My Fortnight on Mull

Joel.W · #1 (**permalink**) 24-11-2011, 07:20 PM

Hi guys, I have recently returned from a fortnight on Mull. Following the advice of many on here I had great sightings of many species which I had not thought I would get close to. As the main purpose of the trip was to get out and photograph the wildlife I thought this is probably the best place to post the results. I have written a blog page about it here

Mull, November 2011 | Joel Walley Wildlife Photography

There is also a Gallery of my favourite photos and a small video clip which I took of an otter feeding which can be found in the previous blog post, or equally, on youtube here Otter Video

Thanks for all those who gave me hints and tips before I left, enjoy and let me know what you think

htcdude · #2 (**permalink**) 24-11-2011, 07:30 PM

Great report Joel looks like you had an excellent time! Some nice shots in there too

Love the Eagles!

Nige

Tobyh · #3 (**permalink**) 28-11-2011, 07:48 PM

Excellent stuff and thanks for sharing, great photos and info!

I'm off in June and intend photographing similar subjects so find this write up very useful.

I'll certainly be reading through your blog a few times over the next few days and again nearer my trip.

TobyH

Pete Collins · #4 (**permalink**) 28-11-2011, 08:19 PM

Great photos and a very interesting report, Joel.

Joel.W · #5 (**permalink**) 28-11-2011, 10:41 PM

Thanks guys, I think i probably need to add a few bits and pieces as we saw some other great wildlife that I forgot in the first post (slavonian grebe, Common Scoter and harbour seal). After two weeks I certainly feel like we got a good feel for the place, but i could definitely stay a lot longer. Going in June is going to be fantastic. Definitely get on the boat trips. The Treshnish islands have more puffins than you could imagine, and they are so close you wont be able to focus the camera! Incredible! On the boat trip over when I went last year we saw 5 basking sharks, gannets seals and bonxies everywhere! And if you can, go on the sea eagle boat trip. They werent running when we went (out of season) so we were very lucky with our sightings but if you go on the boat trip sightings like that are virtually guaranteed. Mull is a very special place, and you will have a great time.

The Woodman · #6 (**permalink**) 28-11-2011, 10:47 PM

Going to Mull in June will be fantastic if you have planned and are prepared for midges. Seriously.

PMG · #7 (**permalink**) 29-11-2011, 06:56 AM

Smashing read and pics Joel - its brought back some memories

You did well with the photography as its such a big island and the wildlife just doesn't have to be near the roads or people

We had days where we drove around and saw very little of the raptors and being May we put that down to birds nesting - one on eggs the other resting out of sight! There were plenty singing warblers tho to keep us interested.

We went to Loch Scridain 8 days on the trot on one Mull holiday to watch and photograph the otters - but the tour buses became a BIG pain: we were on the beach camouflaged so the folks and guides didn't know we where there - even so you think they could tell their patrons not to jump out of the vehicles slamming doors and shouting 'OTTER OVER THERE' for their own and the animals sake and have the courtesey to acknowledge other folk may be present and hidden and have been waiting for hours for the otters to swim by ......... I suppose the answer is to go 'out of season' in October/November - or be out at 4am in spring to avoid this annoyance!

Pauline

Tobyh · #8 (**permalink**) 29-11-2011, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PMG

We went to Loch Scridain 8 days on the trot on one Mull holiday to watch and photograph the otters - but the tour buses became a BIG pain: we were on the beach camouflaged so the folks and guides didn't know we where there - even so you think they could tell their patrons not to jump out of the vehicles slamming doors and shouting 'OTTER OVER THERE' for their own and the animals sake and have the courtesey to acknowledge other folk may be present and hidden and have been waiting for hours for the otters to swim by ......... I suppose the answer is to go 'out of season' in October/November - or be out at 4am in spring to avoid this annoyance!

Pauline

Which is exactly what I intend to do. I was surprised to see that alot of the organised trips seem to start at 9ish and thought "well that's a bit late isn't it?" but having read your post Pauline I can see those hours are going to be my best times for being out.

One question though - I've not been that far north in June. What kind of time does it get dark?

PMG · #9 (**permalink**) 29-11-2011, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobyh

Which is exactly what I intend to do. I was surprised to see that alot of the organised trips seem to start at 9ish and thought "well that's a bit late isn't it?" but having read your post Pauline I can see those hours are going to be my best times for being out.

One question though - I've not been that far north in June. What kind of time does it get dark?

Can't quite remember - I'm getting mixed up with the outer isles when the sun only goes down at 10.35pm and the 'gloaming' goes on for 40 or 50 mins and even then the darkness isn't really dark! So I guess Mull will be light till 10.30pm or so on a bright evening? And dawn is going to break good and early too - I'm guessing but I bet its not long after 3am when the light starts creeping in and lightening the sky??

Pauline

Joel.W · #10 (**permalink**) 29-11-2011, 12:37 PM

I can imagine that would be a pain! A couple of times we stopped and spotted an Otter but saw that someone else had already got in to position and obviously done very well to get so close without disturbance so we just moved on. We ended up going to Loch Scridain virtually every day as it was incredibly productive and also the light was okay. We saw plenty of otters along the southern coast of Loch Na Keal on our drives to Loch Scridain but the sun was so low in the sky that that half of the Loch was always in a shadow from the hills. Going out of season we also had few hours of daylight, with it only being light enough for photos at about 7:30 - 8:00am and too dark by around 3:00pm. I am really happy we went when we did though as there were many times when we just sat and watched the wildlife without the sound of any cars, planes or people which is something that is impossible to do near here. My only regret is not renting a quicker lens as the 400mm 5.6L I used was at times frustratingly slow! But I suppose it is far lighter than the 2.8 and allowed me to get to some more remote and inaccessible places, i guess its all about weighing up the tradeoffs of each option. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the read, thanks for looking!