August.....The peak time for Mull and its Wildlife

August is the peak time for the island with a large amount of tourists flocking to Mull to see all the magical island has to offer. School holidays either side of the border add to the tourism with British holiday makers making the most of the beautiful remote locations and islands we have in Scotland. With the month of August being the peak of summer and the hottest time of the year means the food is at its most abundant, as is the wildlife and its offspring.

A Lunch time landing on the Cairns of Coll

Classic rolling back and small dorsal fin....

The Evolution of the Whale.........Fifty five million years ago hoofed carnivores started to move from the land back into the sea. Legs becoming fins and tails and bodies becoming longer and more streamlined as the evolutionary clock ran backwards. Whales have no relationship with other water based meat eaters like Seals and Walruses. Their closest living relative is the vegetarian Hippo. Its one of evolutions most compelling stories how a clumsy crocodile shaped Otter became the largest, most graceful and mysterious of all creatures on the planet.

Why so big? Whales grew large because the buoyancy of water meant they could - nothing so heavy could survive on land as the energy needed to move and feed would be too great. Heat travels 24 times faster in water and being large helps as it reduces the surface to weight ratio. The real success is the blubber that acts as an insulation overcaot and a life jacket. It also stores the water extracted from food and provides a handy on board supply of nutrients when food is scarce.

Laggan Bay, West Mull Sunset

Its all about the Mars bar.....won by the first person to spot a Whale!

In Iceland whale meat is a traditional local dish but a recent survey by IFAW (The International Fund for Animal Welfare) discovered that only 5% of Icelanders ate whale meat on a regular basis. This means the main drive for eating whale meat in Iceland are tourists visiting the island. The predicted mentality is 'I will only try it once it wont do any harm' There are over half a million tourists visit Iceland every year. Zoologist Mark Carwardine has met people in Reykjavik who have walked off a whale-watch boat and straight into a restaurant to eat whale meat.

Buster the Grey seal on Calve island

Morning in Tobermory

A Minke Whale surfacing off Sanna bay as the guests watch on....

The Value of Whale Watching.....Whale watching generates far more than whale hunting worldwide as the industry now generates over two billion a year. The group commissioning the report IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare) says whaling countries would gain from a switch to whale watching. However Icelands delegates said that both industries were compatible and could grow together. Icelandic Whalers have recently increased their quota to over a hundred and fifty endangered Fin Whales as well as a hundred plus Minke whales. Whale watching is clearly more environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial than hunting. Whales are worth far more alive than dead.

Crew and Guests enjoying the Isle of Muck

Minke Whale surfacing close to Sula Beag

There were a few special trips towards the end of August starting with a seven hour trip on the 30th of the month as we ventured in the morning. The condition of the sea was a bit choppy which added to the challenge of finding wildlife. We got Porpoise showing as we headed west towards Coll, and further on in the open sea up to 20 Common Dolphins approached the bow of our boat from the south! They stayed with us for nearly half an hour, being their usual playful selves bow riding and also performing some interesting behaviour, tail slapping constantly. The trip continued in good vein with good minke whale sightings as well as more porpoise.

On the trip the day after (Wednesday) it summed up all that is great about wildlife with the excitement, unpredictability, pleasure, joys and rewards. It was a four hour trip with 40 guests and they were not disappointed as we managed to see seven whales during the trip which is a record number in recent years!

The day after again and there was a lot to live up to after Wednesdays events. A seven hour with the usual very keen guests on board excited about what the trip will bring. A bit trickier sea state than the day before but we still managed 5 Minke whales! a lovely lunch stop off Sanna bay and great views of White Tailed Eagle on the way in made for another fantastic all round trip.

Muck for lunch!

The four 'Small isles' are seen to the north on our longer trips. They are sometimes called the 'Cocktail isles' because all four are very different in appearance, habitat and structure. You can visit the islands from Mallaig via the Calmac passenger ferries all year round.

Isle of Rum is the largest of the small isles and is owned by SNH (Scottish Natural Heritage). It is one of Scotlands finest and most important nature reserves in particular for the 100,000 breeding Manx Shearwater on the higher ground. The two peaks on Rum are remains of an extinct Volcano.

Isle of Eigg is the second largest island and has a unique structure to it with a slopping ridge of Lava called the Sgurr. Isle of Eigg is owned and managed by the people in partnership with the Wildlife Trust of Scotland and the island is a full nature reserve with no hunting and shooting with the sole purpose to promote wildlife and their ecosystems. If only other parts of the UK had that set up for promoting wildlife.

Isle of Muck is again very different to the other isles and it is basically ran as a large farm. Managing the livestock on the island as well as game birds Pheasants and Red Legged Partridge used for shoots during the open season between September and January. Muck is the smallest of the small isles. A lovely tea room is well worth a visit!

Isle of Canna is the furthest island from the mainland. It is very low lying and has a population of 20. There is a primary school on the island. The island is currently in care by the National Trust of Scotland and are on the look out for the right family to come and live on the island and manage it.

Fulmar

Blow! Minke surfacing in lovely sparkling light

How to whales communicate and find prey underwater? Smell is useless, sight is limited, and touch is tricky when you have fins rather than fingers. But sound waves travel four times faster underwater. Whales use Echolocation to send out sound waves and when receiving the returning calls it gives them an accurate reading of their surroundings. Whale songs are the loudest noise made by any animal. Some songs are so low in frequency that they can be heard thousands of miles away. The massive head of a Sperm whale focuses sound into a burst that can stun a giant squid and can also be used to navigate and interpret its dark mysterious world. A half hour song from a humpback whale can contain millions of discrete units of information and they sing different songs in different places at different times of the year. No one knows what information they are portraying but we do know that military sonar and general noise pollution in the sea has reduced the whales carrying range by up to 80% and many stranded whales have severe inner ear damage. We may not hunt whales like we once did but we still torment them.

Tobermory looking out to the harbour, best seat in the house!

Keith Edmunds photo of the male Peregrine on Tobermory main street has won best photo in the urban category of the national Bird Watching magazine. A pair of Peregrines have being showing very well all season in Tobermory with excellent food source available, Gulls and Pigeons. here is a video of these amazing predators at their best.

Mountain Hare

The Mountain Hare also called Blue Hare can be seen on Mull and it is Great Britian's only native Hare with the Brown Hare found on the mainland introduced to the country for hunting and coursing. Mountain Hare is so well adapted to polar and mountainous conditions with very well insulated feet and ears letting minimal heat escape. Their coat also turns white (ermine) in winter as a defence mechanism and a form of camouflage to help prevent it being spotted by predators such as the mighty Golden Eagle.

5 Amazing wildlife facts......

- A Dolphins skin is shed and replaced every two hours to maximize streamlining.

- The Passenger Pigeon in America at one point could of accounted for half of all American birds as they could of reached up to 10 billion in number. They used to travel in vast flocks and would block out sunlight for hours on end. But by 1899 the species was extinct in the wild due to habitat loss and persecution. A testament to the destructive folly of humankind.

- An Albatrosses wingspan can be up to 11 feet. They can travel all the way around the planet in as little as 2 months and can go 6 days without flapping their wings.

- Bats account for a fifth of all mammal species. They navigate and find prey using the same method as whales and dolphins using echolocation. They can emit 400,000 calls an evening and they prevent damage to their ears by closing them with every wing stroke. The largest ever gathering of mammals was the 50 million strong roosts of the American free tailed Bat. Their 'evening' evacuations have to start in mid afternoon to allow all the animals time to exit and have some darkness hours.

- The Painted Lady butterfly which visits the British isles in the summer time migrates from North Africa every season and can travel from North Africa to Scandinavia in as little as two weeks!

Thanks for reading :-)

Ewan

Wildlife Guide