Clambered up high on Applecross and cames across this enormous eagle being mobbed by hoodies (hooded crows not teenage thugs on their D of E expedition!!)
Just returned from our annual Easter trip to Applecross and Isle of Mull. We had incredible luck again with the weather, having driven up in blizzards and terrible conditions we arrived on Applecross' Shore Street for our week in the cottage and managed to enjoy our courtesy bottle of Pinot Grigio on the decking whilst watching the sun set over Rasaay. From then on in.. we had a sunny day every single day of the trip (a day shy of three weeks!)and not a single drop of rain.
We had a top time on Applecross with an otter sighting near one of the holts and an incredible up close and personal (and a tad scary) encounter with a golden eagle up on the hill (it had been feeding on the inners of a recently slain stag- but more of that in a later post.
On Mull, we set up camp at Fidden Farm and enjoyed glorious days walking on deserted beaches and exploring the Isle of Erraid (where I fell into the last remaining wet peat bog in Scotland following their very dry winter) We found the obligatory dead seal and a number of mystery skulls (including a seal skull- highly sought after apparently) We saw the White Tails, the mountain hares, some minky whales and of course otters..
In total we were delighted to watch 12 otters throughout the three weeks, including a short but sweet sighting just before embarking on the ferry home from Craignure.
Anyway- here are some pictures of an otter to keep you cheery (taken on Loch Na Keal, Isle of Mull)
Our day off at last. Of course we went back to see whether we could strike lucky and spot our otter family again (this time equipped with our cameras) Nothing!
We went for a walk instead, about 4 miles up stream and came across a print on muddy bank - a lone otter and a big print (perhaps the daddy?) There's always something exciting about a print- something magical and hidden - when you touch the indentations and feel the shape and know that someone's paw was there just a few hours ago.
Having managed to allow the dog to become completely filthy we sidled back to the car with the plan of a pub lunch formulating in our tummies. We decided to head back to the village where I saw the otter family and grab a sandwich at the pub there. I couldn't resist stopping the car by the bridge to have a look-see. Simon said - wave if they're there and snuggled himself into his seat, whilst I braved the cold. Couldn't believe my eyes and luck when I peered over and spotted three backsides, heads beneath the shallows. The otters were under one of the arches in the shallows rootling about under the pebble river bed, perhaps for crayfish.
Waved frantically at Mr Oblivious and eventually he joined me for what became an hour otter watching session. We got incredibly close - they absolutely knew we were there, kept looking at us and quite happily going about their business. We watched them head up stream for a while and then decided to fetch the car and park in our original spot. When we hopped out again the otters were directly across from us and we had great views. Then they came over to our side of the river. We employed lochside otter spotter tactics (ie:run for a few seconds whilst they are submerged and then stand absolutely still) We got incredibly lucky as the little family came on to the bank about 1.5 metres from where we were hunkered down, trying to avoid dried reeds in our attempts to focus. Honestly, we thought several times they would scarper but they came right past us without any concern whatsoever. It was just starting to snow ever so slightly when the mother swam very close to me and made a grunting sound. I took the hint and we left the bank and watched them from the road as they swam on. Just before we lost sight of them there was an almighty ruckus as one caught a big fish or eel and they all tumbled about whickering and squeaking. We were both so bamboozled by the fantastically close encounter we could hardly concentrate on our lunch.
Although we've seen a lot of footprints, some spraints etc around the Ribble and Hodder we never really believed we could see a family of three hunting in broad day light (and this is my second time in under a week!!) I hope they got to a holt and snuggled up before the snow came down properly. I hope they will be okay and that we might see them again in coming weeks if we're lucky. Exciting thing is that when these babies finally leave mum, they will stretch out in search of their own territory and our otter population will expand and expand!
I will post a number of pictures over a few posts.
Please feel free to comment. Please please don't pinch our snaps.
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