Have they, or haven't they?



Sea Eagle in flight - photo courtesy of Alan Jack

 This week we are playing the waiting game. Our egg(s) are due to hatch any time now and everytime the on-duty adult stands up on the nest, we wait with baited breath to see a tiny, wobbly white head, or the other adult bringing in food.

Yesterday afternoon the weather was superb (as it has been for over two weeks now), and the conditions were perfect for a precious Sea Eagle chick to come into the world. But the adults seemed to be just turning the eggs and then settling down to incubate again.

Maybe they could hear the first chick cheeping inside the egg as it started to break its way out using the tiny egg tooth on the top of its beak. Or maybe not! Eggs can easily take 36 hours to hatch, so, like Iona and Fingal, we must be patient and wait for that first feed!

We can't help thinking back to last year, when the beginning of May saw horrendous winds sweep the west coast of Scotland, and the eagle nests were all checked the next morning. We were convinced that at least one nest tree would have come down, but no, everything was intact and Mull's Sea Eagles successfully fledged 11 chicks in 2011.

We suffered even stronger winds over the winter months with one gust on Mull recorded at 165 mph. Surely some of the eagles would have to build new nests this year to replace those damaged? Sea Eagles are obviously better nest builders than we give them credit for as most nests survived. One nest did collapse and the following day the eagles there carried out a hurried repair job - only for the winds to return and the new nest be blown out of the tree too. But Sea Eagles are resilient birds and it's always surprising to see how quickly they put their nests together.

The new "wild hide" - photo courtesy of Alan Jack

Our new viewing hide, set into the woodland, is proving a huge success. Everyone says they feel closer to nature, and the smell from the pine trees is all-pervading. The shading at the front of the hide means that the eagles can't see us although they know we are there.

Occasionally they will hear something and if we happen to be looking through a telescope at the time we see a beady pale lemon eye staring back at us.

With luck we will soon be watching food being brought in for the chick(s) by the parents, and then tiny slivers will be torn off and fed tenderly to their offspring. I wonder if we'll have a hatching today?

Glad to be back!

After what seems like a very long (and extremely wet) winter, I'm finally back watching eagles and sharing the experience with our visitors at our wonderful new location.


Our resident pair of Sea Eagles have been named Iona and Fingal, and are proving just as devoted parents as Skye and Frisa did at Loch Frisa. Iona (the female), previously known as Green T because of her wing tag which she lost this winter, was reared on the Isle of Skye by her parents who were from the first release of Norwegian Sea Eagles on the Isle of Rum. After fledging in 1998, Iona was first seen on Mull in 2001. Fingal (the male) was part of a second release scheme and was brought over from Norway in 1997 with 9 other chicks. All 10 were released on Wester Ross. Fingal was originally known as Blue 6, but lost his tags in 2006. Following his early visits to Mull. he paired up with Iona in 2002. After a couple of false starts the pair finally fledged one chick in 2005, and have successfully fledged five chicks in total.


Our new set-up at Glen Seilisdeir is very different from Loch Frisa - we still have a wooden hide where visitors can listen to our introductory talk inside (if it's raining), and pick up leaflets, booklets and make any purchases. We then drive half a mile along the track to our viewpoint car park where we all carefully close car doors and make sure no car alarms have been set, before silently walking 100m to our viewpoint - an outdoor hide just 300m from the nest! As I write the eggs are just over three weeks through incubation, so in around two weeks we should spot the first food being brought in and tiny morsels gently fed to a tiny fluffy white chick. With luck a second chick will hatch a couple of days later.


Our "rustic" hide is a clearing in the forest, expertly prepared with a thick layer of wood-chip on the ground, shielded from the eagles' view with a screen of spruce prunings and set up with spotting scopes and binoculars so that all our visitors get the best possible view of the eagles. And what views they have been getting! We watch the adult birds taking turns at incubating the eggs, carefully rearranging sticks on the nest, and preening their loose white body feathers prior to going through their full moult. Iona usually does the night shift, with Fingal coming in to relieve her in the morning and then they take turns to incubate the precious egg(s) during the day.


Recently whilst Fingal was incubating he must have become a bit "peckish" because he suddenly took off and flew towards Loch Beg. Our hearts were in our mouths as there was no sign of Iona and the eggs would chill if they were left for long. We timed his absence and after just three minutes Fingal returned with a large fish, settled himself back on the nest and proceeded to eat his catch. He must have been able to see the fish from his position on the nest, and temptation must have got the better of him!


All our visitors are thorougly enjoying the experience, especially the "wild" hide where they can really feel at one with nature.

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

Autumn arrives and Barn Owl chicks take a dive!

Well, the storms blew through and our Barn Owl family survived, only for the wind and rain to return today with a vengeance. Ferries were cancelled this morning and from indoors the wild weather was quite exciting with trees bent right over and a mixture of torrential rain and hailstorms. Outside it was quite a different matter and we hope that all our young sea eagles are coping with the blustery weather. Autumn has certainly arrived with a vengeance.

We ringed our family of three Barn Owl chicks and I was a wee bit surprised at how small they were for their ages. The smallest has caught up quite well but isn't ready to go for a couple of weeks yet. Apart from ringing the chicks I took measurements and weights from which it was possible to age them to the day, and which told me that the oldest bird was not ready to go yet. Yet four days later the two larger chicks left the box and were seen sheltering in the bracken below. This is definitely a cause for concern as both birds are still quite downy, and their primary feathers are not fully unfurled which will hamper their flight. The younger chick is still in the box and is being fed well by the parent birds, so I hope they are feeding the older two as well. As I suggested putting up the box I almost feel responsible for our young family, so once again I will go up to the hide this evening to watch for the adult birds bringing food to them.

Skye and Frisa are still giving us some good views; they are not keen on torrential rain but they love the wind which enables them to fly long distances without having to flap - great for saving on energy. Food should be plentiful as the deer cull started last month, weeding out the weak or very old stags, and the grallochs (or innards) are left out on the hill by the stalkers for the birds of prey to feed on. Without the cull the deer would continue to multiply until there was insufficient food for all of them, and then the weaker ones would starve.

The stags are already roaring and the rut is due to start any time now, so being outside in the evening can sound quite eerie. I have a stag that frequently visits the land behind my gardens, but just recently he has started to roar and often catches me unaware when I go out to look at the stars on clear nights.

Will keep you updated on the owl family. I've only two weeks left until the end of my third season at the hide, but it will be impossible to keep away during the winter months.

Batten down the hatches

Today, as promised, the weather is wild - torrential rain and the wind getting stronger by the minute. Skye and Frisa have sensibly hidden themselves away, probably sheltering under the cover of the trees, or maybe even on the ground amongst the bracken. The forecast is bad for the next couple of days across Scotland and Northern England, North Wales and Northern Ireland, so the raptors will keep themselves as dry as possible and wait until the weather clears before they come out to hunt again. Fortunately Sea Eagles can go up to four days without feeding so Skye and Frisa will pick their moment to look for a meal.

Life might not be quite so easy for our Barn Owl family - there are now three healthy chicks in the nestbox and "mum" is mostly leaving them to their own devices during the day, probably roosting in the second barrel with the male. At night both adults have been hunting to feed themselves and their growing family so we hope that they have been able to choose their moments and bring in some voles, mice or shrews during the spells between showers. Owls don't have much in the way of waterproofing so seldom hunt in very wet weather which raises a dilemna - do I mug the neighbourhood cats for the rodents they have caught and leave them out as an easy meal for the owls, or do I let nature take its course? For the time being I will do the latter, and monitor the owlets via the nestcam to see if the adults are managing to bring in any food. The Barn Owl family has been so popular that one of our visitors to the hide very generously gave us a donation with which to purchase another nestbox so that our youngsters have somewhere to roost during the winter months (and maybe raise their own family next year).

It has been fascinating watching the owlets on camera - they have been much more active during the day than I expected. Originally four chicks hatched but the smallest has since disappeared and we now have two quite big chicks and one smaller one. Three eggs failed to hatch which is not all that unusual. We've had good views of the adult female stretching her wings, and from the wing pattern I think she is a new mum, probably just over a year old, so to rear three chicks is quite an achievement first time round. The chicks are due to be ringed this week so I will make sure I get some photos to post here on the blog.

Having just had two weeks annual leave I have really noticed the changes on the island since I came back - autumn really seems to have taken an early hold. Our Sand Martin colony has left for warmer climes, and the Swallows are already lining up along the telegraph wires. The lone Whooper Swan on Loch Frisa who stayed behind when its parents migrated in the spring will hopefully soon be reunited with them when they return next month.

We seem to be constantly refilling the bird feeders at the hide with an influx of Tits, Chaffinches, Siskins, Goldfinches etc. emptying them as fast as we top them up. There still seem to be some young birds about, particularly fat little Chaffinches with downy heads.

Those of you who followed our Buzzard-cam last year will be pleased to know that our pair reared another youngster this year, unfortunately in a different nest so our camera couldn't pick them up. The young bird is just as vocal as last year's, still demanding food from it's parents. It hasn't quite mastered the art of hunting yet, spending a lot of time running up and down the fields rather than hovering above waiting for something to move. We have also been treated to some great displays by a family of Kestrels. On Friday we watched four of them repeatedly mobbing a Hooded Crow until, after half an hour, they managed to drive it away. It's a treat to see these miniature predators, particularly since Kestrels have been suffering a decline over the last 15 or so years not only in the UK but across Europe. It's good to know that they, like so many other birds, are doing well on Mull.

Here's hoping that the storms aren't as bad as forecast, and that all the birds will be out feeding again in the very near future.

New Star at the Eagle Hide

Apart from our resident Sea Eagles, we are treated to views of plenty of other wildlife at Loch Frisa. Last year our Buzzard-cam was a huge success, and this year we have a camera on a large Sand Martin colony which nests in the quarry where our visitors park their cars. In a former life I was national co-ordinator of the Barn Owl Conservation Network, and I've always felt that the habitat in the area would be perfect for a nesting pair of Barn Owls. The local farmer told us that he often saw Barn Owls hunting over the area in the late evening, so last summer our Forestry Commission Wildlife Rangers put up a nest barrel which could be seen from the hide. Of course it had to have a nestcam installed, but by the time the barrel was put up it was getting a bit late in the year for the owls to nest, plus the fact that 2010 was not a good year for the Short-tailed Field Vole on Mull (the Barn Owls' staple diet).

This year we were hopeful that the owls might use the box as the vole population seemed to have recovered, and sure enough when the camera was turned on, there were two adult Barn Owls in residence. At that point they were using the box as a roost, but after a while we saw the birds copulating and a couple of weeks later the first egg was laid, but not until the male had proved that he was going to be a good provider for a family of growing owls. A huge pile of voles appeared in the nest and the female has now laid seven eggs. Incubation time is 31 days, so the first egg should hatch in the next week or so. By the time there were four eggs the female had evicted the male from the box - quite normal behaviour as when the chicks hatch she sees the male as a potential threat to tiny chicks.

However, it meant that the male now needed somewhere safe to roost during the day, particularly with a hungry Buzzard family and two Sea Eagles all looking for food! So the rangers put up a second nest barrel in nearby trees and we hope that the male is using it. The design might look strange at first sight, but by having the opening near the top the adult bird(s) can come in and out with ease, but the chicks can't get out until they are ready to fledge. The floor area needs to be quite large too, as the youngsters stay in the nest until they are eight or nine weeks old by which time they are fully grown.

So now we are waiting for the eggs to hatch, and the nestcam is recording so hopefully I may be able to publish some footage of the chicks on a future blog. Seven is a very big brood of youngsters to rear, requiring up to 35 voles or mice a day between them, and it's possible that not all of the eggs will hatch, but when I've ringed Barn Owl chicks on Mull in the past I have had one brood of six healthy chicks so you never know! I'll keep you informed.