Several hours too soon was the verdict!!! After my fruitless vigil for Basking Shark yesterday news came in that , on the Sunday evening, at least five (some reports suggested eight) came into the sound between Orsay Island and Port Weymss and were there for almost half an hour. Of four seen very well, three were judged to be full size and one significantly smaller. They finally headed out to the open sea through the gap between Orsay and Eilean Mhic Coinnich. The last three years has seen small, but increasing, numbers of these animals in our local waters where they appear to be spending most of the summer. Many thanks to Calum Anderson and Ian Turner for the reports.
Of more concern are reports about Mink on both Islay and Jura. Long since thought absent, after the campaign to eradicate them, it suggests, for Jura at least, that a small remnant population may have persisted throughout and is,currently,enjoying a periodic increase. Additionally two specimens were caught in the south of Islay recently, begging doubts of them ever having been completely cleared out previously. The outside possibility of them swimming across from Jura to Islay in favourable, calm conditions can't be ruled out as such may have been part of the reason for them appearing on Jura from the mainland years before.
Of less interest, this particular mammal spent the day organizing the various arrangemnts for the Grey lag Goose count tomorrow!
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