“Another week and another bank holiday, the weather has been calm and the wildlife have been very active. Exciting times with the sea eagles, they sit on their eggs for 38 days approximately and anytime now we will get a glimpse of the chick or chicks in the two nests, we don’t go too close to the nest as we must not disturb them at this critical time but we do provide binoculars for our guests to get a closer look. The parents are very diligent with one on the nest and the other getting food or keeping watch over the nest, its a great time to see them as they are always around.
We have also been seeing our native otters a lot recently, one in particular is quite curious about the boat and doesn’t bother at all when we are watching him, we think he is one of last years kits who is now on his own and looking to set up his own territory. Did you know that otters can have their kits at any time of the year but after they are born they stay in their holt for two months before emerging, the male otter offers no assistance in bringing up the young, the female does all the work teaching them to swim and catch fish. The young and their mother have a very close bond and we often see them all playing together as she teaches them the basics of otter survival. After about 12 or so months the young will leave and find their own way around our coast, unfortunately otters only have a very short life span of around 4-5 years.
Other sightings this week have been Great Northern divers, porpoises, seals (next week we may have some exciting news on our seals!) and seabirds beginning to be around in larger numbers.
Hope to see you out with us soon, all Loch Melfort Hotel guests get a discount on our trips when you book through the hotel, just ask at reception.” David Ainsley www.sealife-adventures.com