The chick has fledged...

Last Saturday morning the chick fledged from the nest, and there have been reported sightings of it on top of the tree and it’s been heard calling in the local fields and woodlands.

John the RSPB ranger heard it on Monday and Tuesday. Today we heard the chick on our morning trip but did not hear it or see it on the afternoon trip…

Iona has been seen on the nest tree on Monday of this week.

We are still open but we have changed how we do things by walking out and looking for the birds but sticking to the footpaths. We are still giving the talks about the WTE and showing some of the pictures from this season, if you want to join us we travel out at 10am and 1pm the tours are about 2 hours long.

Please remember to book, and call ahead for opening times. We are not open this Friday 2nd August or Thursday 8th August due to the local shows that are on. We will have a stand at both shows Bunessan and Salen so do pop in and see us.

This was the last picture I took of the chick on Friday 26th July 2013, enjoy ….

Written by the Mull Ranger

New hide at Glen Seilisdeir is a hit!

We are certainly back! This is our second week at our new hide location at Glen Seilisdeir, the home to Blue 9 (male) and Green T (female), since 2002. Trips are proving very popular and the birds are being very well behaved. The eggs (not quite sure how many) have been laid and both birds and taking it in turns to tend to them lovingly.

The weather too has been quite kind over this Easter week, which makes life much more pleasant for the bird sitting on the nest. From their viewpoint high in the conifers they have a 360 degree view of Glen Sheilisdair (Glen of the Iris) and could not want from more scenic views from the nest site. With a backdrop over the tree tops to Ben More and views out to Loch Scridian and the Ross of Mull it is a fantastic location. Their location provides an ideal food source both for themselves and their future chicks, with the sea only a short distance to north and south and surrounded by moorland.

The whole trip experience is proving very popular with a short talk at the hide followed by a foray into the 'wild woods'. The location from where you see the nest is very much a woodland experience, it is almost like entering into a woodland den, the children just love it and it has real at one with nature feel.

To share in this wonderful experience, booking is essential. The bookings can be made at the Craignure Tourist Information Centre or on 01680812556. Ranger led trips run Monday to Friday 10 am and 1pm.

For those that have followed the blog in previous years Frisa and Skye are well and living quietly up Loch Frisa, but due to ongoing forest management they are both having 'time out' or as actors would say 'resting' but very much so getting on with family life, and we hope to be able to give you updates on how they are both doing as the season progresses.

Mull sea eagles new location for 2012!

Viewing the Mull sea eagles from the hide

We are excited to be welcoming visitors to our brand new location at Glen Seilisdeir (pronounced Shellister – meaning ‘Glen of the Irises’) for the 2012 season. The new hide is now our main viewing point after a successful low key trial last year.

Due to ongoing timber haulage at Loch Frisa, the decision was taken that it was no longer suitable for sea eagle viewing so here we are, ready to welcome people to our new patch.

The new meeting point is off the 'scenic route', the B8035 Salen Road and is well signposted. Trips begin on Monday 2nd April, taking place daily at 10am and 1pm.

We look forward to welcoming sea eagle fans both old and new to Glen Seilisdeir, and look forward to another busy visitor season.

For more information on our new location, visit our web pages. You can also follow all the latest developements throughout the season on Twitter @skyeandfrisa

Bill Bailey's birdwatching bonanza

Mull's sea eagles are featured in a forthcoming episode of comedian Bill Bailey's new show on Sky 1.  Mull is the venue for some of the show's birdwatching challenges, including tracking down a sea eagle at Loch Frisa.

Bill is quoted as saying "I've always had a passion for wildlife and birds in particular, so I relished this opportunity to camp out in some lovely corners of Britain and spot some beautiful birds.  Hopefully this show will encourage more people to celebrate our extraordinarily diverse birdlife, while at the same time enjoying the great British countryside."

The Mull episode features journalist Donal Macintyre and TV presenter Jayne Middlemiss undertaking a series of challenges to spot and photograph several birds, including hooded crows.

More details on the show at http://sky1.sky.com/bill-baileys-birdwatching-bonanza.

Ups and Downs at Loch Frisa

The last time I wrote one of our chicks had left the nest at ten and a half weeks, and we were waiting with bated breath to find out what had happened to it. Unfortunately I had an accident and had to have three weeks off work, but I kept up to date with my colleagues at the hide. The two chicks (a male and a female) were named Bracken and Heather by children from Ulva Ferry Primary School on Mull. After a few days the "fledged" chick, Bracken, had still not been seen but after much discussion and soul-searching it was decided not to go in and investigate. It has been known for the chick remaining on the nest to be upset by someone creeping around below the nest tree, and it could fledge early, possibly damaging itself. So the decision was made to leave things be until the second chick fledged.

At twelve weeks old Heather fledged successfully. Bracken had still not been seen so the RSPB officer licensed to attend the nest, Dave Sexton, went through the forest to the nest tree where he made the grim discovery. Bracken was found dead, hanging towards the bottom of the tree, surrounded by a great deal of nest material. The nest was built at the last minute and it was clear that our male, Skye, was not entirely happy with the construction as he kept bringing in extra pieces of nest material right up to the time the first chick fledged. Both chicks had been very active, practising wing flapping exercises, and the weather had been very wet with strong winds. It seems that the combination of two six kilo chicks plus the adverse weather resulted in the front part of the nest collapsing, taking Bracken with it. We were heartbroken! A post mortem showed that Bracken had died of injuries to the wings and neck consistent with a heavy fall.

I'm pleased to say that Heather is doing really well. I returned to the hide on Monday this week (thank goodness) desperate to see her fly, and she didn't let me down. Even without seeing the colours of the birds it is obvious which is Heather as she is still mastering the art of flying, wobbling a little as she circles and sometimes forgetting to tuck up her legs close to her body. She looks very ungainly on the ground too.

Today we saw Heather flying with Frisa, circling high over the trees. Her legs were tucked up and she looked very confident. Later the two birds landed on a headland on the other side of the loch, giving us great views. Earlier in the week we had seen them in the same place feeding together on a gull.

So despite the heartbreak of losing Bracken, we have one strong healthy female chick in Heather. She is a beautiful chocolate brown colour and has yet to get her black beak, pale head and white tail which will all come over the next four to five years.

We are still getting plenty of visitors at the hide so if you are planning to come to Mull, please come and see us. Quite apart from our eagles we have plenty of other wildlife; we even had an otter walk nonchalantly through the car park and down to the lochside recently. It's great to be back!

Wonderful news!

I'm delighted to say that Skye and Frisa are proud parents!

We're not sure how many chicks they have, although we suspect two, but we have had some wonderful views of Frisa tenderly feeding her offspring.

It always amazes me that such a large bird, with feet almost as big as my hand, can tear tiny pieces of food from the prey and gently place it into her chick's beak - a beak about the size of your fingernail.

Skye is busy playing the proud father and has chosen a roost very close to the nest tree so that he can guard his new family when he is not out hunting for them. Frisa spends her time rearranging the nest bowl so that it is comfortable for her chick(s) before settling herself gently down to keep them warm. Today the weather was cooler and there were some very heavy rain showers, so she was brooding her young very closely, but she did allow herself a little time away from the nest. As soon as she was certain that Skye had taken over in the nest, she did a small circuit before flying right over our hide - as if to tell us all the good news.

The adult birds will be very busy for the next few weeks, bringing in ever increasing amounts of food for their family. By eight weeks of age the chicks will be fully grown - an incredible growth rate - and they will spend the last three or four weeks growing their flight feathers to their full length and practising wing exercises on the edge of the nest. At around twelve weeks the chicks will be ready to fledge and the adults will be trying to encourage them to fly by perching in a nearby tree with food until the youngsters take that plunge into the unknown.

Skye and Frisa are not the first pair of Sea Eagles on Mull to hatch their chicks this year. You might remember the publicity in the press last year when a photographer got too close to another nest on the island, forcing the female to leave her eggs for well over an hour. The eggs chilled and failed to hatch and the photographer was charged with reckless disturbance and fined £600. This year the eagles built a new nest and last week their chicks hatched, so everyone is delighted.

Skye, who is 15 years old, and Frisa, 17, have been nesting on Loch Frisa for eleven years now, so they know their territory well and this year's nest is well positioned to keep intruders away. They are still harassed by the local Ravens, buzzards, Hooded Crows and Golden Eagles, and even the occasional juvenile Sea Eagle flies a little bit too close to the nest, but you can rest assured that both birds will guard the nest with their lives.

There will be plenty of activity over the weeks to come, so if you can get to the hide we'll be delighted to tell you all about it. If you can't make it to Mull this year keep watching the blog and I'll do my best to make you feel as if you are here with us.