Isle of Mull 2012 - Day 2

We headed for Croggan today, a small track running down by Loch Spelve in the south-east of the island. Target birds today were Wood Warbler and Redstart. Unfortunately, one of these birds was not seen by our human eyes, but one to show for us, and pictures were taken.

Normal sightings were Loch Scridain's White-tailed Eagle family, Stonechat, Common Sandpiper and 4 Golden Plover. Please enjoy watching and looking at the following pictures and more will be explained further along this blog post.

Stonechat on heather at Glen More 

Common Sandpiper near Croggan

And the unexpected ones too!

Moving on to some more exciting, but regular birds sightings on the island were Short-eared Owl, Hen Harrier, and Great-Northern Diver with Cuckoo's, Common Waders and Lesser Redpoll. Once again, enjoy!

White-tailed Eagle nest at Loch Scridain

Short-eared Owl hunting near Pennyghael

Turning right down the track signaled Croggan, Dad took the foot of the gas, and we started to dawdle through the old Oak Woodlands, ideal habitat for Wood Warbler and Redstart. Stopping and listening at every passing place, the spinning song of a male Wood Warbler echoed through the woodland. Even better than that, it didn't take long for us to locate it hopping from tree to tree, incredible. Unfortunately, only a very distant Redstart was singing on the other side of a field, but the pictures, I think are good enough to identify this as a Wood Warbler. 

Wood Warbler at Croggan

TOTAL OF BIRD SPECIES FOR 2012 = 179