Lisa G Saw • August 31, 2024

Black Guillemots In Oban

31st May 2024

This is the next post in the series about my extended holiday up north in the spring. Having had a great start in Fort William, including looking for the Chequered Skipper butterfly, we then moved on to the Isle of Mull. We travelled south to Oban, where we would be catching the ferry across to the island. We timed it such so that we would have some time to walk around the harbour and look for the Black Guillemots that are known to breed there, right in the harbour wall. We managed to park nearby and it didn't take long before we saw a black head sticking out from a hole in the wall right beneath us.

We were able to walk to a lower position, by the water's edge, to observe their comings and goings. Their bright red legs and feet are stunning against the contrast of their black bodies, which is what differentiates them from Common Guillemots. The latter species were the only ones I'd seen before that day. I was quite enthralled by the Black Guillemots. They're so striking!

We only saw about a dozen of them at most. There were some hiding in the nests within the wall and some were swimming around on the water not far away. At one time, I suddenly spotted a pair mating. The male climbed up onto the female's back, balancing rather precariously. She remained hunkered down low, whilst waiting for him to do his business. Then a few seconds later, it was all over. It really was over so quickly! He slid off as she lifted up and inched forward, looking as though she were wiping her behind along the rock. Then, she stood upright, glancing my way. I felt a little guilty I caught them in the act!

The birds would sometimes fly off just a short distance or further out, and then circle back in. Some even stayed further out, presumably to go fishing for food. It was a great opportunity for me to practice some action shots with my new mirrorless camera. With its advanced tracking capabilities, I was really impressed with the results, keeping the bird in focus as it moved.

I love these kind of action shots, especially when you can see their amazing red legs. They look like they're running on water. What's even more striking is when you see inside their beak. The red is such a surprise the first time.

It was also fun watching them have a bath in the water, semi-submerging themselves, then coming up and shaking off the water quickly. They open out their wings as they do so, lifting up out of the water more than usual, almost as though they're standing up.

It was a lot easier capturing the Black Guillemots flying, when they started off in the water and were taking off. They gradually accelerated and their direction of travel and movement was more predictable. Trying to photograph one of them as it comes in to land, either on the water or on the harbour wall was much harder. They were so quick and difficult to track. But, I had a lot of fun trying and was pleased with the next two photos.

I love how they open out their wings and widen their legs, splaying their tail feathers, all to help them slow down, just before they land in the water.

Bob and I were both sitting on a low wall that jutted out into the water. Evidently, the tide didn't submerge the part where we sat, but to the right of where we were looking, the wall was completely covered in seaweed. Our attention was focused along the base of the harbour wall, but at one point, Bob turned to look at me and saw a Black Guillemot had snuck up onto the wall without us realising. It had to be less than eight metres from me. It certainly didn't seem bothered by our presence. It sat in the amongst the seaweed, preening itself and then shaking off some water. I couldn't even extended the lens out to its full reach of 500mm or the bird would have completely filled the frame.

We also were lucky enough to witness some courtship behaviour. I often saw two birds swimming around in circles. Sometimes it looked a bit more aggresive than I was expecting, with prodding, poking and nipping at each other. I'm guessing this was mostly the male trying to get the female's attention. I can think of better ways to win over a mate! The best part about it was being able to see inside the beak again and to see the red legs underwater moving about frantically as they danced around in circles. It reminds me of synchronised swimmers! You often don't see the frantic movements below water when above it can look so calm.

After a joyful hour of watching the behaviour of the Black Guillemots, we left them to have our lunch. I had so much fun and it was a great way to break up an otherwise uneventful travel day.

Coming soon...

More adventures on the Isle of Mull.

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A Day at Minsmere

By Lisa G Saw • July 6, 2025

Bob and I had just experienced a wonderful four days in Norfolk in search of the Swallowtail butterfly , which I'd never seen before, and we decided to head home via RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk. Both of us had only ever been to this reserve once before, many years ago, before we knew each other. That first visit for me was a memorable occasion because it was the first time I saw Eurasian Otters in the wild and my first ever sighting of an Eurasian Bittern. Aside from it being a lovely nature reserve to visit anyway, it was the lure of the bittern that was calling me back. We'd already had two lovely sightings of this shy and elusive waterbird in Norfolk, but I had higher hopes for a better, closer sighting at Minsmere having seen some fabulous photos on social media from a few weeks prior. So, whilst we were sad to be leaving Norfolk, I was eager for the day ahead and what we might see. Things were off to a great start as we followed the woodland trail to one of the hides and saw a small cluster of people on the path ahead looking up. Someone had spotted a Tawny Owl high up in the trees. There was even a scope set up pointing towards it. The gentleman who owned it kindly invited us to have a look. It was fabulous to see the owl nestled close to the tree trunk and with its eyes shut, having a few winks. They sleep a lot in the daytime since they're mostly nocturnal. After looking through the scope, it was a case of trying to locate it it with my bins and see if I could take a photo. I was pleased with the image I was able to capture. More people came along the path and some people were struggling to spot it. Bob and I both ended up helping others try to locate it. It can be very difficult describing to others which line of trees and branches to follow with their eyes!

Swallowtails in Norfolk: Part 2

By Lisa G Saw • June 30, 2025

In the first part of this blog post - Swallowtails in Norfolk - I wrote about our first two days spent mostly at Strumpshaw Fen, where I successfully saw my first ever Swallowtail butterfly. Following this, we had two more days exploring the area. I still hoped I'd see more of this beautiful native species at some of the other reserves. DAY 3 The forecast for this day wasn't great, but at least dry. There wouldn't be much chance of any sunshine until the afternoon, when it would warm up a bit. So, we decided to head to Buxton Heath, on the other side of Norwich. Bob knew it was a good site for the Silver-studded Blue butterfly. It's a species we have in just two locations within Sussex - both of which we've been to. It's a species that thrives on heathland and can be found in good numbers in the right habitat if it's managed well - with grazing or periodic burning in patches. It turned out the forecast wasn't very accurate. When we arrived, it was already brightening up and our chance of finding roosting butterflies disappeared very quickly. However, it was lovely exploring somewhere new and aside from one other couple and a man working there, we didn't see anyone else for the three hours we were there. We left the car park and headed towards the northern corner of the heath first and in next to no time, Bob spotted one flying. I stopped and looked down and saw there was another right beside me. I used my bins to take a closer look and suddenly noticed there were ants crawling around it. Instantly, I knew this was something special. The butterfly had only just emerged. I quickly took some photos but was having real issues with my camera. I was so disappointed not to get any good photos. The butterfly is out of focus but the ant is sharp!!! Hmmm! Not what I was going for! This close relationship with ants occurs with a few of the blue species of butterfly, such as the Large Blue, Adonis Blue and Chalkhill Blue. It's the first time I've ever seen the ants in attendance of a new emerged butterfly, so I was thrilled at least to have seen it.

Swallowtails in Norfolk: Part 1

By Lisa G Saw • June 29, 2025

When Bob and I returned from Kent, having just seen the Heath Fritillary , we looked at the weather for the following week and we saw that it was looking very changeable every day, with cool windy and/or wet weather forecast. The Swallowtail butterfly ( Papilio machaon ) is our largest native species found in the UK and Bob informed me they won't be flying if the conditions aren't good. They like the warmth! Now was not a good time for our hot spell to be over! With only one more week of my break from teaching left, we had little choice but to arrange our visit for then, regardless of the weather. I booked some accommodation for us and we figured that if we went for more than a couple of days, we were bound to have at least one fairly decent opportunity to see the final species on my UK list that I'd not seen before. DAY 1 As usual for us, we set off fairly early in the morning since we had over a three-hour drive ahead of us. The plan was to stop at Weeting Heath Nature Reserve, just inside the Norfolk border, so we could break up the drive and enjoy some time out in nature. The main purpose was to see the Stone Curlew that breed at this site ( Burhinus oedicnemus ). They're a rare summer visitor to the UK and I'd not heard of this species before. They're not in any way related to the Curlew ( Numenius arquata ), which I have seen before - though they are also quite rare and endangered. Their name relates to their similar call. We sat in two different hides during the course of the late morning and early afternoon and for quite some time we didn't think we were going to get lucky and see the Stone Curlew - though we did see a couple of Curlews. At one point I nipped back to the car, and of course that was when Bob saw one! It was on the far side of the field we were overlooking, but where the ground dipped lower out of sight. He saw it just as I was returning to the hide. So, I quickly sat down and looked for it, but I didn't get a chance to properly see it. We decided to stay a bit longer, and so this time Bob left the hide to fetch our lunch, and that was when the Stone Curlew reappeared. It even flew a short distance, quite low, as it apparently had a nest nearby and it wasn't happy about the Rooks that were too close for comfort. Don't hold your breath - the photo is pants! The bird was so far away and it was more of a record shot. However, I did enjoy watching it through my binoculars.