Nature Scotland

15/06/2024

An amazing encounter on a recent Mull Nature Explorer as Jack and the group watched an adult Golden Eagle carrying a Red Deer calf in her talons! 🦌

There is a large amount of cost and effort going into deer management around the island, including culling and fencing so if this was a live predation, these eagles are doing their little bit to reduce the impacts of hyper-herbivory and contribute to landscape recovery.

🎥 Jack Waldie, June 24

13/06/2024

Lovely to see this Garden Tiger Moth Caterpillar (Woolly Bear) on the Isle of Lunga recently. We love sharing the small beasties with our guests on all tours!

📷 Ewan Miles (June 2024)

11/06/2024

Some of the road verges are brimming with biodiversity right now on . Great to see these bumblebee superhighways have not been cut yet by Argyll and Bute Council 🐝

Plantlife: saving wild plants Plantlife Scotland .loveplants

📷 Ewan Miles (Isle of Mull)

10/06/2024

Wonderful to see our Friends at Argaty Red Kites on BBC Springwatch last week 👏

06/06/2024

A Marsh Fritillary on Bog Myrtle. We have enjoyed seeing this stunning butterfly on some day tours recently.

📷 Ewan Miles

04/06/2024

A Speckled Yellow Moth on the Isle of .

📷 Ewan Miles (June 24)

02/06/2024

Another great week of nature tours provided here on the Isle of Mull. Jack and Klay led all the day tours this week and shared a large mix of species with our guests. Golden Eagles (pictured) were encountered on most tours, although sadly a known territory have failed again this year, with thoughts that the female is quite an old bird and possibly was sitting on infertile eggs again.
WT Eagles appear to be having a productive breeding season this year, with a lot of pairs still active, and we are informed that some have 2 chicks, so busy parents!
It is a truly wonderful time for enjoying some of the smaller species, and we have managed to see species including Four-spotted Chaser Dragonflies (pictured), Golden-ringed Dragonfly and Large Red Damselflies.
The Red Deer (pictured) are in their beautiful summer coats, and we have seen the first calves on the moors.
We will share more of our wild encounters during the next few days, stay tuned!

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

30/05/2024

All Nature Wears One Universal Smile 💚 🥰 😃

May and June are the most biodiverse months on the island, so we aim to showcase a broad range of species on our daily tours, along with a key focus on the spotlight species.

Beautiful Demoiselles are now on the wing, living up to their name! Red-throated Divers are up in breeding grounds but feeding along the coast. Oystercatchers are always a delight to see, and we are cherishing the Cuckoos before they leave for another year 😢

We still have spaces on our Mull day tours next week!

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

29/05/2024

Due to a cancellation, we have spaces on the Mull summer package (day tours only, no accommodation) led by Iolo Williams this July!

Get in touch via the website if of interest - https://www.naturescotland.com/iolo-williams-mull

28/05/2024

Mull Photo Workshop - Isle of Lunga with Turus Mara

Klay and Ewan accommodated four American guests on a seabird photo workshop, the Isle of Lunga. On route to the Ulva ferry, we gave ourselves time to stop and check the habitats on route and managed to see a WT Eagle and an Otter!
On the Isle of Lunga, we spent time photographing the Puffins, Fulmars, C Guillemots, Razorbills, Shags, Kittiwakes and generally taking in the stunning surroundings. Other species included Twite, Corncrake and a Garden Tiger caterpillar (wollybear)
Ewan spotted a Minke Whale in waters to the west, and we even saw Common Dolphins on the boat journey back to Mull!

26/05/2024

Another great week of and day tours! Jack, Klay and Ewan have provided a mix of tours this week and enjoyed some wonderful wildlife sightings, sharing some great moments with our guests...

We are cherishing the GN Divers before they head north to breeding grounds, and Ewan (and group) had a very low flying Golden Eagle on a Mull Nature Explorer along with stunning Hen Harrier and WT Eagle encounters!

Jack (and group) managed a Minke whale and some Harbour Porpoise on their trip across to Ardnamurchan on the Tuesday, along with a WT Eagle. We are excited for the tours next week, and we still have spaces on Tuesday!

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

24/05/2024

Occasionally on a tour, a Golden Eagle comes low enough that you struggle to get it into the frame! 😮

23/05/2024

A stunning male Emperor Moth on the Isle of Mull. We have seen a few of these hardy strong flying moths while out on the moors in recent weeks but on the occasion you get them settled with their wings out, they are truly magnificent! 😍😍

📷 Ewan Miles

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

19/05/2024

A stunning evening on after Ewan and Jack provided a private tour today ☀️ 🌅 🥰

16/05/2024

We are admiring these stunning birds before they all leave for their breeding grounds this month. Great-northern Divers are looking their pristine best right now, and we are seeing them on most Nature Explorers at the moment.

Ewan has also been out doing some wildlife photography to build more content for his nature book, aiming to be released in late 2025. The below image is one of his recent captures.

📷 Ewan Miles

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

14/05/2024

We love sharing the smaller 'beasties' with our guests during Mull day tours. We are excited to have our first annual sightings of these stunning Green Hairstreak butterflies.

📷 Ewan Miles

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

12/05/2024

It is always wonderful to see Cuckoos return to Mull every year, and it is a privilege to share them with our guests and even introduce some to their first ever view of these magical birds 🥰 🥰

📷 Ewan Miles

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

10/05/2024

Nice to see Crossbills on Mull recently. A party of 4 perching up on the Sitka's and Larch.

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

09/05/2024

“A society grows great when old men plant trees
whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

~ Greek Proverb

09/05/2024

We are thrilled to make 'rewilding our business' and support SCOTLAND: The Big Picture 'Northwoods' with their incredible work. See some of their progress below...

We're thrilled to share the impact delivered by the Rewilding Network since it began only three years ago.

🌱 Our 70+ land partners, including farms, small estates and community lands, have all contributed to the impressive list of impacts by committing to restoring nature on their land.

🐝 By revitalising natural habitats, returning missing species and supporting rural jobs, this inspiring network shows that grassroots rewilding projects CAN deliver big gains for nature, climate and people.

👉 Read the story: bit.ly/NorthwoodsStory

08/05/2024

Happy 9️⃣8️⃣th birthday sir David Attenborough 🎂 💚

Broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has turned 98.
Read more about his career: https://bbc.in/3wqWGHq

06/05/2024

Moffat Nature Explorer - Fri 3rd May 2024

We met the guests in the 'Eagle Town' and headed off towards the Moffat hills to explore the wild areas. We glimpsed a Golden Eagle over a distant crag and also 2 Black Grouse (black c***s) arriving into the glen.
Approaching the peak time of birdsong, we had many species singing at us during the morning - Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Tree Pipit, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff and Wren, to name a few!
The heavens opened in the afternoon, but we carried on our exploration of the areas and a singing Ring Ouzel was the highlight after lunch.

📷 Ewan Miles

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

02/05/2024

Moffat Nature Explorer - 1st May 2024

Our first day tour in the Moffat area! We picked up a guest in Carlisle before meeting the other guests in the 'Eagle Town' itself. John and Ewan Miles aimed to provide the guests with an introduction to the surrounding habitats and wildlife, along with showing examples of the different managements of these rural areas and how it impacts the local wildlife.
We encountered 40 species of birds during the day, including 6 species of raptor. There was a keen appetite to try and see the iconic Golden Eagle, and we managed to see three birds! Ring Ouzel and male Peregrine were other notes, along with a Buzzard carrying an Adder! All bird records were submitted to BTO British Trust for Ornithology's 'Birdtrack'.

We included a strong input on the amazing efforts by all at the South Of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and the incredible habitat/woodland restoration work being done by the Border Forest Trust.

* Nature Scotland is very committed to providing non-intrusive wildlife experiences, that have a strong emphasis on education. We also maintain high sensitivity on any schedule 1 species we may be observing during tours.

Ewan

30/04/2024

Who is taking part in Plantlife Scotland's campaign this year? This involves leaving areas of your garden for wild flowers, bumblebees, butterflies and birds to benefit from. These small changes can make big changes in the recovery of our collapsing ecosystems and add a bit more colour, life and richness to your garden scapes, helping the little things that run this planet!

These photos were taken in gardens on Mull, with the owners doing more sympathetic mowing efforts to help nature recover and thrive again!

https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/

28/04/2024

The Great-northern Divers are starting to look their spectacular best around the island. We have had some lovely views of them on recent tours.

We still have spaces next Wed 1st May on our Mull Nature Explorers.

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com

📷 Ewan Miles (April 2024)

25/04/2024

MOFFAT NATURE EXPLORER (10am - 5pm)

Wednesday 1st - Friday 3rd May 2024

A wildlife day tour of the rural areas around Moffat and further afield

Visit the realm of the eagle and search for the majestic Golden Eagle

Other target species include Osprey, Red Squirrels, Red Kite, Peregrine and Willow Tit

Tours start in Moffat and free pickup available from the Carlisle area

Enquiries and bookings can be made at the bottom of the webpage...

https://www.naturescotland.com/moffat-nature-explorer

Visit Moffat South Of Scotland Golden Eagle Project

A wildlife tour of the rural areas around Moffat and further afield.

23/04/2024

THE ISLE OF MULL SPRING PACKAGE EXPEDITION - with IOLO WILLIAMS

We provided a 5-day all-inclusive package on the island last week, led by Welsh Naturalist Iolo. Read the tour report by Theo and Ewan to find out how we go on...

https://www.naturescotland.com/blog

22/04/2024

A very helpful blog post by Alasdair Satchel for people visiting the Isle of Mull this year...

https://alsatch.com/2024/04/18/things-of-interest-on-mull-2024/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR33ufWlB7KcLSa56qAfvGJbY294rSDHB_g9lKW7FrCXA6n_LSXLIBu74BQ_aem_AZ81Vdr2KOmSiwV8Oune6oQuAgW4CvIqoSnuLvPG04pbxsjV-Jk3pQxMR_ncwcXDlVM51cgOazLoNR89A2WzP-Pi

I often get asked by folk what I’d recommend folk to do when visiting Mull. I thought I’d create a blog post to give some tips on the different things that we enjoy to see if that& #8217…

21/04/2024

🏆 Eco Friendly Tour Company of the Year in the UK, 2024 🏆

We are delighted to win this award and a huge thanks to all the team for their efforts! Missing from the photos - John Miles, Rachel French & Jane Gordon-Chauvet.

Read about our contributions to wildlife surveys, education and nature recovery efforts on the 'about' section here - www.naturescotland.com

All winners are judged based on the criteria the THA (Travel & Hospitality Awards) have. They extensively carry out research online, through reviews, ratings and feedback - https://thawards.com/

14/04/2024

It has been a great few weeks of tours to start the 'Spring season' here on Mull! We have managed to share a wonderful mix of species with our guests. Read the photo captions for more info!

We are excited to start a 5-day Mull package expedition today, led by Naturalist and BBC Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams. Again, we will be looking forward to seeing what wildlife we can encounter out in the habitats! Stay tuned!

www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com