Having cancelled our Lady Jane trip this morning - I left a message - we had a leisurely 9.40 start.....in the rain. Much less wind than was forecast though.
Tobermory was the first stop, no daily papers anywhere, I wanted to get Alex's retirement accounts. Looking into her rear view mirror, Pam saw an Otter cross the road. Well !!
Aros Park had a singing Garden Warbler, not the expected Wood Warbler, they haven't arrived yet. Only a short way into our walk, I had to turn round owing to a painful toe. Plaster and antiseptic helped but we gave up on a wet walk.
Aros Drovers Bridge, downstream from the road bridge, did not produce a Dipper nor a Grey Wagtail. Admittedly, we didn't stop long, the wind was throwing icy shards of rain at us.
No sign of Golden Eagle on the southern side of Loch na Keal, they don't fly in the rain. Nor in the dry this morning, it actually stopped raining.
On the northern side of the loch, driving through, I noticed a large lump on the beach. A White-tailed Eagle feeding on a lamb carcase. Pam turned round but could only stop in a layby furthest away from the bird. No other birders around. I tried some photographs across Pam through the car window, far too distant, the pics are heavily cropped as you can see. Soon after we stopped, the adult male took off and flew into the distance. Very lucky.
Gradually, the rain stopped and the sun made an appearance. Plenty of cloud around but no more rain, thank goodness.
Calgary Bay is a noted beauty spot. This is only a part of the golden white sweep, machair a smooth green carpet behind.
Despite the small number of houses, we found a cafe in the Art Gallery, where we had a hot drink and a piece of cake. Decadence.
At one of our stops a Common Sandpiper was incredibly noisy. Settling, performing a long and ornate display flight before landing and doing it all over again.
I loved these ram horns.
Croyg is a lovely little fishing harbour where we saw an Otter yesterday. Photos only this time.
We re-traced yesterday's route and by the end of the day had seen two Golden Eagles, one of them flying over Dervaig, and a Sedge Warbler in the reed bed we can see from our B and B.
Not long after getting in, the Lady Jane people phoned to say that they'd cancelled to-day's trip themselves and had left me a message on Kathy's ansaphone. What a relief, I hate letting people down , I don't remember the last time I cancelled anything. The real reason for phoning is that they're running a trip to-morrow at mid-day, do I want to come. Quick consultation with Pam and we're on the trip. Great, that will do nicely on our last day. It's a reasonable forecast too. Here's hoping for some decent Eagle shots to-morrow.
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