Scotland Day 5: Back in the Highlands and some major highs at that

Although the scenery and wildlife of Skye was amazing, to wake up back in Nethy Bridge and to the amazing breakfasts the Mountview Hotel serves up was so good.

A few of us were up early for an early morning walk down to the bridge to see if we could see the dipper but alas not. We took a little walk into the forest and I tried my best to find a lesser redpoll for Phil who had missed them up to now. We saw plenty of siskin and goldcrest but no redpolls.

We happened across a few creepy installations left by well, witches would be my guess. The others suggested it was just kids but I don’t know.

Not a dipper in sight.

Not a lesser redpoll in sight

Not an evil witch in sight

Not a window in sight

After our fruitless walk which we did at least come back to our hotel without being bewitched which was nice, we had 'that' breakfast and prepared for another amazing day.

It began with a quick trip to Craigellachie, a nice trail through a rocky woodland. Our hope had been for early wood warbler and at a stretch, pied flycatchers but nothing doing. Must have been a witch’s curse or something.

We had a pair of kestrels nesting on a crag face with some courtship taking place.

Common Kestrel


We had with us today an extra guide called James. He was on trial so was keen to impress. He quickly picked up a tree pipit singing and soon found it. The one yesterday had been fleeting so it was great to see one happily singing from a tree for a minute or two.


Tree Pipit

Willow Warbler


After a while we decided we may as well move on as it went very quiet so we moved on. We headed off to the base of Aviemore in the Cairngorms. Here we hoped to see snow buntings and ring ouzel. There was an area that is popular with snow bunting as people put seed down and within moments, the snow buntings are supposed to come in and feast on the seed. So we waited and waited some more. The weather was warm and sunny, not typical of the place and equally not typical was the lack of the snow bunting.



Ring Ouzel

Chris had wandered off unnoticed but returned to report a ring ouzel near the ski centre. Everyone moved rapidly to seek out this mountain blackbird. There were two birds and occasionally they gave us reasonable views but never came that close.

After Aviemore, we travelled south towards Kincraig, stopping at Loch Insh where there was a pair of Osprey nesting.






Having had our fill of osprey we moved on to Strathdearn, our lunch spot. This is a pretty unassuming place but offered a nice location to break out the wonderful lunch boxes the Mountview Hotel prepared for us. If I haven’t mentioned it before, we had had a comfort break here earlier on the tour but obviously nothing worth writing about; but this time it was different. This time, we saw red.

but not in anger. In fact, in awe. One of the party and I want to say Dave (not the guide Dave but the punter Dave) picked out movement in the firs across the road. The movement belonged to a red squirrel and that movement paused long enough for all of to get good, albeit, distant views of the squirrel. of course, the red squirrel is a must have on any Scottish trip and we had missed a few opportunities to see this largely endangered UK mammal so far on the trip. So well done Dave! The siskins and a red kite took a back seat for 30 minutes while we marvelled at this wonderful creature.



Red Squirrel

We were all very happy now. The onward ride to Loch Ruthven was full of anticipation. Our luck was high and the chances of seeing the slavonian grebes here must be written the cards right? 

Right. I know you all thought I was about to tell a tale of woe but never anticipate my writing style, got it?

Got to love Slavonian grebes in summer plumage. The loch was clear and I mean clear of birds. There was that heartbeat moment of where are they but Brian eventually picked up one of the pair on the opposite side of the inlet.




Slavonian Grebes
What a great way to end a long day. we may not have had close views of these wonderful birds but it was of no consequence. At any distance, they were regal in their majesty.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digiscoping DIY Adaptor

Image
Thought I would take this opportunity to explain and illustrate the way I digiscope. I have never bothered to invest in a purpose-made adaptor because I’m never sure which one would be best and I suppose I’m a bit stingy. Instead, I have experimented with different joining mechanisms which have include fruit juice bottle tops, paint roller tubes and plumbing joints. Over the five or so years I have digiscoped, the results have been unpredictable. This has been caused by the light conditions, the mobility of the subject and invariably, the distances between my camera and the bird. probably worth noting here that I also tend to focus through the scope before attaching the camera. The most successful adaptor for me has been the paint roller tube. I discovered if I strip off the furry bit, I’m left with a perfect basis for an adaptor. Depending on the camera lens width and the telescope eyepiece diameter, I wrap insulation tape inside the tube. Measure the depth and width of the ca...
Read more

Scotland day 6: Look out. Look up and look where you’re going!

Image
Oh my days! Is it Friday already? This was our last full day with Heatherlea and it was destined to be a big one. Correction: The big one. Do these birding tour operators plan this? Do they always save the best for last? I don’t know. Some would say the Capercaillie caper would have done it and it did in many ways but this day would match it or in some eyes surpass it. You be the judge. Another full fat breakfast! My only thoughts during this now routine ceremony was whether I would still fit in the minibus. To be honest, I thought we would be doing a bit more walking on this trip but apart from the odd amble up a hill, we were never far from the transport. The birding day began with an excursion to Roseisle and initially around some of the farmland minor roads where we picked up a couple of corn buntings just sitting on fence wires. Looking out from a viewpointon the Moray Firth at Burghead Bay there were velvet and common scoters, eider and a few red-breasted merganser. Telescope out...
Read more

Scotland Day 1: A few 'grouses' about the weather

Image
We woke in the morning to discover the beautiful sunny evening that met our arrival had turning into a cold, grey dreich. We caught up with our guides and fellow adventurers early so that we could could visit a black grouse lek before breakfast. The visibility was poor and the air damp. When we arrived at the site, it was very difficult to see the birds. A few bobbing backsides – the white of the male tail feathers was about all I could see.  Black grouse, what Black Grouse? Lesser redpoll called as they went over and the inevitable willow warblers sang from various trees. Everyone got poor views to be fair but at that stage, we were all happy. A bit later at breakfast we discussed the weather, as you do and Dave and Chris, our guides for the tour laid out plans for local birding in Abernethy forest, primarily for crested tit and the magnificent capercaillie. The excitement was clearly audible. We arrived and parked up near Loch Mallachie and made our way down through the incredibl...
Read more