The Isle of Mull lies on the west coast of Scotland and it has a breathtaking landscapes with a coastline of 300 miles. From the moment you step onto this beautiful island the wildlife is everywhere and the scenery is just stunning.
The island is a great place to see a whole host of Hebridean wildlife, from Golden Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, Otters, Seals and porpoises.
Our base there is the beautiful Western Isles Hotel situated in there picturesque village of Tobermory. Our hotel overlooks the harbour of Tobermory and faces out to Calve Island and the sound of Mull.
(images copyright of western isles hotel)
The wildlife on Mull is generally accessible with the few exceptions of the rare and legally protected birds that are not to be disturbed or approached as they are very sensitive to disturbance.
During our time on Mull I organised two trips for my clients. One trip watching and photographing White Tailed Sea Eagles. The other trip is to the Treshnish Isles, a designated site of special scientific interest.
On the White tailed Eagles trip we sail into the territory of these magnificent birds. The sheer size of these birds becomes apparent when they soar past you. With a ten foot wing span they are truly stunning to see so close.
The next trip on my tour is to the small islands of Staffa and Lunga. Staffa is an uninhabited island which is home to hundreds of seabirds and set within waters teeming with marine life. The image below shows the narrow path you take towards the cave entrance.
The island is best known for its magnificent columns of rock. The best place to see this is in Fingal’s Cave. The name Staffa is thought to come from an old Norse word meaning wooden building staves, which look similar to the islands basalt columns. The name is a reminder of the region’s Viking history.
According to legend, Fingal was a Gaelic giant who fell out with a Ulster giant and in order to fight Fingal, the Ulster giant built a causeway between Ireland and Scotland.
When the causeway was destroyed only the two ends remained, one at Staffa and the other at the giants causeway in Antrim. The columns you can see today are the remains of this causeway.
Lunga is one of the best places in the UK to see Puffin’s and it is teeming with other birds too like Razorbill’s, Guillemots and Seals. We spend around two hours on this lovely little island and from the moment you scale the landing steps and head up onto the flat top of the island the Puffins are not far from you.
Puffins are so comical to watch also, with their gentle appearance and cheeky approach they are just adorable. Below you can see an image of soil flying everywhere, I was laughing as I took this. It’s a Puffin doing some excavation work on their underground nesting chamber, not aware that the soil was flying everywhere.
Their calls can be heard first before they show themselves from the burrows and vegetation hiding them away from view. Just sit and relax and the Puffins approach you. This whole trip was fantastic and my clients really enjoyed it.
The pattern of events on the other days of my tour are designed to ensure that my clients get the best out of their time on Mull. We travel to one of the many Otter sites I know, get into place and look for the telltale signs of their activity.
Often the first clues of their presence is their head or tail in the water as seen in the images below.
They are masters of hiding away amongst the rocks and seaweed on Mull. Almost invisible to the naked eye as demonstrated with this image below, see if you can find the male Otter.
The male Otter, above sniffing one of the large rocks in his territory and then he marks the same rock with his spraint or poo. Capturing natural behaviour is amazing and something I love to capture.
We were out in all weathers looking for Otters and my group put a lot of effort into their fieldcraft and got lucky on most days which was fantastic for them.
Remember to respect all the wildlife on Mull, give it space and let it go about its life around you. Working like this you will see more natural behaviour as the subject won’t be troubled by your presence.
All these images were taken on my latest trip to Mull alongside my clients. A big thank you to my lovely group for all your efforts, hardwork and lots of laughs during our time on Mull.
Mull is an amazing place, I will be back there in June 2023. I have a few places left, so to see the trip or book please click here.
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