Easy Day

Sunday, May 2 

Being sensible does not come naturally on a birding trip. To-day, we were. A leisurely start, not up until after 8.30, breakfast, opening an empty moth trap, generally getting to know this extensive cottage. The kitchen/dining area is almost as big as the ground floor of our home. Both bedrooms are very roomy. The living room is half the size but still looks sizeable. We're walking miles.

Eventually, we took the B road to Calgary. Expecting to find somewhere to park after yesterday's experience, we found the smallish area on the machair overlooking the much photographed white sand bay, full of cars, and sumptuous motorcycles. We left, found somewhere to turn, and drove down to Calliach Farm, north of Calgary. One of our favourite places, introduced to us by Arthur Brown of Mull Wildlife Tours. It's not generally known about. The approach is via a badly potholed lane, through thin woodland belts, and moorland, via a gate which drags on the ground worse each year, to park on the grass in as level a bit as one can find. There we sat, me scanning the sea with my scope, Pam everywhere else. The view is of Calliach Point, rocky islets, the Isle of Coll, with Ardnamurchan in the distance.

The sea was flat calm, with not much in the way of bird traffic. The variety was good though. One Gannet, Puffin, Velvet Scoter, immature Great Northern Diver, many Shags and Herring Gulls, a few Common Gulls, Lesser and Greater Black-backed Gulls. None of the expected Terns.

In the meantime....Pam found a group of fifteen sooty-fronted summer plumaged Golden Plover, several Wheatears, and an astonishing Lapland Bunting.

 

We were expecting Twite, which never appeared. They were our first Wheatears of the trip too. The second bird is more brightly coloured.

 

The area always has a herd of Highland cattle roaming free, many of them with calves at foot. It's quite salutory driving through them, hoping that horns are not swung in the car's direction. As with all young animals, the calves' movements are very unpredictable too.

 

It's the first time we've seen a bull amongst them. They're not usually run along with cows and their young.

 

This calf was scratching its head on a low bush.

 Lapwings are truly beautiful when the light reflects off their plumage.

 

A daily visit to the reed-bed end of Loch Cuin has been part of our rituals since we had B and B at Cathy's. She stopped opening in order to nurse her brother when he was dying of cancer. We are still in touch, she became a friend, with many entertaining tales to tell - we shared a sense of humour. The reed-bed - the largest on Mull,  was silent. The tide was out too, the same waders as last night were pottering about, accompanied by the constant piping of Common Sandpipers, flighting around the rocks.