The Island of Mull -
A Nature Photographer’s Paradise
by Phil Collier

The Isle of Mull is of isles the fairest,
Of ocean’s gems ‘tis the first and rarest;
Green grassy island of sparkling fountains,
Of waiving woods and high tow’ring mountains.

So wrote Dugald MacPhail, aka the Bard of Mull, when composing 'An t’eilean Muileach' the Anthem of Mull, in the 19th century, aptly describing the both the sheer beauty and the complete diversity of the landscape on Mull.  Although only 25 miles from north to south and 28 miles east to west at its widest point –  as little as 3 miles at its narrowest –  Mull has over 300 miles of some of the most dramatic coastline in Britain.

As for me? I quite simply can’t get enough of Mull.  I have now visited the island some twenty different times over all four seasons.  Although each season offers its own unique excellent photographic opportunities, late spring into early summer is my favourite time.  At this time of year there is wildlife everywhere, from the Ptarmigan on the high tops of the Ben More range and the mountains in Glen More, to the migrant Wheatear and Whinchat on the lower slopes and in the glens; from the regal Red Deer roaming the island to the Otters along the kelpie shorelines; from the Dolphins and Minke Whales patrolling the seas around the Hebrides to the most majestic of all birds, the eagles.  Both Golden and White-tailed Eagle are readily and often encountered around the island.  Nature photographers really will think they have been spirited away to ‘wildlife heaven’!!

As spring arrives – later here than in England – the migrant passerines begin to drop in and I have been fortunate to witness wintering Redwing and Fieldfare still on the island as the first Wheatears arrive from Africa.  Whinchats arrive a little later to join their resident cousin, the Stonechat.  As the season progresses, both vigilance and patience can be rewarded with photos of the parent birds of all three species bringing food to their young.

Spring also sees the return of two of my favourite birds, the Hen Harrier and the Short-eared Owl, both of which migrate further south to coastal haunts on the UK mainland to see themselves through the winter months.  The area around Glen More is particularly good for both of these birds and, with the traffic on the island at this time of year being relatively light, I have been able to spend hours sitting in the car watching the birds hunting over the rough moorland in the hope of obtaining some photographs.  Once again, my patience has paid off with some good images of both species.

On most of my visits to the island I have been out to sea on a small trawler yacht owned by a friend who operates cetacean watching trips out of Tobermory, the island’s capital – although this is somewhat of a misnomer - in reality it is a small town with a population of under 1,000. Mull’s entire population is around 2,400.  The waters to the north and west of Mull hold possibly the most ecologically diverse marine life in the UK.  As a consequence there are good populations of both harbour porpoise and common dolphin and these are both seen regularly each year together with a supporting cast of both bottle-nosed and Risso’s dolphins.  Although dolphins are great fun to watch they are the devil to photograph and I have spent many years trying to hone my technique of anticipating the dolphins’ path and where they are about to surface next……..hard to gauge when both the dolphins and the boat are moving and not necessarily at the same speed or even in the same direction!!  In addition to the dolphins there are regular sightings of minke whale and basking shark, both of which can grow to nearly 10 meters in length, and a family pod of orca (killer whale) is seen in most years.  Other marine mammals on Mull are common and grey (or Atlantic) seals which can usually be seen loafing on the offshore rocks and islands. 

On dry land, Mull has a healthy population of red deer.  The stronghold for this ‘monarch of the glen’ is Glen More where they are often seen close to the roadside, particularly in the evenings, when they are relatively easy to photograph.  A small herd of fallow deer can be seen around Knock at the narrowest part of the island.  However, to me, the most exciting and elusive mammal on the island is the otter.  I was lucky to see one on my first visit to Mull although many subsequent visits were ‘otter free’.  More latterly I have become luckier – or my field-craft skills have improved! - and I have spent some wonderful hours in the company of, and photographing, otter families on the island.  On one occasion, they came as close as 5 metres from me and, at times, I struggled to focus with my 500mm f4 lens which was simply too long to enable me to capture the action although I did get some really good head shots of the female crunching away on a crab.  I was privileged to watch a female otter with two cubs swimming and feeding in one of the kelpie bays and spent over an hour photographing the activity in beautiful early morning light.  They were aware of my presence – of that I am sure – but this confirms that with the right approach (field-craft again!) most things are possible.

Thus far I have only skimmed the surface of Mull’s wildlife and have yet to refer to two of the islands mega-birds.  Of course, I am referring to the Golden Eagle and the much-publicised White-tailed Wagle.  Both of these magnificent raptors can be encountered anywhere on the island although neither are easy to photograph without obtaining a Schedule 1 permit.  In all my visits I have managed a handful of distant flight shots of ‘Goldies’ and a single half-decent flight shot of a white-tailed. 

There really is so much to see on the island and to cram it all into a short article simply cannot do the island justice.  Indeed, I have not even begun to describe the wonderful landscape in which both the wildlife and the Muileachs* are so fortunate to live. In short, Mull is a ‘must-visit’ for every nature and landscape photographer!

* An inhabitant of the Island of Mull