Wildlife Photography in a weekend on the Isle of Mull

So with this being my third trip this year to the Isle of Mull, we decided on a quick and short trip up for a weekend for another trip to the Isle of Lungar to photograph the puffins as they come in to feed their chicks.
Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas, with a strengthening wind and rough seas all trips to the Isle of Lungar were canceled for four days until this low pressure had passed over the island.
So with that being canceled, it was time to get to a few locations that I'd recently been to in February and see if I can pick up on where I left off photographing the Eagles and the otters.
It proved to be a very long and tedious task trying to find the otters, as they were literally non to see around the edge of the Loch where I saw at least three or four sets of otters back in February, all I can think of is that with all the amount of human traffic and holiday visitors, the otters go off from these public locations and seek solitude elsewhere around the lochs.
This was quite evident as on one evening I managed to spot a mother and cub Otter swimming in the lock and coming up onto shore a couple of cyclists had passed by and we're talking and the otters dove back into the sea very quickly on another occasion the Otter came up to feed on a large flat fish when an elderly couple came up to the edge of the road got out their mobile phone and started talking and pointing and walking towards the Otter whilst it was eating and scared the Otter back into the water.
Also while I was there I witnessed people going into the lock throwing stones having barbecues etc on the shoreline and beach which is obviously why there were no otters during the summer month or at least very few sightings.
With all that being said I was successful in photographing the otters and have a lovely encounter with them following them and photographing them as they approached their nest on the edge of the loch.
And back down to another location where I saw the white-tailed Eagles back in February they were still in the same area and on the nest with what could be a potential chick in the nest but unfortunately, I was unable to confirm this
All in all a fantastic weekend with some great wildlife, just unfortunate about the weather but still a fantastic wildlife photography trip back on the Isle of Man.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT USED
Canon R5
Canon R6
Canon R7 amzn.to/41jeNcw
Canon rf 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L
Canon EF 70 -200mm f2.8 IS III L
Canon RF 85mm f1.2L USM DS Lens
Canon RF 1.4 x convertor
Smallrig Camara cage x3
Benro Tortoise 24CLV Tripod
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SOCIAL MEDIA & OTHER CONTACTS TO SUPPORT MY WORK
CONTACT ME [e-mail]
WEBSITE www.wildlifephotographeruk.co.uk
FACEBOOK / wildlifephotographeruk
INSTAGRAM / wildlifephotographeruk
TWITTER / ashleyjbarnard
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Other items used, and in my Kit
Sony ICD-TX660 - Digital Voice Recorder: amzn.to/40OeG8a
Benro Gh5c Gimbal Head: amzn.to/3TGYgLs
Benro Tortoise 24CLV Tripod amzn.to/3DGLLJ9
Self Adhesive Camouflage: amzn.to/3SkqWsp
Rain Poncho: amzn.to/3VN8Bal
Camera Battery Case: amzn.to/3VOFtQ8
Tripod Stool: amzn.to/3eW2sIr
Camouflage scrim: amzn.to/3z3rdt4

[@Sam_Vis882]

This guy should work for bbc earth, keep this good work up!

[@russrichards]

👍 Again, Ash! So great to see the 'white tailed eagles' again, and loved all the the stills. In spite of the difficult conditions, weather and human, you did a fantastic job & pulled another great video out of the bag! 👏👏👏

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Cheers Russ, thanks for the comment 👍yeh tough but fun and enjoyable weekend.

[@dtriverside8559]

The other passers by were obviiysly interested in the wildlife, a good thing but lacked knowledge. They were there learning about and enjoying their surroundings, and the proximity of the otters to the road may be why their presence is noted in that location. I suspect that for the experts, it may require a lot of patient research off the beaten track to be able to spend time with them. An enjoyable and realistic video in any case. Thanks for posting.

[@mikesphotography7185]

Nice one Ash 👍😎

[@smiffy5467]

I wonder how that couple would like it if they were sat in a restaurant and you encroached with a mobile phone…. No common sense some people… Good video, great to see the White tails.. 👍

[@carlagouveia3311]

Beautiful place!! Very good pictures. Congratulations!!

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Many thanks, Carla, glad you enjoyed the video 😀👍

[@michaelgoodwin8839]

Great photos keep up the great work hope you don’t mind but what lens did you use thanks mike

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Hi Mike, thanks for the comment, I use the 100-500mm rf lens, which is my workhorse and does everything i need it to, if they did 100mm-600 that would be better but need to go to sigma for that.

[@joshualoney8900]

Hi Ashley :) awesome video mate. I was just wondering whether you found it best to drive along the coast trying to spot otters and then sneaking up to a good location or did you find it was better to just sit down and wait in one spot and hope for the best?

[@DavidJohnBlackwell]

Lovely video Ashley; considering what you had to contend with from the weather and the general public. Don’t you just love em ?

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Yeh everyone loves and wants to see the otters I get it, but there is a way to do it, if you do not have the gear then just watch, keep still and quiet and enjoy, don't try to get up close with your phone it's just not going to happen, and they spoil it for everyone, Yeh great weekend amazing what you can pack into a couple of days. 😀👍

[@iainwyper9661]

Great video with some lovely otter footage. Was this filmed in June? I’m going to Kilchoan in Ardnamurchan tomorrow (it’s the other side of the Sound of Mull. Ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan takes 35 minutes). I’m no photographer but I’ll be doing the 5am shift every morning to look for otters etc. before the kids get going 🤣Wildlife and scenery in Ardnamurchan is magnificent if you’re looking for somewhere a little quieter on the tourist front. Can I ask, were the midges terrible this year?

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Hi Ian thanks for the comment yes this was filmed actually last weekend, the midges were not that bad although it was quite windy only one evening was it really bad with the midges. but we had smidge and the smidge headnets, not a great look but does the job. thanks for the heades up on Ardnamurchan I will give it a look. 😀👍

[@iainwyper9661]

Here’s hoping we’re as fortunate with the weather as you were 🤞😁 Sanna Bay is a good place to start if your looking At Ardnamurchan 👍 It’s fantastic

[@paulbeachcroft3323]

Another great video….shame about the idiots scaring the wildlife. People can be so bloody irritating and thoughtless can’t they….

[@vidcrit1187]

The problem with Mull is the proximity of many of the roads to the shoreline and the cyclists, for example, had every right to be there doing what they did. My own "scream out:" moment came on the shore of Loch Na Keal a few years ago when a friend and I had lain behind cover at a known hot spot for a couple of hours hoping for an otter to show. A mother and kit did eventually put in an appearance only for one of the children in a nearby family group to yell at the top of their voice "daddy, is that an otter?" . It was an otter but it's long gone now !! You just have to accept they they were doing their own thing and had as much right as us photographers to do ours..