Mon 15 Apr 2008 Seil

A Seil Natural History Group midweek walk on a splendid summer-like day.  Starting and finishing at the Clachan Bridge, we walked through woods and then up the coast on the west side of the very narrow Seil sound, reaching the north-eastern tip of Seil where it is possible to walk across to the mainland at low tide.  We then came down the Puilladobhrain coast on the other side of the peninsula, and then back overland to the Tigh an Truish for lunch and a pint.

A view up the Seil Sound from our starting point.  Seil on the left, mainland on the right.  In the bright sunlight Sea Bootlace was conspicuous in the water from the Clachan Bridge.

Juniper was quite common on the heathy and rocky coastline; it ranged from near-prostrate to almost tree-like.  This specimen at well over 6 ft was the tallest I've seen on the West Coast.  All round the shore Thrift is putting up its pink buds.

Looking back southwards down the Seil Sound to the Clachan Bridge.  During our walk round the peninsula we saw an otter holt, with fresh spraints (but no otters seen) and a Kestrel's nest with the owners flying above.  Two lizards were seen by quick-eyed members of the party, but not by me.  It looks like being a good year for lizards. 

Plants seen in flower for the first time this year were Greater Stitchwort, Buckshorn Plantain and Bugle.  Dog Violets are now out in great numbers.

I fell in love with this whole NE peninsula of Seil, definitely my favourite part of the island so far (but there's a lot of it I haven't seen yet).  This is typical of the views you get on the Puilladobhrain side.

In the afternoon I explored part of the nearby mainland...

Here is Buckshorn Plantain in a natural slate crevice close to the Clachan Bridge on the mainland side.  The slate is angled at about 45 degrees as is common in this area.

The Knotgrass Leaf Beetle (Chrysolina polita) was resting on dead marsh vegetation next to Loch Seil (a mainland freshwater loch).  There were a pair of Mute Swans on the loch.  Also saw the first Green Tiger Beetle of the year.

I then made my way to the Dubh Loch in the hills to the west of Loch Seil and stayed there some time fascinated by the liquid trilling song of the Little Grebe (of which there were at least 3 on the Loch) and the honks and barks of 3 Whooper Swans, which seem to have basically two sounds, one goose-like, the other dog-like, but combine them in an ingenious variety of ways.  These birds are winter visitors and will shortly depart for somewhere more Arctic.  There were also a few Tufted Duck on the loch, but they didn't join in the concert.

A Seil Natural History Group visit to Mull.  We were taken around by David Woodhouse of Isle of Mull Wildlife Expeditions, and had some amazing sightings of big game.

Several Sea Eagles and Golden Eagles were seen.  At one point there was a male Sea Eagle and female Golden Eagle in the air together, the sexes being determinable because they were both the same size.  We were able to get plenty of practice in distinguishing the two species and telling adults from immature birds.  We would often see the eagles circling in the air to gain height, on one occasion disappearing into the clouds.  Due to his knowledge of the terrain David was able to spot eagles perched on the skyline, and could often predict their behaviour.

Through the telescope that David provided we watched a Golden Eagle perched on a hilltop.  When it eventually took to the air, it was mobbed by a Kestrel, which looked tiny in comparison.  Another time, a pair of Ravens rose up when a Golden Eagle passed through their area, to try and see it off.

David knew the Golden Eagle territories in the area and explained that the young eagles we were seeing were looking for territory for the season, but would be chased off from everywhere by the established eagle pairs.

Buzzards were more numerous than anywhere I've seen them.  We watched a dispute over territory or food between three buzzards, one of which was very pale in colour.  David told us that it had been an albino ten years ago, but had gradually acquired more feather markings with each moult.

The highlight for me was seeing Hen Harrier display flights for the first time.  Three females were in the air at once, apparently competing for the attentions of a single male skulking in the forest, whom one or two of us saw briefly.  One of the females treated us to a prolonged display of the spectacular undulating sky-dance, which is performed by either sex.  She also showed the threat behaviour of drooping wings and outspread tail, towards the other females.  While we were watching these birds a trio of buzzards, one carrying prey, flew into the midst of them.

We saw several other female Hen Harriers during the day including another one displaying.  We also saw the Meadow Pipit display flight which was the first of the year for me.  We got good views of a Greenshank, with a Redshank close by for comparison, and in another place spotted a Redshank standing on a fencepost.  Snipe were performing their chippering song.  Lapwings were seen in several places.  Other birds included a pair of Linnets, two Great Northern Divers, a Grey Wagtail, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard, not seen).  At Pennyghael a Sparrowhawk appeared from nowhere to land on the back of a wader on the shore; the wader escaped and the Sparrowhawk dashed back to cover.  Opinions varied as to what its intended prey had been (Oystercatcher, Redshank?) as there was only time to look at the retreating hawk.

An Otter fishing in a bay nearby frustrated us for a while as it would keep appearing above water for about a second in between lengthy dives.  David explained that it was catching Butterfish and that sooner or later it would find something larger and take it to the shore to eat.  We motored round to get closer to the point where it was likely to climb onto the rocks with its meal.  Sure enough, it soon did this and, after eating its catch, marked its territory on the seaweed, rolled around for a bit and then settled down for a nap.

We weren't near enough to anything for my camera take usable pictures, but I thought I'd give a brief write-up to a fantastic day out.  Richard told us that this year was a high point in the vole cycle, providing good conditions for Hen Harriers, Buzzards, Kestrels and Short-eared Owls.  I don't know whether the cycle on the mainland is synchronised with that on Mull, but I have noticed a few voles about.

There were 8 Black Guillemots together in Oban Bay as we boarded the ferry, and on the way back there were 2 Gannets at about the halfway point of the journey, one sitting on the water, the other flying right over the boat.  But generally speaking the ferry crossing was devoid of wildlife interest as on my last visit in July.  It is never without scenic interest though.

First Dog Violet of the year in flower noticed on Mull.