Autumn can be hit and miss with the weather on the western coast of Scotland (as can any time of year!), but we were lucky enough to have a few spectacularly sunny days on our latest visit to the Isle of Mull in mid October.
After a long drive up from the Midlands and an evening ferry journey, we arrived on Mull in the dark and headed to our first overnight stop, driving cautiously as there seemed to be red deer absolutely everywhere along the roadside!
A beautiful sunny start to our first day, with the golden sunlight on Kinloch Bridge and the surrounding hills.
After a wonderful day on the quiet, secluded beaches on the west coast of the Isle of Iona we headed to some favourite otter locations to see what we could find.
After a bit of a drive, we pulled over at one of our favourite roadside places to admire the view, only to realise that there was an otter fishing in the water right in front of us! We watched this old male otter for a while, hunting and making his way along the coast. Eventually I successfully guessed where he would come out of the water after one of his fishing trips and had a wonderful close encounter on the shoreline, with me hunkered down next to a rock while the otter ate, preened, and then made his way back to the sea.
Eventually the otter settled down for a well-earned nap, so we quietly left him to it headed back to the van.
Surveying the scene, oblivious to our presence.
A look around and a big yawn, showing off his battle-scarred nose and well-worn teeth.
Trotting off back towards the sea to continue hunting.
Sunset over Loch Na Keal, one of our favourite places to relax and watch the world go by.
It wouldn’t be a trip to Mull without a few hours out on the water with Mull Charters. It was a grey day, but the eagles and other wildlife didn’t seem to mind.
A white tailed eagle stoops to a dive beside the boat.
A gull chasing this white tailed eagle gives a good sense of scale - the eagles are simply enormous!
This gull grabbed a fish from the water’s surface, before being chased by the eagle and forced to drop its catch.
Morning stillness at Ulva Ferry.
After arriving at Lochbuie for the night in torrential rain, the following morning was another bright and sunny one, soon followed by moody skies and showers, making for some excellent conditions for photography.
Ben Buie under a bright blue sky.
An early morning stroll through the woods in some wonderful soft light.
Moody skies build behind Ben Buie as the sun shines on this picture-postcard property.
More otter-watching in the afternoon sunshine.
This shag gave us a nice view whilst we were watching and hoping for the otter to come closer.
An otter sprainting to mark his territory. The fertile green patch indicates that this is a very well used sprinting spot!
Sunshine and showers means plenty of beautiful rainbows! This one was over a grey heron keeping watch on Loch Na Keal.
Our final evening on Mull was a very special one. Mull Wildlife Hides have recently opened a hide that has regular visits from a pine marten. Having never laid eyes on a wild pine marten we booked a visit and crossed our fingers…
Before darkness fell there was an abundance of birdlife around the hide, including this jay.
Fallow deer stopped by as the darkness set in.
After a wait of around two hours we were starting to lose hope, when suddenly out of the darkness this stunning pine marten appeared. After a few minutes of nervously skirting the area, he eventually entered the floodlit area right in front of the hide. Result!
I’d read that they are around the size of a domestic cat, but we were still surprised at the size of this ultra-secretive animal.
Some strategically placed rocks and old tree stumps made for some very photogenic images.
My favourite image from the evening, with the light catching and highlighting the pine marten’s thick fur and long whiskers.
As a late bonus, this delightful hedgehog appeared just before we left the hide.
We reckoned this was around our 14th visit to the Isle of Mull, but still it delivers every time, with the varied wildlife, beautiful scenery and ever-changing light providing unique experiences and photographs every time we visit. Time to plan the next one…