Reds, white-tails and martins

Old news. Last week was spent on the Movern peninsula,east of Mull. The weather was very good and the wildlife was fantastic. The Rahoy Estate is tucked away at the end of a 7 mile single track road. No TV, emails or mobile reception - bliss! The red deer stags were in full cry in the evening. A number were strutting their stuff outside of the cottage. The bellow of a stag amongst the autumn colours of the trees with blue sky is something to behold. Another visitor to the cottage was at least one pine martin on several nights. Lure of raisins was too much. These also attracted a female red deer and her calf. This all happened within three feet of the cottage door! This part of Scotland is a very good place to see white-tailed eagles. We were not disappointed with four birds being seen during our stay. One adult flew over my head (within 30 feet) being pursued by a couple of ravens. Other highlights included seven species of waxcap, a passage of whooper swans on the 8th / 9th Oct, harbour porpoise (7), many species of lichens, a good selection of common passerines including redwing and fieldfares, good numbers of greenshank and of course otters