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Faulty starter motor, but I'll get it fixed . Soukous BY 2020


Soukous

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1 hour ago, Soukous said:

We seem to have an invasion of Redshanks at the moment.

Well you can always send some my way. For some reason I have not got one this year. Maybe I ignored them in Jan-March but they WILL be back.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A brief stop in the Scottish Borders and East Lothian on the way to Mull. Yes it is an odd route to take but I need to make a pickup at Edinburgh airport.

 

Getting out of the car was a bit of a shock after weeks of balmy weather in sunny Suffolk. A chilly 10 degrees and a howling wind welcomed me to Scotland.

 

The need to take the dogs for a walk on the beach presented some opportunities.

 

#171 - Gannet (also referred to by some as Northern Gannet) - Morus bassanus

North Berwick, Scotland. Sep 2020

(I changed the location as I realised that these particular Gannets were seen in North Berwick, not Coldingham Bay. The shots I got there were in much poorer light.)

 

Gannet

 

Gannet

 

Gannet

 

Edited by Soukous
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If this is what I think it is, then it is number 172, but I'm not confident of the ID.

There were several of them skipping between the rocks and the beach

 

#172 - Rock Pipit - Anthus petrosus - (FTP #72)

Coldingham Bay, Scotland. Sep 2020

 

Rock Pipit

 

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I’m no expert, but I would also say Rock Pipit.

I look forward to some more additions from Scotland!

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6 hours ago, Soukous said:

then it is number 172, but I'm not confident of the ID.

Why not. The legs have it.

It's also much drabber overall.

It's not called a Rock Pipit for its love of Music!:P

 

Nice set of Gannets too.

 

Edited by Galana
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good shots of the gannets on the wing! 

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7 hours ago, Galana said:

Why not.

 

'cos I've never ID'd one before :)

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Lovely shots, both the Gannets and the Pipit!

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Love the pipit against the lichens. I'm also looking forward to more from Scotland

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@Soukousalso waiting for the Mull instalments, 16months ago we were on that beautiful island. 

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On 9/25/2020 at 9:27 PM, TonyQ said:

I look forward to some more additions from Scotland!

 

On 9/30/2020 at 7:16 AM, elefromoz said:

also waiting for the Mull instalments

 

On 9/28/2020 at 4:28 AM, shazdwn said:

I'm also looking forward to more from Scotland

 

Well folks, I was very excited about the possibilities too. 

I don't know whether the reality will satisfy or disappoint you. 

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Mull, a brief escape

 

Well, what can I say?

I was so excited to be making a trip that included overnight stays for the first time in 7 months that it probably didn’t matter where I was going, but Mull has been on my list for a few years now and somehow something has always come up to thwart my plans. Even this trip was only taking place because we had been forced to postpone from our original date in April.

 

Before I even left home this trip had already been disrupted by the resurgence of Covid-19.

My sister and her partner were due to come and stay with us on Mull, but they live in France and had already been forced to drop out due to quarantine restrictions.

We found some friends to take their place but that too was blown out of the water when our friend in the North ( the wee sour faced one with the tartan mask) said that households could not mix.

So it was just going to be the two of us then. No problem. I just had to travel via Edinburgh airport to collect my better half who has been tending to a very sick father. 

 

After the wet blustery conditions on the East coast it was a pleasant surprise to find the West coast of Scotland bathed in sunshine. (OK, the sun was not really strong enough to worry a vampire, but it was sunshine; something I’ve enjoyed all too rarely on my visits to Scotland). We even managed to squeeze onto an earlier ferry which meant we'd arrive before dark. Yay!

 

We were staying at the South West of the island, near Bunessan.

Our cottage was OK. Due to Coronavirus restrictions just about everything that could be taken out had been, leaving little apart from furniture, a reduced set of kitchen utensils and a TV. Consequently the place looked very bare and characterless.

 

I think I must be absurdly optimistic, because I had expected this trip would take my BY tally sailing past the 200 mark. I’d got the idea into my head that there would be birds everywhere, with a proliferation of shorebirds and seabirds.

Ha Ha! You silly boy. It was hard work.

It seems that I had arrived a month too early and that the birding scene picks up from mid October onwards.

(Or, I’m a lot worse at this birding lark than I thought.)

 

We did get to see the 2 species I had come looking for; White-tailed Eagle and Golden Eagle (more than once even) but the sightings were distant and whilst they may have satisfied a twitcher, they were very disappointing for someone hoping to get lovely photographs. In fact, the first time I saw them both I didn’t bother with taking photos as I was convinced I’d get better sightings later on. Such hubris.

 

I think we checked out just about every road, hamlet, bay and beach on the island in my quest for BY additions. And it was fabulous, even if almost all the pubs and restaurants were closed, meaning we couldn't just stop for a drink or a bite to eat. 

 

The weather stayed fine for most of the time, although waking to 2 degrees on our first morning was a bit of a shock, and we only had one day of rain, so I can’t complain that the weather spoiled my chances. Although at one point I did get so desperate that I found myself photographing a Gull in the pouring rain.

 

In the end, we agreed that this trip would be classed as a recce for our next visit – which would be much better planned.

 

Now for the birds....

 

 

 

 

 

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having seen Rock Pipits for the first time (knowlingly) on the east coast, they turned out to be just about the most common bird of the whole trip, turning up just about everywhere we went.

 

Rock Pipit

 

The other bird that was everywhere we went on Mull was the Hooded Crow.

I spent the first 2 days ignoring them and then realised that I'd better grab some photos.

 

#173 - Hooded Crow - Corvus cornix - (FTP # 73)

Calgary Bay, Mull. Sep 2020

 

Hooded Crow

 

Hooded Crow

 

also at Calgary Bay was this Gull. It was the only place I saw one

 

#174 Common Gull (Mew Gull) - Larus canus (FTP #74)

Calgary Bay, isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

Common Gull

 

Common Gull

 

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I have to admit that after the first couple of days I was feeling a bit disheartened as almost all the birds I was seeing were ones I had already listed

 

Dunlin

Dunlin

 

Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

 

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

 

 

and there were few that made me go Wow!

Still, as they say, every bird counts. Even one that should have been in my garden but was missing this year.

 

#175 Mistle Thrush - Turdus viscivorus - Oh no it's not :(

Fionnphort, Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

Mistle Thrush

 

Edited by Soukous
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We saw a good number of Raptors, with Buzzards outnumbering all the others added together, but in amongst the sightings were Golden and White-tailed Eagles.

We saw both ove Glen More and then White -tailed again at Grasspoint, near Lochdon. I tried many other locations without any luck.

We also saw Golden Eagles at Glen More, but I didn;t take any photos - dummy - as I was sure I'd get more opportunities. After all, there are around 30 pairs of Golden and more than 20 pairs of White-tailed on the island.

 

Sadly they were not presenting well for photography and I only managed a distant shot of the Golden Eagle at Groggan

 

#175 - Golden Eagle - Aquila chrysaetos - (FTP #75)

Groggan, Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

golden-eagle.jpg.a187e7ba896c13e6a8cca505000c4eca.jpg

 

well, I did say it was distant...

here's a crop

golden-eagle---crop.jpg.09a952e9880320b35dc33b098ff3f807.jpg

Edited by Soukous
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As I mentioned, Buzzards were abundant

 

Buzzard

 

Buzzard

 

Buzzard

 

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#176 - Goosander - Mergus merganser - (FTP #76)

Loch na keal - isle of Mull - Sep 2020

 

Goosander

 

Edited by Soukous
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I had no idea what these were when I took the photo. It was a dull day and I saw 3 ducks out in the middle of Bunessan Bay. I thought I may as well take the phot and ID them afterwards, as they were drifting further from shore

 

#177 - Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator (FTP # 77)

Bunessan Bay, Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

Red-breasted Merganser

 

Edited by Soukous
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#178 - Cormorant (Great) - Phalacrocorax carbo - (FTP #78)

Pennyghael. Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

Cormorant

 

Edited by Soukous
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#179 - Shag - Phalacrocorax aristotelis

Groggan, Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

a juvenile I think

shag

 

and another one at Craignure

shag-on-a-buoy.jpg.b797279c836799b18c29bdc0fcb72e17.jpg

Edited by Soukous
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I never thought I'd do it, but I found myself standing in the rain to take a photo of a Gull.

I spent days studying every gull I could se in the hope of finding an Iceland or a Glaucus only to discover that I was a few weeks too early

 

#180 - Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus - (FTP #79)

Uisken Bay, Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

Black-backed Gull

 

Black-backed Gull

 

 

 

Edited by Soukous
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and finally, yes I know. It was a meagre tally.

 

This was my favourite sighting of the trip.

I'd seen one hunting over the hills near Fidden as we left one afternoon. so I went back in the hope that it might like the area and still be there.

It wasn't. But as I got near our cottage I saw it flying over the bushes to my right. I scrambled to stop the car safely, making sure no-one would drive into my rear, and grabbed for my camera. By now it had flown acros the road and was heading off towards the coast.

The best I could do was grab some shots as it departed.

 

#181 - Hen Harrier - Circus cyaneus - (FTP # 80)

near Bunessan, Isle of Mull. Sep 2020

 

Hen Harrier

 

Hen Harrier

 

Edited by Soukous
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Very nice pictures Martin. I sympathize about the Eagles, it's very similar here in the Alps. Not an uncommon sight but never close enough for photos. Are you sure about you Mistle Thrush? Looks more like Song to me. 

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2 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

Are you sure about you Mistle Thrush? Looks more like Song to me. 

 

I knew someone would say that. :(

I persuaded myself that the spots were more round than horseshoe shaped, and that the bird was a bit too grey for a Song Thrush. 

But I had been enjoying a glass of whisky. :rolleyes:

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1 minute ago, Soukous said:

But I had been enjoying a glass of whisky

That's what you gonna do up there, way more fun than Thrushes. Reminds me about my houseboating trip in Scotland. We rewarded ourselves with Whiskey for every difficult boat maneuver. Every maneuver was difficult for us so a lot of rewards. Cheers! B)

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