Wildlife Watching on Mull

Around Ben More

This was the 'big one' as far as I was concerned , the day I had been looking forward to the most.  I had even gone easy on the complimentary whisky the night before so as to be in peak condition. We drove to the ferry terminal at Craignure to meet our guide for the day 'Nigel' from Island Encounters. The tour would mainly be focused around the centre and southern parts of the island.

Around Ben More

Our first major sighting was of 'White Tailled Sea Eagles. White-tailed eagles are magnificent birds of prey, with a wingspan of over 2 metres when adult. They became extinct in Britain in the early 1900s but were reintroduced in the 70s. The first successful breeding of the re-introduced white-tailed eagles occurred on Mull in 1985. Together with the golden eagle, these birds are the reason Mull is often called ‘Eagle Island’. The small population of white-tailed eagle in Britain is found only in the highlands and islands of the west of Scotland. Compared to smaller and shorter-lived birds, white-tailed eagles have a low reproductive rate, which has contributed to the slow growth in the population. 'Egg collectors' have also hampered efforts to re-introduce the species. There are now said to be 21 breeding pairs on Mull.
 

When not feeding they are not exactly the most energetic of birds, quite content to idle their time away in the tree tops. The bird we were watching was soon joined by the male and it was just the start we hoped for. It was one of those days where the sunshine instantly disappeared and driving wind and rain replaced it. As a result we we were forced back into the mini bus to take shelter. It was good to see seals basking on the loch along with many Oystercatchers on the shore. We took lunch opposite Inch Kenneth.
 

Inch Kenneth is just a short distance off the coast from Mull, just off Gribun rocks. The island is 55 hectares in area and is very different from the rest of Mull. Inch Kenneth is one of the most historically important islands in Scotland. Along with Iona, this island has a significant number of important burials of the kings of Scotland. The island (Innis Choinnich) was named after St Kenneth, who founded a monastery on the island.
Shortly afterwards we had our first Golden Eagle sighting! There was a pair , a long way in the distance and very high over a ridge. Just then the heavens opened again  and one went over the ridge. The other took shelter high amongst the craggy  outcrop. With the scope it was 'just' about possible to make out the shape but with the conditions so bad it was almost impossible.  A golden eagle has a wingspan of up to 8ft. Its body is up to 40in long,it weights up to 13lb and it can fly at 100mph. Sadly this was to be as close as e were going to get today.
It is thought that there are 23 pairs of Golden Eagle on Mull.

Time to go

We did have more luck spotting Otters though! Spotting Otters can be tricky, they blend in well with the seaweed covered rocks and often, when out in the water, there little heads can be mistaken for rocks sticking out from the water. Thankfully as we passed Loch Beg we had our first sighting. Once spotted the secret is to get up or down shore in the direction they are swimming. The type of Otters on Mull are The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), also known as the European otter. They can easily be well over a metre
long.