Moorland and woodland birds
by Wildlife Guide David Woodhouse
Virtually all of these birds visit Mull to breed in Summer, because of its huge
insect life.
Insects proliferate during Spring and
early Summer, when the island
has a rather 'tropical' climate, of sun and
rain. After early Spring rains, the
island almost always has a very dry and sunny May, and
this is when birds arrive from Africa to lay eggs and
rear their young.
Because of our bird's 'African Connection', they are
pretty colourful! The Wheater and Whinchat are
moorland birds, and the males of both species are particularly handsome. However,
some birds do stay on the island
for the whole year, and these include Chaffinch, Robin, Rock Pipit and the
Stonechat, which is also a very colourful bird.
The male has a black head, reddish chest and white collar, and
the female has a browner head, otherwise it is the same.
During the summer months the
most common bird to be seen on Mull is the Meadow
Pipit and
it is a bird which you will encounter anywhere
away from trees. In fact,
if you spot a similar looking bird
and you are in woodland, it
is almost certainly the
Tree Pipit. Consult the bird books for the difference between the two, because
it is quite subtle. The Skylark,
like the Meadow Pipit, is another 'little brown job'
or LBJ, as birders put it, though the Skylark has one heck of a voice!! Its
wonderful display song is now becoming very rare in England, but here in The
Hebrides, there is still lots of suitable habitat for the Skylark, and like most
of our smaller birds, it nests on the ground. Around Hebridean
farmland
you will find the Twite, which tends to replace the Linnet here, though Linnets
have increased in recent years. Moving up in size and
altitude, you might encounter a handsome black, white and
brown bird; this is
the Golden Plover. Most people see the Golden Plover on estuaries in winter,
when it has an overall brown plumage, but in its breeding plumage, like most of
the 'Wader' family, it is quite dashing.
On our limited estuarine habitat,
there are Redshanks, occasional Greenshanks, Ringed
Plover, Common Sandpiper and Snipe, which nest in the
boggy areas abounding the estuaries. Though our estuaries are small in number,
these areas become alive in Autumn and Spring, as
waders stop to rest on their way North to the Arctic, and South to Africa and
Southern Europe. You will often see Merlins and Peregrines in this habitat also,
as they follow their prey
south. Estuaries also tend to produce the odd rarity
during migration time and we annually see Ospreys in these localities at the end
of the summer.
Our woodlands come alive in late Spring, as various
Warblers set up territory. You will also see the Redstart, which is as handsome
as a bird can get, with its blue, black, red and white plumage and flashing red
tail. There are Flycatchers, Tree Creepers, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Bullfinches.
Woodcock sit among fallen leaves, and if you are lucky enough to see one, you
must agree, that they have every colour of brown that
is possible, within their plumage. Perhaps our most striking woodland bird is
one which you will find in pine forests, and Ardmore
Forest in the north of Mull is a good locality. Here you may find the Crossbill,
which is brilliantly red, and he behaves very like a small parrot, with his
acrobatic antics and crossed over bill. The Crossbill is never common, but if
you do see one, it usually gives you very good views. \The Whitethroat is a bird
to be found in scattered woodland and the Sedge
Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler can be f'ound in rather more scrubby tree
growth.
A
rarer bird of scree slopes is the Ring Ouzel, which is
a sort of mountain blackbird. There is a similarly
named bird in the Water Ouzel, which is a rather old name for the Dipper.
This bird is quite unique in the way that it feeds, for it is built in such a
way that it can walk on the bottom of a river and catch
small insects as they are washed downstream. Check out The River Aros, Bellart
and Ba, which are prime habitats
for the Dipper.
