When I awoke the day before yesterday the weather was still fine and calm; not a ripple on the waters of Tobermory Harbour… an ideal morning to go by boat to the Cairns of Coll before the wind got up later in the day.
As part of our trip to Mull we sail out passed the end of Ardnamurchan peninsula to the cluster of islands at the northern tip of Coll – twenty odd miles. This is Gods own piece of water with all the seabirds you could possibly muster coming to feed within upwelling currents. Throw a couple of White tailed Eagles into the mix of two Skua species, four species of Auk and rafts of Manx Shearwaters and you have a cocktail of birds that is difficult to find anywhere else. Before the weather deteriorated the main players came to the party. A couple of Minke Whales. The first small and active; difficult to photograph. The second was a large animal; slower and easier to focus upon. This one showed to all the group.
As the mammal surfaced to breathe it showed its rostrum and splashguard. The dorsal fin had a small nick in the base of the leading edge – if it’s photographed again or has been previously it should be recognisable.
Harbour Porpoise showed briefly but the healthy colony of Grey and Common Seals showed almost laughable curiosity as we sailed between the islands.
We tipped over one hundred species of bird and nine mammals that day with still a few days of the tour and a stopover in Lancashire set to increase the totals by many more. Don’t you just love Mull!
Letter From Norfolk 