June 2018 : Summary
UK Species Year List to June: 157
Total UK Species in June: 97
New “Year Ticks” in June: 25
New “Life Ticks” in June: 1
June 2018 archive
Jun 30 2018
June 2018 Summary
Jun 27 2018
Scotland Holiday Summary 13th – 27th June 2018
Summary
Our holiday in Scotland was amazing. We had some ups and downsin the weather and we failed to see some birds we would have liked to see (Manx Shearwaters, Skuas, Divers, Short-eared Owls) and others we would like to have seen more of (more Golden Eagles always!) but we did get some great views of some great birds and Mull, itself, is just fabulous. Our choice of “cottage” turned out to be exceptional so, even with the periods of bad weather, we managed very well overall.
Jun 27 2018
Scotland Holiday 2018 Day 15 : 27th June Coquet Island
We departed Musselburgh withthe intention of visiting friends near Morpeth. It crossed my mind that I might be able to squeeze in a boat trip out to Coqurt Island which leaves from Amble harbour. The plan worked out that while Anne had lunch with the friends, I would take the hour-long boat trip out there with the chance of getting a year-tick of Roseate Terns, one of the very few sites that offer a fair guarantee of seeing them.
Jun 26 2018
Scotland Holiday 2018 Day 14 : 26th June Aberlady Bay, North Berwick, Musselburgh
After out family meal of the night before we had a full day to ourselves so, after a nice breakfast at the Brunton Hall, we headed down the coast to Aberlady Bay. I forgot to set off the route recorder so it missed off the bit between Musselbury and Aberlady but we parked in the usual parking spot and took the wooden bridge on to the reserve. It is a fantastic reserve and my decision to take my scope with me gave us a few good sea birds as well as the usual land based ones.
Jun 25 2018
Scotland Holiday 2018 Day 13 : 25th June Dunoon and Musselburgh
As I looked out of the window of our hotel in Dunoon for the last time I got views of a pair of Black Guillemots and a small flock of Common EIders sailed past the ferry. It was a short ferry from Hunter’s Quay to Gourock and we were there in short time. From there there wasn’t much for it but to keep going around Glasgow to Ediburgh. The view up The River Clyde from Gourock was actually fascinating and not quite what one would expect. From Glasgow to Edinburgh was just what one would expect.
Jun 24 2018
Scotland Holiday 2018 Day 12 : 24th June Dunoon
We did a lot of driving about this day but did not see any special birds. I have recorded it here for the route which was supposed to be great for birds of prey!
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Jun 23 2018
Scotland Holiday Day 11 : 23rd June 2018 Tobermory to Dunoon
On the day of our departure from Mull I thought I’d have one last look for an Iceland Gull that had been reported as loafing around the harbour. I had looked a couple of times before but a bit casually. We had left our fabulous cottage with enough time to spare to quickly park in the harbour and have a last look. When we got there, the tide was a fair way out and there was only a single gull on the rocks but it turned out to be the Juvenile Iceland Gull that had been reported. Because we were on our way home, I had my camera and long lens in the car so managed to get very clear pictures of the bird and subsequent research showed that this was definitely a juvenile Iceland Gull – my only life tick of the holiday!
Jun 22 2018
Scotland Holiday Day 10 : 22nd June 2018 Mull Day Off
We were a bit in need of doing our last bits of laundry and it was time to make sure that we cleaned the cottage up a bit in preparation for our departure the following morning so we had a casual day making a trip down to the harbour and eating at the Fishish Restaurant
Jun 21 2018
Scotland Holiday 2018 Day 9 : 21st June Glengorm and Loch na Keal
Today we fancied trying a trip north to Glengorm Castle. We thought that we would stand a good chance of getting some birds of prey on the cliffs there and also perhaps some woodland birds. We also thought – incorrectly – that the castle might be open for viewing or at least have a garden (as advertised) that Anne would like. Our day din’t exactly work out like that but it was still a good day.
Jun 20 2018
Scotland Holiday 2018 Day 8 : Loch na Keal 20th June 2018
Another of our pre-planned trips was a boat trip down Loch na Keal lookign for White-tailed Sea Eagles on the Mull Charters boat. We again had the drive down to Salen then across towards Gruline before turning off on the B7083 that runs along the north shore of Loch na Keal. We stopped off at various places on our way to the Ulva Ferry pier and got a good range of birds during the course of the day. The big action, however, had to be the boat trip.
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