Scotland

Jess and I have just enjoyed a fantastic week at one of my favourite places on earth, Scotland...

River Dochart

It wasn't a birding holiday, but of course the binoculars were packed and I couldn't help but see some fantastic birds.  We spent the first couple of days around the Borders where Jess used to live (Kelso area) and then had five nights in a lovely self catering cottage in Comrie, which is a charming little village on the A85 west of Perth.  It's so reassuring and nice to see that in this part of the UK (I can still say that yes?) villages still feel like villages and have that community feel. Large superstores haven't littered the landscape so each village still needs its own bakery, butchers, newsagents, etc, and everyone in the village goes out to use these every morning. 

Obviously we didn't just spend the whole time in Comrie, on Tuesday we spent the day in Edinburgh, on Wednesday we spent the day on the fantastic Isle of Mull...

Looking south to Lock Na Keal.

And Thursday we enjoyed a six mile walk in the Cairngorm National Park, walking up to Cairn Gorm (the long way!)...

On the way up!

Nearly at the top, but still a steep hill to climb!

A panoramic pic from the very top

And this is what I saw during the week:

Manx Shearwater -  a flock of c12 and a couple of singles from ferry between Oban and Isle of Mull.

Common Tern - numerous seen around Isle of Mull, off Craignure and from ferry.

Arctic Tern - at least four seen from ferry between Oban and Isle of Mull.

Black Guillemot - several pairs and singles at Oban, with numerous nests in sea wall, also four seen from ferry near Isle of Mull.

Puffin - five seen from ferry crossing between Oban and Isle of Mull.

White-tailed Eagles - two singles seen on Isle of Mull, one hunting off Calgary Bay (in the below photo that is a Buzzard mobbing it!!).

Golden Eagle - one circling over mountains on Isle of Mull, looking south from main road at Grulin.

Red Kite- several lone birds around Comrie.

Osprey - one caught a fish and flew north at fish pond just east of Auchingarrich wildlife park.

Hen Harrier - two single ring-tails over the road between Lochbuie and Craignure on Isle of Mull.

Black Grouse - two males within 15 minutes drive of Comrie at a traditional lek site.

Red Grouse - two family parties and a couple of single birds along minor road south of Loch Tay.

Ptarmigan - two single males and a group of three at Cairn Gorm.

Grey Partridge - one along A6105 just west of Gordon (the Borders).

Hooded Crow - numerous on Isle of Mull scattered across whole island including two lingering around port at Craignure. Also one just east of Oban and a hybrid HoodedxCarrion Crow at Loch Tay.

Rock Dove - a flock of c15 seemingly pure Rock Dove beside the road at Glen Liedle on Isle of Mull.

Whinchat - a dense population of birds along Monument Road, Comrie.

Tree Pipit - singing male along Monument Road, Comrie.

Snow Bunting - male singing from the top of the large cliff face on Cairn Gorm at NH988030.

I didn't try for Capercaillie, but was surprised to learn how far they south they are, not far at all from where we were staying at Comrie which is a long way south of where I'm used to seeing them - there's Ptarmigan in the same area too.  I was disappointed to miss Dotterel, I did scan all the green bits on the Cairngorms that we walked over/past but just didn't come across any.  Maybe late June isn't a good time as the females may have gone walkabouts with the males sat tight on eggs or small young. The Snow Bunting was absolutely fantastic though, and was the one I really wanted to see up here - a singing male Snow Bunt in breeding habitat. So smart.

One of the best birding experiences was at Oban, watching the fabulous Black Guillemots.  I was watching several in summer plumage just offshore for a few minutes before realising the piping calls coming from under me were their nests! They are nesting in the sea wall, just a couple of feet below a busy path and not all that far from a main A road!  I could have watched them for hours but we had a boat to catch.

Any now for some videos. I've split them up into three different ones, and as ever for best viewing change quality settings to 1080pHD. Hope you enjoy...

The Cairngorms:

The Isle of Mull:

Other bits and pieces:

Scotland Trip - Day Four

This was the poorest day of the trip - mostly because of the strong wind that hampered our efforts...

Day Four - Wednesday 13th April

We had this day to 'mop up' anything we hadn't seen yet - and that bird was Parrot Crossbill. It was because of this sodding bird that we spent two hours in Curr Woods....

Eurgh!

We did see (and crucially hear) two Scottish (type) Crossbills, a Hooded Crow and a Tree Pipit again.

So much smarter than the ugly beasts down here!

After this we tried yet more woods, around Forest Lodge (near Nethybridge)...

Three people dipping Parrot Crossbills!

I blame the wind for our dip - it was far from ideal Crossbill spotting weather! We did see another couple of Red Squirrels though.

We then stopped off in Nethybridge, and filled our faces thanks to the Spar shop situated right by the river...

Still no Dipper on the trip list though!

The fact we hadn't seen a Dipper was starting to get a bit annoying really...so we decided to drive down the Findhorn Valley yet again!!

Eventually, after a lot of searching, we found one...

Much to Bun's dismay ;-)

It was near a pair of these...

New in Common Sands - they were very vocal

We popped back to the B and B, before heading to Aveimore where we tried out another fish and chip shop. After the past few days of rather unhealthy dining, Nick and Karen opted for the slightly healthier option of chicken and chips. When it was served to the table they were a little shocked - their chickens were entirely covered in batter! Hahahaha!!!

As it neared dusk, we made our way towards Loch An Eilein where we had booked (and paid for...ouch!) our places on the Speyside wildlife mammal watch. I have to say, the set up is excellent....

As you sit in the heated and rather comfy hide...

Illustrated here by Bun and Karen

And after the guide has put the food out...

They are not ghosts in the top photo - just reflections

The lights go out and the guide watches his monitor - four infra red cameras are set up outside the hide, three of which spot most incoming mammals...

Very techno!

It didn't take long for a Badger or two to appear...

Yes it is only a Badger - but noticeably smaller than the brutes down here

Then the guide exclaimed "Marten coming in, it's heading for the back..." So naturally everyone rushed to the back....

but he then said "it's changed direction, it could go either way...." At which point I realised no one was heading for the front of the hide - so I did!

As soon as I walked around to the other side, a large mammal came bounding in from the darkness - Pine Marten! It went straight for one of the eggs (as the guide said it would), spent a few seconds getting to grips with it before bounding back off into the darkness.

Although the view was rather brief (about ten seconds), it was stupidly close! Nick managed to see it for about five seconds, and Karen for about two (don't mention it to Bun!).

We were assured that it would come back for seconds though........it never did!!!

Anyway, due to the speed of the thing, and the fact I wanted to get out of the way so others could see it, I didn't manage a photo. If I had managed a pici though it would have looked (I'm sure) a lot like this...

(or maybe a little better!)

We were back at the B and B just the right side of midnight, and went to sleep ready for the final day and the drive back south...

Scotland Trip - Day Two

I was hoping to have had this post written last night, but was just too tired! Anyway, here goes....

Monday 11th April - Day Two

After breakfast, and a look at the weather forecast, we decided to head over to the west coast. The drive was absolutely spectacular - driving through glens and past snow-topped mountains. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, there were a few heavy showers (one we sat out in a cafe), but as the afternoon went on the weather got better and was wall to wall sunshine.

At about 11:30 we pulled up in the layby overlooking Gruinard Island - where White-tailed Eagles can be seen roosting on the island.... though not today!

aka 'Anthrax Island'

Over all we spent and hour and a half here without a whiff of an Eagle. The sea was productive though, with 30+ Great Northern Divers, a summer plumage Slav Grebe and 6+ Black Guillemots.

One of the divers gave us a bit of a headache - it was always very distant but showed a pale bill which it held pointing upwards.... White-billed!!!?? The only thing that put me off was how dark its rear neck and mantle looked, but that may have just been down to this distance?? A White-billed has been reported here before and after us, so I reckon this was it. Anyway, here's a diver that was easily identifiable....

Summer plumaged Great Northern... nice!

Also here we added Hooded Crow (4+) and Rock Dove to our trip list.

After we realised our Eagle chances were looking bleak, we continued south along the A832, stopping at regular intervals for a scan. The scenery was just stunning...

Wow!

The view in the lower photo got better when I picked up an adult White-tailed Eagle soaring distantly further up the coast being mobbed my Ravens. Luckily it came our way, and we were watching it for a good five minutes as it kept getting closer - what a bird! We lost it as it went behind some mountain tops to the east of us.

We had another White-tailed a little later on too, right above the road - this one being an immature. It didn't half move; it was right above our car - then in about two minutes appeared to be two miles away! Impressive!!

Other birds we noted during our regular stops were another summer plumaged Slav Grebe, a further ten Great Northern Divers, a couple of Eider and four more Rock Dove.

As we started to head back east, the nearer to Inverness we got, the more regular Red Kites were - awsesome! Better still was an Osprey soaring low over the road, which revealed a nest on a nearby electricity pylon. Crossing the bridge in Inverness, a flock of c1000 Pink-feet made a dull green field a lot more exciting!

By the time we had eaten in Inverness, the sun was setting. We stopped at layby 151 (on A9) briefly, where a mostly white Mountain Hare, and fly over Hooded Crow and Osprey (complete with fish) were the higlights.

Bun and Karen at 'Layby 151'

We decided to take an evening drive up the Findhorn Valley after this stop... bird wise a flock of Golden Plovers and a couple of roding Woodcock were the best, but mammals stole the show with this Mountain Hare...

Still with white bits on its ears

And several hundred Red Deer grazing beside the river...

It was quite a sight!

We headed back to the B and B, preparing ourselves for a very early wake up the following morning... (stay tuned!)