Planning a hol in Scotland and like wildlife? 1 March 2004 at 12:52PM in Scotland 58 replies 6.3K views

minime_2

Can I just remind Nile-there are other operators on Mull who take visitors on sea-trips,people who have been brought up in the area and who know the local waters well, and who also work within ethical guidelines. I can personally recommend Turus Mara. Lovely trips to the Treshnish Isles, Staffa and Lunga, a delight for birdwatchers at this time of the year,with nesting Puffins,Gannets,Terns,etc. Not that suitable for anyone with mobility problems though.

minime_2

The North Kessock Dolphin Centre opens in June, for anyone who wants to listen and watch the dolphins from there. I've seen them often from the car park at the front at North Kessock village itself. They seem to come in with the tide,chasing fish, and thoroughly enjoy themselves doing so!

minime_2

For those who are on the Island of Mull this year-we saw and heard corncrakes last year, just beyond the Abbey on Iona. They are also heard in other areas on the island as well-keep your ears open!! There's a good website about birds on Mull if anyone is interested, I think it's called Mullbirding.com. For a small island there are a lot of birds to be seen, not to mention that it is one of the loveliest Scottish islands I've ever visited.

competitionscafe

minime wrote:

there are other operators on Mull who take visitors on sea-trips,people who have been brought up in the area and who know the local waters well, and who also work within ethical guidelines. I can personally recommend Turus Mara. Lovely trips to the Treshnish Isles, Staffa and Lunga, a delight for birdwatchers at this time of the year,with nesting Puffins,Gannets,Terns,etc. Not that suitable for anyone with mobility problems though.

Thanks, I am planning to go up to Mull this month (May) or next month - is this the best time to see Puffins? I was thinking of trying Turus Mara, but any other recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

minime_2

Hopefully there will be lots of nesting puffins to see this year on Lunga-anytime now. Unfortunately they nested last year but weren't too successful, possibly due to the decline in numbers of sand eels available. I believe sand eels are their main food choice, and any fluctuation in their numbers affects the population of breeding birds in the area. Turus Mara were also good at showing points of interest,local history,geology,etc. They dock at Staffa for lunch on a good day, and Fingal's Cave is quite spectacular close up!

puma30

A good place to go for a holiday and see lots of animals is Barnsoul farm near Dumfries, as recommended by David Bellemy. You can see foxes, deer, red squirrels, otters and even llama!

http://www.barnsoulfarm.co.uk/page2.html

Nile

Nile wrote:

If you want to see and hear dolphins, travel north over the Kessock bridge at Inverness. Immediately on your left is an Information Point car park. There is a dolphin centre (around £1 entry fee) which has permanent hydrophones in the waters of the Moray Firth. You can see and hear dolphins from the centre. Even if you've missed the tide (and best time to spot dolphins) they have recordings made earlier to listen to.

I've just been advised to edit this post. The Information Centre mentioned above is closed from around October to April.

.............and the good news is............it's now free entry to the dolphin centre. I was there last week and it was free admission.:j

We also had spectacular views of the dolphins at Chanonry Point during the week. They were catching huge fish and showing off generally.:D

competitionscafe

Thanks for all the useful info on Mull wildlife!

p.mckinlay

We went to Mull 2 years ago at the end of May and went out with Turus Mara. Would thoroughly recommend it, we were 4 feet away from the puffins and staffa was fabulous.

My daughter lives next to the Abernethy forest and has red squirrels in her garden and a buzzard visits regularly! Don't get that in Glasgow where I live! We are going to see her in July so thanks for all the tips. We always go and see the ospreys when we are up, but there were no babies last year! Also saw dolphins for the first time last year. The staff at North Kessock were really friendly and helpful. We walked down from the centre to the firth and got a really good view of about 8-10 dolphins.

We are going to Skye in the summer. Does anyone have any useful wildlife tips? Is the glass bottomed boat trip worth the money? Where are the best places for birdwatching?

Thanks

Nile

p.mckinlay wrote: »

The staff at North Kessock were really friendly and helpful. We walked down from the centre to the firth and got a really good view of about 8-10 dolphins.

When I went past the North Kessock Tourist Information/Dolphin centre last month, it was closed. Has anyone seen it open yet this year, or know if it has plans to open?