Scotland Holiday Day 5 : 17th June 2018 Around Mull

Since my little accident at Gatehouse of Fleet on the first day of our holiday, my leg had been getting worse and worse. A big lump had appeared on my right knee and my right leg was black and blue and green and yellow all the way down to the ankle. We weren’t sure of what had caused it but it was getting worried. The 17th of June was a Sunday so there wasn’t any chance of getting a doctor so I was left with the option of phoning A&E at Craignure hospital. Not how I had hoped my first full day on Mull would be spent.

The different nature of small island life was immediately revealed. I spoke to someone immediately who just handed the phone to the duty nurse and she asked me a few questions and then said that I could drop in immediately. So, we drove down to Craignure and went to the A&E which was so quiet we wondered if we had the right place. To cut a long story short I was seen immediately and the conclusion was that when I had cramp sitting on the bar stool at the Ship Inn at Gatehouse of Fleet I must have jerked my leg and cut a blood vessel in the knee without breaking the skin – a contusion. No treatment required – just wait for it to go. Reassured, we started of our holiday proper.

So it was back up the road past Salen but at that point we turned left on the B8035 then the B8073 heading for Calgary Bay, a famous birding spot and regarded as one of the very best.

From Gruline we took the northern bank of Loch na Keal where we stopped off at one of the few laybys on that road. A chap was looking for a White-tailed Eagle that he had seen around earlier but whilst we were also looking, a scan in another direction brought us a Golden Eagle just over the hills and going into a sharp stoop. This is what we came to Mull for and although we didn’t see the chaps White-tailed Eagle we did get one further along the same road.

We continued on past the road to the Ulva Ferry past Lagganulva and the Eas Fors Waterfall but annoyingly couldn’t stop for the photo opportunity. This is the main problem with Mull; you see very many birds of prey that you cannot slow down or stop to look at because of the traffic behind you and the general lack of laybys. This is perhaps one of the main reasons for going on a guided tour as someone else is doing the driving and two sets of eyes can concentrate on the birds.

Between Burg and Ensay on the B8073 there is a good parking spot with room for a few cars so we pulled in there (56°32’40.9″N 6°17’08.6″W It is actually a track down to a farmhouse but there is room to park without blocking the path down to it) It might be recognised because one edge of the turn off is marked with white-painted boulders

We stopped to eat our sandwiches but the minibus of birders also parked there looked pretty grim and weren’t exactly excited about anything. Anyway we had a nice break listening to the Skylarks then continued on. En route we got Ravens and other, smaller birds; flocks of Starling and House Martins and Swallows.

Our hopes for Calgary Bay turned out to be a bit optimistic and there weren’t too many species on offer and almost nothing but gulls on the water. We did get Common Sandpiper and year-first Rock Pipits and some Oystercatchers, Song Thrushes and Pied Wagtails. Good numbers of Common Gulls was nice and there were some Eiders as well but generally it was disappointing.

We continued on, stopping at the café at Calgary Art in Nature (PA75 6QQ) just by Frachadil Farm on the B8073, for a cup of tea and a scone. It was raining so the place was filling up with walkers and self-catering people looking for shelter.

We continued on to Dervaig along the very winds part of the B8073, stopping off at the Kilmore Standing Stones which were interesting and there is a beautiful view of the north-central coast of Mull from there but we didn’t get the birds of prey that are supposed to be easy to see there.

The drive gets pretty tiring there and we continued on past Lochs Torr, Carnain an Amais, Meadhoin and Peallach. These three lochs are collectively known as “The Mishnish Lochs” and are listed in the birding books as great for divers and grebes. We stopped a couple of times at places where we could get good looks up and down the lochs but there was nothing to be seen. Later in the week other birders said that they had struggled to find any divers and we only met one had seen one over the whole week.

A bit disappointing but you never know what is round the corner on Mull so we continued on and eventually reached Tobermory. We stopped off at the Cooperative on the harbour front to get some supplies in and ate at home that night in the comfort of our luxurious self catering. It has been a very long day and we were glad we didn’t have to face the brae down to -and up from – the town!

Bird Sightings : Mull 17th June 2018

Species	Count
Greylag Goose	30
Common Eider	14
Grey Heron	4
Golden Eagle	1
White-tailed Eagle	1
Eurasian Oystercatcher	6
Common Sandpiper	2
Mew Gull	30
Herring Gull	30
Lesser Black-backed Gull	1
Eurasian Collared Dove	1
Hooded Crow	10
Common Raven	2
Sky Lark	4
Barn Swallow	6
Common House Martin	6
European Robin	1
Eurasian Blackbird	2
Song Thrush	3
Common Starling	8
Pied Wagtail	2
Rock Pipit	1
Eurasian Siskin	6
European Goldfinch	4
House Sparrow	10