It has now been almost a month at Craignure Golf Club and we have no eggs being incubated. However it’s not all doom and gloom, Scalla and Anna have been showing signs they want to re-lay so keep your fingers, toes and talons crossed for our pair!

We’ve been having great views of them around the nest, flying over-head and perching together to be admired by our visitors and mobbed by the resident buzzards and crows. They get it in the wings from just about everything…

Other than the eagles, we’ve been seeing lots of other wildlife at and around Craignure Golf Club including a one off glaucous gull, immature white-tailed eagles, the odd golden eagle, an occasional peregrine, clusters of common sandpiper, turnstones huddling against the wind, ringed plover displaying on the green, curlew calling overhead, reed bunting and siskin at the feeders,  chiff chaffs and willow warbler heard around the clubhouse plus a male hen harrier hunting over the golf course just 30 metres away from us!

Cian

Eagle Ranger

Here are some photos of the lovely wildlife we’ve been enjoying.

Skylark

Eider

Rock Pipit

13th April 2018

On Good Friday, when people all across the country (including myself) were getting excited about tucking into their (*cough* nine) chocolate eggs, we at Mull Eagle Watch were most excited about an egg that wasn’t chocolate at all. It was the first egg that Scalla and Anna had laid in their nest at Craignure Golf Club.

Tours began soon after and our visitors were able to see an incubating eagle on the nest with the telescopes that Swarovski and Viking kindly loan to the project every year.

We were getting great views of one parent flying and of a group of eagle youths that loitered around the area. But there was a third adult around who became a very unwelcome visitor.

On a few tours, this eagle was seen flying around and towards the nest which distressed Scalla and Anna and led them to tackle him mid-air and chase him away. And unfortunately, it became apparent that something had happened in the scuffle which caused this first clutch to fail.

The intruder may well have intended to oust Scalla in order to take over his territory and female. Last year, Anna’s 37 year-old father who lived around Lochdon on Mull, fell victim to this behaviour when the younger male succeeded in killing him.

But don’t fear! Our hopes remain high; we’ve been seeing the pair flying, perching and calling together and even bringing in new nesting material to repair the nest. This is a very positive indication that they will, very soon, attempt to lay a second clutch of eggs!

Scalla and Anna perched together after their interrupted nesting attempt

For now, the pair is wowing visitors by perching in very convenient places and, on occasion, flying right over our heads! It’s just a matter of time before Anna lands in the nest for good.

To book on a tour, call the VisitScotland iCentre in Craignure on 01680 812556

Bye for now,

Meryl

Eagle Ranger

24th September 2017

Mull Eagle Watch tours have come to an end after another successful season in 2017.

Thursday 21^st was the last day of tours and, after cancelling on the Wednesday due to a return of miserable weather, I was pleased to be greeted at West Ardhu with sunshine and clear views.

Visitors saw Star swoop in and perch in the nest tree where he proceeded to sit for the rest of the day. It’s easy to think that eagles have easy lives when you see them like this but Star and Hope and indeed Fingal and Iona have all been incredibly busy parents this season, managing to raise three chicks between them despite the gruelling weather that Mother Nature has thrown at them.

The parents are doing all they can to equip their eaglets with the skills needed to survive and we have our fingers crossed for all three. They should now be catching their own prey but they will remain with their parents throughout most of the winter before beginning their long journeys around Scotland in search of a mate and their own territory for the next few years.

And we finally have names for the West Ardhu chicks! Gael and Storm have been chosen by Dervaig Primary School. So I think its safe to say that, along with the name ‘Arwen’ that was chosen for our Tiroran chick, we have some good strong names for these majestic birds. Thank goodness we dodged Eagley McEagleyface as some visitors suggested!

I’m already back at home in Windermere. Today, I went for a walk near Ambleside and enjoyed the familiar views of the surrounding mountains that the Lake District is famous for (as well as the lakes) and I couldn’t help but scan the summits, expecting and hoping an eagle to pop up any second. Needless to say, none were seen. But the Lake District was home to the last golden eagle in England until last year and before their extinction, the last pair of white-tailed eagles resided here too in the 1800’s. After the successful reintroduction of the latter species, it’s only a matter of time before they re-colonise England and I’m hoping it will be here, on my doorstep.

Thank you all for supporting the project this year whether you visited one of our two hides or just followed us on our blogs and social media. The money we raised will now be divided up and donated to the two community forests to aid with their conservation and education projects.

I’m already thinking about when I can return to Mull to visit but in the meantime, I’m hoping I’ll receive eagle updates from Dave Sexton who does such a fantastic job of monitoring these eagles and leading this partnership project.

Here are some of my favourite photos from the season. Enjoy!

Best wishes,

Meryl

RSPB Community Information and Tourism Officer

Mull Eagle Watch