EAGLES !!

A very distant pair of Golden Eagles being mobbed by buzzards. Just look at the size difference! 

We had one bitterly cold day with torrential rain so decided to head for the Garbh Eilean bird hide at Ardery. We called here on our way and thought it held promise of an otter so was a good choice for a wet day. We watched the tide in and out but afraid otter eluded us yet again. Lots of seals on the opposite spit and passing birds kept us happy for the day. There was an almighty noise and birds all flew up from the nearby pine trees and Simon shouted 'sea eagle'. The bird was hardly visible in the low cloud and heavy rain but we did our best and everyone in the hide had views through our scope, so a happy bunch. Totally unexpected and a massive bonus for the day which brought Karen to near hypothermia !

There was just us on our first visit, perfect. Whoever designed the height of the viewing windows in the hide did it with hobbits and giants in mind as I couldn't see through any ! 

Lots of Red-breasted Mergansers around 

On our second visit, the hide was very busy as it was raining and obviously everyone had the same idea. There were a couple of elderly American ladies in the hide that made us smile and we all chatted for ages after we had stopped laughing. One said to the other...."See those birds over there next to the seals, they are red-headed penguins" !!  Now, she was going to go home with a cracking bird list !  We did laugh as they were mergansers xx  Lovely ladies totally enjoying their holiday in Scotland.