Skye and Frisa lose their 2010 family but birds and visitors flock to Mull

There is disappointment at Mull’s Loch Frisa hide that its two famous sea eagles, Skye and Frisa, won’t be rearing a family this year. One of their chicks perished in the cold and the other egg has failed to hatch.

However, the viewing season is still very much open for business with the breeding pair continuing to hunt in the immediate area, returning to their favourite perches at the hide.

Stuart Maidment of Forestry Commission Scotland on Mull said: ‘We are obviously disappointed that we won’t see new chicks this year but if anyone still wants to see the amazing white-tailed sea eagles then we are still the place to go.

‘We also have Heather, last year’s chick, dropping in from time to time and now that the parents don’t have to guard the nest we expect to see more of her. Not only that, we have a huge variety of other magnificent birds of prey to see’.

At the hide there is a buzzard-cam beaming in live footage of a nearby nest, where the project is waiting for two eggs to hatch in about two week’s time.

A colony of sand martins are also thriving in the quarry at the hide’s car park just now, with a camera being fixed in place so that visitors can view the birds coming in and out of their nest holes.

Bird feeders are attracting more species every week, the latest being a greater spotted woodpecker.  A new nest barrel for barn owls may also be an added attraction with a nest-cam being fitted.

Species to see now include red-breasted merganser, goldeneye, goosander, gulls and red and black-throated divers.  As well as the sea eagles, raptors include  golden eagles, buzzards, hen harriers, sparrowhawks, peregrines, merlins, kestrels and have even had a glimpse of a goshawks.

Trips to the hide at Loch Frisa can be arranged by calling the Booking Office on 01680 812556.  The hide is open from Sunday to Friday  – and closed on Saturdays.