I do enjoy watching Mull birds in winter – there is always something to see, and to watch. However I am certainly not a professional birdwatcher, I am very much an amateur! My birding knowledge is very limited and I never remember to carry either the right lens or the binoculars, so I spend a lot of time peering into the distance at tiny feathered creatures wondering… However, every now and then I get it right and I know what I see! I have learned enough from Prasad to know that you don’t record guesses, that is just not done.
Today, an ordinary working Monday, I had a meeting to go to in Craignure. The ground was frozen with ice on the puddles and it was hailing. I set off and within minutes had encountered the young buzzard that we see a lot near the farmhouse.
Then the male hen harrier close to where I saw him three days ago.
A heron at Calgary. Swans at Salen Bay and a flock of widgeon near the boats. By now the sun was shining and the day was stunning, the light on the snowy hills across the Sound of Mull was quite beautiful. On the way back from Craignure I saw a young otter running along the grass verge near the graveyard at Pennygown.
Mull Birds
So I saw all those, plus hooded crows, gulls (no good at IDing them so I dont try), ravens, thrushes, robins – as I drove along. Without even trying to spot them! In each cottage we have Prasad’s wildlife diary from 2006, which is a great guide as to what wildlife you might see all through the year – at Treshnish and in the surrounding area of North Mull. The Mull Birds website is a good place as anyone who sees anything interesting lets Mull Birds know. Prasad’s blog is also good, and more local to Treshnish and North Mull.
