This week the Sea Eagles have really made us work hard. As Heather, their chick, gets braver they are all venturing further afield, although they always come back to the loch to roost. We have been arriving at the hide earlier each day so that we can locate at least one of the birds before we collect our visitors.
Today was the most unusual roost of all. We had driven right along the loch to try to find them, prepared to lead a small convoy of visitors to spot the birds. We drew a complete blank. They weren't at any of their favourite roosts, nor did we see them flying or indulging in one of their favourite pastimes of drinking and bathing at the edge of the loch. We set up our screen and DVD player (powered by solar panels - thank goodness it has been sunny recently) so that we could at least show our visitors some footage of the eagles, and set off to collect them and escort them to the hide.
On the way we stopped at the top of the hill (the only place we can get a 'phone signal) to call in to the booking office and check if we had any more bookings for the trip. Whilst my colleague, Debby, was making the call I noticed a number of Ravens and Hooded Crows circling and diving right on the horizon. I grabbed my binoculars and scanned the hill. There was certainly plenty of activity from the Ravens and Crows, as well several stags right on the horizon and more lower down on the hill. As I scanned lower down the hill, looking for some carrion that might have attracted the birds, something caught my eye. There, at the top of one of the Sitka Spruces, were our two adult eagles, quite happily perched one above the other. This pair have such a firm bond, and most of the time when we see them perched together they are in the same tree, sometimes on the same branch.
We set up the scope and all our visitors had a great view of Frisa at the top of the tree, and Skye slightly lower down. As we watched, Frisa looked up high above her and then took off. Whilst everyone else watched to see where she went, I scanned the area she was looking at and sure enough, there was Heather, their chick. Shortly afterwards Skye took off too. They were flying so high that we were afraid that that was the last we would see of them.
The party carried on down to the hide, we started our introductory talk whilst scanning the area, and there, sitting in one of his favourite trees opposite the hide, was Skye. He stayed there all morning, preening the last of his moulting body feathers, sometimes turning and stretching his great wings almost as if he was posing for us.
Our visitors were delighted - what more could they ask for?
Friday, 18 September 2009
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Raptor Bonanza
After days of torrential rain and strong winds the weather has finally changed and it seems that all the wildlife is celebrating.
When I arrived at the hide this morning Skye was sat in the trees opposite, preening himself and looking very relaxed. He waited there until our visitors had all had a really good look at him through our scope.
We went outside for a better view and there were Frisa and her daughter Heather, circling high above us. What a relief! We hadn't seen Heather for a few days and were wondering where she was and if she was OK. The chicks are usually seen with the parent birds at this stage, with food still being brought to them and the adults taking them on hunting trips. But today it seemed that that was exactly what was happening. The two birds circled higher and higher before heading off across the loch in the direction of Calgary. Hopefully Frisa was going to teach her chick how to hunt for their favourite meal - the Fulmars that the adults take from the cliffs. Whatever their plan, they disappeared over the horizon and had not returned in time for our afternoon trip.
Skye, possibly disgruntled by the fact that all eyes were on Frisa and Heather, took off from his perch and flew across to his favourite Larch tree, giving us a close view of his short white tail, huge beak and enormous broad wings. He settled down to preen again.
One of our visitors spotted a little flock of Crossbills at the top of the trees closest to the hide and as we tried to train the scope on them a beautiful Golden Eagle drifted across the treetops. Not to be outdone, the local Sparrowhawk put in a brief appearance in front of the hide, scattering all the songbirds far and wide. Young Buzzards seemed to be everywhere, as did the Ravens, and as a fitting finale a Peregrine Falcon flew over the old nest tree. And all the time the sun shone!
I really can't believe I only have two weeks to go at the hide. It has been such a privilege to witness a whole season with Skye and Frisa - from nest building, through egg laying and incubation, hatching and finally fledging. I've become quite attached to "our" birds and it was desperately sad to discover that our male chick, Bracken, had died after falling from the nest. But that's nature, and Heather is fit and well and receiving her parents' undivided attention. Maybe I can come back to the hide next year?
When I arrived at the hide this morning Skye was sat in the trees opposite, preening himself and looking very relaxed. He waited there until our visitors had all had a really good look at him through our scope.
We went outside for a better view and there were Frisa and her daughter Heather, circling high above us. What a relief! We hadn't seen Heather for a few days and were wondering where she was and if she was OK. The chicks are usually seen with the parent birds at this stage, with food still being brought to them and the adults taking them on hunting trips. But today it seemed that that was exactly what was happening. The two birds circled higher and higher before heading off across the loch in the direction of Calgary. Hopefully Frisa was going to teach her chick how to hunt for their favourite meal - the Fulmars that the adults take from the cliffs. Whatever their plan, they disappeared over the horizon and had not returned in time for our afternoon trip.
Skye, possibly disgruntled by the fact that all eyes were on Frisa and Heather, took off from his perch and flew across to his favourite Larch tree, giving us a close view of his short white tail, huge beak and enormous broad wings. He settled down to preen again.
One of our visitors spotted a little flock of Crossbills at the top of the trees closest to the hide and as we tried to train the scope on them a beautiful Golden Eagle drifted across the treetops. Not to be outdone, the local Sparrowhawk put in a brief appearance in front of the hide, scattering all the songbirds far and wide. Young Buzzards seemed to be everywhere, as did the Ravens, and as a fitting finale a Peregrine Falcon flew over the old nest tree. And all the time the sun shone!
I really can't believe I only have two weeks to go at the hide. It has been such a privilege to witness a whole season with Skye and Frisa - from nest building, through egg laying and incubation, hatching and finally fledging. I've become quite attached to "our" birds and it was desperately sad to discover that our male chick, Bracken, had died after falling from the nest. But that's nature, and Heather is fit and well and receiving her parents' undivided attention. Maybe I can come back to the hide next year?
Friday, 4 September 2009
Floods, feathers and fledglings
The weather here for the last couple of weeks has been dreich to say the least, with burns in full spate and waterfalls thundering over the rocks. Most of the views of our eagle family have been of very soggy birds sat in the trees and preening, and Heather, our chick, has been out of sight for most of the time. Eagles (like all birds of prey) have a preen gland at the base of their tail; when they preen their flight feathers they take oil from the preen gland with their beak and then run it down the feathers. This helps with their weatherproofing and keeps their feathers strong and healthy. It will take a while for Heather to build up this weatherproofing so sensibly, when the weather is very bad, she finds a perch deeper in the forestry to keep her out of the rain.
Yesterday the rain was sporadic and we actually had spells of blue sky and sunshine! When I arrived in the morning both of the adults were sat up on adjacent fence posts on the way up to the hide. They looked a little bedraggled, and when I went to collect our visitors it was raining again so I fully expected them to go and look for cover. Nevertheless we stopped and there they were. The sky cleared, I put up the scope and 19 happy visitors had perfect views of Skye and Frisa. We spent an hour there, talking about sea eagles and the problems they had had to contend with over the last three centuries culminating in their extinction and the successful reintroduction programme.
This year on Mull our eagles have fledged ten healthy chicks, with 36 chicks fledged across the whole of Scotland (including ours). The Scottish population now stands at 45 breeding pairs, plus a large number of juveniles too young to breed yet.
Skye and Frisa then decided it was time to catch some lunch and both left their perches and flew off towards Calgary - probably after another Fulmar or two from the cliffs there. They hadn't reappeared by the time I collected the next group of visitors at 1pm, and I was a little concerned that we'd seen the last of them for the day. But as I started telling the group about the Eagle Watch project there was a gasp as Skye flew in to his favourite Larch tree. A minute later Frisa appeared and circled round in front of the hide before joining her mate on the same branch. The two of them sat there like an old married couple.
As they both preened their body feathers it looked as if someone had emptied a pillow full of down. Normally the female will moult her wing and tail feathers whilst she is on the nest, and the male will start to moult once the chicks have fledged. I find it fascinating that they always moult corresponding wing feathers so that they are always balanced and their flight is not impaired. They continue moulting the downy body feathers and are constantly preening.
The eagles stayed in the Larch tree all afternoon and were still there when I left the hide to go home. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Hopefully we'll see Heather .....
Yesterday the rain was sporadic and we actually had spells of blue sky and sunshine! When I arrived in the morning both of the adults were sat up on adjacent fence posts on the way up to the hide. They looked a little bedraggled, and when I went to collect our visitors it was raining again so I fully expected them to go and look for cover. Nevertheless we stopped and there they were. The sky cleared, I put up the scope and 19 happy visitors had perfect views of Skye and Frisa. We spent an hour there, talking about sea eagles and the problems they had had to contend with over the last three centuries culminating in their extinction and the successful reintroduction programme.
This year on Mull our eagles have fledged ten healthy chicks, with 36 chicks fledged across the whole of Scotland (including ours). The Scottish population now stands at 45 breeding pairs, plus a large number of juveniles too young to breed yet.
Skye and Frisa then decided it was time to catch some lunch and both left their perches and flew off towards Calgary - probably after another Fulmar or two from the cliffs there. They hadn't reappeared by the time I collected the next group of visitors at 1pm, and I was a little concerned that we'd seen the last of them for the day. But as I started telling the group about the Eagle Watch project there was a gasp as Skye flew in to his favourite Larch tree. A minute later Frisa appeared and circled round in front of the hide before joining her mate on the same branch. The two of them sat there like an old married couple.
As they both preened their body feathers it looked as if someone had emptied a pillow full of down. Normally the female will moult her wing and tail feathers whilst she is on the nest, and the male will start to moult once the chicks have fledged. I find it fascinating that they always moult corresponding wing feathers so that they are always balanced and their flight is not impaired. They continue moulting the downy body feathers and are constantly preening.
The eagles stayed in the Larch tree all afternoon and were still there when I left the hide to go home. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Hopefully we'll see Heather .....
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Viewing at the hide.
A quick note on changes to trips to the viewing hide at the end of the month.
From Monday 21 September trips to the hide will run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10.00am and 1.00pm. Please note these details are subject to change as the season progresses. You can make bookings through Craignure Information Centre on 01680 812 556.
Prices
No change to prices (which include RSPB members): Adults £4, children (16 and under) £2, Family ticket (two adults and two children) £10. Free to island residents.
From Monday 21 September trips to the hide will run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10.00am and 1.00pm. Please note these details are subject to change as the season progresses. You can make bookings through Craignure Information Centre on 01680 812 556.
Prices
No change to prices (which include RSPB members): Adults £4, children (16 and under) £2, Family ticket (two adults and two children) £10. Free to island residents.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Wet and windswept
Well, the forecast for today wasn't good, and for once it was right. When we arrived at the hide this morning Frisa, our female, was sat up in one of the Larch trees looking very wet and bedraggled. There was no sign of Skye (our male), or of Heather (their chick), and that was to be the pattern for the day. As the rain got heavier and the visibility worsened, Frisa took off and flew a short distance further into the trees to keep as dry as possible. Hopefully Skye and Heather were doing the same thing.
Come the afternoon trip there was nothing to see and half of our visitors decided to cancel their visit to the hide. Reluctantly I left to come back to the office to catch up with some paperwork. If the birds fed well yesterday there is really no need to fly again today - better to stay in the trees.
Views for the earlier part of the week were more promising with great fly-pasts by both adults although Heather has been keeping herself out of sight. She has found a new place to sit, just round the headland in front of us.
Yesterday we took a stand to the Mull and Morvern Agricultural Show in Salen to promote the hide and the Mull Eagle Watch project. We always make a point of telling our visitors about Operation Easter - the round-the-clock watch we mount on our Sea Eagle nests during the breeding season. Most people are amazed and outraged that there are collectors who still steal the eggs of rare birds, and as the rarest and largest bird in the UK the Sea Eagle (at just 45 pairs) is a prime target. Operation Easter was the brainchild of Strathclyde Police and involves a large group of volunteers - islanders and some of our visitors - who give up their time to watch the nests 24 hours a day, supported by extra police officers from all over the country. The initiative has been co-ordinated by our own Wildlife Crime Co-ordinator on the island - PC Finlay Christine. In March Finlay was presented with an award for Police Wildlife Officer of the Year in recognition for all his work for wildlife, and especially for Operation Easter which has been the basis for many other nest watch schemes. Sadly Finlay has recently retired, but rest assured that Operation Easter will continue - there are too many of us determined to continue to protect our eagles.
Mull hasn't lost any eggs to collectors for nine years, although tragically the last two eggs that were taken were within two days of hatching! It is beyond me why anyone would want to steal the eggs of any bird, let alone such a rare one. The eggs have no monetary value but are seen as trophies by the egg thieves. They are placed in specially made cases and often hidden at a different address to that of the thief, as they can be confiscated if found by the authorities. An egg collector in Scotland was recently charged for being in possession of 5,000 eggs of various rare birds - potentially 5,000 chicks which could have hatched and boosted the population.
The saddest thing is that many egg collectors are extremely good ornithologists. They often keep detailed diaries as they watch the nests of the birds they hope to target. Some of these diaries would be invaluable to professional ornithologists as they give details of particular nests over many years. Egg collecting often seems to run in the family, and some diaries and collections have been recovered going back to the late 19th and early 20th century. What a shame that all the information in those books can't be used for the right reasons!
To end on a bright note, Mull's Sea Eagles have managed to fledge ten chicks between them this year - a great result!
Come the afternoon trip there was nothing to see and half of our visitors decided to cancel their visit to the hide. Reluctantly I left to come back to the office to catch up with some paperwork. If the birds fed well yesterday there is really no need to fly again today - better to stay in the trees.
Views for the earlier part of the week were more promising with great fly-pasts by both adults although Heather has been keeping herself out of sight. She has found a new place to sit, just round the headland in front of us.
Yesterday we took a stand to the Mull and Morvern Agricultural Show in Salen to promote the hide and the Mull Eagle Watch project. We always make a point of telling our visitors about Operation Easter - the round-the-clock watch we mount on our Sea Eagle nests during the breeding season. Most people are amazed and outraged that there are collectors who still steal the eggs of rare birds, and as the rarest and largest bird in the UK the Sea Eagle (at just 45 pairs) is a prime target. Operation Easter was the brainchild of Strathclyde Police and involves a large group of volunteers - islanders and some of our visitors - who give up their time to watch the nests 24 hours a day, supported by extra police officers from all over the country. The initiative has been co-ordinated by our own Wildlife Crime Co-ordinator on the island - PC Finlay Christine. In March Finlay was presented with an award for Police Wildlife Officer of the Year in recognition for all his work for wildlife, and especially for Operation Easter which has been the basis for many other nest watch schemes. Sadly Finlay has recently retired, but rest assured that Operation Easter will continue - there are too many of us determined to continue to protect our eagles.
Mull hasn't lost any eggs to collectors for nine years, although tragically the last two eggs that were taken were within two days of hatching! It is beyond me why anyone would want to steal the eggs of any bird, let alone such a rare one. The eggs have no monetary value but are seen as trophies by the egg thieves. They are placed in specially made cases and often hidden at a different address to that of the thief, as they can be confiscated if found by the authorities. An egg collector in Scotland was recently charged for being in possession of 5,000 eggs of various rare birds - potentially 5,000 chicks which could have hatched and boosted the population.
The saddest thing is that many egg collectors are extremely good ornithologists. They often keep detailed diaries as they watch the nests of the birds they hope to target. Some of these diaries would be invaluable to professional ornithologists as they give details of particular nests over many years. Egg collecting often seems to run in the family, and some diaries and collections have been recovered going back to the late 19th and early 20th century. What a shame that all the information in those books can't be used for the right reasons!
To end on a bright note, Mull's Sea Eagles have managed to fledge ten chicks between them this year - a great result!
Friday, 7 August 2009
Now you see them, now you .......
What an amazing day! Although the forecast was for sun and showers, the latter never materialised. The loch was completely still, reflecting trees, hills and clouds.
I arrived at the hide to witness a fly-past by our adult male, Skye. He landed in a tree opposite the hide and I quickly set up the scopes before leaving to collect the morning's visitors. Needless to say, when we returned he had gone and I hoped he hadn't gone hunting for the rest of the day.
I needn't have worried - not long after Skye returned, did a great fly-past giving everyone a good view of his white tail, and then Frisa appeared above him and the two birds circled above us before disappearing into the distance. Not to be outdone Heather, our chick, flew over showing off her flying skills and landed on a fallen tree in the bay opposite the hide.
We were also treated to a great view of the female Hen Harrier, and heard Kestrels alarm calling - probably spooked by the local Ravens.
Surely the afternoon couldn't be as good ...
No sooner had I started my introduction to the hide and the Sea Eagles, Skye flew directly overhead, as low as I had ever seen him. Again he circled to give everyone a very good view, then landed in the bay in front of us, just out of sight but not far from a Heron. Shortly afterwards Heather flew in and after a couple of attempts, managed to land in one of the trees opposite. As I walked down the path to the bottom of the field with our scope and a small party of visitors, the Heron caught an eel and took off, hotly pursued by Skye. As he has caught a Heron once before whilst the chicks were still on the nest, I wondered if we were going to see a repeat performance. They flew straight past us and we watched them for some time, then Skye dropped down out of sight and the Heron started to circle above him. I can only imagine that he had forced the Heron to drop his prey and had then taken advantage of it.
Whilst we waited to see what would happen next a Golden Eagle circled over the crag, and a Buzzard treated us to great views as he caught a thermal and spiralled up just above us. Everyone agreed that, whilst they are no longer a rarity in the UK, Buzzards are still beautiful birds. One of the youngsters in our group of visitors found a tiny common lizard on the grass path, and all the children crowded round to see it before it scurried off into the undergrowth.
Heather started calling every few minutes, and we were able to hear an adult calling from further away. I wondered if the adult had caught prey and was trying to persuade Heather to go and get it (rather than having it delivered by one of her parents). Whatever the calling was about, Heather was not going anywhere and sat in her tree preening.
At 15.00 our visitors managed to tear themselves away, and whilst I was tidying up the hide I happened to glance up to see Heather flying towards me. She came right overhead and I was amazed to see how much confidence she had gained in the short time since she fledged. She was flying very strongly with deep wingbeats and I watched her until she disappeared, before leaving for the day - though it was quite hard to tear myself away.
There are some days which are near perfect, and today was certainly one of them - good weather, an enthusiastic group of visitors and great views of our eagles. Wonderful!
I arrived at the hide to witness a fly-past by our adult male, Skye. He landed in a tree opposite the hide and I quickly set up the scopes before leaving to collect the morning's visitors. Needless to say, when we returned he had gone and I hoped he hadn't gone hunting for the rest of the day.
I needn't have worried - not long after Skye returned, did a great fly-past giving everyone a good view of his white tail, and then Frisa appeared above him and the two birds circled above us before disappearing into the distance. Not to be outdone Heather, our chick, flew over showing off her flying skills and landed on a fallen tree in the bay opposite the hide.
We were also treated to a great view of the female Hen Harrier, and heard Kestrels alarm calling - probably spooked by the local Ravens.
Surely the afternoon couldn't be as good ...
No sooner had I started my introduction to the hide and the Sea Eagles, Skye flew directly overhead, as low as I had ever seen him. Again he circled to give everyone a very good view, then landed in the bay in front of us, just out of sight but not far from a Heron. Shortly afterwards Heather flew in and after a couple of attempts, managed to land in one of the trees opposite. As I walked down the path to the bottom of the field with our scope and a small party of visitors, the Heron caught an eel and took off, hotly pursued by Skye. As he has caught a Heron once before whilst the chicks were still on the nest, I wondered if we were going to see a repeat performance. They flew straight past us and we watched them for some time, then Skye dropped down out of sight and the Heron started to circle above him. I can only imagine that he had forced the Heron to drop his prey and had then taken advantage of it.
Whilst we waited to see what would happen next a Golden Eagle circled over the crag, and a Buzzard treated us to great views as he caught a thermal and spiralled up just above us. Everyone agreed that, whilst they are no longer a rarity in the UK, Buzzards are still beautiful birds. One of the youngsters in our group of visitors found a tiny common lizard on the grass path, and all the children crowded round to see it before it scurried off into the undergrowth.
Heather started calling every few minutes, and we were able to hear an adult calling from further away. I wondered if the adult had caught prey and was trying to persuade Heather to go and get it (rather than having it delivered by one of her parents). Whatever the calling was about, Heather was not going anywhere and sat in her tree preening.
At 15.00 our visitors managed to tear themselves away, and whilst I was tidying up the hide I happened to glance up to see Heather flying towards me. She came right overhead and I was amazed to see how much confidence she had gained in the short time since she fledged. She was flying very strongly with deep wingbeats and I watched her until she disappeared, before leaving for the day - though it was quite hard to tear myself away.
There are some days which are near perfect, and today was certainly one of them - good weather, an enthusiastic group of visitors and great views of our eagles. Wonderful!
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Hide and Seek
Now that Heather has fledged she is really keeping us guessing: we never know where she is going to appear next! Each time we see her her flying skills have improved a little more. At one point we saw her flying alongside Skye, her father, and it was incredible to see this 15 week old chick who was larger than her 15 year old father! As with most birds of prey the female White tailed Sea Eagle is larger than the male, so Frisa and Heather are 25% bigger than Skye. (The scientific name for this is reversed sexual size dimorphism!).
To begin with Heather wasn't too adventurous and spent a lot of time sitting on a headland protruding into the opposite side of the loch. Frisa caught two Common Gulls and delivered them to Heather, and she spent hours sat with her daughter. On one occasion two walkers spotted them, but instead of enjoying the view they had from the track they decided to walk across the fields until they were directly opposite the eagles. This proved too much for Frisa who took off and flew back across the loch to perch in a tree. She never took her eyes off the intruder.
Heather stayed put and we wondered if she would be tempted to join her mother. When the afternoon trip ended we stayed on to see what would happen, slightly concerned that Heather was on her own on a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides.
The following morning there was no sign of the bird and it had been raining hard. Where was she? We need not have worried. As the weather dried up and the sun came out Heather crept out of the bracken where she was sheltering from the rain. We were very relieved.
Since then Heather has become a little more independent and isn't so reliant on her parents. We have seen her flying quite high, although she is still a little wobbly from time to time. We think Frisa has been teaching her chick how to land as we have seen the two birds flying together. Frisa lands in a tree and then takes off again and Heather follows, landing on exactly the same branch! Maybe Frisa is trying to teach her which branches will take her weight?
Our resident Hen Harriers have been flying close to the hide giving our visitors amazing views of both the male and female. We are hoping to see them with their chicks in the next week or two. On a smaller scale a family of Spotted Flycatchers have just fledged right in front of the hide and we have enjoyed watching their antics with our visitors. There's never a dull moment at the eagle hide!
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