Skip to main content

Scotland

Approximately 30 minutes after alighting the Easyjet flight to Inverness, I was face to face with a ridiculous lifer: an American Coot. Here he is:

 And me at Loch Flemington, lifer in the bag.

From here, we retired back to the flat and plotted out a route to Burgh Head. A White-billed Diver had been seen here, so we thought this well worth a look. An excellent range of Sea Duck were seen, including Long-tailed and Common Scoter. Both Great Northern and Red-throated Divers performed well. A wildlife hihglight of the year soon followed, and not the WB Diver. A pod of at least 6 Bottlenosed Dolphins came through, 2 individuals breaching. A superb sight and a moment to remember.


We then went to Roseisle Forest, and although they made us work we enjoyed excellent views of a pair of Crested Tit. Also of note was a displaying Tree Pipit. Siskin were here by the bucketload, and the fields bordering the forest held Hooded Crow and Curlew.

The following day, Friday, was spent almost entirely in the Findhorn Valley. This really is an epic setting, suitable for Middle Earth or indeed the Eagles we had hoped to see/ Although we were not so lucky with the Eagles, we did see Raven, Red Kite, Peregrine, possible Merlin, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Dipper and Grey Wagtail. So not a bad 'consolation' haul! After negotiating the tricky Farr Road, we paid a visit to the delightful RSPB reserve of Loch Ruthven. The Slavonian Grebes here were looking splendid in breeding plumage, all 5 of them. We grabbed a glimpse of a Water Vole, and Austen saw a Weasel. Further mammal sightings were lifers for the both of us: Mountain Hare, and Feral Goat.

Saturday was spent exploring the Caledonian Forest around Abernethy. Perhaps the late nights and long days were catching up with us, for today was a little disappointing in terms of variety. Two Osprey were seen at Loch Garten, 3 more Crested Tit and Crossbill over are the only notes I have. The real star of the show for me was the forest floor, covered in Moss, Lichen and (I think) Juniper. It was obvious to see what sets this forest apart from anywhere else in the UK, just superb. We called in at Tulloch Moor, but were left Grouse-less.



With time running out, it was agreed the priority species for the last day should be Ptarmigan. With the railway out of action, and keen to take the moral and physical high ground, we headed up Cairngorm. The conditions were reasonable, and as we headed into Snow Grouse territory, Red Grouse reminded us they lived here too with their 'Get back, Get Back' calls. A distant view of a Ptarmigan bombing over a distant ridge was then smashed by a snoring sound, and looking up 2 Ptarmigan were close by. It was a pleasure to spend time with these birds on their terms, and imagine for a few minutes what an earth it must be like to live up here. Bird of the trip, easily.



'
We spent the rest of the day around Dorbach. My bird finding instincts took over, when perhaps time would have been better served back in Findhorn. Still, a super few days and next time the aim will be to clean up the Grouse and Eagles we missed, attempt to ID some Lichen and dare to dream about Scottish Crossbill.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everything is about edge

Hardley, where it is often confusing to define where the garden ends and the marsh begins. Tumble-down houses and rickety shacks, away from any bus route and Team Sky sorts wrapped in lycra, this is a village that by choice is cut off. The secret is out, and pre-storm Ciara as many as 10 large lenses littered the river bank firing at will. Their target- Winter ghosts. First, the classic Scooby-Doo type, as a Barn Owl responds to an ill-advised squeak in the grass and heads towards the onlookers. Another quickly joins the hunt, their formation a picture of double-edged stealth. But these year-round residents are not the key objective today, that honour is given to the Short-eared Owl. 3/4 of these can be seen from the staithe at the minute, floating like giant moths over the tussocks and edges.  In a recent article in The New Yorker, Jake Fiennes states "Everything is about edge". Hedges, ditches, scrub, forgotten tracts of land that link nothing and no-one. Fiennes, now ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finally, just in time for the tail end of Spring migration........

.......we get some good weather. Too little too late? Only time will tell. I have enjoyed watching the resident birds go about their business on the local marshes and broads, but that ranks as the poorest Spring I can recall in terms of migrants and variety. That is not to say the birding is not good- but just a little underwhelming. Over at Rockland Broad on Saturday, I enjoyed a bit of a raptor fest, with 3 Hoby, 2 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel all seen well. 2 Garden Warbler were singing, one by the carpark and one by the broad. A couple of Common Tern were hawking over the broad, and a Kingfisher was up to the usual near the hide. Don't get me wrong, this is all great (and in the warm too) but I was hoping for something a little different at Rockland this Spring. Still, with the decent weather set to continue for the next week, eyes to the skies. And indeed, to the ground, for my first Wall Browns of the year were flying and I happened upon my first 4-spotted ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day.  I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once th...
Post a Comment
Read more