Two go Mad on Mull, Part II

(A brush with the law, the skua, the gannet and that otter)

Well, where did I get to? Ah yes, darling hubbie was hanging out of the bathroom window taking pictures of the white tailed sea eagle.

Later that day we headed off to Tobermory to do a little bit of shopping before we drove down to Fionnphort to catch the ferry across to Iona. This was going to be our special treat. The island is tiny but has two hotels and a number of B&Bs and we were going to stay in the largest hotel. We were excited that they have their own organic garden and use nearly all local produce for the meals they prepare. A lot comes from Mull and certainly no further than the Scottish mainland when possible.

After Tobermory we decided to drive back to Salen and then take the road south west heading for the port. The weather was atrocious: rain, wind and more rain again (it was the only really bad day we had). Then we found ourselves on a road with the sea very close to us on one side and very high, sheer cliffs on the other. To the side of us there were definitely gulls, possibly cormorants and maybe even seals but to be honest I was too scared to look. You have to remember that these roads are single track with passing places and when the locals are driving towards you, you get out of the way, quickly! If you weren't careful then getting out of the way could mean bashing into the rocks or ending up in the sea!

Somehow we made it through with Hubbie laughing and enjoying the roller coaster ride and me hiding my eyes (no it's okay, I wasn't the one driving). The land around the road then widened out and to our surprise we were passing tents pitched on the very edge of the land, on little patches of grass so I guess we weren't the only mad people on Mull. The road was very, very windy in parts and then we started climbing higher and it was like it was the middle of winter. We passed through high rocks where water was being literally thrown over the edge making some amazing waterfalls, There were houses here in the middle of nowhere, which would have looked inviting in the sunshine or even in the snow, but which now looked cold and lonely. We were seeing, first hand, that the diversity of habitat on this island was extensive.

We arrived at the very small port and parked the car in the free car park. Iona only allows residents' cars and delivery vans across on the ferry so we boarded as foot passengers. Our B&B host had told us that as soon as we got across to the island the weather would be better. He was right. As we sailed the ten minutes across to the island we could see that the sun was shining beautifully on Iona, but we left the ferry thinking that it's probably a pretty scary crossing in the winter, and walked the few minutes to the hotel. The last of the day trip groups were leaving the island and you could sense that peace would be restored within moments. We checked in and after a bit of a freshen up we took a stroll in the hotel garden. The view back to Mull was fabulous.

Now, being bird watchers we were of course armed with our binoculars. I was admiring the view when Hubbie gasped, ‘Did you see that?' I hadn't but he is pretty good at describing where something is so I quickly found what he was looking at. He had seen a very large brown bird dive down onto another bird and take it down into the water; it was quick and pretty brutal-looking and at first sight he thought it was a bird of prey taking a large gull. The brown bird wrestled with the other bird for a few moments and then took off, flying in the opposite direction, leaving the stunned victim bobbing on the surface of the water. I followed the brown bird and then did my own gasp: ‘It's a skua! It's a great skua!' whilst Hubbie was saying, ‘It's a gannet!' Don't worry, one of us hadn't totally lost the plot and misidentified the bird - we were identifying both of them at the same time. Then we realised that what we had seen is a pretty common occurrence - the great skua had mobbed the gannet to take its catch of fish. The poor gannet must have not only wondered what on earth had happened but been pretty miffed to have lost its dinner. Don't worry, after a few moments composing itself it flew away, quite unaffected. In case you hadn't gathered, bird watching can be either sedate and refined, sitting in a hide watching hundreds of wigeon grazing in a field or waders strolling around on a scrape, or it's like this was - frantic, desperately trying to follow something that is travelling at breakneck speed, being amazed and horrified at the same time.

Despite being tiny the island had a good variety of birds. We saw greenfinches, chaffinches, sparrows, a wren, various gulls, a few cormorants and a lovely wheatear, all in or seen from the garden of the hotel. It's a very peaceful place but despite the small number of people living there (around 125) the number of cars on the island was incredible. Obviously they use their cars to cross on the ferry but the Island is only three miles long and most people were driving everywhere.

We had a lovely evening with wonderful food and crossed back to the mainland around lunchtime the next day. We drove back along the road heading to Lochdon and our B&B. Just before the village of Bunessan, we spotted a large bird catching the thermals and just hanging in the air. ‘What's that, is that a golden eagle?' said Hubbie as he threw the car onto the tiny bit of grass at the side of the road. Well, it was very high in the air and it wasn't exactly mountainous but yes, it was an eagle - but another sea eagle which was quickly joined by its mate. ‘Camera, quick,' I said, only barely letting the car come to a halt before I was out and hobbling across the road to get closer. Even with our camera, which we normally get pretty good close-ups on, they were just too far away for a decent shot but I took picture after picture, shouting at the camera because it was struggling to focus on the tiny spot in the sky (you know, by the clouds ... which clouds? ... the ones by the trees ... ooops sorry we did that bit last time). Hubbie by this time had moved into the passing place and was watching from the car. In the end the card on the camera was full and I headed back to the car. We were searching through the camera to see if we had a decent shot when we were aware that a car had pulled up alongside us. We both looked across, not expecting to see...a police car. He lowered his passenger window.

‘Are ye okay?'

Well.... much embarrassed mumbling about watching sea eagles ensued, and a sharp intake of breath as we both wondered if we were going to be arrested. Then, with a huge smile on his face he said, ‘Oh aye, right, okay, no problem, just thought you might have broken down. Cheerio then.' As he drove away we both let out a huge breath and started laughing. We had felt like naughty children being caught out by the teacher. Still, we moved on sharpish, agreeing not to park like that again!

We carried on through the spectacular Glen More in hope of golden eagles. Sadly we were out of luck but we couldn't resist just stopping and drinking in the scenery.

The next day (after another wonderful view of a sea eagle, honestly it was getting old hat now - not) we decided that we would go to a place called Fishnish. We wanted to go there simply because the name was funny to us but on reading up about it we realised that there would be the possibility of seeing crossbills in the forestry there.

We drove down to the Forestry Commission car park which is at the edge of the Sound of Mull. As we looked for a place to park we spotted something in the water. ‘Ooh a seal,' I said. ‘Look again,' said Hubbie. ‘It's an otter!' Well thank goodness for seatbelts because yet again the car was being thrown into position - honestly, wildlife watchers are rubbish drivers! We sat in the car for a few moments but then my very own Gordon Buchanan was off out of the car and down to the water's edge to try to get a better look and a few pictures of course. I watched from beside the car as the otter was diving down into the sea and coming back up with a fish and spending a few minutes happily chewing away. Of course the closer you try to get to an animal in the open the further away it goes, so when the heavens opened and we had to retreat into the car, the otter seemed to disappear. To our delight, just as the rain eased, he resurfaced. ‘Gordon' was off again, but this time was making his way down to the rocks, hiding behind some trees to start with and then crawling over the rocks in an effort to get closer. The otter must have thought that this was a good idea too because a few minutes later he suddenly popped out of the water and onto the rocks on the other side of the little inlet where Hubbie was. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't see if he had noticed that this had happened or was able to get a shot. I was sitting in the car holding my breath and thinking, ‘Oh please let him see it, please.' The otter stayed out on the rocks for about five minutes and then slipped back into the water. As I was just about to get out of the car Hubbie came back round the edge of the trees, grinning from ear to ear. He had pictures, not perfect but pictures, and a memory that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Oh and did we see crossbills? Nope, didn't even think about them because we were on so much of a high from the otter that all we wanted to do was have food and relax.

So, there you go, that was just some of our experiences on Mull. Yes, just some, there were many more, not as spectacular as some of those I've told you about but just as much fun and interesting to us. You can see why Gordon Buchanan developed an interest in wildlife - he comes from an amazing place, rich in flora and fauna, with landscapes to captivate and inspire. We will go back and we invite you to go too. You won't be disappointed.

Fiona Sharp

photos (c) Peter Sharp 2009

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