Monday, 16 June 2014

Iona - May 2014

So day 5 of our stay on Mull was our trip over to Iona. This is always great as it's a wonderful place with always the chance of a Corncrake, if you are very lucky.

After alighting from the Ferry we went to the Fire Station as this is where we have seen and heard Corncrake in the past, but apart from one call no luck was had. So we headed off to the north end of the island to probably one of the best beaches in the UK if not the world! I kid you not!

On the way we spotted this Song Thrush opening it's lunch:
There were plenty of Starling and Hooded Crow busy collecting food, and this resting Greylag:
Meadow Pipit and Wheatear were all over the place:

We heard loads of Corncrakes as we walked, but none would show, anyway when we got there, the beach was as stunning as we remembered:

We stopped here for lunch, watching the Terns fly by:
as well as Cormorant, Guillemots, Razorbills and Oystercatchers. There were plenty of Rock Pipits about too:
As we headed back we cane across a nice group of Ringed Plover:
with a nearby Pied Wagtail:

We stopped for a cream tea at one of the Hotels on the way back and after a glorious day it rained, exactly as it did when we did the same last year, so indoors we went. The rain didn't last long and we set off back to the ferry.

Just before we got to the ferry, we heard a Corncrake again near the church ruins, so we stopped and our luck was in:

So a great end to a great day on Iona.


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