Captain's Log

Footage by Simon Spear

2011-12-12T09:36:00.001Z

Some fantastic footage taken by Simon Spear whilst aboard with us in June 2011 - thank you Simon!

Sightings Summary 2011

2011-11-30T09:54:00.002Z

2011 Season Summary…

Hello, Ruth here! I’ve now come to the end of my 3rd season as a guide for Sea Life Surveys after another brilliant summer at sea! After huge amounts of work last winter from James and Popz both Sula Beag and Sula Crion did us exceptionally proud and looked very smart throughout the season whilst racking up some incredible sightings.

When conditions allowed us to get out to their feeding grounds 2011 brought us consistently good sightings of our favourite summer visitor – the minke whale. Whilst some individuals proved to live up to their reputation of being extremely sneaky others were much more social allowing us to have some superb close encounters. On several occasions this year we’ve been able to track these wonderful animals beneath the water as they swim around the boat by watching the white bands on their pectoral fins and practically look down their blowholes as they surfaced to take a breath!! On one special 4 hour trip in at the end of August we counted a grand total of 7 individual whales; certainly the most I have ever come across on a single trip – wow!! We also managed to take some cracking photo-ID shots… the star of 2011 for me, and SLS’s other guide called Ruth(!), has to be one particular minke whale named Knobble. With his/her distinctive dorsal fin, Knobble has been seen in around Mull almost every year since 2002 and we managed to catch up with him/her about 8 times this season alone becoming a very good friend of ours!! :-)

The awesome basking sharks (guide Jayne’s favourite!) came back very early this year – we saw the first ones on the 2nd of May on a stunning day, our earliest record of them! Andy Tait was onboard with his camera and took some spectacular footage. However they didn’t stay around for long and despite their early appearance sightings were down on last year; a trend that other areas in the UK also noted. However, like all wildlife does, they kept us on our toes and when they did appear we often saw them in large numbers… on several days Sula Beag was surrounded by around 30 of these huge beasties!! Very excitingly at the end of June when Mark Harding and Alex Mustard joined us aboard Sula Crion we were able to get a photograph of a tagged shark… we were amazed to discover it had been tagged off the south west coast of Ireland 2 months before hand.

We’ve had some fantastic sightings of common and bottlenose dolphins too… June was a particularly good month for common dolphin sightings with about 7 separate encounters. Playful, bow riding dolphins definitely have the knack of lifting everyone’s spirits after the very challenging gales the west coast experienced the month before! We can never predict when we might come across dolphins which I believe makes it an even more special event when we do. The resident porpoise never let us down and we had almost daily views of them including some very tiny calves and juveniles, such a lovely sight. One of my favourite sounds is to hear the porpoise “puffing” around the boat on a still day! The seals were also very reliable both on our half hour trips across Tobermory Bay and on our longer 7 hour Whalewatch Explorer where they provided us with great amusement when anchored in our favourite lunch spot, each day appearing to get a little braver and approach the boat slightly closer.

I cannot forget to mention some of the incredible birdlife either. Sadly “our” white tailed eagles which we are lucky enough to sail past every day were unsuccessful this year in rearing a chick. Whilst the pair sometimes disappeared for a week or so at a time they always returned and continued to grace us with their presence (and enormous 2.5m wingspan!). We also had some fantastic views of guide Ewan’s favourite – the golden eagle! Other highlights include large rafts of manx shearwaters, fulmars on fly-bys, diving gannets, puffins, guillemot and razorbill dads with their fluffy chicks, the bonxies which followed Sula Beag looking for ginger biscuits and an increased sightings of the beautiful arctic skuas.

The season has come to an end all too quickly again, but Lydia (aka Captain Admin) our brilliant office manager is staying in Tobermory over the winter and is keeping busy getting ready for 2012 which I’m sure will be upon us before we know it. 2012 is set to be an extra special season as very impressively it will be Sea Life Survey’s 30^th birthday which means plenty of celebrations are to be had for sure!! I for one am looking forward to it already.

Ruth :-)

Guide

Come see us at the first ever Whalefest!

2011-10-03T15:06:00.006+01:00

WHALEFEST IS THE UK’S FIRST AND LARGEST EVENT FOR PEOPLE WITH A PASSION FOR WHALES AND DOLPHINS!

Whether you go whale watching every year or have never seen a dolphin but would love to know more about them, WhaleFest is for you! Like the whales themselves, WhaleFest will leave you amazed, inspired, and wishing you had longer to enjoy the experience!

http://www.planetwhale.com/whalefest

September.....Another great season coming to a close

2011-09-16T18:23:00.019+01:00

We are in to September now and the season is coming to a close with the trips quietening down, but the wildlife is still showing well. We have had some nasty spells of weather during the month but on the days when we could get further out we have had some good Minke whale encounters feeding hard. Also the Eagles and other raptors putting on great shows during clear spells. At the end of the breeding season a lot of migrant birds start moving to different parts of the planet and this is when rare birds can crop up along the British Isles. The landscapes are turning in to all sorts of glorious colours and the freshness in the air it really is a great time of the year.

Minke whale surfacing surrounded by fantastic Scottish landscape

The largest predator on the planet, the Sperm whale was spotted in the sound or Raasay near Skye on the 17th. Sperm whale sightings are rare off the west coast of Scotland but not unheard of with the last sighting being off the Isle of Canna in 2008. The majority of these sightings come from the Minch and off Skye where the sea bed reaches depths of over 100 meters. Sperm Whales are the largest toothed animals on earth and feed on mainly cephalopods like Cuttlefish and Squid. Fishermen in the area have reported catching more and larger sized Squid in recent years so it is no surprise that there are more Sperm whale sightings in the area.

The whale was reported to have being feeding rather than just travelling through which is a positive sign. Sperm whales can be under the surface for up to 90 minutes and go to depths of up to 1000 meters.

Two Mountain Hares, Photo G storey

Manx shearwater, photo G storey

The annual RSPB nature of farming award has gone to the Isle of Mull's very own Treshnish Farm ran by Somerset and Carolyne Charrington. The land is managed to cater for a huge array of wildlife including the very scarce summer migrant the Corncrake. Also other farm birds including the Curlew and Lapwing. They have over 300 species of Butterflies and Moths on their land and 10 species and Dragonfly and Damselfly.

Minke surfacing close to Yacht, photo G Storey

Harbour seals at the Carins of Coll, photo G Storey

We have two species of Seal's in the UK, Common / Harbour Seal and Atlantic Grey Seal. The Harbour Seal is the smaller of the two species and have a big variation in colour. It is very difficult to distinguish the sexes of Harbour Seal's.

Grey Seals are larger with the Bulls growing to a possible 2.6 meters in length. The British coastlines hold over half of the world breeding population. The Grey seals will be starting to give birth to pups at this time of the year as the breeding Harbour Seals move out allowing the cow Grey Seals to move in to pup. The young Grey Seal pups have a waterproof white coat which is a flaw within the species in this period of time on the planet as we are still in the retreating stages of the ice age and going back 8000 years on the British Isles the country would of being covered in ice and snow which would of provided good camouflage for the Grey Seal pups, but as the climate got warmer the ice melted and the Seal pups have become more exposed to their surroundings. Seal Pup milk is up to 50% fat and grey Seal mothers feed their pups with milk for 16-21 days, during which time the pup gains an average of 30 kg.

Common Dolphin approaching Sula Beag, photography by G Storey

Another great Common Dolphin experience at the very start of the month as a group of 20 approached the boat and associated with us for nearly half an hour. Their behaviour and intelligence amazes me more every time I see them. Their brain is more complex than ours and their language is more sophisticated. Their society is dedicated to peace and love and they are very talkative even though they don't have any vocal cords they produce clicks, whistles, groans, squeals and barks coming from sacks in their nasal passage. They can produce 1200 sounds per second.

Their intelligence is incredible as some populations of Dolphins around the world are known to use tools as when hunting along sharp coral they attach sponge to their snouts as safety masks. They are also known to help certain small fishing communities as they heard shoals of fish into nets in return for a few thrown back.

The river in flood near Knock

Slow shutter speed photo with Jayne

A disturbing wildlife crime made the headlines this month as millionaire Michael Barclay and a former magistrate John Metcalf were convicted as criminals as they have being involved in the trade of protected wild animals and bird eggs for many years. Guy Shorrock was the leading RSPB investigation officer who worked with the police in a coordinated raid on Michael Barclays mansion. Inside the mansion the police located hundreds of rare eggs and stuffed birds and animal skins including Tigers, many illegally obtained.

These wealthy criminals help drive the illegal animal trades and can pay up to five figure sums for animal parts or skins. Both men have being imprisoned for the serious crime and well done to the RSPB and police wildlife crime unit for getting to the bottom of the case.

Egg collecting is still a problem to this day in the British isles with the hobby going back to the 1880s. It was a fashionable activity encouraging people to go in to the countryside and collect the different specimens. It got banned in 1954 and still continues as 'Eggers' can devote their lives to the pursuit for eggs and become obsessed with the practice. The rarer species of birds are often targeted. In the UK the problem seems to be declining but it could be on the increase abroad as collectors could be moving further afield.

Isle of Mull also have a strict operation in place called 'Operation Easter' which is a joint effort between the RSPB, Forestry Commission, Mull and Iona community trust, Strathclyde police, SNH and many locals and volunteers. It is a six week project during the breeding season where the people involved help to protect the eagles nests all around the island and report anything suspicious. The main threats to the nest sites are egg collectors and also the prospect of chicks getting stolen to be sold and raised as falconers birds. The eagles on Mull generate a huge interest to the island all year round and are valued at 5 million a year to the local economy.

Wildlife persecution is still a major problem in the UK and Great Britain has the worst record for illegal killing of Birds of prey in the world. The fantastic website Raptor Politics is a good insight into the problems we have and is well worth a look.......

Loch Na Keal looking to the west at sun set

Its approaching a great time of the year for photography with the autumn colours and changing landscapes. Isle of Mull is a hot spot for capturing the best landscape and wildlife images. here is 5 tips to help you get a better photo....

1. The rule of Thirds (below) - Don't always put the subject in the middle of the picture. cut your scene in to thirds and try to position the subjects on show in to an option of 9 imaginary boxes to get more interest in the composition. It is just a guideline and there is many circumstances where the rule is not preferred or needed.

2. Get to know your subject and surroundings - in terms of the wildlife you are capturing try and get to know their behaviour and different characteristics and it will give you a better chance of getting the photo you want and also one that relates to that species. For example if you are wanting to photograph Otters then you can discover that they will more likely be active at dawn and dusk and you can discover their preferred feeding areas to give you a better chance of photographing them.

3. No such thing as bad conditions - Use the weather to your advantage and try and capture the power of the weather like for example if it is raining you can potentially get some nice effects capturing the motion of the falling water with a slower shutter speed. The rain will also lead to strong running rivers and possible waterfalls to focus your attentions on. Also overcast conditions can produce a nice shade of light and also nice cloud formations to focus on. The wind if you are by the coast will create very impressive waves to capture with a camera. The snow and ice of course creates amazing photography opportunities all round.

4. Start simple - If your just getting in to photography then the best practice is to stay local and focus on the surroundings close to you. Garden Birds are great practice and garden landscape shots. The beauty of photography is that there always a better photo to capture even if it is on your local patch.

5. Patience and commitment - One of the most important aspects of wildlife photography is patience and commitment to getting the opportunities. If you can dedicate yourself then you will give yourself more chance and the rewards can be huge. There is always that element of luck involved as well of course!

Fishing on Loch Na Keal at dusk, everyone was 'hooked' with this picture

The home favourite the Minke!

Our trips for the month were challenging with conditions restricting the areas we could cover. When we had a good spell we did get further out to the whale grounds and had some good Minke sightings along with Porpoise and good birds. Unfortunately there was too many days where we had to stay in more sheltered waters which was frustrating because we like everyone else wanted to get further out and see what was going on, especially with the season coming to an end and we wouldn't get many more opportunities to do so.

Overall the season has being a very good one in terms of sightings and we have experienced a huge variety of wildlife on our trips including Minke whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins, Basking Sharks, Sunfish, Porpoise, WT Eagles, Golden Eagles and a good number of superb sea birds. Unfortunately the sneaky Orcas evaded us every time with a number of reports but we never managed to bump into them. Rissos Dolphin were not sighted by our operators as we did have 3 encounters last season.

I will post season highlights to follow as well as the top photos of the 2011 season........Thanks for reading everyone. :-)

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

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

2011-09-15T19:00:00.006+01:00

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

Scotsman - Whalewatching on Mull Article

2011-09-12T10:57:00.001+01:00

Peter Ranscombe from the Scotsman joined us on one of our Gordon Buchanan trips this summer, please click here to read the article online.

Sea Life Surveys target species 2011

2011-08-10T12:31:00.001+01:00

2020 Vision....plus Gordon Buchanan trips

2011-07-25T17:48:00.032+01:00

July was an eventful period for Sea Life Surveys with 2020 vision joining us for a week to try and capture the best environmental images and video footage around our research patch off the north end of Mull.

We also had wildlife cameraman and presenter Gordon Buchannan joining us on a couple of special Whale Watching trips. Along with the general day to day wildlife trips we had more great encounters as the season really is in full swing.

Basking Shark, Photo by Alex Mustard

2020 Vision is a multimedia project that communicates the link between peoples well being and the restoration of the natural systems. Their main aim is to raise the awareness of wildlife and their ecosystems and to help people understand the importance of them and the value they have to us.

There are 20 photographers involved and they have chosen 20 assignments. A decade from now in 2020 a new generation of decision makers will face the legacy of things we do today. So 2020 vision is exactly that: a vision for 2020. A call of action to restore Britians battered ecosystems over the next decade.

Alex Mustard joined us for the week as one of the 2020 Cameramen and he is an underwater photographer and category winner in both the wildlife photographer of the year and the British Wildlife photography awards. With a PhD in Marine Biology, much of his photography is driven by his knowledge of marine wildlife and his passion for the marine environment. It was great to have Alex joining us for the week and here is a couple of his fantastic photos he captured.

Two Basking sharks - Photo by Mark Harding

Photo by 2020 photographer Chris Gomersall

A fantastic encounter with 2020 photographer Chris Gomersall on board. We were coming to the end of a seven hour trip and approaching Ardmore we spotted splashing in the distance, as we got closer we realised it was 8 Bottlenose Dolphins displaying really well. We quickly boarded the RIB tender and Chris and I circled Sula Beag while the Dolphins were bow riding. Chris managed to get a great all round photo (above) with a Dolphin breaching while all the passengers on board were admiring the spectacle.

The Scottish Bottlenose Dolphin population averaging 3.8 meters in length are larger than their counterparts worldwide. They weigh around 400kg when fully grown. Older animals often have scars and teeth marks inflicted by other Dolphins and their life span is around 20-30 years.

Minke Whale surfacing infront of a raft of Manx Shearwaters

Its disturbing to know that not too far from our waters to the north whales are still getting removed by commercial whaling. Iceland and Norway still have a quota on hunting whales for reasons such as fish bait and research. In the peak of the whaling industry Minke whales were mainly ignored because of their smaller size they didn't appeal to the whalers as they focused on the larger great whale species. Blue and Fin Whales were primarily hunted but Humpback and Sei whales were also included. However, prior to 1914 Icelanders did not hunt Minke whales as superstition held that Minke whales were sent by God as protectors.

Gordon Buchanan wearing the SLS guide jacket with pride

A team photo with Gordon, the Crew and guests on 24/07/11

On the 24th and 31st of the month we had two special eight hour trips with Gordon Buchanan on board to entertain the passengers. On the first trip we had nice sunshine with a bit of chop in the water and we headed out to Coll and the Cairns of Coll . We picked up Porpoise on the way over and also a pair of Great Skuas before we landed at the Carins of Coll for lunch. Gordon got in with the seals to do some underwater filming and put the footage on his laptop to show everyone afterwards on board Sula Beag. We didnt pick up a whale in the 2nd half unfortunately but it was a great trip all around with Gordon being simply superb host whilst we all enjoyed the fantastic sunshine.

In the second trip the conditions were certainly challenging to find wildlife as the strong wind restricted the grounds we could cover. It was quiet on the wildlife front but again was a good trip and it was fantastic to have Gordon on board again, thank you Gordon, thanks to you and all the folk that joined us we helped to raise over £800 for the vital local charity the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.

White Tail Sea Eagle....

Sooty Shearwater

One of the beauties of bird watching is finding rareties that crop up on migration normally on either end of the breeding season. The excitement of seeing new species as well as finding out about the journey they would have taken to arrive here always adds to the fascination. The picture above shows a Sooty Shearwater sat in amoungst a raft of Manx shearwaters and the Sooty is a rare bird which breeds in the soutern hemisphere and travels up to the northern hemisphere in its winter range. This is when rare birds can appear off the British isles depending on the weather conditions and wind direction. The Sooty Shearwater is slightly larger than the Manx and is all dark with silver underwing flashes and we came across this bird on one of our trips!

Minke whale surfacing...

Ben Hiant with a Calmac ferry heading west

Ben Hiant is the highest peak on Ardnamurchan at just over 500 meters. We pass the beautiful mountain on every trip and the lava plateaus on the south side light up an almost surreal shade of green. Ben Hiant is actually a failed Volcano, as simple as it sounds, it had a lot of volcanic pressure and attempted to erupt but never quite made it! Looking at the mountain from certain angles makes it quite clear, you can see evidence of a crater rim at the top. It is a lovely walk to tackle and fantastic views on top in all directions especially in to the western highlands. The Kilchoan ferry from Tobermory makes it easy to access Ardnamurchan from Mull and explore the wild beauty across there.

Golden Ringed Dragonfly

This time of year is great for Dragonflies as they only appear for a few months of the year its good to make the most of these fantastic creatures. Dragonflies have been around for 300 million years! One prehistoric fossil had a wingspan of 2 1/2 feet! Today the largest Dragonfly is found in Costa Rica and has a wingspan of 7 1/2 inches.

Some amazing facts about Dragonflies: -

- Dragonfly eyes contain up to 30,00 individual lenses, Human eyes only have one.

- Very skilled and excellent fliers they can loop the loop, hover and fly backwards.

- The record speed for a dragonfly is 36 mph!

- Dragonfly Nymphs ( the first stage after hatching) live in the water for about a year.

- After leaving the water and becoming flying insects they only live for about a month

- Their natural predators are birds.

Isle of Mull is great for Dragonflies with the rich array of habitats. The more common species on the island are Common Hawker, Golden Ringed Dragonfly (above), Four Spotted Chaser and Common and Black Darter.

Basking Shark

White Tailed Sea Eagle

There are reports in the Lake District that Cormorants are being blamed for destroying fish stocks. Anglers fear an invasion of Cormorants throughout Cumbria are eating too many fish from the regions fresh water lakes. Could the reintroduction of the White-Tailed Eagle resolve the problem faced by anglers in Cumbria? Observations show a significant increase in the number of Cormorants in Cumbria over the past three years.

How important are Predators to an ecosystem?? Predators dictate all the other life in their particular niche. A prime example is the Wolf and the Yellowstone national park where the Wolf had been removed from the area in the past so there was no natural predators. Grazers like Elk and Deer increased at an alarming unbalanced rate and also with no predators to fear they patrolled down to the lower ground. There they over grazed large areas of young trees and habitats and therefore taking away a large number of potential nest sights for birds and other animals. With the introduction of Wolves again to the national park it has created a healthy balance to all the grazers and other animals in the ecosystem. The Elk and Deer are more evenly and scarcely spread out creating a lot more room for trees and shrubs to grow providing a large number of habitats. Also the Wolves provide food for other species like Ravens, Eagles, Bears and Magpies feeding off the carcases off a wolf kill.

White Tailed Eagle catching a fish in Loch Na Keal

Short Eared Owl

The Short Eared Owl is a great bird to look out when you are on Mull. Their habitat is open grassland and heather which provides fantastic hunting and breeding grounds. Voles are their favourite food source and they nest on the ground only in thick vegetation or heather. They quite often hunt in the day in breeding season as they require more food source to feed chicks, so the you can get some great sightings. When they are on the nest, camouflage is vital and their plumage blends in very well with the surroundings. Their only problem is their bright yellow eyes which can give the game away and makes them easier to spot.

After the breeding season in August Short Eared Owls can migrate across the north sea hundreds of miles to reach Scandinavia and spend the off season there before returning to British moors to breed next spring.

Cheif Guide and Number 2.......

Thanks for reading everyone the next blog post will include all the happenings from the peak time on Mull and its Wildlife during August. Sightings and photos from our trips will be included along with other encounters from around the island and beyond......Wildlife rules!

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

The Best of British Marine Wildlife...........

2011-07-25T17:47:00.023+01:00

The last few weeks on our trips we have experienced some of the best that British wildlife has to offer. Amazing marine life as well as superb bird activity. Some great trips during July with every one being unique with something different to offer. That is the beauty of Wildlife being so unpredictable and ever changing with something new with every adventure. Other industries can be predictable in a way such as TV and Film but when it comes to wildlife you can never call what is going to happen next as you could be watching Puffins out at sea and then suddenly a Basking Shark could breach out of nowhere!

Common Dolphin associating with boat....

Sunset at Cairns of Coll

Another great thing about wildlife and nature is that we are all involved in it and can all play a part. If you have a plot of land or a garden great or small then you can make a big contribution to your local wildlife. Wildlife requires two main things, somewhere safe to breed and also an area to forage and feed throughout the year. Creating some rougher areas for breeding, hunting and foraging spaces for an array of species will help promote the wildlife as well as providing you with huge rewards from watching wildlife flourish thanks to your management.

Letting your lawn grow to a bit of length helps promote wild flowers that an array of invertebrates can take advantage of. It also provides egg laying and over wintering of Caterpillars and Leather Jackets. The wealth of insects the wild grass attracts in turn will bring in a good variation of garden birds to go with it! Depending on the size of land and also the environment it could also provide great cover for rodents and you never know that could easily bring in Owls to your garden! Fantastic!

A water feature with different depths will contribute in a huge way to your local wildlife. Shallow waters create an area for bathing and drinking birds as well as an area for emerging Dragonflies and for Amphibians to lay eggs. The deeper waters help aquatic insects survive cold spells and also good places to watch newts swimming. A whole new ecosystem is created when you provide a garden pond!

Ringtail Harrier

A rare Sei Whale has been spotted in Scottish waters. It was spotted by a paramedic from an aeroplane between the islands of Islay and Gigha. Adult Sei Whales can reach 20-30 tonnes and up to 19.5 meters in length. At first it was considered a Fin whale which has been recorded more in these waters but when studying the dorsal fin closer they noticed it was quite large and curved backwards with both features fitting the Sei Whale. It is thought that there are only about 13,000 whales left in the northern hemisphere with their numbers affected by whaling and fishing.

Kittiwake

The Scottish Natural Heritage has introduced six new Golden Eagle protection areas in the country. A fantastic move classified by the Scottish ministers to help protect these unbelievable birds for the future. Their numbers have been stable in the last couple of decades but their range has decreased from the eastern parts of Scotland and they are still threatened by poisoning and persecution to protect grouse for shooting. The Golden Eagle is a symbol for the country and an icon to Scotland and must be protected at all costs. It's a shame the powers in England don't have the same mentality regarding the majestic Hen Harrier.

Northern Fulmar - The most northerly bird along with Snow Bunting and Black-legged Kittiwake have all been seen at the North Pole itself

Great Skua!

Artic Tern

Common Sandpiper, Ardmore

The Blue whale is the largest animal to ever have lived on our planet, here are some fascinating facts.....

- Can grow up to 33m in length

- They can consume their own body mass in water in just one gulp

- Some of their blood vessels are so good that a human could swim down them

- Their heart is the size of a small car

- Their tongue the weight of an Elephant

- Their tail fluke the width of a small air craft

- Their calves as soon as their born are already among the largest living things on the planet

Blue Whale numbers could be as low as 10,000 and they could be at the stage called 'the point of no return' as their breeding rate is so slow that the natural rate that Blue Whales die along with human interference like Whaling and boat traffic that they could not keep up with that rate loss through producing new young. One thing that doesn't help their chances is that a lot of their sightings have been solitary behaviour and their populations are quite wide spread meaning that the whales might not meet each other enough to increase the chances of reproduction. Humpback Whales on the other hand have strong bonds and can be seen in larger groups and that is one of the reasons that they have made a successful recovery over the last few decades.

There is a Blue Whale skeleton being displayed on the Isle of Coll. It was washed up there in the 19th century and shows that these great whales used to range in these areas before the huge impact of whaling in the late 19th and early 20th centuries removing more than 360,000 Blue Whales from the oceans.

Common Dolphin approaching the boat....

good bit of Air time!

A Local hero's Treshnish farm has won RSPBs nature of farming award for Argyll and is among the finalists for the best wildlife friendly farm in Great Britain. The award celebrates farmers who invest significant effort, dedication and care to run a farm that creates fantastic wildlife habitats – and is economically viable, the best of all worlds.

Locked!

More Pilot Whales put themselves into danger this month as a pod of 60 are reported near Kyle of Durness and more than 20 have already died when entering the deep sea loch. At low tide they became stranded. In May around 60 whales appeared in Loch Carnan, South Uist although they left the loch as one became stranded and died of infection.

The Whales have a big downfall in their evolution as they have such strong social bonds and when one whale becomes ill and has an infection it is thought that when the struggling whale tries to beach itself the healthy whales will follow and end up getting into trouble themselves. It could also be to do with following food source into the area and then getting into problems in the shallower waters.

Basking Shark

The Basking sharks that visit our waters in the summer season were hunted here up until the 1980s. They were hunted for their liver oil as well as their cartilage and fins. Despite the majority of Basking Shark fisheries closing they are still hunted in some areas mainly in Asia. Their liver Oil was used for a lubricant for machinery as well as for tanning leather and also lamp oil. Basking Sharks fins because of their large size are valuable in the Shark Fin soup market in Asia where it is the main ingredient in a tasteless broth containing bland and chewy fin pieces. Flavouring has to be added to make it more tasteful.

The brutality in the way the Sharks are caught is nothing short of disgusting as their fins are sliced off and then thrown back into the ocean still alive where they sink to the bottom of the seabed and end up as bait for the primary consumers in the oceans ecosystem.

The Apex Predators of the oceans ending up as food source for the primary species is exactly the same as cutting off all of a Lion's limbs and leaving it out on the plains for scavengers to feed off.

- Sharks have existed on this planet for 450 million years, surviving 5 major extinctions.

- 100 million sharks are killed each year (that works out to more than 10,000 per hour).

- Vast numbers of sharks die incidentally as "by catch," killed needlessly and thrown overboard unused by fishermen using nets and long lines to catch other types of fish. One report estimates 50 million are caught and killed this way.

- As many as 73 million are killed by the shark finning industry.

- It is estimated that 90 percent of all large sharks have been wiped out, and 93-99 percent of all large sharks off the east coast of North America are gone (tiger sharks, bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, etc.).

Ardnamurchan

Ardnamurchan is a true 'wild west' part of Great Britain. It is home to some of the UK's rarest mammals including the Scottish Wildcat and also the Pine Marten. Their range has been cut right down to these remote areas of Great Britian through habitat loss and persecution. An introduction of Pine Martens in Dumfries and Galloway in the Galloway National Park is helping promote the species in new areas.

A Pine Marten introduction in areas of North England will again promote this fantastic animal into its old range and also play a big part in helping decrease Grey Squirrel populations which are working their way up the country.

Sand eel in Bill

Ardnamurchan Point sun set to the north

We have a Killer Whale population off the west coast of Scotland which is just exciting to know we have our very own resident Orcas! There is a west coast community population of 9 and they are known to be unique compared to nearby populations as they are greater in size and they are also known to feed on different available food sources like cetaceans such as Porpoise and Dolphins. The north Atlantic community of Orcas are known to feed on Herring, Mackerel and Seal pups at the breeding time of the year when they time it right to take advantage of newly born pups off Orkney and the Shetland Isles. The west coast community are thought to be more closely related to a population of Orcas in Antarctica. Sadly the future is uncertain for our west coast community as they are so isolated that there is not a great chance of them meeting other Orca communities to breed and keep the population going. Surely they have to be one of the biggest wildlife encounters on the planet and you can get them off the British Isles.

Otter feeding

Eurasian otter....

Otters are as well adapted to life in the British Isles as they are at home as much in the water as they are on land. Also they are becoming more widespread on coastal areas as well as inland in fresh water locations. Their increase in population is helping with the demise of the invasive American Mink which has increased its range to all of the British Isles including most of the 800 Scottish islands.

One of the most common questions I get asked when working for Sea Life Surveys is 'Where is the best place to see Otters?' And the answer to this is that there are always locations that will give you a better chance of coming across the mammals but they cover such a large range to feed that it can be difficult. In general its more to do with your own behaviour and commitment. Things like making sure you are downwind from the area you are focusing on and also keeping very still as their eyesight is poor but they pick up any different changes in the landscape. The main thing is to commit your self for a period of time and be patient and the rewards can be huge. The right place at the right time and also a bit of luck and you will always give your self a chance!

Sunrise in Tobermory harbour

Minke by Coll

Minke arching back and going down for a deep dive

Common Dolphin seen a number of times throughout June / July

Photography by Ewan Miles

To wrap it up 5 Wildlife Facts.....

Petrels and Shearwaters can smell food source from up to 10 miles away if the conditions are right
Atlantic Puffins can hold a large number of Sand eels in their bill at any one time with the record counted being 81
A Spiders silk is five times stronger than steel and 30 times more stretchy than nylon
Sharks do not have a single bone in their body; Its skeleton is made up of Cartilage
Some colony Bee's can get drunk off cider and when they return to their hive there is a Bee doormen that remove them from the colony for being in a bad way

Thanks for reading :-)

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

Photos of the 2011 season so far...

2011-07-15T19:19:00.003+01:00

We have uploaded two new albums to our Facebook page, please follow these two links to get directly there -

2011 Basking Shark Photography Trip - By Mark Harding

Small selection of our photos from the 2011 season so far

Enjoy folks ;-)

Top UK nature photographers coming to an ecosystem near you!

2011-07-06T16:50:00.000+01:00

What are ecosystems and why are they so important to us? That’s what 2020VISION, the UK’s largest conservation photography initiative, plans to shout about.

Over the course of 20 months, a dedicated photo team, consisting of 20 of the UK’s top nature, wildlife and landscape photographers, will be travelling the country, carrying out photography assignments at over 20 locations where whole ecosystems are being repaired and re-connected so that they function as they should. Using the stunning images which are captured, and backed by a team of top videographers, sound recordists and writers, 2020VISION will produce an amazing image bank which will be rolled out across the country in a series of City Roadshows to communicate the crucial link between a vibrant nature full of wildlife, and our own well-being. It’s a link that increasingly, science is telling us we need to re-establish.

One of the locations handpicked for this ground-breaking project is the Inner Hebrides. From 16 to 21 July 2011, the 2020 Photo Team consisting of Chris Gomersall, Alex Mustard and Raymond Besant will be on location, to capture not only jaw-dropping nature images, including unique underwater images, but also documentary shots about what ecotourism means to Scotland's west coast communities.

Ecotourism is a major contributor to the local economy of the Inner Hebrides, providing jobs and attracting hundreds of thousands of people to the area each year. Marine ecotourism is on the increase with a host of operators now providing dolphin and whale watching trips in some of the richest waters in the UK.

Assignment photographer, Chris Gomersall, says: “Quite apart from any considerations of the importance of biodiversity, we just have to think about the value of our coasts and inshore waters to people. How many of us rely on clean seas for our leisure activities such as swimming, surfing, sailing, scuba diving and sea angling? Let alone a healthy shellfish industry. And around our lower lying coastlines, saltmarsh, sand dunes and grazing marshes provide a vital sea defence, helping to protect our homes from tidal flooding.”

2020VISION is a collaborative project, working alongside many partners, including Sea Life Surveys who lead the way in experienced and responsible marine wildlife adventures.

Visit www.2020v.org for more information and to find out how to get involved.

Harsh conditions for the Wildlife.....Survival of the Fittest

2011-06-01T09:44:00.032+01:00

For the most part May was challenging conditions for our trips as well as all the wildlife in the peak of the breeding season. With the Loch Frisa White Tailed Eagle pair failing as well as other well known nest sites failing it could well be down to the harsh conditions with lack of food and tough hunting conditions or just natural failure with Eagles low breeding success rate. The insect feeding migrants also struggled with lack of heat not providing enough food source for them and their chicks.

Also Marine life will be effected with Phytoplankton relying on the suns energy and with Plankton dictating all the life in the oceans it is bound to cause slower progression for all the marine life involved.

Common Dolphins!

Amazing Dolphin encounters on a couple of trips in May with superb bow riding behaviour enjoyed by all the punters on board. When watching the Dolphins you can understand why they are so highly regarded animals with huge intelligence. Between 10-20 seen on both trips.

The Clowns of the sea....

Puffins showing well on most trips as well and they tend to be a bit further out to the open sea than other Auk members. The birds will either be non breeders or part of a breeding pair out hunting to provide food for their chicks. They are breeding on the island of Lunga which is the largest of the Treshnish isles. Their main prey item is Sand eels which are small fish that hide in a sandy sea bed. The Puffin can hold large amounts of fish in its bill at one time with the record being 80 fish in a Puffins bill! Their Bill's have backward pointing spikes which enables them to carry large numbers of prey in a crosswise position.

When the Puffins arrive back at their nesting burrows they have to be super quick in entering their site as there will always be patrolling Gulls waiting to catch the slower birds out before they enter and dispatch from their holes.

Carins of Coll at Sunset

The variety of light and the sun sets on Mull are amazing and this time of year with Summer Solstice approaching it does not get completely dark and the sunsets can last all through night time. The changing lights and landscapes make Mull a photographers paradise!

Basker....

A Shark Tagged off the Isle of Man which promptly headed straight for Newfoundland demonstrating the first trans-atlantic migration recorded by a Basking shark whilst also reaching never before observed depths of over 1200 metres.

Minke whale...Sightings are becoming more consistent :-)

Gannet

Gannets are one of the only sea birds that have increased in population in UK waters and it is down to their ability to cover vast areas in search for prey. They can track down fishing vessels and feed off their unwanted fish stocks. A Gannet that was ringed on Bass Rock was found and recorded off the coast of Scandinavia and had travelled over 1500 Kilometres. Other birds like Auk members and Kittiwakes cant travel such a great distance and if the food source isnt there in the area then they are going to struggle to survive.

Cairns of Coll

On our seven hour Whale watch trips we are continuing to visit the Carins of Coll for lunch and if you are lucky enough to visit the secret paradise you will not forget it. Nesting time for the birds on Coll with the likes of Common and Arctic Terns, Great Black Backed Gulls, Oystercatchers, Rock Pipits and Fulmars as well as Common Seals ready to pup.

Adder photographed by young Liam Goddard on Mull

Adders are in good number on Mull and as Britians only venomous Snake we are lucky to have them! Adders like Minke whales can be identified as unique individuals and with the snakes it is their patterns on their head which can distinguish different snakes. This photo was nicely captured by Liam Goddard who was on a trip with us along with Karen and family and this Snake is a juvenile as it has a brown colouration with the adults being green. Thanks for the photo and it was great to have you all on board!

Fulmar

Fulmars showing well on most trips and one amazing fact about this bird is that it is the only animal (apart from humans!) to have killed an Eagle. It was not to do with physical contact but to do with their defence mechanism when at their nest site. They spit out a foul substance with great accuracy in the direction of an intruder regarded as a threat to the Fulmars and their chicks. This foul vomit if making contact with feathers it will damage them preventing or stopping the possibility to fly properly. If you cant fly then you can feed and you cant survive and this was the result of a White Tailed Eagle in Norway who got struck by a very accurate Fulmar!

Kittiwake

One of the most inteligant animals in the world....Raven!

Ravens can be seen on our trips being very vocal with their gronking calls on higher ground and along with Dolphins they are regarded as the most intelligent animals on the planet. They can communicate and give commands and tactics in over 20 different vocal calls.

Golden Eagle

Goldie....

Golden Eagles in Southern Scotland and the English borders have declined in numbers with only one individual bird in the whole of England now! A possible introduction of Eagles to Cumbria and the Lake District in the future has to happen at some point as they have being removed from their former breeding range and also the huge positive effects Eagles can have on tourism and the economy with Mull as the prime example.

Here is a great article from a fantastic web site on Mull and its huge boost from wildlife.....http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2011/06/16/the-irrival-of-white-tailed-eagles-on-mull-continues-to-bring-in-5-million-in-benefit-each-year-to-the-island/

Arctic Skua...nesting on Coll

One of the only positives from the savage westerly winds during March was that it brought in good bird records that had being on migration north up the Atlantic ocean. Skuas were showing well on most trips including Long-Tailed Skua, Pomarine Skua and Arctic Skua's in good number.

Arctic Skua

Thanks for reading everyone my next update will include some great encounters as the wildlife is really hotting up along with the weather (thankfully!)

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

Common Dolphins and the return of the Sharks!

2011-05-12T19:51:00.018+01:00

Hello everyone, some great encounters and stories from the last fortnight or so starting with a 7 hour whale watch explorer on May 3rd. A small number on board with me and Andy Tait on as crew. Calm seas and sunshine and we headed out to the open waters in anticipation of a good sighting. When we stopped for tea and coffee I spotted a fin out towards 11 o'clock....Shark! A group of 4 Basking Sharks and over a month early compared to previous years!

Basking Shark, Photography by Shark fanatic Andy Currie....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElcFufkTeSs - Basking Sharks Courting, 03.05.11, Filming by Andy Tait

We moved on and a short time after Andy quoted it to be a good 'Dolphin day' he was locked on a group of Dolphins a good distance away heading towards us! It ended up being breathtaking views of Common Dolphins bow riding for 20 minutes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svihVpRY3WA - Common Dolphin encounter - 03.05.11........Sorry about my mullet in shot! filming by Andy Tait.

C Dolphin Bow Riding...

Amazing animals....after watching their behaviour you can understand why they are so highly regarded as a species

Their intelligence when they approached the boat and associated with us was unbelievable

Peregrine Falcon can be seen daily on Tobermory main street....look out for it sat around the church tower eyeing up a feral Pigeon for supper. The weather vein on the church is a preferred perching area for the bird. So when your popping into Co-op to get some groceries always make sure you have a glance up at the church tower because you could be treated to a view of one of the top deadly predators on the planet as its the fastest living species alive as well as having the most acute eyesight.

Golden Eagle - Eyesight up to 6 times stronger than ours!

Golden Eagle!

A few excellent encounters of my favourite animal....the mighty Golden Eagle! Nice coastal views on the north part of the island with photos and videos (below) of these fantastic Raptors.

Chicks will have hatched on all the breeding pairs on the island but I have heard that certain pairs have failed already for Golden Eagle and White Tailed Eagle. This is another huge reason why they need to be so well protected because there breeding success rate is quite low having only one brood a year with normally one to four eggs and one or two chicks being reared with the older more dominant chick normally feeding on its younger sibling on the nest. So basically if successful it is normally one Eagle chick that will fledge the nest.

Also young eagles take 4-5 years to reach breeding maturity and with over 80% of fledglings not reaching sexual maturity in the UK it really is vital to protect eagles as one bird lost could lead to the loss of several potential chicks in the years to follow which is huge.

Golden Eagle riding the coastal winds on Mull....

Goldie flying low in to the trees.....

4 Second close Golden Eagle encounter.....

Male Yellowhammer

A great trip on Saturday 7th May. It was a 7 hour Whale Watch explorer and highlights included a Minke whale feeding around the boat for half an hour with rafts of Manx shearwater in the surrounding area. Check out Andy Tait's fantastic footbage from the trip......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OI1JiDP0cc

The large facial discs on the Owl improve its impeccable hearing as more sound waves are collected into the area allowing the birds to pin point noises such as the rustling of a vole in the grasslands from hundreds of meters away!

I have had a couple of sightings of Long Eared Owl (Above) with several breeding pairs on Mull with fantastic habitat for them with all the dense conifer woodlands for breeding and plenty of upland heather and rough grasslands for hunting grounds. This photo was taken down in Geltsdale, Cumbria.

Fallow Deer, Knock

Fallow Deer were introduced to the UK by the Romans in the first century AD. Until very recently it was thought that the Normans brought them to the UK for hunting in the royal forests however recent finds at the Fishbourne Roman Palace have proven otherwise. Fallow Deer prefer woodland habitat and because of there value for hunting throughout the industrial revolution a lot of major woodlands were protected from timber felling and agricultural use and are now great forests with mature and ancient woodlands to this day for the public to enjoy and also important habitats for wildlife.

Sedge Warbler, Laggan Bay

The Sedge Warbler who has just arrived safely back from Africa, South of the Sahara Desert. The migration across the desert is said to be one of the threats to these birds as the rising tempretures on the planet is causing an increase in the range of the desert southwards by an area of 30 miles every year and less migrants are managing to make their way across the tough heated conditions.

Why do animals migrate????

A question that people will often ask and There is a few simple answers to go with it. The first is food! There is not enough food supply in an area to last all year around Like insect feeding Warblers will struggle for food supply in the winter season and with Whales the fish supplies will severely drop at the end of a breading season. Another factor is temperature, Warmer climates to raise youngsters in with Whales travelling to warmer waters to raise their calves in safer environments. Another Migratory factor is day length and it is vital that species have more daylight hours for hunting for food when raising and feeding young. Avoiding predation is another key factor for migration because if your on the move travelling to different areas it is going to be harder for predators to track you down and prey on you. A very important result in taking migration is 'Survival of the fittest' and with juvenile birds undergoing a migration for the first time it is going to be a huge test of their strength and the journey will weed out all the unfit and select the strongest individuals creating a stronger gene pool for future generations.

On the subject of migration I will finish by telling you that the longest migration of any species is performed by the Arctic Tern which travels from Antarctica to the Arctic circle every season covering a distance of 22,000 miles! During its lifetime it can travel more than 500,000 miles! And you can see Arctic Terns on our boat trips! Amazing birds!

Thanks for reading everyone :-) our Sealife Surveys trips are hotting up with the return of Sharks and Whales as well as the chance to see all sorts of other amazing wildlife including Dolphins, Eagles, Porpoise and a huge array of fascinating sea birds to go with the unique Scottish landscapes, landmarks and rich history.

One of the best things about our Sealife Surveys trips is the big variation in wildlife you can get and coming with us you have the chance to see all of them!

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

Gordon Buchanan Whalewatch

2011-05-03T11:42:00.009+01:00

Exclusive Gordon Buchanan whale watching cruise

Award winning Sea Life Surveys are excited to offer this amazing opportunity.
Join Gordon Buchanan, world renowned wildlife presenter, on this limited availability trip with the UK’s first and most experienced whale watching cruise.

10% of each ticket price goes to the local charity requested by Gordon himself, The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust who are dedicated to enhancing knowledge and understanding of Scotland’s cetaceans and the Hebridean marine environment.

Explore the rugged coastline and rich waters around the Isle of Mull with Sea Life Surveys and Gordon as your on board guide.

Limited to 30 places per trip, so whilst searching for whales, sharks, dolphins, porpoises and seabirds in their natural environment, you will get plenty of time to grill Gordon on his intimate knowledge, while in his home territory.

By joining a Sea Life Surveys cruise you will be contributing to invaluable marine research, helping scientists and conservationists understand our changing oceans.

Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime!

Sunday 24th July and Sunday 31st July

£200 per person

Book NOW call our office on 01688 302916

Massive 50 Wildlife watching trips give away!!

2011-04-22T09:18:00.007+01:00

To win one of 50 trips available for grabs, just answer the following question:

What will you see on a Sea Life Surveys trip?

A. The Loch Ness Monster

B. A professional wildlife guide

C. A Bald Eagle

To enter please email you answer with your name to info@sealifesurveys.com

GOOD LUCK!!!

Terms and conditions

1 ticket per family

Must be redeemed by October 2011

Spring Sights......First Whale!

2011-04-17T11:00:00.023+01:00

Hello everyone I am pleased to say that trips are in full flow again for another season. All the hard work and preparation through the winter months is rewarded as we take to the seas again in search of all sorts of Wildlife in a special part of the world :-)

White Tailed Sea Eagles at Ardmore

The stunning Great Northern Diver being seen on our early trips

The Eagles at Ardmore have been showing well on our early season trips with the nesting pair on eggs and due to hatch any time in the next few days (22-04). A few close encounters to as an eagle would approach our boat put on a show and move on like it knows it is an attraction and has a job to do. Even better when gulls are mobbing the bird and you get a scale of the sheer size of this huge avian predator.

Bottlenose Dolphin in Tobermory with Sula Beag behind

An exciting encounter on the 8th April as 7 Bottlenose Dolphin came into the harbour just after 6pm to put on another fantastic display! The second time a group of Dolphins has visited the harbour in the space of a few weeks. Olivia from the HWDT was there at the time and managed to get these superb photos of the mammals with Sula Beag in the background. There was a number of Bottlenose Dolphin sightings reported around the coastline of Mull with particular locations being Croig and also Isle of Iona with photo records taken the HWDT are in the process of trying to match the Dorsal fin photos to identify whether the same group of Dolphins seen off Iona are the same group that has visited Tobermory harbour twice in the last few weeks.

7 Bottlenose Dolphin, Tobermory Harbour, Hopefully they take a liking to Sula Beag!

Tobermory

'Tob' as it is sometimes referred to by the locals is looking as picturesque as ever. The Peregrine Falcons have been showing well most days on the main street taking advantage of the Feral Pigeons up in the church tower and entertaining the tourists passing by.

Carins of Coll

A few visits to the Cairns of Coll have already been done on our seven hour whale watch trips. It really is a fantastic remote location and still amazes me on every visit as well as the first time visitors! It does seen to be sunny weather every time which makes it more stunning. Both species of Seals are still in good number and very relaxed at the Carins. Greater Black Backed Gulls are guarding their territories, Oystercatchers and shags are pairing up to breed.

Porpoise!

The good old reliable Resident Porpoise have done us all proud in the last few weeks. Ardmore being the hotspot area so far this season. You need eyes in the back of your head at Ardmore point as while your looking at the eagles the Porpoise will most likely be in view behind you as well.

Sula Beag - It is true after all about gold at the end of the rainbow :-)

Loch Na Keal looking east

LNK is a great all round spot on the island as it has got the lot...scenery, Wildlife and.....good places to park up and scan from. Sightings in the area the last few weeks have included all 3 Divers (Great Northern, Black Throated, Red Throated), Slavonian Grebe, White tailed eagle fishing, Otters and Golden Eagle in the higher terrain.

The illusive Eurasian Otter

Nice views of Otters on a couple of the 4 hour family whale watch trips spotted by chief guide Ruth. They are numerous in the area but still challenging to spot but a great reward if you do so!

Golden Eagle and two Hooded Crow, a nice photo to give you a size comparison

Right i've left the best bit of news to the end and on the 21st April we set off on a seven hour whale watch with 8 enthusiastic punters on board. The trip actually started on a sour note as it had to be delayed by an hour as visibility was less than 100 yards! when we got going at at half 10 the fog had lifted slightly and you could see the sun trying to burn it off so it was looking more promising. As we arrived at Ardmore the fog had thickened again and we couldn't see land in any direction and had not even seen a Gull yet! But things can only get better and the sun burnt through and got rid of the dense fog and we headed around the north west coastline of Mull in lovely blue sky and sunshine getting entertained by Fulmars and Porpoise!

We stopped for lunch and as Popz wandered up into the wheelhouse to head off north again....Whale!....done. The master finds us an early season whale and as we watched it break the water a few times I noticed its behaviour was very different in that it would surface once and then straight down for a deep dive to forage over a greater distance as the food will be more scarce at this time of year.

A great early sign for the season ahead to go with plenty of feeding sea birds to go with it so things are looking promising for this year.

Trip sightings: -

Minke Whale
Porpoise
WT Eagle
Golden Eagle
Great Northern Diver
Common / Grey Seal
Otters
Common Scoter

The Wildlife is hotting up and we will hopefully have plenty to report in the next few weeks. Thanks for looking :-)

Ewan

Wildlife guide

2011 season good to go!

2011-04-07T19:35:00.000+01:00

Well hello everyone the last few weeks have been a busy spell trying to get everything all set for the up and coming season. Sula Beag has been based down in Oban for the off season on Kerrera a small island just off the west coast town. So daily trips from Mull to the mainland were done enjoying the early spring scenery

The weather in March was the usual mixed bag with a good covering of snow on the second week of the month creating fantastic scenery especially around Ben More mountain range. Plenty of rain to go with it as well as plenty of sunshine hours which light up the island creating fantastic unique landscapes.

Durat Castle from Oban Ferry

Commuting to and from Oban gave us the chance to see what wildlife there was in the surrounding area. Oban Harbour had a good number of Black Guilimot and also Turnstone the masters of disguise on the rocky shore by the main street with one bird seen crossing the road without looking both ways! We also had Great Northern Diver in winter plumage seen close up next to the Oban Marina. A couple of Common Seal seen by Kerrera and Ravens and Buzzards pairing up on the steap cliff face that was looking down on the boat yard.

Black Guilimot off Oban

Sula Beag ready to take to the seas again!

View from kerrara looking east towards Oban

Looking back at Kerrara after a days work on Sula beag :-)

The SLS team were itching to get back out there and start looking for wildlife again and on the 19th of the month it became a step closer as Sula Beag was ready to be launched into the water again and head north up the sound of Mull for her homecoming back at Tobermory :-)

Bottlenose Dolphin in Tobermory Harbour, 17-03-11

An exciting event took place in Tobermory harbour on the 3rd week of the month as upto 7 Bottlenose Dolphin were spotted putting on acrobatic displays for a couple of hours with the public on the main street delighted with the free entertainment and its a good early sign for the up and coming season :-)

Red deer near Lochdon

Wildlife update for the month and there was some great sightings and encounters to be had starting with my first full day on the island and I decided to cover new ground and go and explore Ardmore right on the north part of the island. Minutes after getting out of the car...Beauty! a pair of Hen Harriers hunting over the heather in a snow blizzard. It was the first time I had witnessed a Hen Harrier in an upland habitat in its breeding environment as in the past all my sightings have been a bird coming into roost in a lowlands winter season. Hen Harrier are are doing great on the Isle of Mull and with more pairs of breeding Harriers in the north part of the island than there are in the whole of England is a credit to Mull and the way the Wildlife is valued and respected and equally a depressing state of affairs on the problems on the mainland.

Male Hen Harrier

As I arrived at Ardmore point and watched a White Tailed Eagle working the coast line I then decided to make my way back to the car and making a round route out of my journey and within minutes I came across a cat following the beaten track in front of me and instinctively I reached for my camera and managed to get one record photo before the cat spotted me and took off in a flash. When I looked back at the photo there and then I noticed the thick black banded tail markings and the sheer wildness of the cat itself made me very interested to look further into the possibility that it was a hybrid Wildcat.

Hybrid Wildcat, Ardmore

I had taken an interest into Scottish Wildcats a couple of years ago and it was their rarity and illusiveness that interested me. I had read that there had been a possible Wildcat sighting on the north part of the island so I decided to send the photo to the Wildcat association and I got a response the next day confirming that it was a hybrid! The interesting part is that Mull has never been connected as part of mainland Scotland and the island is not big enough to sustain a healthy population of Wildcats over a long period of time so possible scenarios are that a desperate Cat has swam across the Sound of Mull at some point as Wildcats are known to be fantastic swimmers compared to their water shy domestic cousins. Another possibility is that one came across with man or in a timber wagon which is very unlikely as Wildcats will make no attempt to go anywhere near a human as there name tells you they are as wild as the hills. All in all a very interesting sighting and that's the beauty of wildlife that there is always something new to discover and it never ceases to amaze you.

A diagram showing the key differences between Wildcat, Feral and Domestic Cat

Great Spotted Woodpecker Silhouette, Glen Forsa Estate

Other Wildlife sightings in the last few weeks include: -
Minke Whale, west of Tiree
Basking Shark, west of Tiree
Pied Billed Grebe, Salen
Red Necked grebe, Laggan bay
Leucistic Hooded Crow, Fishnish
5 Bottlenose Dolphin, Croig

Ardmore looking north east

This time of the year is fantastic for Wildlife with species in stunning breeding condition and very active in display and in voice to attract a mate. The breeding Eagles will be on eggs now and incubation time is around about 38-45 days. Eagles nest early in the season to take advantage of the winter carrion available. Great news for our trips this season with the Ardmore White Tailed Eagles on eggs using the same nest site as last season which provides a great location to monitor them throughout the year. Also after noticing that the Loch Frisa pair of Eagles have been given well used names I then started wondering about the Ardmore pair and was quick to name the birds and encourage them to stick. So the newly named birds nesting at Ardmore point are John and Thelma (blue wing tag) named after the great wildlife warrior John Miles and his his amazing wife (I have to be their favourite son now!) so try and use the names in future and spread the word :-)

Golden eagle with a snowy Ben More in the back drop

A hero's return to Sealife Surveys on the 4th of April as Ruth Molley our Head Guide returned for a third season. She was delighted to be back as I caught her dancing around the visitor centre with joy but that could of just been because office manager Lydia was there....its great to have her back :-)

Thanks for reading, my next blog update will include sightings and stories from the first trips of the season as we will get out at the start of April and look for all sorts of glorious wildlife including Whales, Dolphins, Porpoise, Sharks, Eagles and more....Isle of Mull really is a Wildlife Heaven :-)

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

2020VISION: TAKING ECOSYSTEM THINKING TO A NEW LEVEL

2011-04-05T13:04:00.003+01:00

We are delighted to announce our support for/partnership with 2020VISION, Britain’s most ambitious photography-based conservation initiative ever! 20 of the country’s top wildlife and nature photographers have for the first time, come together with leading conservation partners to document the value of restoring Britain’s fragmented ecosystems and the life-support services they provide. From autumn onwards, this elite Phototeam will carry out 20 flagship assignments which clearly demonstrate the link between a healthy, robust natural landscape and the well being of local people.

‘Ecosystem thinking’ is something that is now prevalent in the scientific and conservation community, but the value of a wilder Britain, where ecosystems function as they should, has not yet been communicated on a scale such as this. 2020VISION bridges that gap using the motivational language of inspiring photography, a language in which everyone can find relevance.

The Phototeam, which includes top shooters like Chris Packham, Joe Cornish, Charlie Hamilton-James and Andy Rouse, will be joined by videographers, sound recordists, writers and designers and will visit key locations throughout Britain where large habitats are being restored or re-connected, not only for the benefit of the wildlife species that live there, but for people too. The thousands of images and hours of footage generated from these assignments will then be woven into compelling narratives and presented in innovative ways up and down the country – working with local partners and communities.

A healthy natural world is something we all depend upon so it makes sense for us to support initiatives like 2020VISION, which communicate often-complex messages in a way that people can easily understand and relate to. It’s education through inspiration!

More at: www.2020V.org

2011 season good to go!

2011-04-02T15:41:00.035+01:00

Durat Castle from Oban Ferry

Black Guilimot off Oban

Sula Beag ready to take to the seas again!

View from kerrara looking east towards Oban

Looking back at Kerrara after a days work on Sula beag :-)

Bottlenose Dolphin in Tobermory Harbour, 17-03-11

Red deer near Lochdon

Male Hen Harrier

Hybrid Wildcat, Ardmore

A diagram showing the key differences between Wildcat, Feral and Domestic Cat

Great Spotted Woodpecker Silhouette, Glen Forsa Estate

Ardmore looking north east

Golden eagle with a snowy Ben More in the back drop

Ewan

Wildlife Guide

Orca - Hostage to Fortune?

2011-02-22T15:36:00.003Z

After a year of tragedy for both orcas and trainers alike, WDCS asks what lessons have been learnt?

On February 24^th 2010, the world was shocked by the tragic news that trainer Dawn Brancheau had been killed by Tilikum, a male orca at SeaWorld Orlando, USA, resulting in a huge media response. Just a few weeks before, another tragic death occurred at Tenerife’s Loro Parque in Spain, where trainer Alexis Martinez was killed by Keto, also a male orca. One year on, questions still remain unanswered – similar deaths have never been reported involving orcas in the wild, so should such large and complex animals be held in captivity?

SeaWorld has recently announced it will debut new ‘killer whale shows’ in coming months, including a return to the ‘Dine with Shamu’ segment, during which Ms Brancheau met her death. These shows will not, however, see a return to trainers conducting in-water work with the captive orcas.

Cathy Williamson, anti-captivity campaigner at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) criticizes the continued confinement of these amazing animals in captivity: “Ethically, and backed up by strong scientific evidence, there is no justification for the continued display of orcas in captivity in the 21^st century. Although orcas can be big money-spinners for the facilities holding them, the price the whales have to pay and the risks presented to their trainers are just far too high”.

This opinion was recently supported by a comprehensive report published by two former SeaWorld trainers, which provided shocking details about the impacts of captivity and public display on orca health and welfare.

Meanwhile, SeaWorld continues to stand strong against all criticism and has called for the exclusion of the public from a court hearing set for the 25^th of April. SeaWorld is expected to present evidence at the hearing of the abatement measures that it has instituted since OSHA, the US government Occupational Health and Safety Administration, cited and fined SeaWorld $75,000 in August 2010 for willfully exposing its employees to hazards and risk of injury and death in its orca programmes.

“WDCS is calling on the US Department of Labor to ensure the hearing remains public. Marine mammals are a public trust and not the private property of any facility or economic interest. The public has the right to know the details of this case which will have a direct impact on the future of orca welfare and worker safety at these parks”, states Courtney Vail, US campaigner for WDCS. “It is time for the truths behind captivity to be heard in the court of public opinion.”

Please click here for more information about ORCA WATCH

For more information, please contact one of the following:

Danny Groves at the WDCS Press Office on 01249 449 534, 07834 498 277 or email - press@wdcs.org

Cathy Williamson, WDCS anti-captivity campaign manager on 01249 449 523 or email - cathy.williamson@wdcs.org

Courtney Vail, WDCS US campaigns officer on 480-747-5015 or email - courtney.vail@wdcs.org

Notes to editors:

At www.wdcs.org, WDCS presents all facts about the hidden and disturbing world of orcas kept in captivity; where they are held, where wild capture operations have taken place, an overview about dozens of documented incidents involving captive orcas, and other information.

The 2011 SLS Team

2011-02-21T15:25:00.006Z

Our first whale watch is only 6-weeks away, how did that happen?!

Boat preparations are well underway with Sula Beag getting a thorough repaint, from keel to mast.

We are also putting together some ideas for our visitor centre in Tobermory, with some great news, Lydia is returning as our Centre Manager this season, some of you may remember her from her first season in 2009, an unforgettable enthusiastic girl who will bring a smile to everyones face on arrival at the centre! She has been travelling and working down south for a short while, great to have her back aboard!

We also have our head guide of now two seasons returning for her third, Ruth, I am sure some of you will remember her for her knowledge and passion for the beasties we find out here, as well as brilliant leadership with the rest of the team.

Also Ewan who worked with us for a few months in the 2010 season will return as a full time guide, their are not many folk on the plannet with as much enthusiasm towards birds, if your keen, he's your man!

We will continue to work on the boats until they launch at the end of March, a superb place to work on Kerrara, near Oban, where they are based, we take a small ferry across there each day to work, not a bad life up here on Mull

James ;-)

Skipper

Boats & Paint

2011-01-22T18:05:00.001Z

Both boats are out of the water for the winter, a well earned rest for them!

We are currently working on the hulls, taking all the layers of paint off, back to bare steel. They will then be sanded and primed, and a glossy new topcoat added :-)

Sula beag is also having her radar upgraded (sounds like a good idea!) and her newly forged four bladed Propellors added. We hope to not only increase fuel efficiency with these, but also after much tweaking by the incredibly skilled manufacturers at FAL Propellors she should have gained a bit more speed at lower revolutions, helping towards a greener solution, less fuel, less oil, all we need is whales in the bay and they we won't need to run the engines?!!! There are new cushions for the top deck and two new liferafts on their way, oh and a fair amount of painting required from bow to stern...Craig?....Duncan?....!!

Sula Crion is also having her propulsion upgraded to four bladed, again with fuel consumption and engine efficiency at the top of our list. She is getting a radar fitted also and her autopilot repaired, along with painting required throughout

Great team on Kerrara who have been providing a free ferry service to and from Oban, it's such a beautiful journey across the bay at 8am, similarly stunning watching the sunsets at 5pm

That's it for now, will keep you all posted on our progress

James
Skipper

Fish Fight

2011-01-16T13:08:00.002Z

Did you know that around half of all fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead?....!!

Watch Gordon Ramsay's 'Shark Bait' tonight on Channel Four at 9pm

If you have not already please help support Hugh's fish fight campaign by clicking here

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 8

2010-12-29T11:51:00.002Z

Greetings once again dear reader from this most diverse and addictive of Islands! And so it appears that I have learnt to ways and routines of Sea Life Surveys. I would not for one second claim to know everything (if only!) as this job entails a constant and considerable learning curve. However it can be said that I now know what I’m doing more so than I did at the beginning! And armed with this knowledge we set off one day on a 7 hour whale watch with Popz skippering and Ewan as my co-guide. The introductions were made, the educational talks given and various species of wildlife spotted. And so it was that we arrived at the somewhat magical place known as the Cairns of Coll. As usual we were going to take our best beloved passengers over to the white sands in the rib and then bring them back some time later. The slight problem with this was that neither Ewan nor I had operated the rib to the level that was needed for this procedure. So we decided to do what many of us do when we find ourselves in such situations...we would blag it! Ewan enthusiastically jumped in and started her up, the passengers loaded and we set off over the shallow turquoise gloriousness that is the waters around the Cairns. Ewan, learning to drive as he went, gave me the signal to cut the engine and then we landed on the sand once I pulled up the outboard with my considerable Yorkshire strength! All was going well. We repeated the process and the first problem arose. We couldn’t get Sula back. For those of you who don’t know, Sula is Popz’ dog who enjoys a bit of exploration at the Cairns and often partakes in a little playtime with the resident Atlantic Grey Seal population.

Many shouts later she would still not leave her seaweed covered precipice and we decided to leave her until it was time to bring passengers back to the boat. That time eventually arrived and Sam called all the passengers back, rather hastily as we were already running slightly late. Once everyone was back in Ewan, Sam and I attempted to push the boat out with Ewan’s manly strength and my skills with an oar! This failed. We had beached the boat. We unloaded all the passengers, pushed the boat out into the shallows and asked everyone to get back in. Embarrassing enough? Apparently not as, once everyone was aboard we still couldn’t get the boat out! The procedure was repeated. We finally pushed off from the shore and the engine was started to many whoops and cheers. Thankfully Sula had decided she’d had enough of the seals and leapt on the boat as we left. Once all were safely back aboard Sula Beag Ewan and I reflected on the things we had learnt from that particular experience. Needless to say we had learnt a lot! Nevertheless the passengers enjoyed themselves and a great day was had by all.

And now, dear reader, we have arrived at the most extraordinary of days. Mustelid Magic day! Now as some of you may know I had spent 6 weeks on Mull fruitlessly searching for Otters. Spirits were low but determined as my day off approached, the weather cleared and I marched out onto the shorelines praying for just a glimpse of the elusive creatures. I was not to be disappointed!

I decided to spend the morning at Loch Na Keal where I had scouted out a perfect place for the wee beasties and where, the previous evening I had drawn a blank. Sam, Kathy and Ewan who were there with me were rather alarmed at my darkened mood that night! I sat quietly on the rocks, camera equipment at the ready, binoculars around my neck and my faithful puffin poo hat atop my head. I watched and waited. Finally I caught sight of a brown flash of movement to my right and sauntering down the rocks straight towards me and completely oblivious to my presence was an Otter! I don’t think that much adrenalin had ever graced my system before; I was elated! The camera was hastily grabbed and I sat poised, breathless with anticipation as my new little friend came over the rock and gave me a good look and sniff. He quickly raced on before I managed to locate him and get a shot but I did note that this was a particularly small and dark looking Otter. I thought to myself that it was perhaps just a cub that had been in the water and prayed that he would show himself again.

Thankfully my prayers were answered as I crept through a labyrinth of grasses and ditches half filled with water. I spotted him again, finishing off a recently caught fish on a rock. Just as I got the camera into position he dove back into the water once again, leaving the tail of the fish on the rock as tantalising evidence that I wasn’t imagining all this! Once again I backed off to give him the chance to come closer without realising I was there. The plan worked! He popped his little head over the ridge of a ditch and I snapped my first shot. At the sound of my shutter he looked the other way and I snapped another. Two perfect profile pictures! He slunk off again and I reviewed them, giddy with excitement that I’d finally seen one. As I looked at the shots I was struck by the large ears, blunt nose and a slight blotching of white on his dark throat. Then it struck me, this was no Otter! Do please forgive me dear reader but a few profanities were uttered as I reassessed the situation. I had a mustelid but what was he? The cogs in my biology brain sped into action and I arrived at the answer. Here I had...a mink! So not only was this not an Otter it was not even a native species!

Cursing the entire family of mustelids I sat still, seething at my luck to see if he would return. After all, he was kind of cute. As a biologist though I am not allowed to like these animals as they compete for resources with the very animals I was looking for and therefore have a detrimental effect on them. However this mink of mine came through one of the ditches and gave me a sniff. They have terrible eyesight so I was in no danger of being seen, even at this distance but their sense of smell if fantastic. Luckily I was sat just downwind of him. I got a few more shots including a close up of his face before he scampered off for more of his mink adventures.

And so it was decided to leave this place. After a quick phone call to Natalie to bewail my situation I headed down the spine of the Island. I stopped off at Fishnish where there was Otter habitat aplenty and stayed for a couple of hours. There was nothing. My mood once again blacker than a typical Mull sky I drove further south, parked, settled myself on a ridge of rock and waited. Eventually I saw a brown shape in the water briefly. I focussed the binoculars on it just as it dived but up he came again and finally, after six weeks, hours of blank searches and one mistaken mink later I had, at last, laid eyes on my Otter! Gone was that surge of adrenaline, gone was that sense of urgency to get a perfect photo, all I felt was relief. Relief that at last my searching was over and here he was, a beautiful dog Otter for me to enjoy.

He swam just offshore for a long time, catching lump suckers and crustaceans and deftly eating them whilst floating in the water. Gradually he started to swim a little closer and our game began. He would dive and I would run, he would surface and I would freeze. It all had to be timed well and the aim was to get to where he was headed before he got there. He finally came ashore to settle and I was still a long way off but I happily sat and watched him wash and roll in the seaweed through the binoculars. After this he decided to have a little nap. Here was my chance! With the speed of a tortoise that has mobility issues I crept closer, my muscles screaming in protest as each leg was precariously balanced on for an obscenely long amount of time! If ever he looked up I froze, terrified that all this work would be for nothing. Helpfully (!) my camera and binoculars were swinging wildly from my neck and I knew any noise would scare my little friend off so I had to hold those in one hand whilst steadying myself on the rocks with the other. It was tremendously difficult! However I stopped a little way off and snapped away. He happily snoozed in front of me, occasionally looking up to see what the noise of my shutter was but thankfully he remained unperturbed. After a few shots I decided to just sit there and watch him sleep. Here I was looking at this beautiful Otter and suddenly the whole effort was forgotten and every hour of wasted time was worth ever second I got to spend with him. It was a truly glorious moment!

After a while he woke up and decided to go fishing again. I watched him swim out and, thinking that was it, crept off the rocks and up onto the grass bank. However he turned around and came back again, this time with a crustacean of some sort clamped in his proud jaws. He clambered back onto the rocks, just in the golden light of the setting sun and I couldn’t believe the perfect conditions for a few more snaps. As he began to devour his meal I began to crawl again, feeling like Gollum from Lord of the Rings! I managed to get close, very close. I could hear him nosily chewing and crunching away behind a rock but all I could see was the top of his head. Once he’d finished though he came around and started heading straight towards me. I couldn’t decide whether to watch or snap and I was sure the noise would disturb him. I took a couple of tentative shots which stopped him and then I put the camera down. He wondered around the rocks for a little longer before heading off once more out into the water.

By this point I was very conscious that the tide was coming in and, not wanted to get stranded headed back to the grass ridge. He swam around his own ripples in the water until deciding to come back one last time. This time I decided to watch from where I was. Being eaten alive by the relentless Scottish Midgie I watched him rub along the seaweed and have one more short nap before leaving for good. I had spent about an hour with him and I was ecstatic with the photos I’d gotten. It was truly magic; there really are no other words for it! Grinning from ear to ear I happily trotted back to the car and sang all the way back to Salen.

The next morning came and everyone in the office received hugs and joyous proclamations as to the wonderfulness of the Otter! I hope to see my little friend again sometime soon but for now I hope he is doing well where he is and I thank him for that most fantastic of experiences.

Sarah

Guide

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 7

2010-12-23T08:28:00.000Z

We have arrived at a very special part of this adventure dear reader as I am about to tell you of a very special day. We had one of the best sightings of any trip on this occasion and it would have been wonderful, had I not been in the office on such a particular day! However, walking through the car park in the Mull Mizzle that morning I did not feel disappointed in the decision which had landed me in the office. And so the trip set off, a boat full of passengers burning with anticipation, the guides curious as to what we might see and our skipper, as ever, letting that spectacular knowledge and sense of his deciding where it was they were to go.

A few hours later Natalie received a call from Popz letting us know what they’d seen so we could update our sightings board. What Popz told Natalie was that they were with his favourite animal. What is his favourite animal I hear you ask? It turns out it is the Risso’s Dolphin, a much rarer visitor to these waters than the Common or Bottlenose. Much excitement ensued! Any visitor into the office received an excited babble of information from me and the grin could not be wiped from my face. I do believe a little dancing was undertaken too! It must be understood dear reader that these particular cetaceans had not been seen by Sea Life Surveys in 2 seasons and, particularly for me, their oddities made them ever more endearing! They have a rather bulbous head, have scratches along their flanks and back and get very pale as they age so, as you can imagine, they’re quite unusual creatures, and although I hadn’t seen them personally, it was fantastic to know they were out there and that our best beloved passengers has gotten the chance to see them.

A few more hours later and the trip returned. Everyone onboard completely soaked through but happy at their sightings. The guides came into the office, hugging, giving high fives and sharing their experience with us. In that moment I have to say that I felt very honoured to be a member of the team and excited about what else we might see out there. It was a very happy day for us all, despite, as Ewan called it, the seven hour shower!

Now it came to pass, purely by coincidence that during this happy moment a man came in to ask information, to which I happily explained what he needed to know and then hastened to add the reason behind the grin, the dancing and the general excitement in my tone. Apparently this all made an impression on him as, next day he came in again asking for me. More specifically he asked for the enthusiastic one that looks like an Eskimo! Now personally I don’t see it, I really don’t, maybe it’s how pale I am but either way the remark took me by surprise when I heard about it!

I shall now move swiftly on to the events of, what was to be termed “MAN night!” This is an event in which the SLS team, or rather the male brethren of this team decided to get together and rejoice in a bit of testosterone fuelled activity. Now before you all get concerned, this just entails manly films, manly food and manly games. In the end the girls were invited too but, just to make sure I would be welcomed to the event when I arrived I decided to man up! I achieved this through the advent of facial hair! I drew a beard and moustache on my face. It was some very artful stubble that was added to my chin and amused the rest of the men greatly!

Most of us had arrived at Dunk’s house via my car and we had a little fun on the roads on the way. These particular roads involved hairpin turns and steep hills which were a delight and challenge to my driving skills. It has to be said that a little bit of under steer was undertaken and a few aggressive comments aimed at the tourists that did not move into a passing places fast enough but nothing too bad. Saying that maybe the testosterone fuelled events that were to follow were already having an effect on me! However, we arrived, got given a brief tour of the spectacular house and then settled down to watch the epic battle of COD – Call Of Duty.

Frazer, Duncan, Jimbo and Ewan (being the men) were all happily shooting each other into oblivion whilst Ruth, Natalie and myself were rather more content to watch. Manly food was eventually served and we decided to watch a manly film. Whilst deciding which film this was to be I asked if we had Casino Royale only to be shown it was right in front of me – fail! However we decided to watch that but half way through Jimbo and Dunk decided to head back to Call of Duty, being rather addicted to it I fear.

After the film we all played a few more rounds of COD, with me joining in this time and getting rather aggressive, screaming profanities at the screen whenever I got shot. It must be understood dear reader that I do not have a particular adeptness for the game! I eventually washed my beard off and we all got rather sleepy so headed back, again with a car full along the winding roads in the soothing darkness. A very good night although I thought it was lacking in poker!

And now we move to the exciting events of a few days later. The whole day had been glorious and I was itching to get the camera out after work, and so I did. I met up with Ewan (another photography enthusiast) and we headed west towards Loch Na Keal, myself hoping for otters and Ewan hoping for some birding action. Ewan got his wish and spotted some Red Deer as well but unfortunately, once again our little brown and furry friends proved elusive. However the light was dying in a most spectacular fashion and so we decided to follow it west along the north road of Loch Na Keal to see what we could find. There were some brilliant colours and, as ever, spectacular scenery as we drove in our little convoy, stopping off at the occasional passing place for a quick snap and scan before heading off again.

After passing through a typical Scottish traffic jam – a heard of sheep on the road – we stopped at a peaceful spot looking over towards Gometra. One startled beach bunny and two majestic deer on a hill later I realised something almightily exciting. There were highland cows in the vicinity! I hurried over with the camera and got some very Scottish looking shots of the beautiful and somewhat hairy bovines munching away in a field of thistles. All you needed was a bagpipe player and some shortbread! I tore myself away from the highland moo moos back to Ewan and his scope then decided to head further along past Eos Fors to chase the last of the light. A couple of birds of prey and an arty snap involving a tree later I drove back to Ewan and, given the light conditions we both decided to call it a night. We meandered slowly back checking out potential wildlife spots from our cars and mentally sifting through the photos we had taken that evening. For me it was nothing stunningly spectacular but I was content with the results nonetheless. I waved Ewan off as we went our separate ways through Salen and was once again overcome by that sense of tranquillity that manages to hit me almost every evening on Mull. Our epic
photography tour had been a great success and another night fell over the Island.

Next time on the Mull Adventure Blog team Yorkie beaches a boat...twice and I get put under the spell of mustelid magic in epic proportions!

Sarah
Guide

Sea Eagles v's Buzzards

2010-10-18T15:53:00.001+01:00

Woken by what sounded like a Big Bird argument outside my window, I scooted out of bed and across to the window. The morning was fair and bright, the autumn reds and golds spread like musical notes across the hills on the far side of the sea-loch. Below me on Tommy’s field I found the cause of the cafuffle, and with my heart in my mouth, grabbed my neat little bedroom sized binoculars and clamped them to my eyeballs.

Before I had a visual on this intercourse, I had heard crows swearing and cursing as an undertone, with the keening cry of one or two buzzards as top notes, although it was hard to be clear through early-morning ears. I did know it was worth finding out, for sometimes, the bickering of crows tells me that His Majesty is in the area with his huge wing span and his white tail and his royal glide across the sky.

Not this time, though.

The sky was empty of all songbirds, so I knew a predator was nearby; and I was right.

On the grass below me a fight was about to begin over the carcass of a large rabbit. Standing over it was, what looked like, a rough-legged buzzard, although I know it would be a rare thing for one such bird of prey to be here on the island; and I can be highly confused by the different garb these wild things take on as juveniles, females, males, adults in winter, adults in summer, juveniles in winter and so on………

Anyway, back to the battle.

The crows lunged and squawked at the buzzard, like louts, juking back pretty quick as the beak came down like an axe over their heads. Positioning themselves on opposite sides of the focus of their attack, they harried and parried and behaved much like the thugs we know them to be, wearing him down until he tired out and flew off, leaving breakfast for them. Crows can do this for hours I know, so I turned to find some clothes to wear for just a moment. Suddenly the noise level escalated into riot size and I was back, and this time, no need of my neat little bedroom sized binoculars.

A second buzzard of uncertain family tree had landed what looked like inches away from the other and the two huge birds took their positions for battle, wings slightly out, necks thrust forward, feet two square on the grass. Needless to say, the crows bounced off a few yards and watched quietly. Not me, by this time. Now I am shrieking for Richard to watch, and my mouth is wide open, my heart pounding in my breast.

For some minutes, the buzzards lunge at each other, claws lashing and rising off the ground a little higher every time. The crows jigged about like hoodlums, calling out now, excited by this clash of the Cuin Titans. The sky, suddenly emptied of all songbirds when the buzzard first appeared, were back, looping across the morning sky to land on the fences and among the hazel scrub, spectators for the show. The excitement was so electric, I couldn’t even leave to brush my teeth.

One of the buzzards lunged at the prey and tried to fly, but the weight of it defeated him and he only managed to rise a couple of feet off the ground. Buzzard number two hurtled across and caught the other end of the rabbit in his beak. Then all hell broke loose and the two of them rolled each other over and over, and all I could see was a tangle of claws and wings, browns whites, blacks and the dull grey feathering of the onlookers.

Defeated, one of the protagonists rose into the sky and disappeared over the loch. For a while, the winner tried over and over to lift the carcass, whilst the crows, bored now of their hoodlum antics, and of watching the big boy bounce up and down and never leave, wandered away to peck among the cow pats. Exhausted and beaten, the buzzard lifted into the wind and, with a sharp cry, wheeled away and out of sight.

Wow, I thought, what a gift. Better than any tv!

Crows cackled again, so I walked back to look and nearly fell out the window.

There, right outside my window and rising together, one with the carcass held firmly in his massive claws, were two sea eagles. As I watched, they lifted effortlessly and silently together into an empty sky and were gone.

Later, as I sat down to paint my face all the colours of the rainbow, I saw the buzzard, alone now on the grass, searching for his kill.

Judy (SLS Mum)

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 6

2010-10-18T13:56:00.001+01:00

And so it has been, dear reader that the days and weeks continued. New experiences were had and new lessons learnt every day but an old routine of sorts has come to pass and it makes the entire experience feel utterly fantastic. Days on the boat have been fun, days in the office a laugh and on the occasional days off I have had a chance to catch my breath, sit back and admire where I am and what I’m doing.

Unfortunately, part of this routine appears to involve a mistake I am commonly making (among many others) over dolphin and porpoise fins. Many of our best beloved passenger’s mistake porpoise sightings for dolphins and so if people say they’ve seen a dolphin I always assume it’s a porpoise. Many of my avid readers may well remember the same mistake being made on the trip that Andrea and Helen joined me on. Dear reader I did it again! Bottlenose dolphins popped up to say hello this time, in a most unexpected circumstance. They even surprised Popz!

Events in the office have sometimes taken me by surprise also. For example I was completely unprepared for the moment when, happily (or has happy as one can be completing such a task) I was logging feedback form information into the database when along came a couple of passengers we’d had on board who came from none other than SOUTHWELL! As I inputted the address, I kid you not; I actually shed a few tears! Matters were not helped by a song with distinct memories of university life starting to play over the stereo and I shed a few more. It hit me then (as it repeatedly does many times a day) that this was not just another summer with university waiting for me to return to. This is me, for the rest of my life. Indeed a scary thought to be thinking in the middle of a visitors centre full of tourists in the middle of the morning time! However, the moment passed and I carried on, plagued for the rest of the day by the echoes of the past three years of my life.

Back on the boat and trips have been good (as they always are of course!) When it comes to SLS, spirits are never dampened by mere bad weather, especially when extra high fives between the crew occur constantly over good sightings and jokes about the link between the mysterious missing bog brush and Ewan’s hair come into play! I assure you we are all professionals but some serious fun is had on that boat! I’m even driving Greenie although I still can’t quite remember how to start her up properly. In the office as well I’m finding that I KNOW things now! I can answer the phone confidently and enjoy the challenges that are often brought in with the tourists, of course with a smile on my slightly salty and wind burnt face!

And so we have arrived at the day of the Coll Cricket Charter where the trip we had was not for our best beloved holidaymakers but for a local cricket team situated on the Isle of Coll who were coming over to play Mull in a friendly tournament. Now for those of you who may not know, Coll is a small Island with a population of around 220 people and, as I was to find out, a far larger population of the infamous and dreaded Scottish Midgie! However I get ahead of myself, as before we reached Coll we had to get there to pick up our cricket players. This involved Ruth, Popz and myself all waking up at an obscenely early hour to take Sula Beag out to Coll. As the dawn broke over my caravan I groaned and cursed the idea of waking up (as I do most mornings!) and then scrambled out of bed and off to Tobermory then away we went to Coll. The morning skies arranged themselves in front of my eyes as we headed up the Sound and I found myself admiring what a glorious way it was to wake up in the morning! This being said I had already achieved the somewhat irksome task of waking and therefore was in a much better state of mind to enjoy the morning as it was!

We arrived on Coll, passing many a sleepy Atlantic Grey Seal among the rocks on the shoreline and loaded up with bats, balls, cucumber sandwiches and the players themselves. These players turned out to be rather interesting characters...”jolly good chaps” you might say! Whilst the loading was in process all of us were being viciously attacked by vast hoards of hungry midgies and we were all grateful that they were not this bad on Mull itself. And so we headed back to Mull, keeping our passengers topped up with tea and coffee and trying to avoid being hit by their practice swings!

Once back on Mull I found myself with a few hours to spare as I wasn’t needed until we had to take the cricketers back to Coll after their match. Being a beautifully glorious day I decided to go along the coastal walk that heads towards Rubha Nan Gall lighthouse and look out for porpoise over the Sound of Mull. This I did, becoming invariably muddy in the process and, although I didn’t spot any porpoise I had a lovely few hours up there. Meanwhile Ewan had volunteered to play for the team and helped lead them to victory!

The time came for the Cricketers to be returned home, jovial and triumphant and clambering aboard the boat laden with celebratory whisky and the coveted cricket trophy! A few too many “wee drams” (which were not so wee) later we were once again back on Coll and turning round for the last time to head towards Mull. Popz let Ruth be our skipper for most of the journey and we sat and enjoyed the evening, heading towards the darkening skies and admiring the spectacular scenery and light that the Hebrides has to offer. We were joined by a few pretty juvenile Kittiwakes and the occasional gannet who joined me in watching the clouds shift into ever changeable shapes (many resembling elephants!) I got to sit on the bow, listening to the waves whispering secrets to each other whilst the water rushed towards and beneath me. The sky showed me every imaginable shade of blue and grey it had to offer and I had never felt more at peace with the world. It was a stunningly calm evening and one that will stay with me for a long time.

Eventually the surrounding islands disappeared into the darkness and Ruth, Popz and I gathered in the wheelhouse, following the blinking lighthouses back into Tobermory. The day had been long and varied and different but as I drove back to the caravan my tired head could still recall that scene of beauty, one that could not be captured in an image, no matter how skilled the photographer and one that drifted in and out of my dreams that night like my own version of heaven.

Next time on the Mull Adventure Blog...I grow a beard, team Yorkie attacks the west of Mull with cameras, and a rare cetacean comes to say hello!

Sarah
Guide

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 5

2010-10-05T19:28:00.001+01:00

When we think about diversity, hopefully it’s how we see our cultures, maybe it’s how we see our opinions and possibly we think of that dance group that won X factor’s got talent or something along those lines! But recently dear reader, life has had some very diverse twists and turns for me. You can go from peaceful serenity to lively conversation and enthusiastic (!) dancing in the space of an hour. It’s amazing how quickly you can adapt and savour the moment, definitely a good lesson to have learned.

But I do apologise most profusely, my ramblings have become a bore once again and so I shall plough on with the adventure tale. However I hope to show through this what a diverse mix of experiences this island has to offer.

It began with another glorious evening after a day at work in which a lovely lass called Megan (who was working where I live) knocked on my caravan and explained that a few people were going out on the bay with the boat and would I like to come? I of course said yes, mentally noting the beautiful light and packing both camera and long lens. She then explained that they were going for a swim and would I like to go in too. After the initial shock at how brave (or crazy) they were being I declined given my distinct ineptness at this particular sport. The wellies were donned, the boat launched and out into the bay we went. The peace out there was indescribable, we weren’t even that far out but the water was but rippling glass, the sun in its last throes of setting and, despite being by the “main road” not a vehicle in sight or earshot. And so, as I happily snapped away, the three girls and my landlord jumped in. To say it was cold was most definitely an understatement as I understood it but they seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. I took some photos of them splashing around with the sun behind them – pure magic and then they all clambered back in the boat, shivering but exhilarated. After that we floated around the bay for a while, soaking up the atmosphere and feeling calm and content with the world.

Once back on shore we traipsed up the track to the house and soon after I was called to head over to Tobermory for a night out with the SLS crew. After having jumped in the car to do the now familiar trek to the town, I found myself directed to the pub next door to the Harbour Visitor Centre and inside found Ruth followed by Lydia and Craig (ex guides) as well as Duncan. We headed over to “The Mishnish” which, I was to learn was a rather infamous little pub that hosted a cheesy mini disco type thing occasionally. Everyone in there seemed to know everyone else (a hazard of island living I guess) and soon Lydia and Ruth were dancing away to some of the songs that held memories for them from last year. Lydia seemed somewhat impressed that I was up for joining in without any alcohol gracing my system although it took the boys a little “convincing”! Frazer, who we found at the pub had possibly had a little too much of the stuff in his system but we were all having a good time. It struck me at this point that barely an hour previously I had been on a boat in a bay as chilled as it was possible to be and now I was enjoying some thumping tunes in a pub. Diverse? Yes!

3am came and went and with the knowledge that most of us would be at sea tomorrow we thought it wise to call it a night. I say this but the time did just happen to coincide, most coincidently with closing time! Either way, everyone piled in my car so I could take them up the rather formidable hill. This most short of car journeys turned out to be impeccably hilarious! Firstly the windscreen was misted up but I set off anyway, much to the concern of Ruth who was convinced I couldn’t see a thing. Secondly I was being directed (most unhelpfully) in every direction they could think of before I realised where it was we were headed. Thirdly, half way up the afore mentioned formidable hill there is a junction that doesn’t look like a junction. Now do understand dear reader that I am a responsible driver (despite others claims!) so given the time of night and generic lack of cars on the island I swung round and through the junction without much thought. This action then prompted Lydia to ask, in a most stringent tone whether I had bothered to even LOOK left?! It made me chuckle to say the least!

After dropping off the SLS crew at Ruth’s house and getting excited about seeing a hedgehog in the driveway I headed back to the caravan. The road, obviously empty, did seem rather eerie in the pitch black but I was accompanied by the eye shine of many a sheep, deer and the odd rabbit having a late night party.
Once back at Glen Aros Lodge I walked up the track and came across two Australians sitting in patio chairs wrapped up in duvets watching the stars. Now several things struck me as unusual about this particular scene as I’m guessing my dear readers can imagine, it was 3:30am after all! Admiring the stunning sky for a brief second I conceded that it was indeed bed time and collapsed inside my sleeping bag for a grand total of 4 hours sleep.

Needless to say the next day brought with it some aspect of fatigue but I have failed to mention the special-ness of what the next day would bring. Along with sunshine it brought LIFEBOAT DAY! Now some of you may wonder what lifeboat day actually is. In brief it is a day where money and awareness is raised for lifeboats and the work that they do along the coast and out at sea. Work that, I must add, is of the utmost importance. SLS was running seal cruises all day with all proceeds going to the lifeboats. As well as this there were various stalls in the car park, tours of the lifeboats themselves and even, much to my delight, a rodeo bull! (Just to clarify, this was a mechanical bull, not a real live creature.) Now on this particular day I was working in the office with Natalie but soon entered into the spirit of lifeboat day (for it does indeed have a spirit) in every way I could. One such way was decided to locate some facepaint and decorate my face with the lifeboat flag. Upon closer inspection this did seem to resemble the England football team flag but with RNLI stamped across my forehead and cheeks I’m hoping our visitors got the point. This prompted a brief conversation with my boss as to whether I should undertake some facepainting as a stall outside. Encouraged by Maggie (a truly awesome person and sister of my hero) I did indeed go outside and started painting some flags on people. This quickly evolved into butterflies, big cats and, on one occasion, a pink kitten with green glitter spots!

Whilst this was going on we had Ewan and Frazer selling seal cruises by the bucket load (with Frazer becoming a human billboard) and Duncan guiding on Sula Beag. Meanwhile Ruth and Lydia were preparing for the grand and epic life raft race and dear reader it was indeed an epic affair!

Now dear reader as most of you know I have never lived on Mull for a considerable length of time and thus was unaware of the fun to be had on lifeboat day in general and in particular, the hilarity and comradeship that occurs during the life raft race. SLS did indeed have a life raft entered, homemade as per specification. Anticipation mounted as the (essential) life jackets were donned and rafts set afloat in the harbour. Team SLS set off and almost immediately were in the water so decided to swim. And swim they did, beating several rather imaginative raft designs as well as lifeboat staff themselves! They didn’t quite win outright but it was a very valiant effort and stood as I was on the quayside, happily taking photographic evidence I felt truly honoured to be part of such an amazing team.

I now turn your attention back to the mechanical rodeo bull mentioned earlier. I, of course, child that I am, was desperate to have a go and I finally got the chance after the race. I vaulted on and away we spun until, 42 seconds later I fell off, smearing face paint everywhere and laughing my head off. I had 48 seconds to beat so immediately tried again only to fail at 40 seconds this time. Humbly beaten I cheered as the next person sailed through 1 minute and beyond, he was good!

And so it was that the awesome-ness of lifeboat day came to a close and everything was packed up. Whilst packing up was undertaken I went back into the office to find Nat and offer apologies at rather abandoning her throughout the day. What I found however were several crates of alcohol! It turned out we (SLS and the lifeboat crew) were to be having a barbeque...at sunset...on a pontoon...on Mull! I fell in love with the idea instantly (who wouldn’t?!) and helped take afore mentioned alcohol, burgers, sausages etc down to Sula Beag.

We set off straight across the harbour to pick up some people and then on to the pontoon. It was beyond idyllic! Some fished for mackerel over the side whilst Popz gave a small speech, punctuated perfectly by the news that the first fish had been caught! The sun shone, music was played, food was eaten, photos were taken; it was magic! It should be mentioned that by this point my face paint had been on my face for a few hours too long and was beginning to annoy me but in such a happy mood it barely mattered. However it was at this time that a small wager was placed on the fishing proficiency of two of our friends. Lydia was adamant she could catch a fish quickly and so this was put to the test. Dear reader she was wrong, but only just! And so the forfeit was undertaken, in she jumped and swam back onto the pontoon to dry off in the last of the sun.

Our appetites sated, the temperature turning cold and with the day nearly over we decided to start thinking about heading back. But not before Lippy and a friend decided to have a swim. The decision was made to jump in from Sula Beag. Lippy made a spectacular dive and splash closely followed by his friend confidently shouting “APRIL FOOL!” over the side and sauntering back along the boat, remaining warm and dry. We all laughed!

Lifeboat day ended and recently we found it raised £3000 so we were all very proud of our efforts. A fabulous team doing amazing things for a worthy cause.

Sarah
Guide

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 4

2010-10-05T19:25:00.001+01:00

d so we return once more to a little corner of my brain to explore what lies within. And I do believe that where we left that exploration was at the pony trekking adventure with Helen and Andrea.

The trek set off down the lane and into a trot along a short stretch of road. It was fabulous to be back in the saddle and Smokey had a lovely gait. As I was promised he did indeed look after me and it was only a short amount of time before we reached the beach. This particular beach was a lovely wild affair, pebbles stretching far, calm water and, as we were to find out, fantastic wildlife! I won’t go so far as to suggest that we spotted an otter, that would just be ridiculous now wouldn’t it! However, once we’d crossed a fast flowing stream and along a shingle bank towards the sand we were joined by a White Tailed Sea Eagle. Now I thought I was getting good views of these creatures from the boat but they paled in comparison to this encounter! Flying directly overhead, seemingly lead by curiosity at the four-legged creatures we were riding our feathered friend circled above and ever closer. What a sight!

And so it was that it was time for our canter across the sand. As I’m sure many people will agree, there can be something rather magical about cantering along a beach, especially with mountainous backdrops and friends on a horse by your side. However Smokey, obviously having seen these spectacular sights many a time before, was more concerned by his stomach. Just as we were setting off into a canter the greedy little guy grabbed a huge frond of seaweed and was happily munching away on it as we trotted and eventually into the canter. I was told he was like a rocking horse which I found to be true and we sailed along the shoreline with the large piece of seaweed dangling from his mouth! The canter didn’t last long, Smokey being more content to trot and myself unable to convince him otherwise but it was absolutely fantastic and I know it was a dream come true for Helen. Andrea’s horse was content to stay just behind mine and so they didn’t really have a canter but all was not lost as we shall explore later!

With the canter being over we headed up the beach and along some tracks into areas of forest, periodically trotting and walking and occasionally stopping when Smokey thought of his stomach again and I was unable to pull his head up from the ground. He was a cheeky little pony! But in fairness for him walking through a field of sweet grass much be like us walking through a field of chocolate. In no time at all we were walking through forests and through little streams and trotting along the lanes in a very enjoyable fashion. Chatting to Helen and Andrea along the way and trying to get photos of us all together was hilarious and I couldn’t stop grinning, it was such a fabulous experience, better than any trek I’ve ever been on and believe me I’ve been on some amazing treks! We even saw deer along the way, who again seemed less frightened of humans if they were on horseback, it’s an interesting concept.

Eventually we found ourselves back along the beach as we headed home for another canter. Helen, Andrea and I hung back so we could all canter together and get a film of it. The idea worked...for the first 5 seconds...until Caspian steamed ahead! However that feeling of unity between all 6 of us for those brief seconds will still with me for a long time. Andrea finally got her canter on Oak and I had another one too although in the film Smokey helpfully decided to head back into the trot. Once back at the stables we happily dismounted, Andrea being shocked by the short distance down from her 14hh pony compared to her 17hh horse back home!

We came back to the caravan happy, smiley and beginning even then to stiffen up! The next morning the insides of my legs were like lead so hobbling around the office was a rather hilarious affair! Sadly though this was the morning Helen and Andrea were leaving and so I said goodbye and they headed off for the ferry, their soaking wet tent taking pride of place in the boot. I was very sad to see them go but glad that they had come, it had been an incredible few days. But now they were gone there was work to be done, in the office, on the boat and with the Otter hunt! Now dear reader these animals are, as I have mentioned before proving themselves to be rather elusive little animals so don’t go thinking that, after all this time on Mull I may well have seen one by now...I haven’t! However one glorious evening after a day in the office I decided to head over to Loch Na Keal as it was supposedly another good Otter site. Having gotten advice about Otters and tides from my boss I knew as I arrived that I had come too late as the tide was high and the seaweed and rocks hidden beneath the water.

However the drive was beyond spectacular with even narrower roads than I had originally experienced on the island, the sea on one side, mountains on the other and the sun in its first early throes of beginning to think about setting. Whilst driving I came across a dried up river bed that led a scar up half the side of a mountain face. For these contexts I will use the term mountain but, although it was very steep and high it was no Everest! Upon spotting this rocky route tempting me upwards I decided to go for it, led on a whim and sheer curiosity as to what I would find at the top. The great climb began. It was epic!
I will use this opportunity dear reader to explain several things I did wrong in this most wonderful of evenings in the hope that you will ignore the terrible example I set if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. For one thing no one knew where I was. That was bad. For another I had no credit on my phone, another error and for a third, although I am reasonably fit, had decent footwear on and was used to doing this sort of thing it had been a long time since I had therefore I knew as I climbed that any slip could prove very disastrous. Thankfully none occurred. Sheep watched me as I left the old riverbed onto vast and steep expanses of grass and ferns. Picking my way up the sheep tracks (ever trusting nature’s judgement) I stopped along the way to take some photos, admire the view and spot the car looking ever smaller on the road far below me.
Reaching the top and clambering over I was slightly breathless from the ascent and stopped on the ledge to look all around me. The views across the loch to Eorsa were stunning and behind me, stretched out as if there was never such a thing as a city were vast plains of heath land, touched neither by man nor animal. I stayed on the top awhile, drinking in the views, trying to do them justice with my camera and reading a little in the peaceful atmosphere.

However this dream could not go on forever and as the sun started to set I began my descent. Once at the bottom again I drove home in the fading light feeling at peace with the world and everything in it. I’ve found Mull does that to you. You can be stressed and pressed for time and worried about a million things but somehow the Island doesn’t let those thoughts encroach on your day. They are still there, waiting to be dealt with but in your own time and at your own pace. Some people describe what’s known as “Mull Magic” and I think this might be it. I don’t believe in magic but I know that Mull has something about it. I think God must have been having a really good day when he made this place and I’m very grateful that he did.

Sarah
Guide

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 3

2010-09-30T09:30:00.001+01:00

It has to be said, that with utmost certainty and complete confidence, this portion of my life is turning out to be rather incredible! I say this not to make any of my dear readers envious but rather at astonishment in my own fortune! There’s something just DIFFERENT about this place but I am so glad that I’m experiencing it. There are moments of overwhelming joy, often when I’m sat on the boat, the sun shining, the wildlife abundant and the passengers enthusiastic and I think that I am being paid to do this incredible and different thing. But most of the time I have this calm contentedness about my life here which I love. Alas I know it can’t last but that’s another thing about this island – I don’t have enough time to take it for granted therefore I can be exhausted from a days’ work and yet still find the energy to climb a mountain, it’s beyond words, it truly is!

I do apologise though, I digress, I’m sure you’re wondering where the ADVENTURE part to this adventure blog as disappeared off to. Fear not dear reader, it shall return! We start this blog with the arrival of Helen (the sister) and Andrea (the friend of the sister and myself). After much anticipation and a few too many fruitless phone calls (mobile signal is not Mulls’ strong point!) we were finally united and it was fantastic to see them. We went out to eat (with Natalie from the office) and after much conversation and some spoon antics I headed back to the campsite Helen and Andrea would be staying at. Seen as it was Mull it was raining which, prepared for the inevitable, Andrea and Helen took to quite cheerfully. The fact that their tent was leaking heavily was not taken with such joy!

The next morning brought two soggy, disgruntled and sleepy individuals into the office by the names of Helen and Andrea. Their tent situation had worsened but they were going to enjoy Mull even if the Island did seem to be trying to drown them! I spent the day in the office whilst they explored.

The next day was the day of THE boat trip. I emphasise this particular boat trip in that it was the one that Helen and Andrea were coming on and it was rather an eventful one at that! One of our 7 hour Whalewatch Explorers was due to depart at 9:30am. This it did with my two intrepid traveller friends aboard. This was after having been told that the people in the office that met Helen described her as “exploding into the room.” This description I found to be rather accurate! And so it was that the bow and stern lines were cast, the fenders taken up and the boat set sail for the Cairns of Coll. Little did we realise that once past the Sound of Mull alongside Ardnamurchan point we would see Common Dolphins! Someone aboard had alerted us and I calmly explained that they were most probably porpoise knowing how rare sightings of were and the common mistake of a porpoise for a dolphin. Dear reader I was wrong! They were indeed dolphins and soon they were bow riding with the boat! All my professionalism went out of the window as I searched desperately for something knowledgeable to say about the species. In the end I gave up trying and just marvelled at the sight. They were stunning. Some views of sharks, sea birds and actual porpoise later we arrived on the Cairns to glorious sunshine and seals aplenty. Popz (our skipper) said I could go on land with Helen and Andrea, which I did and we spent half an hour enjoying the white sands, turquoise seas and goose poo aplenty! At the time some of our passengers were wondering from what animal these faeces had come from and the only suggestion I could come up with was Island hopping Red Deer. Eventually it was discovered that it originated from a member of the goose family but not after samples were collected and examined enthusiastically by me! The inner biologist was smiling with glee!

Many photos later it was time to jump aboard Sula Beag again which was anchored a little way out to sea. We take our passengers along on the rib (or as Popz calls it; “The Rubber Duck”) and I was given some training with using the outboard motor on it. The first challenge of which was to start the contraption! Three attempts later it started and our little collection of passengers applauded!

It turned out to be a wonderful trip (as all our trips are of course!) and Helen told me she felt proud of me. I didn’t feel so proud of myself after several panics with the blasted clove hitch knot and fenders shredded my nerves a little but I did manage to do the bow line correctly and I even drove Greenie after our 2 hour Ecocruz! After which we joined Ewan (another guide) for tea in the MacDonald Arms and chatted excitedly about the events of the day.

The next morning dawned and with it...pony trekking! After a mad panic in which we realised we didn’t have enough cash and cash machines are somewhat scarce on Mull we arrived at Killiechronan Trekking Centre and met our soon-to-be faithful steeds! Helen was given a beautiful arab cross (with not much arab in him) called “Caspian”. Andrea was given a sturdy highland pony named “Oak” and I had his half brother “Smokey” whom, I was assured would look after me, nervous rider as I am. The trek began...

I shall leave you all in suspense to await the next part of the Mull Adventure Blog!

Disclaimer: Leaving my dear readers in suspense is not done out of some vindictive aspect of my character, rather that I need to go to bed as we’ve got an early trip heading out tomorrow for which I will need to be awake!
Hugs to you all!

Sarah
Guide

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 2

2010-09-29T18:57:00.001+01:00

Hello once again dear readers from the Isle of Mull where it is once again raining as it often does in this place. But I’ll let you in on a little secret, I love it! Not so much the rain but the Island itself with its mix of pleasant people, abundant wildlife and far flung remoteness from any city I have known or will know in the future.

We left our tale last time after a completed week at work with much more still to learn and experience. After having learned and experienced many things this week I can safely say I still have yet more to learn and experience! But this past week involved completing my first introduction talk to our passengers (which was applauded) on what they might see on the trip. I have also been trying to learn knots and rope handling but am still rather abysmal at both. I can tie a clove hitch (after much practice with a piece of string and fake fender) and have successfully done both the bow and stern lines when coming into the pontoon but I am far from good at either. With practice comes perfection I guess.

In more successful news I was given the task of guiding an Ecocruz by myself on Sula Crion (meaning “Tiny Gannet” in Gaelic) which is our smaller boat, and holds only 10 people. Nerves mounted as families started checking in for the trip and I wondered if I would be able to remember enough to make it an enjoyable excursion, as well as boat matters. The skipper told me not to worry, he would take care of the boat and I would guide, plain and simple. Dear reader it turned out to be a fantastic trip! Apart from a brief shower the sun shone and the wildlife didn’t let us down with logging porpoise and diving gannets. The people themselves were fantastic too. Some of the kids on board were so enthusiastic even after seeing their 7th shag, still pointing and checking they had identified it correctly. When children experience that much joy from watching wildlife I have to say it gives me hope for the future! My own enthusiasm was abundant (even more so than usual) due to this and the talks I managed to give and the information I imparted all seemed to please the boss. I came off that trip, 2 hours later feeling utterly competent as a guide!

This week the office was busy and they’ve finally got me on answering phone calls. Now for those who know me well you may know of my distinct lack of confidence over the phone, even to people I know well, therefore nerves were getting the better of me answering this particular phone. However the staff just told me to go for it and refused to answer it themselves which is the best way I learn at any rate and so I am thankful they did it. The first call I answered got my heart racing and stumbling on the phrase “Hello, Sea Life Surveys, Sarah speaking” only to be asked how I was by the boss! After knowing I would not have to deal with bookings over the phone I relaxed. This has happened on several occasions and so I have yet to make a booking over the phone but I have dealt with other requests which were equally as challenging. However I feel it shall still be some time before I can confidently pick up the phone in that office!

Wildlife wise it has been a week both of disappointment and elation for all the wrong reasons! Intrigued? First of all the “high density of Otters on Mull” I have been promised (it’s lies, all lies!) has failed once again. I have still to see one even after waiting for 3 hours at a gem of a place on the north of the island. It was a glorious day though and the scenery on the drive was spectacular so I can’t complain. I am, however, adamant that every Otter on Mull has gathered together in an epic meeting to form an evil plan that conspires against me! The Minke Whales too have proven elusive but with myself firmly on Team Basking Shark I have not been disappointed on that front. In better wildlife spotting news I did an 8km walk on a random whim from Garmony to Fishnish and back one evening. It was a beautiful walk through forests and beaches and many types of habitat in between and I couldn’t help but love the opportunity I had been given to live on this beautiful Island. Now along the walk dear reader I was looking for many types of wildlife and didn’t see any, however I did spot what I wasn’t looking for. I looked for Otters and got Seals, I looked for Eagles and got a Hen Harrier and whilst looking for animals I was more rewarded by fungi in the form of some fantastic Fly Agaric mushrooms in a patch of pine forest sunlight. The photographer in me could not stop smiling and some snaps were enthusiastically gathered!

Next week will bring news of a family visit and assorted adventures, both at work and at play on this spectacular Island. Stayed tuned and, as always, hugs to you all!

Sarah
Guide

Mull Adventure Blog - Part 1

2010-09-24T18:32:00.002+01:00

And so it is, dear reader that the epic blog has begun and believe me there shall be epic-ness in epic proportions! Now on occasions such as these I usually find it best to start at the beginning however today I shall break from that tradition and briefly describe my current surroundings. I sit here, in a caravan, listening to the rain hammer on the roof and think about the many people I am missing whilst here. But if I take a short trip outside I can see an ocean of green plants and on top of that...an actual ocean! Ok “ocean” may be overstepping the mark slightly but from the hill where my caravan is perched it is possible to glimpse Salen Bay. This is a beautiful place full of birds and a distinct calm quality, rather cleansing to the soul.

Now to briefly catch up you up on what I am doing in such a place for those of you who may not know I shall enlighten you. I am on the Isle of Mull to work with “Sea Life Surveys” for a couple of months as a wildlife guide. We shall explore the details of that in a brief minute but I jump ahead of myself and now we shall move to the journey which got me here.

I am blessed with two wonderful parents that, among many kindly gestures let me take their car to complete the two day journey. And so it was that I came home from Nottingham to Leeds after graduation and the next morning set off for this green and watery land. The journey was fairly pleasant with only one or two “Tango Whisky Alpha Tango’s” on the road as my dear friend Tony would say! The grandparents were visited and I spent the night at my uncle’s house who is a character to say the least. The next day I continued along the winding roads through mountain passes and over rivers with the sun shining and some good music pumping through my veins. Once at Oban the ferry was boarded, the Sound of Mull was crossed and lo, I arrived on Mull. Do understand dear reader that this is a very brief summary of the journey as I wish not to bore you with details.

Finding my accommodation was relatively easy along the single track roads which had come as a slight shock to Danny when we had both come the previous month. Once arrived at afore mentioned accommodation (up a track which I’m sure only Land Rovers and faithful Toyota pickup trucks should venture onto) I was shown into the main house where some interesting characters were about to be met. Now I am a person who loves to meet new and interesting characters however I have never met such a diverse and concentrated collection before! They certainly intrigued me but needless to say, after two days of travel, I was not in the mood for deep philosophical discussions!

And so it was that the first day of my new job came about and nervous though I was I had been pondering the possibilities of it for over a month. The family run company takes guests out on various different whale watching trips up the Sound of Mull looking for “wee beasties” although some of them be not so wee! On the first day they put me on a seven hour trip, talk about throwing me in at the deep end! I relished the thought though and even the relentless Mull Mizzle (misty drizzle) couldn’t put a dampener on my spirits.

Myself, our skipper and two other guides boarded “Greenie” the small boat (no prizes for guessing its colour) which takes us out to the big boat to bring it back to the pontoon. It did occur to me, as we sailed between many impressive looking yachts, that this was a different and interesting morning commute to work and this made me love it all the more! The rat race hadn’t taken me and hopefully it never will!

After being shown many things that needed to be done (and feeling my brain ache with trying to remember it all) we greeted our passengers on board and I was introduced as “the new girl on her first day” so thankfully everyone was nice to me. This being said everyone on this entire Island seems to include some of the loveliest people I have ever met, many with jolly dispositions which is fantastic. The boat set off for its seven hour voyage and along the way we saw two Minke Whales, some Basking Sharks, our ever faithful Porpoise and plenty of seabirds. We were heading for the Isle of Muck, an even smaller Island than Mull with a population of 38! However they have a tea room, with cake, and on this rather soggy day this was our main reason for visiting the island!

On the way back the sea became choppy (always a risk in these waters) which made it difficult for wildlife spotting. We arrived back at the pontoon in Tobermory harbour and promptly set off again for a 30 minute seal cruise. I sincerely hope that from the title my dear readers may have guessed what can be seen on such cruises and due to the prevalence of our pinniped friends in the harbour itself we didn’t have to travel far to see them.

After an exhausting first day I made it back to Salen and pondered what the second day would bring. It was much of the same although with a 2 hour ecocruz after the seven hour. However on the seven hour trip we went this time to the Cairns of Coll which are a group of truly tiny and uninhabited islands. The sun was out and with turquoise waters and bountiful wildlife it really did feel like some far off exotic place which was a secret to all but a few privileged people who happened to know it’s location.

The third day brought a no show for the sneaky whales but plenty of other wildlife was seen as it always is in such rich waters. The fourth day was my first in the office where, again, my brain began to ache with everything I had to remember and a new enigma to me...a cash register! Frankly dear reader I am a little frightened of the thing. It beeps at me when I do things wrong and makes me jump when it pops open but I guess it’s just another thing I need to get used to. As sods law predicts, the day in the office was sunny and I wasn’t feeling too exhausted after work so it was decided to go for a walk around a place called Aros Park. It was beyond stunning. The island is transformed when bathed in golden light and I managed to make the most of it by walking alongside waterfalls and gazing at Tobermory harbour in the evening light. I drove back to the caravan feeling peaceful and content. Another day was spent at the office with that evening searching for otters in Salen Bay which resulted in many avian species but no mustelids. It did however find a rare Homo sapien species on the phone in the form of Alex who was receiving updates on the wildlife I was seeing in real time. He described it as “Springwatch over the phone!”

And so we have arrived at the present day which is my day off and full of Mull Mizzle again. This has put a stop to the otter hunt which began yesterday but has allowed for a luxurious lie in which has been greatly appreciated. More to come next week in the second part of the Mull Adventure Blog!

Sarah
Guide

Tag Found at Tobermory Lighthouse

2010-09-06T14:39:00.002+01:00

In August a walker handed in a green plastic looped tag, found at Rhubha nan Gal lighthouse (Tobermory Lighthouse). There were initials and numbers engraved along it and we decided to Google in the information -

‘99 DFO LOB. NFLD’

What came up was intriguing, if a bit of a long shot, so we emailed the ‘long shot’ just to see if what we imagined could be true.

The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, in Labrador, responded almost straight away and I quote…..

‘This is a tag used for lobster traps in 1999’

I asked if this meant that the tag had drifted all the way across the Atlantic and the answer came back that it had taken 11 years to reach us here on Mull.

Subsequent emailed details came through recently:
‘Lobster trap tags are used to ensure that trap limits are respected. Tags are issued to licence holders in accordance with the number of traps that are authorised. The tags are sequentially numbered and are issued annually. A tag must be securely fastened to the frame of a lobster trap prior to it being set for fishing. The lobster trap will identify the fish harvester who owns the trap. It is illegal to set a lobster trap, when the lobster season is open, without a valid trap tag fastened. The lobster trap tag numbers are identified in the licence holder’s licence. Lobster trap tags were introduced in 1987.’

Somehow the world felt smaller.

Ps, Google Labrador. Definitely worth a visit.

Judy (Mum)

Summer sailings

2010-08-06T20:41:00.000+01:00

Plankton levels now rising again rapidly bringing in more basking sharks – great sightings.
Also more groups of porpoise and calves. The young minke is still hanging around our sheltered waters and reports of orca heading our way.
Puffins now leaving for their oceanic winter quarters, and the sea eagle parents are proudly showing off their new offspring from the clifftops as they introduce him/her to Sula Beag!

Popz
Skipper

Whalewatch 13/07/10

2010-07-20T00:10:00.001+01:00

Hi there

Just got back from our weeks holiday in lovely Mull. Our whale
watching trip on the 13th was truly exceptional and i'd like you to pass on our thanks to Lew, Ruth, Kate and Polly for making our time on board as great as
possible. We saw whales, sharks, eagles, puffins, porpoise, seals, the list goes on and on. We left with cherished memories thanks to your first class operation. So, thanks again and we look forward to seeing you again in the
future.

Best wishes,
Garry and Ellie Martin.

SLS 28th Season

2010-07-14T21:32:00.000+01:00

I feel that I want to be a little self indulgent with a bit of reminiscing, and why not indeed?

Twenty eight years have now passed since I first ventured out from Mull in a wee boat and discovered the wonderful world of our marine wildlife. Twenty eight years of being able to enjoy a passion that involved finding, watching and spending time with our minke whales and their associated wildlife. Of having the opportunity to observe the extraordinary changes to our marine ecosystem, over the years.

I find myself harking back to ‘the good old days’ when apparently, whales, dolphins and sharks were more plentiful, better weather and things were just different! BUT, is that really so? Well yes, there have been changes but for better or for worse? Take an average day this year and you judge.

Within thirty minutes of leaving we are surrounded by the unusually friendly local family of porpoise and calves. At the same time we are usually watched, or investigated, by a pair of resident sea eagles. An hour later we arrive amongst the usual number of basking sharks gently browsing a tide line. Dorsal fins photographed for ID purposes, we move off in search of whale. Within an hour we spot a juvenile minke that came to us, circled round the boat once and then wandered off to find a more active playmate. But that gave us enough time to photograph him/her for ID purposes. For lunch, our passengers were landed on one of the loveliest beaches in the world. A wee islet at the Cairns, where our wide eyed passengers could take the time to enjoy the peace and beauty, whilst observing the seals and birds.

Homeward bound, we come across a huge raft of manx shearwater, some of which are feeding with auks and gannets diving through them. Of course, this attracts the inevitable bonxie looking for his next meal.

NO, this talk of ‘the good old days’ must stop as of now! Yes of course they were good days, but despite all the changes today, especially with our marine wildlife, I think all is very healthy and the wildlife especially, is even more exciting to day – where else in the world is it possible to see such a diverse marine wildlife population in such a stunning part of the world?

POPZ
Skipper

2010 Sightings Update

2010-06-23T21:58:00.002+01:00

I've just read back through the last blog I wrote at the end of the 2009 season and I kept my promise... never did see those elusive orca or risso's so I had to come back! Two months in to my second season and it just keeps getting better and better...

Our Whale Watch Explorers are now 7 hours long and are really living up to their name… we've had some brilliant sightings and where ever possible have been doing island landings which have proved to be great fun. Mostly we’ve been visiting the Cairns of Coll for the turquoise water, white beaches and great abundance of wildlife and the Isle of Muck for the tearooms and their delicious carrot cake! We’ve seen minke whales on most trips over the last few weeks and have had several fantastic associations when the sneaky whales have surprised everybody onboard by surfacing right next to Sula Beag. Last week was particularly special when we had a mother and calf minke circle us for about an hour letting everyone get full views of them under the water (and smell their stinky breath!) again and again... amazing!! We’ve also had a group of bow riding common dolphins and have been seeing the huge basking sharks in good numbers since the beginning of June.

But it hasn't just been the Whalewatch Explorer trips getting all the good stuff... our shorter trips have also been providing us with some excellent sightings too. It was a new first for me last week when we saw a basking shark on a half hour Seal Cruise! We've also seen minkes and basking sharks on our 4 hour Family Whale Watches and had a breaching shark on a 2 hour Ecocruz last week which is always an amazing sight! Interestingly we’ve seen a lot more breaching sharks this year; just yesterday we saw three different sharks launch themselves clean out of the water. Often they breach several times in a row which gives everyone onboard a good chance to see them.

I can’t miss out our ever friendly porpoise; they’ve been showing off this season and have stolen the lime light on many trips. We’ve had them swimming right around us letting everyone onboard get a good view of them swim past and have even seen them bow riding a small sailing boat, another first for me! The white tailed eagle pair we sail past daily have also been putting on great spectacles for us on all our trips and twice recently we have seen them attacking a gannet which only very narrowly got away!

Our trips are getting busier and I’m very much looking forward to the next few weeks ahead... and to seeing these elusive large dolphins ;-)

Ruth

Guide

Sharks & whales

2010-06-15T22:44:00.001+01:00

Loads of basking sharks but two in particular. Abnormally large for our inshore waters, came to us as we drifted not far off. Huge gaping mouths as they swam languidly beside is. This really astounded our passengers – the sheer size of these magnificent fish.

Later we met an adult minke and a juvenile that came and said hello to us.

Another great day!

Popz
Skipper

GOLD Green Tourism Award

2010-06-11T12:47:00.001+01:00

We are very proud to annouce the award of GOLD by the Green Tourism business scheme.

The scheme is ran by Visit Scotland and awards businesses that are seen to be actively trying to reduce their impact on the environment, whilst teaching the public how they can also help. There are three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

"The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) accredits a variety of tourism related businesses, beyond places to stay and visit. All these businesses are making an effort to reduce their environmental impact and are assessed every two years against rigorous criteria, covering areas like energy efficiency, waste minimisation and recycling, use of local produce, and support of public transport."

James
Skipper

Breaching Beast

2010-06-06T07:44:00.001+01:00

Can anyone identify this massive beast capured in mid flight on our Whalewatch yesterday?....

Cetorhinus Maximus - Basking Shark, the second largest fish in the world breaches, what an incredible sight!

There where so many sharks yesterday that Ruth put it as shark soup out there!

We also had a minke whale, what an awesome day!

Tobermory and the Otter

2010-05-06T10:05:00.001+01:00

We are sponsoring a new film by Angus Stewart (a local filmmaker) about the Tobermory Otter called ‘Tobermory and the Otter’. (His second film after his first highly successful film - 'Tobermory, Moments from a year')

He is running a preview on Monday 10th May at An Tobar, the local arts centre in Tobermory.

It lasts for about an hour; doors open 7.30pm for an 8.00pm start time. There are only 40 seats available and Angus is keen on getting feedback from the preview.

Tickets cost £4 and proceeds go to local projects (the film club and otter sculpture fund).

If you are at all interested please let us know so that we can book your place, we just need your name and contact number, payment is made on the night.

Look forward to seeing you there

James

Easter Exploring

2010-04-19T10:10:00.002+01:00

We have had a few good weeks of fairly settled weather over Easter this year.

Sightings have been fantastic on our shorter cruises, with daily sightings of Sea Eagles and Harbour Porpoise in the sound.

On our longer Whalewatches we have found an incredible amount of feeding taking place with Manx Shearwaters, Great Skua's, Fulmars, Puffins and so many more in abundance. It also appears that during our daily plankton samples that the wee beasties having been getting bigger and more concentrated as the days go by....all very exciting stuff!

But...no minke yet, a report has come in of a sighting by HWDT of a minke near Rum...unfortunatly a bit too far out of our patch....

So our next whalewatch is on Thursday this week, to say we are excited about getting out there would be an understatement, our first minke whale on the 18th April last year so we gotta get out there!

Bottlenose dolphins have also been in the area, south of here at Duart Castle last week (presumably not doing a tour of the castle itself?...) and our favourite cetacean the harbour porpoise has been keeping us all entertained. With one of the best assocations i have ever had with a small group continuosly circling the boat off Ardmore, with kids cheering as they went from one side to the other, pure magic :-)

James

Skipper

Whale Watching vs Whaling in Iceland

2010-03-28T14:34:00.001+01:00

Having just returned from Iceland and feeling that things are moving forwards up there. I thought I would use Jake Levenson’s blog that he put up on IFAW’s website. Jake is great to work with, has an insatiable burn to end this awful killing industry, and we both want to help in building up the new Three Pearls organisation that includes artic fox, seals and of course whales.

Whale Watching vs Whaling in Iceland

posted on March 24th, 2010 by Jacob

It has to be tough running a whale watching business in Iceland. With weather, constantly fluctuating fuel prices, mandatory inspections and the array of safety requirements a passenger vessel must meet makes any kind of maritime endeavor a complicated job. Now imagine on top of all the usual requirements you’ve got people shooting harpoons everywhere and suddenly a typical day at work suddenly becomes much more challenging. That’s exactly what’s happening here; hundreds of thousands of tourists go out whale watching in Iceland each year and yet a small group of outspoken whalers go about harpooning the multi-million dollar whale watching industry. It just makes no sense. They are killing the very whales Iceland’s economy depends on.

In today’s IceWhale meeting it wasn’t long before someone brought up whaling.

Meeting Participants Had To Find One Another By A Matching A Photo-ID Card And Then Introducing Their Match...Made For A Fun Icebreaker!

I have to credit Richard though because he started off his presentation by posing a question to the group. He simply said “tell me your challenges” and the flood gates slowly opened. First it was about someone who was trying to lead Puffin watching trips where others decided they wanted to hunt these birds. A half second later someone chimed in that they have similar problems with whaling and suddenly we were going down a road I wasn’t quite expecting. People here really have a problem with whaling and feel as though the government should be supporting their industry rather than the whale killers. After all, the people gathered around the table bring millions to Iceland’s economy while the whalers bring nothing more than embarrassment and grief. The point of today’s meeting was to move IceWhale towards speaking as a collective voice against whaling and as the day wrapped up it was obvious they were doing just that. Really happy to see that become a reality, it’s been a long way coming.

Today's meeting was held at Iceland's Maritime Museum. Despite all the claims that whaling is a big part of being Icelandic not one of the many paintings depicting traditional Icelandic life contained anything about whaling.

Few Icelanders actually eat whale meat and what makes it worse is that the only consumer of whale meat seems to be from tourists wanting to sample what they think is Icelandic culture. In reality the restaurants serving whale meat advertise in English hoping to attract the same tourists who go whale watching! IceWhale’s membership meets a large percentage of these tourists everyday and if they can successfully educate just some of their 300,000 annual passengers, maybe just to steer them towards restaurants that don’t serve whale, they will successfully cut off the little demand that exists for whale meat. I’m really excited to be helping them accomplish this!

Frosty Beginnings...

2010-02-20T11:39:00.002Z

This week snowdrops and crocuses are yelling out loudly, that spring is arriving. Not only that, but seeing Natalie’s smiling face behind the counter in the Centre - yes she has just returned for another season as our No.1 customer care lady.

Furthermore, we had our first trip of the season yesterday. A flat calm and frosty day with brilliant sunshine lighting up the snow covered hills. Down to Ardmore point where we lingered awhile wondering at the lovely sight of Coll and Tiree in the distance. Whilst enjoying a coffee and chat, a group of porpoise arrived and starting feeding not far off. Four adults, and a juvenile, obviously very intent on hunting some prey. Maybe giving the juvenile some hunting lessons?

Most remarkably though, was a moon jellyfish gently floating past us. Surely this is far too early for jelly fish in this area? And furthermore, on doing the plankton trawl, there were two very tiny baby jellyfish in the catch.

Heading home we were visited by a golden eagle, majestically floating overhead as though suspended by some invisible thread. On arriving at the fish farm to see what was going on, an otter appeared nonchantly cruising round the nets wondering why he/she could not get at the fish!

Finally, a great crowd of harbour seals were sunning themselves at the haulout site. A lovely day, with lovely people and great wildlife, amongst stunning wintery scenery – magic.

Oh, yes. We have managed to get Logger updated as it has now been collecting data for over twenty years and was due for a refit. Logger is our onboard livetime database that records our track, sightings, environmental data and lots more. So this was our first test of the new program and it passed with flying colours.

A great start to what will surely be an exciting new season – come and join us.

POPZ

Festive Adventures

2009-11-23T10:06:00.003Z

Well here we are approaching Christmas and still enjoying cruises for small numbers. We will continue them over the winter period. Yes it is cold, but once climbed into one of the onboard thermal suits, had a coffee (I think it by far the best coffee on Mull) had a wee dram and some shortbread then – ‘bring it on!’

We are blessed by being able to operate in sheltered waters whatever the wind is throwing at us. The whole environment out there is just so magical, even at this time of year.

Last cruise we saw two family groups of porpoise with their very young calves. We drifted by them and they actually came so close to the boat we could actually see them underwater scooting around like demented beings – teaching their calves to hunt?

Time to take in the magnificent scenery. Whether it be the Ardnamurchan peninsula with the series of volcanoes that blew up into one huge super volcano or Ardmore point with it’s lighthouse and swooping above can be seen the sea and golden eagles. Glengorm castle standing proudly on the skyline. There is still the odd guillemot and razorbill fishing away. Then of course all the usual gulls, including the lovely kittiwakes. Bloody bay yields the interesting fish farm and this is the area where the bottlenose dolphins sometimes appear. Finally, the seals sunbathing/rainbathing! on Calve island.

It is magic out there, and there is always the unexpected as well as the good company just relaxing and enjoying.

Look forward to seeing you and showing you...

Popz

Skipper & Dad :-)

Wildlife watching in October

2009-10-04T09:41:00.003+01:00

It has been said by many that, whale dolphin and marine wildlife watching, is a waste of time in October.

HUH - nonsense. Sure enough, the basking sharks have gone and there is not the quantity of wildlife about, but the quality can be superb. For instance, the last two trips this week:-

DAY 1 - Lovely calm day with the sun, now lower in the sky, highlighting the magnificent colours of the islands and heather clad hills with a brittle clarity. We steamed for the Cairns and on the way spent time with family groups of porpoise and their calves. Groups seem to be larger at this time of year. At the Cairns the usual diving gannets, a few feeding auks in their winter plumage then a pomerine and a great skua. A little later, an enormous skein of geese heading south high overhead. No sign of whale or dolphin, so headed into the Cairns to look at the seal colonies including a grey with pup. Also a very large swarm of jelly fish Pelagica noctiluca. A pretty little thing with red dots on it's head but invades fish farms and kills off the salmon..

Landed Waggy/Danny on the largest island in order to go to summit with telescope and portable VHF to scan for anything in the distance. He has wicked eyesight/gise and ability, so, he with telescope is quite lethal!! In the meantime we, on Sula Beag, drifted in shallow water for a quiet lunch.

Radioed Waggy expecting to hear he had spotted loads of stuff, only to be told there was nothing anywhere. At that very moment a minke surfaced not 20 metres away right in front of the boat. That whale had most certainly come to see us in very shallow water - as they do. Having collected Waggy, we gently followed that whale until interrupted by the sight of 2 red phalaropes feeding on surface plankton. A very rare sighting and quite unafraid of us as we drifted beside them - magic. Returning home we watched at close quarters, 2 golden eagles harassing a sea eagle.

DAY 2 - A calm grey day today but storm force winds forecast for later in the afternoon. We made it out to the Cairns in calm conditions. But as we were lunching, watching the seals and otters, or were the seals swimming to us to observe us? The wind suddenly started to gust with strength - oops!

Time to get home. Half way across, running with the rising seas, the coastguards issued a pan pan call for Ardnamurchan point not so far from where we were. So answered it. Changed course as directed and headed to the scene. Half way across there was a screaming shout from the top deck and Waggy hurtled into the wheelhouse shouting 'Orca'. And there, right enough, not 200 metres away was a very large male orca sail heading across our bow.
Oh why now? A life in danger and we have orca, a bull and cow. One quick pass to enable an ID shot between waves then off to join lifeboat and helicopter searching for a missing diver. Such torn emotions for all.

No, nothing much happens on our wildlife trips in October. POPZ

End of season round up

2009-09-18T14:26:00.001+01:00

I now have just a couple of days left of the 2009 season. Where the last 5 months have gone I don’t know but one thing is for sure, I have had the best summer and seen some amazing things.
Watching the minke whales has been incredible. The excitement onboard when a whale is spotted for the first time cannot be beaten. Whether it has been a distant glimpse of these stinky whales or an hour-long association with the boat it has always been special. On a still day listening to these animals surface has to be one of the best sounds! I was also lucky enough to be onboard to see a minke whale breach 300m from the boat, awesome! And the end of the season looks set to be full of surprises and treats too... on our 4 hour Wildlife Adventure on Friday morning we spotted a minke within 25 minutes of leaving Tobermory. We spent about 2 hours watching the whale; it was clearly foraging hard, circling around us in the tide lines in-between small groups of porpoise. There was lots of food in the area as the whales stuck around for several days in the same area. Just on Sunday I had one of my best sightings of the season, we sat watching a small hurry of seabirds forming when right between them 2 lunge-feeding whales - wow!!

Another highlight of the season for me has to include the basking sharks. Every time I see these enormous fish I am in awe, seeing their wide-open mouths coming towards the boat underwater is such a privilege. This season the sharks have been very good to us; we’ve seen them along the North West coast of Mull almost daily in August leaving everyone onboard extremely happy even when the weather has prevented us leaving the shelter of Mull. We’ve managed to do a lot of photo-id work on the sharks which is exciting. Some have had very distinctive marks and nicks on their fins so hopefully we’ll be able to get a better understanding of these mysterious fish if they are seen again, either in our waters or maybe even on the other side of the Atlantic!

Unfortunately the Orca and Risso’s dolphins have proved elusive to us (so far) this season (I’ll just have to come back again for another season!) but the common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins have certainly not disappointed. Nobody can fail to leave the boat without a huge smile on their face after spending time in the presence of playful dolphins. This was especially true when 4 adult bottlenose dolphins came right into Tobermory bay one morning last month!

Our resident harbour porpoise should also definitely not be overlooked. Watching the tiny calves over the summer nearly everyday and even once hearing them on the hydrophone has been brilliant. Other things to mention quickly which cannot be forgotten are the bizarre looking sunfish which returned in August, the Bloody Bay eagles, otters, seals with their pups, huge rafts of shearwaters, fulmars in flight, diving gannets... and of course... the plankton!!

Ruth

Guide

August Adventures

2009-08-25T08:27:00.002+01:00

This month has been very unpredictable with quite unsettled weather.

We have had a few days it has been so bad we have had to cancel, thankfully this is quite rare! But amongst the wind and rain that has battered our shores for a few weeks now we have had some excellent sightings.

With basking sharks being almost a daily sight, we have been able to get some great photo id shots of both juveniles and also a few larger 8-metre fish. Just on our trip on Sunday we had a shark breach close to the boat, we had been watching a number of them feeding in a tideline, but the breach took us completely by surprise!

Another visitor that we have now seen a number of times this month has been the sub-tropical sunfish. Usually rare, and hard to spot unless the conditions are quite calm, this obscure looking fish has been seen a number of times, there have been a few yachtsmen also reported sightings of a 'circular creature with a small fin on the surface', again in quite random locations.

Whale sightings have been less than July, but we have been seeing a younger animal that is very social with the boat! It seems to have taken up residence for a few weeks having found a good food source, and between meals has circled and swam under the boat a few times.

The weather although changeable has its usual way of throwing us plenty of surprises if we are willing to head out, always a sea loch, or headland to hide behind for us to hunt for beasties! A sooty shearwater was spotted last week, tiny harbour porpoise calves seem to be learning how to come to the surface to breath (more practice required for a few!) resident Tobermory otter has delighted many of us feeding on its breakfast as we prepare to head out of the bay, and in large numbers we have been seeing seals & their pups, come rain or shine they always put a smile on our face!

James

Skipper

Breaching Shark Photo

2009-07-31T23:07:00.002+01:00

On our ecocruz today we had a basking shark breaching off the north of Mull, 3-times!

The shark first of all breached in front of the boat, Sula Beag, and on the following two times beside us, in full view of all the passengers!

This is a very rare sight and actually one that we have never been able to successfully photograph, plenty of splashes before, but we have never caught the shark in mid flight!

There is very little know as to why sharks breach, one theory is that is it part of sexual behaviour. What is usually seen is the splash from where a shark was, but to have all the passengers onboard looking where the shark first breached, to then watch it less than 100 yards away launch itself out of the water was incredible!!

Thankfully Stu (brother, guide & cameraman) was on board for his first trip for a few years and after help from Duncan grabbing the film camera managed to get this shot, well done Stu! Unfortunatly we didnt get any footage of this encounter, but are all very pleased with the photo!

Another great day, despite their being a bit of wind and rain....doesnt seem to bother the big beasties! We also had a golden eagle, seals and some very full creels.

James

Skipper

The 4hr Wildlife Adventure

2009-07-17T11:44:00.002+01:00

Although quite rare we had a WHALE and a few massive fish on our Wildlife Adventure on Tuesday!!

Usually the whales are a bit further out, but today we had a juvenile Minke whale that actually came to us and swam round the boat before heading north. We are almost certain this is a whale we have seen before, watch this space as the team analyse the photos and confirm...

Shortly after we spotted a shark and after spending some time watching it feed amongst the plankton rich tideline a further 3 sharks where seen. We managed to get some great identification shots of two of them, and after a sample was taken from the sea it was obvious why these guys where here in good numbers, plankton soup!

To cap this all off we then had a shout on the radio of Bottlenose dolphins in the area, we where running out of time by this point! We knew they where just the other side of the sound from us, but where traveling just too quick!! So, the Bottlenose dolphins remain elusive this time, but there was a report of them heading north again yesterday...here's hoping

During yesterdays Wildlife Adventure we had an incredible association with a Harbour porpoise! These usually shy animals rarely approach boats....well we had an adult follow the wake of Sula Beag for 10-minutes, 'porpoising' out of the water, doing a great job of impersonating a dolphin! Waggy did manage to get some great shots of this rare behaviour, i will post some shortly, quite incredible! The trip was finished off with a 4-metre Basking shark feeding on the surface, as we stopped our engines to watch it feed beside us it turned towards the boat...with a number of kids onboard they all got quite excided with the large fin making its way towards the boat! The fish then was within a few metres of the boat, by this time it was obvious it could see us, but was not bothered by our prescence, as it continued to feed, mouth wide open just beside us, as we drifted, it followed us for a few minutes, giving us all a very clear view of its entire body, and gaping mouth, and most importantly an opportunity to get some identification shots of both sides of its dorsal fin, awesome!!

James

Skipper

Curious whale with us for an hour

2009-07-06T20:38:00.004+01:00

Today we really did have the most incredible association with a young Minke whale.

Having already seen one larger whale we where approached by a juvenile that surfaced within a few hundred yards of Sula Beag. Once the engines where stopped the next sighting was of the whale slowly moving under the boat!! It then surfaced right beside us, and looking from the top deck we had a clear view of the whole animal.

The curious beast continued this behaviour for a further hour before moving away with another juvenile. We found it hard to take photos as our lenses where filled with whale, and all aboard had the pleasure of smelling Minke breath, it really is like rotten cabbage, or spinach as one customer suggested!

We did manage to get some great photo identification shots of this whale, both sides of its dorsal fin and back, watch this space for an update on whether we have a previous identified whale, we need the help of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust to confirm.

Andy Tait also managed to get some great video footage which has been uploaded to YouTube to show you just how spectacular this association was, please CLICK HERE to watch (this will take you to the video in YouTube)

We did also have a number of sightings of Harbour Porpoise, with one miniature calf that looked like it was still learning how to surface and breath! First thing on our trip we also saw a Sea Eagle in full flight before landing on a cliff and watching us head out to sea.

Just cant wait to get back out there tomorrow, there was a report of a shark in the sound, so fingers crossed folks!

James

Skipper

Filming on board Sula Beag

2009-06-20T12:42:00.005+01:00

June 20th

Do you remember Terry Nutkin, the really great presenter for the TV show Animal magic and then more recently the Really Wild Show? Well we had the good fortune of having Terry on board last Thursday plus 2 camera folk and a producer. This was a filming event sponsored by the WSPA World Society for the Protection of Animals. http://www.wspa.org.uk/

To recap a bit and explain, June 22nd sees the start of the IWC’s (International Whaling Commission) annual meeting to agree on killing quotas for the forthcoming year. The whaling nations are looking to increase their quotas this year. The WSPA wish to take a more positive, and proactive approach. They will do this by celebrating the whale watching industry, as an economic alternative to actually whaling.

Although a global operation, WSPA wished to focus on Scotland because Norway and maybe Iceland, hunt the minke whale that may well live and breed in Scottish waters. WSPA contacted Wild Scotland (Association of Scottish Wildlife Operators http://www.wildscotland.co.uk/ ) in order to find, and I quote, ‘a whale watching operation that operate to the highest standards as promoted by WSPA’s ethical tourism guidelines’.

So they chose Sea Life Surveys – good choice I think! There was much interviewing, filming, and very interesting chat with Terry. What an amazing guy. Such a profound knowledge on marine wildlife matters. Both James and Danny (Waggy) also expounded on many matters. The public on board also contributed and the whole day was a resounding success. We did not find a whale!! But I hope our various chats, and the global publicity, will help in promoting the benefits of whale watching as to the totally unnecessary slaughter of our magnificent and friendly ‘stinkies’.
POPZ

PS we will update you when the footage taken goes online.

Whales, Dolphins & Mars Bars...

2009-06-11T10:48:00.002+01:00

Yesterday saw us spending a beautifully sunny morning hunting hard for some large cetaceans. After a well earned break in our favourite isolated spot we where running out of time when the shout of whale came from a passenger! We tried hard to find this elusive whale and had almost packed up and headed for home when a shout from our great friend who is now helping aboard the research vessel Silurian from the HWDT of whale and we had two whales come right under the boat, we didn't know which one to look at! They circled us a few times before moving off, what an incredible sight! The important thank you to all the crew of the Silurian came with two mars bars passed over to keep them all going, thanks guys.

The second trip of the day the sea had picked up, but shouts from the mast of huge splashes in the distance did not disappoint! After working our way gently towards a large number of diving gannets amongst a plume of spray we had literally a few hundred common dolphins screaming towards us! Bow-riding and breaching around the boat for nearly 30 minutes we had a spectacular show from some very playful dolphins! Once they had moved off we then realised on the horizon there must have been many hundred more, with perhaps 100 gannets diving over a mile away into massive breaching eruptions, just how large was this group of dolphins? They had decided to head north at speed now and we could not begin to keep up with them, when they decide to leave they are on the horizon very quickly!

Time for home, but what an awesome end to a long day. We did spot one dolphin with a damaged dorsal, but unfortunately i need to keep honing my camera skills, didn't manage to get this animal in any shots!

James

Skipper

Dolphins Again!

2009-06-03T19:26:00.002+01:00

We had a huge number of Common Dolphins join us today. It was hard to count the numbers, with many small groups of 5-10 animals around the boat, as far as the eye could see!

We also saw a large number of seals and had a brief view of a Sea Eagle.

Its also been confirmed that the basking shark we have seen three times over the last week is infact the same animal, that has covered many miles, some interesting data there!

Seems the sunshine has also brought the seas alive with massive swarms of jellyfish, lions mane's and moon jellyfish taking the limelight, but we have seen some other rarer species, such as compass jellyfish.

SLS Team

A week for firsts

2009-05-28T14:50:00.003+01:00

Just a few days after our first Dolphin sighting of the year, the passengers on todays Whale Watch Explorer were treated to our first views of a Basking shark.

Despite it being quite wet and particularly foggy they have also had a Minke Whale sighting!

We hope this is now the start of regular sightings of sharks, enabling us to take photographs to help with vital photo identification that is being carried out.

Dolphins return

2009-05-26T16:07:00.001+01:00

Today, May 25th, we set out with 3 guides and a good number of passengers. Our guides for the day were head guide – Ruth, Duncan who has returned for his 3rd season and Andy. I usually poke fun at Andy about his amazing long range vision in seeing things that we never see – I was to eat my words later!

We steamed past Sea Eagle point where they were unusually absent today probably due to the weather conditions -a heavy drizzle with visibility down to about 1.5 miles – lovely! Yet again a day of radar, plotter and compass work in my wheelhouse.

Soon a feeding group of porpoise were sighted so engines were cut and we drifted amongst them. We could see them swimming around and under us with grace and ease, making their ‘puffing pig’ noises as they blow (breathe).

A couple of hours later, steaming through this grey wall of nothingness but wetness and long rolling swells, a shout of ‘Dolphin!’ came from the whale deck. There was an air of excitement as we could see what looked like a series of torpedoes gunning straight for us. As we kept our speed they hurtled into our bow wave and proceeded to surf it, streak under the boat and generally cavort around us. They leaped and played with beauty and agility. There were about 40 of them in all, including 2 juveniles. There were woops of joy and many a tear-filled eye as our passengers tried to come to terms with this extraordinary spectacle. See footage filmed on board by andy by following the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXv8zUExpbQ

We left the dolphins and steamed further afield to other whale grounds – still wet, grey and cold. After concentrated searches across an area that was full of promise with right conditions, plenty of food, birds feeding and the inevitable bonxie harassing all, it was time to return home. Then a trumpet like shout from Andy –‘ Whale!’ He gave me a direction and distance off that seemed impossible. We slowly steamed to that spot seemingly so far away, cut engines, drifted and then a whole chorus from passengers of – ‘Whale!’
He was right yet again; there she was an adult Minke (stinkie as we now call them!).

Suddenly, as if to smile upon us, the sun came out and we returned home – with laughter and lifted hearts.

An Unusual Day Whale-watching

2009-05-17T09:55:00.000+01:00

It was one of those lovely ‘cloudless sky days’ with a gentle easterly wind. We steamed away from Tobermory with the usual anticipation of what was to come. Every day is different out here. There is no pattern, no logical path to tread.

We passed the sea eagles in their usual haunt and then nosed out into the open seas. There were many exciting feeding frenzies of manx shearwater, gannets, and auks including the odd puffin. These were usually interspersed with porpoises hunting around the edges.

The only obvious intrusion into this wonderment was the United Nations Naval exercise goings on -- a large warship and many smaller vessels with all sorts of nasty looking things on their decks. This war like armada accompanied by warplanes, screaming overhead at odd intervals.

Three hours later, having covered a great deal of ground through many favourite whale spots and finding nothing, I decided that I must reward our passengers with something a bit unusual. We steamed to a lovely sandy bay, hidden away behind reefs and affording an idyllic place to anchor for lunch. I was just about to switch off engines when there was a large shout of “WHALE!”
There…… not more than 50 metres from us, was a juvenile minke whale.
Oh golly gosh! Here we bob in only 20 feet of water and this great and wild creature has come to say hello to us, albeit briefly, before returning seaward.

Amazing…gobsmacking. – Skipper POPZ

May update

2009-05-15T13:40:00.001+01:00

Hello! I’m Ruth, one of the new guides joining Sea Life Surveys for 2009. Now in my third week and what a few weeks they have been... from getting sunburnt on my first day out in the stunning Cairns of Coll… to many days of solid rain and very strong winds…now back to beautiful sunshine (this time armed with sun-cream!)... I have loved every moment.

Highlights obviously include the Minke whales. Yesterday was particularly special, after a morning spent cruising the tide-lines around Ardnamurchan with great views of the Small Isles and up to Skye. We were heading into Sanna Bay for lunch and refills of tea and coffee when directly ahead of the boat, right on cue, as people began tucking into their sandwiches, a Minke! It seemed to be travelling so didn’t hang around for long, but what a fantastic sighting!

We’ve also had some great Harbour Porpoise action with one group of about six animals being unusually playful coming right up to the boat, letting us have a good look at them under the water. Sometimes it’s a question of which direction to look with Porpoise behind you and the Sea Eagles sitting on the shore putting on a show in front of you giving everybody onboard spectacular views.

Every day starts with more and more anticipation to see our first dolphins and basking sharks of the season. Any day now and I cannot wait...
Ruth

EASTER

2009-04-21T09:07:00.000+01:00

It is now that plankton levels start increasing in daily jumps. It is generally in April that we experience high atmospheric pressure systems that produce increased levels of sunshine. Dynamite.The start of the spring marine magic. Quite literally within a few days, plankton levels increase dramatically, followed by a similar increase in bird populations.

Follow some of the tide-lines where tidal currents meet, that cause upwellings of water from the seabed. They bring nutrients to the surface, producing a food basket for all. Seabirds,, puffins, razorbills, manx shearwater, and more , a great skua , or bonxie harassing a luckless individual and forcing it to drop it’s food or driving it into the water in order to kill it. .
But where are the whales?. it, or them

Today, April 18th, I cruise the tide-lines watching the feeding. Then it happens. I get that same old familiar ‘feeling’ that draws me elsewhere. I leave the feeding area and steam in a direction and for a distance that makes no logical sense. It is a compulsion I must follow. I see no birds, but an occasional gannet; no signs; nothing.

WHALE!
An excited shout from above. Engines cut, we drift to watch 3 minke , – 2 adults and a juvenile, their blows plainly audible when up wind. Each one comes to inspect us in turn as if to say ‘ Where have you been?’

So, a winter season ends and another magical summer at sea begins – the circle is complete.

POPZ

2009 Season is a go!

2009-04-11T11:43:00.003+01:00

We are just coming to the end of our first week of the 2009 season.

There have already been some fantastic sightings of Harbour Porpoise, with one group swimming close behind the boat as we enjoyed our coffee break.

Sea Eagle sightings have been regular also, with a particularly close encounter with a pair that flew directly over the top of Sula Beag, much to everyones excitement!

Although no whales or dolphins have been spotted YET...we have done a number of plankton trawls that have come with superb amounts of copepods and even a small sand eel...good sign for the season ahead.

The heat is on to get out there and find some bigger beasties, look forward to seeing you soon :-)

James
Skipper

Winter Cruises

2009-01-12T11:21:00.003Z

With the fantastic weather over the Festive period we have been able to run a number of short cruises. This gave us all a great opportunity to find out what has been going on whilst no-one has been looking out at sea! So far our winter trips have been very successful with sightings of porpoise on nearly every trip, other sightings have included seals, peregrine falcon and soaring above us we had a pair of sea eagles!

We are going to be running these trips all year, its great to be able to get out there, we have the best gear to kit you up in to keep warm and dry, and off course at this time of year with the sun and temperatures lower its a completely different experience.

Ironically the day after our cruise last week we had a group of bottlenose dolphins right inside Tobermory Bay! They where around for an hour, leaping amongst the boats in the harbour, watched by many from the fishermans pier, Happy New Year!

Have you had any sightings on your patch over the winter period? We would love to hear what you have been seeing, perhaps you have seen a beastie that you cant identify? Please send us your photos and we will do some investigating for you.

James
Skipper

End of Season Update

2008-11-05T19:08:00.002Z

Our whale watching season has now come to an end, with our last Whalewatch Explorer at the end of September with the last Minke spotted on the 28th September.

We are still running our shorter wildlife trips throughout the winter months, with a number of both Wildlife Adventures and Ecocruz's in October with successful sightings of Harbour Porpoise, Seals, Sea & Golden Eagles, and a number of sea birds. We will be running these shorter trips subject to demand all year round, with some special festive cruises, that will include some essential mulled wine!

On a daily basis we are having sightings of our resident Otter in Tobermory Bay. Giving us some fantastic views of this small mammal, regularly seen chomping on fish on the pontoon, or aboard the Mishnish yacht!

Close Encounters

2008-09-14T11:30:00.001+01:00

The crew on board Saturday’s whalewatch explorer trip set off with much anticipation, despite the low cloud, as the strong winds that had thwarted the previous few trips had dropped, leaving us with perfect conditions. After hearing a rumour that Dolphins had been seen up North that morning we set off to try and catch up with them. By the time we reached the area, they had moved on. However we were treated to a fantastic view of 3 Minke whales, as well as large numbers of porpoise and a wide range of bird species all feeding in the same area. Just as we had turned and were slowly heading for home we were treated to a fantastic view of a Minke whale as it surfaced less then 15m away heading straight for the boat, it then turned and allowed everyone on board the opportunity to take in it’s full size and even see the white on the fins. All of this was topped off by another whale sighting within half an hour of Tobermory bay and porpoise guiding us home. Maybe it was just a good day sightings wise or maybe they knew that it was our guide Dunk’s (A.K.A Harry Potter) last day but either way it made for a special send off.

SLS guide Clare

Northern Bottlenose Whales at Loch Scridain

2008-09-09T15:34:00.002+01:00

Reports have been flooding into the Sea Life Surveys Centre today of two cetaceans seen at Loch Scridain yesterday afternoon. Thanks to Chris Banks who has provided the accompanying photograph, the unidentified marine mammals have been confirmed as Northern Bottlenose Whales. It is very exciting to hear these deep water cetaceans are in the waters around Mull as they are very rarely spotted here. Sea Life Surveys has only spotted the 7-9m long toothed whales once – two years ago. They were also seen last week by another operator, Sheerwater who run from Arisaig. We will be keeping a keen eye out for them on our trips!

Sarah, SLS Guide

Risso's Dolphins Make an Appearance

2008-09-07T15:00:00.005+01:00

The Whale Watch Explorer on Wednesday 3rd September had this summer’s first sighting of Risso’s Dolphins. The weather conditions were perfect and after a passenger spotted a fin over a mile away we were all excited to get closer and find out it was two Rissos’s Dolphins.

We followed them from the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse down to the northwest coast of Mull and were treated to fantastic views of their scarred bodies and watched as they raised their tail stocks and flukes out of the water before diving. By the time we left the dolphins we had counted six individuals, including a mother and calf pair, and suspected there was most likely more than that in the area. Fantastic!

Sarah, SLS Guide

ORCAAAAAA!!

2008-09-04T13:19:00.001+01:00

An Orca-some Wildlife Adventure

Yet again, Orca have graced us with their presence this year. The passengers onboard the MV Sula Beag were greeted with quite a surprise during their 4 hour Wildlife Adventure cruise when a pod of three Orca appeared on the scene.

The trip began with much promise, with the boats depth sounder picking up large quantities of fish, both in and around the Sound of Mull. After an hour of scouring the waters surrounding Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, a passenger called out “whale”!!! However, what came to the surface was in fact something quite different. The unmistakable tall dorsal fins of three Orca broke the surface almost simultaneously, putting on a great show for the passengers. A sight that will never become tiring.

Duncan (A.K.A. Harry Potter)
SLS Guide

Orcasome Sightings this Week!

2008-08-28T13:41:00.010+01:00

After the Whale Watch Explorer on Tuesday had excellent sightings of a Minke Whale, Common Dolphins, Basking Sharks, Harbour Porpoise and a Sunfish all within one square mile of ocean, it was going to be difficult to top that on Wednesday!

We left the Tobermory drizzle behind and headed out towards the sunny skies above Coll. It wasn't long before we spotted a Sunfish up at the surface and some large Basking Sharks nearby. After lunch we found a juvenile Minke Whale feeding and a large group of ~12 porpoises rounding up fish.

As we continued to search for another Minke Whale, a very large dorsal fin was spotted in the distance. There was no mistaking what it was - a large male Orca. With a lot of excitement from the Crew and Passengers on board Sula Beag we followed the male and his female companion out to the open ocean towards the Outer Hebrides. As we got closer we realised the male was well-known to us, believed to be one of the dominant males in the Hebridean pod. He was first identified in September 1992 and given the identification name 'John Coe'.

John Coe was spotted off the Pembrokeshire Coast on the 1st June, the furthest south he has ever been recorded. Who knows what he has been up to in the intervening 12 weeks! We all felt very privileged to be in the presence of the Orca and you couldn't ask for a better leaving present for our guide Laura on her last day. Magic!

Sarah, SLS Guide

Summer Highs

2008-08-21T15:11:00.002+01:00

Summer is well and truly under way and the wildlife has continued to impress. Highlights from the last few weeks have included more close encounters with ‘knobble’, a whale we have seen numerous times this year.
A recent trip up north impressed with Muck Ducks, tasty carrot cake and an inquisitive young whale that surfaced right next to Sula Beag.
Basking sharks are still delighting both the Whale Watch Explorer and the Wildlife Adventure with some days seeing between 10 and 15 sharks!
Often over looked, our smallest cetacean, the Harbour Porpoise, continue to put in an appearance on most trips. Large feeding groups of between 10 and 15 porpoises have been sighted recently and although usually quite shy of boats ‘our’ porpoises have approached close on a number of occasions.
The last two weeks have also brought our second and third sightings of Sunfish, the third being a reasonably large and unusually mottled individual.
Not to be out done the bird life around our shores has continued to please with excellent views of both white-tailed and golden eagle, fantastic aerial pursuits between Skua’s and gulls, gannets plunging from great heights and guillemot chicks constantly calling to their fathers nearby!
Photo's to follow...