Magical Experience - The Hebridean Tour 2014

I have just read the blog on Mull Eagles which took me back to our holiday on the Western Isles in June this year and thought i'd share with you and be available to help with any doubts or questions you have on having a wildlife holiday on the islands I've highlighted below. It will be my opinion on how we saw it and we did have great walking weather where we were able to go walk about to see the islands and wildlife in their environment. However just driving around you can see plenty and the car makes a great hide. One example of that, we saw great views of a Corncrake close to us in a field near the road. Anyway - We were considering a month to six weeks abroad but decided to have a month on the islands finding and watching our own wildlife. I planned a week on Mull, a week on Benbecula covering South Uist and North Uist then a week on Harris and Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and finally a week on the Isle of Skye. Well, what a trip, and what an experience! We drove from Devon to the borders and stayed over then headed for Oban to catch the Ferry to Mull. We stayed in Cottages on all the Islands so we could come and go as we pleased which suited us just fine. We planned our trip to take in the whole of June when birds would be nesting and feeding chicks and what a month we had. I shan't bore with every day sightings but our first full day on Mull produced sightings of Two White Tailed Eagles, a Herd of Red Deer grazing on the edge of the road, Cuckoo's flying around in close proximity, all at Grass Point. What a start to our holidays! The week just got better, with Golden Eagles, more sightings of White Tails, Common Sandpipers with chicks, plenty of Greylag Geese all over the Island.Eider Duck in full summer plumage, Arctic Tern, Arctic Skua, Black and common Gillies, Razorbill, Gannets,and many other species were seen throughout the Islands. One of the many Highlights for us both were the first sightings of Hen Harriers, a Ringtail spooked Lapwings nesting in the Machair then decided to give us a fly pass over the picnic table while we were having lunch!! and my camera left in the car! Then 10 minutes later at another location the sky dancing Male quartered over the moor then climbed high over our heads. What a fantastic view of this brilliant bird....its quarry Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. Our first of many sightings of this beautiful iconic bird of the heathland across all the Islands bar Skye. While on Mull we decided to take a trip to Lunga and Staffa where we wanted to see Puffins on Lunga and the famous Fingle Cave on Staffa. We were told we were to have two hours with the Puffins and an hour on Staffa and really wondered what we would do on both Islands for that length of time. OMG we could have stayed on Staffa all day and stay all Summer on Lunga. If you want up close and personal with Puffins this is the place to go...Wow, what a place. Puffins at your feet, flying past your head as they fly in off the sea. Puffins, Puffins everywhere, pairing up and in full summer plumage. A Wonderful and an emotional visit. I think my best experience was the Short Eared Owls on North Uist, 5 individuals seen in one day, and one hunting along the roadside catching prey and returning time after time in front of us, amazing. O forgot to say we also saw Otters, Common and Grey seals, Bottle Nosed Dolphins!!. The Beaches, i forgot to mention were breathtaking, white sand, blue sea and blue skies!! The landscape and views were hard to beat. A truly amazing and magical experience on our own wonderful British Islands.