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White-Tailed Eagle.⁠ ⁠ Back crewing for Mull C

White-Tailed Eagle.⁠
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Back crewing for Mull Charters yesterday and not only did we enjoy a day packed with action from the eagles, we also saw porpoises, dolphins, seals and golden eagles, and even rarer than that, we saw Martin back on the Lady Jayne!⁠
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Even a broken ankle can't keep him away.⁠
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#mull @mullcharters #whitetailedeagle #scotland #CanonR5 #wildlifephotography #BBCWildlifePOTD

Another #otter #workshop here on #Mull saw us trac

Another #otter #workshop here on #Mull saw us tracking a lone dog otter for an hour or so, and then moments later, finding a family of three, and tracking them for over four hours, mostly in the pouring rain.⁠
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We did get some rewards for all the slithering around in amongst wet rocks and getting soaked, with some amazing close views of the otters.⁠
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Here, one of the cubs decided to climb into the rocks where we were attempting to blend in, for a closer look. ⁠
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Thankfully with no breeze and us playing statues, the otter (and its mum and sibling) remained very close by for a little while longer.⁠
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Eventually the dog otter returned, and was shown the exit door by this cub's mum! A bit of squeaking and splashing, and he wisely swam on down the loch.⁠
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#localguide #scotland #ottersofinstagram #bbcwildlifePOTD #EarthCapture

Otters - from a recent workshop here on Mull.⁠
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I'm assuming, because of the effective ban on travel overseas recently, more people have been visiting and working here on Mull this year.⁠
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This has, at times, led to crowds of people being around an otter or an otter family. Unless I'm already in position photographing an otter, I've generally continued past such groups, so as not to crowd the otter further. ⁠
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I have even, on one occasion, walked away from a great position, after over an hour of field-craft to get there, because other observers have arrived, and chased the otter along the shore. ⁠
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Some of the otters don't appear to mind the people, and continue to hunt, groom and sleep regardless of the attention. ⁠
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Others though, have changed where they normally hunt, to avoid the onlookers, and having seen some of the behaviour and lack of any field-craft with regard to photographing otters, I'm not overly surprised.⁠
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Knowing where this particular otter family's holt roughly is, gave me some inkling to where they might have moved to, so my client and I braved the horrendous weather, went for a bit of a hike, and after working out the best position to watch from, we were rewarded with some incredible, intimate views.⁠
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#otter #mull #localguide #guiding #fieldcraft #workshop

Otter⁠ ⁠ I thought I should give an update on

Otter⁠
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I thought I should give an update on the otter that was hit by a car here on Mull.⁠
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When I first saw him, he was dragging his rear legs and tail around, rolling rocks over to find small crabs to eat. His fur clearly wasn't in good condition, with the pale insulating layer showing through the waterproof coat. This meant he would quickly get cold when hunting in the water.⁠
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Then about a fortnight back, I saw him again, and he had some use of one rear leg, and his tail seemed to have slight movement too.⁠
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In the last week, I've thankfully seen him a few times, and he's walking almost normally now, able to jump on to rocks and was catching lots of fish to eat on the shore, and out in the water.⁠
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His rear legs were working overtime to help groom and condition his fur, which is looking almost normal again.⁠
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He's not as confident as before though, and was constantly looking round the loch for other otters approaching, and I noted that he sprainted into the water directly, instead of on a prominent rock, to perhaps hide the fact that he's around, from other more dominant individuals. ⁠
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I know he has a different name, but I'm going to call him Rocky from now on, as he's been knocked down but has fought his way back to strength again, and is still battling on.⁠
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Inspirational.⁠
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#otter #mull #natureswonders #wildlifephotography

Otter Cub.⁠ ⁠ Just finished running a fantasti

Otter Cub.⁠
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Just finished running a fantastic five day workshop here on Mull, taking in sights of white-tailed and golden eagles, hen harriers, kestrels, buzzards, sparrowhawks, dippers and of course, otters.⁠
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This was from a close encounter, when one of the cubs decided to venture over to us for a closer look. Thankfully mum arrived just after, glanced over and decided we weren't an issue, so enjoyed a family grooming session just a few metres away from us.⁠
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#otter #ottersofinstagram #mull #localguiding #guide #wildlifephotography #workshop

Dog otter with a lobster for breakfast.⁠ ⁠ Aft

Dog otter with a lobster for breakfast.⁠
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After deciding not to take my camera along with me, when running a workshop on the first day, and missing out on numerous chances with an otter, I thought better of it yesterday.⁠
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Mostly I take the camera so I can advise the client on settings if needed, but my current client doesn't need such assistance.⁠
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Tracking this otter along the shore, we enjoyed sights of him bringing fish ashore and eating them, grooming and sprainting. ⁠
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Then we struck gold, as we were actually on the shore, hoping for eye-level images, when the otter caught a small lobster, and climbed out on the rocks ahead of us, giving us a great angle and the distant hills as a backdrop. ⁠
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#otter #lobster #mull #guiding #workshop #ottersofinstagram #scotland #localguiding #hebrides

Otter.⁠ ⁠ Popping up through the seaweed, as h

Otter.⁠
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Popping up through the seaweed, as he mooched around looking for food. ⁠
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Taken during a recent workshop, where we enjoyed the sights of all manner of wonderful wildlife here on Mull.⁠
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#Mull #guiding #workshop #wildlifephotography #CanonR5

Otters.⁠ ⁠ From a great workshop this week wit

Otters.⁠
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From a great workshop this week with two brilliant clients. Happy to photograph whatever Mull presented them with, from barn swallows to hen harriers, otters to white-tailed eagles.⁠
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#otter #workshop #mull #guiding

Otter.⁠ ⁠ From earlier in the year before the

Otter.⁠
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From earlier in the year before the Tier system changed to allow visitors back to Mull. ⁠
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Some of the otters were often simply sleeping on the shoreline back then, whereas now they tend to find rocks that are away from prying eyes, or lenses. ⁠
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Strange times, but I'm glad Mull is back to somewhere like it used to be. It was too quiet when we had it to ourselves. ⁠
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Looking forward to seeing what Autumn brings to the island, in terms of colour and wild weather. ⁠
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#Mull #otter #wildlifephotography #guiding #workshop

Otter.⁠ ⁠ This image comes with a plea to driv

Otter.⁠
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This image comes with a plea to drivers on Mull. ⁠
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Otters face many challenges in life, but not too many threats. Essentially, once grown up, they're at the top of their food chain; the apex predator.⁠
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The main threats they face are from other otters and from us, in our vehicles.⁠
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Many of you who have visited Mull over the last couple of years will have seen or photographed this obliging dog otter, as he has been incredibly tolerant to people.⁠
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Mainly because he's had them around him since he was a cub, and was frequently photographed when he and his mother were out hunting.⁠
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Sadly in the last few weeks, this otter has been hit by a vehicle and suffered life-changing spinal injuries. Mull Otter Group are aware as are us locals who are keeping an eye out for him, as he drags himself around trying to survive. Unless he recovers, which would appear to be a miracle, he'll become yet another statistic for road-kills here on Mull.⁠
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While we can't drive slowly all the time, when you're traveling alongside lochs, where otters could easily dart out in front of you, please slow down. It gives you just that bit more time to slow down or swerve.⁠
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#mull #otter #slowdown ⁠
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Otter.⁠ ⁠ A rather full otter too, after catch

Otter.⁠
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A rather full otter too, after catching plenty to eat out in the loch on a warm morning here on Mull.⁠
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He looked very comfortable as he rolled around on the small rock in the sunshine, before dozing off. ⁠
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I'm running otter workshops throughout the winter here on Mull, with availability in November and December. ⁠
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Email me for details or use the contact form on my website.⁠
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#mull #otter #workshop #guiding #wildlifephotography

Short-Eared Owl.⁠ ⁠ One site here on Mull must

Short-Eared Owl.⁠
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One site here on Mull must have had an abundance of rodents this summer, as two pairs of short-eared owls have successfully raised their broods. ⁠
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I always try to make the most of opportunities like this, when they arrive, as you never know how long they'll last or if future years will see similar. ⁠
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So expect to see quite a few images of these owls over the coming weeks, as I captured quite a few shots.⁠
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#mull #shortearedowl #owlsofinstagram #wildlifephotography #CanonR5

Short-Eared Owl - a juvenile from this summer.⁠

Short-Eared Owl - a juvenile from this summer.⁠
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For the last few weeks I've been keeping an eye on the families of short-eared owls around Mull, and one has proved to be incredible to observe.⁠
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I've seen the parents catching voles every five minutes, and delivering them to the owlets, initially near the nest site, and then after the young dispersed, to their hissing, pleading calls from all over the place.⁠
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When the adult began to deliver voles to its siblings, this one broke cover to try to get the parent to favour it instead!⁠
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Worth being eaten by the midges last night to see such action.⁠
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#mull #owlsofinstagram #canonR5 #shortearedowl

Short-eared owl.⁠ ⁠ A bad day for the voles...

Short-eared owl.⁠
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A bad day for the voles... ⁠
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#mull #shortearedowl #owlsofinstagram #scotland

Short-eared owl bringing in a vole for one of its

Short-eared owl bringing in a vole for one of its owlets. ⁠
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We could hear the owlets hissing from their hiding places in the vegetation, but only one broke cover. ⁠
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Wonderful to see and hear the interaction between the owls. ⁠
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Also amazed to see the adults bring in six voles in less than twenty minutes to stop the youngsters from pestering for food!⁠
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#owlsofinstagram #shortearedowl #mull #scotland #wildlifephotography

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