Autumn Days

September 24, 2020

We've recently had some beautiful, crisp and bright days as we move into autumn . Yesterday we took advantage of the perfect weather to get out and do an evening bird count as part of the BTO wetland bird survey that we participate in. The nature here is always full of surprises and in this case we were delighted to see these juvenile ruff - a wading bird that is a very scarce visitor to Mull and a first sighting for us here. There were five birds in total. These ruff have most probably stopped off here for a rest and feed on their way to over-winter in Africa. We particularly like the image of two of juvenile birds perfectly framed by a sheep's rear end!

Spotting the ruff was a definite highlight amongst good numbers of lapwing, golder plover, ringed plover as well as a scattering of dunlin. redshank, greenshank, dunlin, curlew and oystercatchers.

The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) monitors non-breeding waterbirds in the UK. Since 1947, WeBS surveyors visit wetland sites to count birds once a month, providing data for population and trends in abundance and distribution. If you are interested in contributing to this data find out more on the WeBS page of the BTO website

Following the new Covid-19 restrictions we have lots of late availability for the remainder of the season with exclusive use of the whole house from just 2 guests: £119 per night for 2; £164 per night for a single household group of up to 6. Come and enjoy the autumn colours and amazing wildlife!