, we welcomed David Lindo, also known as "The Urban Birder" and photographer Russell Spencer to our Island.  Some of you may have seen David on Spring Watch, The One Show or read some of his articles in the RSPB's Birds magazine, BBC Wildlife Magazine or BirdWatching.  David lives in London and his patch is Wormwood Scrubs which some of you may be familiar with as the prison!  For David, its his piece…