Scotland Trip - Day Five

The final day...

Day Five - Thursday 14th April

After breakfast, we loaded up the trusty Corsa and said farewell to Glenan Lodge at about 9am. I can highly recommend this B and B, it is good value, the rooms are very comfortable and the breakfast very yummy!!

We all wanted one last look at a summer plumaged Black-throated Diver, so this was the first port of call. It didn't take us long to find a pair of these stunners showing very well indeed...

Just stunning!

Also on the loch were a summer plumaged Red-throated Diver and a pair of Wigeon. Yet again Red Grouse were all around us!

We then headed north (yes I know - even further away from home!), and soon stumbled upon a surprise male Black Grouse...

It appeared to be displaying to itself - unless there was a female hiding somewhere nearby?

After about 50 minutes driving, we'd reached Nairn where we wanted to do a bit of sea watching from...

Looking north from the harbour car park at Nairn

It didn't take long to pick up three Long-tailed Ducks, several Eider, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and Sandwich Tern - then a fine summer plumaged Red-necked Grebe appeared out of nowhere.

A Goldeneye flashing!!

Also here, there were at least 50 Turnstone, a couple of Ringed Plover and a Hooded Crow.

We took to the road again, and headed around the coast (for over two hours!) to Rattray Head - this is where a King Eider had been reported on a couple of days within the past week. Whilst driving here, a singing Corn Bunting and several Yellowhammers were 'trip ticks'.

We got to Rattray - then began to drive out to the head. We hadn't gone far before I just HAD to pull in...

Grey = Geese

There were thousands and thousands of Pink-footed Geese feeding in road side fields, what a sight!! A look through them revealed a couple of sandy brown leucistic Pink-feet, and singles of Greylag and Barnacle Geese.

On the other side of the road was a huge Ley - this had plenty of diving ducks and Great Crested Grebes on. A couple more Corn Buntings were singing here too, though remained annoyingly invisible!

We eventually got to the car park at the end of the track, and walked out over the sand dunes past a flock of over 200 stunning mostly summer plumaged Golden Plover.

Rattray Head beach and lighthouse

There was no sign of the hoped for King Eider, but there was just so much to look at it was fantastic! On the beach were Sanderling, Redshank and a surprise Ruff. About 100 Eider were loafing about just offshore, and behind them AT LEAST 210 Great Northern Divers!! Also 6+ Red-throated Divers, and auks were constantly flying past north, with a few Kittiwakes and Gannets also noted.

A quick check of Birdguides on my Blackberry showed that the/a King Eider had been seen on the Monday just gone on the Ythan Estuary. As this was south of where we were, and on the way back home, we thought we may as well stop off here...

A quick check of the Estuary from a few stopping places on the A975 showed the Estuary was heaving with birds. Pintail was the only bird added to the trip list here, but if we had more time to look closer I'm sure we would have unearthed a few more 'trip ticks'.

We arrived at the golf club car park, and made our way to the mouth of the Estuary. The sight and sound was just absolutely spectacular as several hundred Eider were 'loafing about like Mallards at Radipole!'...

Stunning!

There was no sign of the drake King Eider - much to our annoyance - but another bonus here was the impressive seal colony...

There were loads of them!

Here's a short video too...

if you turn the volume up you can hear the Eider calling

The time was now 17:00 - and we still had an at least 11 hour car journey ahead of us to get home!!! We followed the Sat Nav (which all week had been a god send), and it took us right through Aberdeen City Centre at rush hour!!!!

We finally came out the other side of Aberdeen and began headed purposefully south. Apart from a quick fuel stop, and an hour's stop at a Little Chef near Sterling (where I ate the nicest burger EVER!) we made good progress.

We got back to Bristol at about 3am, and I got back home to Seaton for just before 5am.... I was bloody shattered!!!

I had such an enjoyable five days, in which time we clocked up 115 species of birds, saw some great mammals, stunning scenery and most of all, had a cracking good laugh! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Bun, Nick and Karen for their company, and everyone who gave us 'gen' to ensure we got the most out of our trip.

From the moment I took this photo on the Farr Pass, I knew this was the photo I'd finish this review with. Thank you Scotland for such an enjoyable birding break....

The 'Famous Grouse'

Well I hope you have enjoyed reading my rather drawn out trip report!? I'm pleased to announce that normal service will now be resumed on Axe Birding...

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 Three

Day Three - Tuesday 12th April

It was an early start for us today, and we were at Loch Garten for 05:20! It was soon apparent that we weren't the only people with this idea - there were at least twenty others making their way to the Osprey hide under the cover of darkness.

The hide flaps were soon opened, and we were told a male and female Capercaillie could be seen on the cameras leking somewhere to the right of us... soon enough the male Caper could be seen now and then strutting about between trees. It was distant but I managed to get some good scope views - and at one point even watched it jump into the air. Even got a brief glimpse of the female as she flew a short distance.

It was great to see them yes, but the viewing conditions were uncomfortable with everyone trying to look through the few slits in the hide at once! It seemed as though that whenever you had the Caper in your bins or scope, someone got in the way - or even knocked you out of the way!!! I reckon though it was just an ultra busy morning when we were here, and on a quieter morning would be more enjoyable.

Outside the side door of the hide, several Siskins were feeding on a feeder, and in the trees above a very smart male Crossbill (sp!?). As we were in the 'Osprey hide' I would have been disappointed not to see an Osprey - I wasn't disappointed....

Ospreys at dawn

We were back to our cars by 07:30 - then drove to a nearby car park to have a wander around Loch Mallachie...

Atmospheric or what!?

It was as we were heading back to the car that our target bird showed itself - with three Crested Tits calling high in the canopy. We all got some sort of views of at least one of them, before they flew off and away from the path.

A male Redstart singing by the loch was an addition to the trip list, and we heard a couple of Crossbill flying over.

We headed back to the B and B and ate our well deserved breakfast. We were soon out again though, and drove up the Findhorn Valley once more. The weather was glorious, with bright sunshine, but a strong and cold wind meant most of the scanning was done from inside the car!!

After a few Buzzards, two Golden Eagles (an adult and an immature) were picked up circling above the ridge beyond where the road stops. We watched them for a minute or two before theyl glided off south....result! As we were driving back up the valley, a male Ring Ouzel was a welcome addition to the trip list, with a second (invisible) bird calling from nearby gorse.

We turned off the road, and headed along the Farr Pass - a simply stunning road...

What a view!!

We saw several Red Grouse (they really are everywhere around here!!!) and a wing-tagged Red Kite flew over the car...

Quite a chunk missing out of its right wing

Next stop was 'the famous Slav Grebe Loch'...

Although most birders I'm sure know where this is, I still won't post it

Six breeding plumaged Slav Grebes were here, along with a cracking pair of Red-throated Divers. Little Grebe was also added to the trip list here.

Our tummies were starting to rumble (despite the monster breakfast!), so we stopped off at Carrbridge Spar - which is right opposite this rather impressive bridge...

No Dippers under it though!

We then headed to a known Black-throated Diver site, and on arrival were soon treated to stunning view of an full breeding plumaged bird.... what a STONKER!!!! Also here were a pair of Goosander and several Greylag Geese.

The surrounding area held many more Red Grouse, some of which came quite close to the car...

Two photos of a male, and one of his lady

We then moved to a forest just east of Granton-on-Spey, and spent a good two hours walking around it...

Bun looking Smurf-like! No he hasn't shrunk, the trees really are that massive!

We heard Crossbill once or twice, but the highlight of this 'expedition' were three more Crested Tits, with one bird in particular showing well feeding intently high up in a couple of conifers...

Am well pleased with my Lumix for this one

Arriving back at the car was a bit of a relief - especially for me! Readers of this blog will know I am not a huge fan of woodland birding. I had thought Scotland would be a different matter - but not by the end of this trek!!!

Anyway, it's about time I posted a photo of our transport really! Yes this car really did get us from Bristol and back, with four people and all our gear....

A three door Vauxhall Corsa with an engine less than 1000cc!

It was getting late now, so we found ourselves a fish and chip shop in Aviemore, then spent the hour of dusk staring at some bird feeders speculatively hoping for a Pine Marten! Our efforts weren't rewarded, so we headed back to the B and B ready for bed...

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!)

Scotland Trip - Day One

Well we are back - and am pleased to report that we haven't missed much on patch! I'm even more pleased to report that we had an excellent time in Scotland - plenty of birds, plenty of sunshine, plenty of laughter and plenty of stunning scenery.

Bun and I picked up Karen at 21:30 on Saturday, and just after 23:00 were in Bristol where we met Nick Page. We loaded our stuff into his car (a Vauxhall Corsa!!) and continued driving north. Due to the size of our transport, I didn't take my telescope - so almost all of my photos were taken hand held with my Panasonic Lumix.

Sunday 10th April - Day One

We arrived at our first site at about 04:50. This site was well south of the Cairngorm National Park, so we decided to use it to break the journey up a little. The plan was to have an hour's kip before it got light, but I stepped out of the car to have a pee and that all changed...

In the pitch black, Curlew, Lapwing, Red-legged and Grey Partridge and Red Grouse were calling, with Snipe drumming over our heads... then I could pick out the distant sound of Black Grouse lekking - we had struck gold!!! Just standing by the road in the dark listening to all these sounds was magic, and an incredible way to start our trip.

As it began to get a little lighter, we drove on a little further and could see in the murk the shapes of male Black Grouse beside the road, with the white of their tails already standing out. As it got lighter we could soon see nine male and three female Black Grouse going at it - what an experience...

Photos aren't great as it remained dull

And here's a little video...

If this wasn't enough already, a Short-eared Owl appeared and began displaying over the valley, several skeins of Pink-feet flew over north and we saw another three male Black Grouse a little further east along the road.

We saw many thousand Pinkfeet in about five skeins

And another little video...

We headed on from here and continued on with our journey. The further north we drove, the more regular Oystercatchers and Curlew became - especially the former, they are all over the place! On the road side verges, on roundabouts - everywhere!

With this day being the day with the lightest wind forecasted, we decided to head straight up to the Cairngorms. Although we did stop at a few places en-route, including a cafe where the bacon in our rolls contained more salt than the salt pots on the table did - yuk!

We also called in at Loch Morlich on the way to the top, here a migrant Greenshank flew around calling, but there was little else on the loch...

Loch Morlich

We arrived at the car park at the foot of the Cairngorm funicular railway... having been awake for about 26 hours already we decided against walking up and took the railway...

Little did we know, this was the last day of skiing up here, and the weather was absolutely glorious - I swear it was WARM on the very top of the Cairngorms... all I was wearing was a t-shirt and a light fleece and was too hot!!!

Anyway, the weather and the fact it was the end of the season up here meant there were HUNDREDS of skiers - and most of the team weren't confident about seeing Ptarmigan at all. Persistence paid off though, as after about twenty minutes of scanning two of these 'mountain Grouse' were located on the slopes above the Ptarmigan Restaurant. They were just beside the only path which goes up the mountain from base camp - which was rather lucky!

There's one in this pic, can you see it?

A bit clearer - the lower shot was taken with my Nikon through Bun's scope

The view was stunning, and although it never looks anywhere near as spectacular through photos, I'm still going to post several of them...

In the top photo; Karen Bun and Nick

It was time to head back down, so we got back on the 'train' to head down...

With the lack of wind, we then headed to Curr Woods hoping for some Crossbills. There wasn't much here at all really - although it was soon clear just how bloody common Chaffinches are up here - and how different they sound to the Chaffinches 'down south!'. A singing Tree Pipit was nice - I was surprised to see one here already.

After much patience, we did hear some Parrot Crossbills in the distance - but didn't see them at all.

We tried viewing the same woods from another vantage point - and from here could see a couple of Crossbills sat up in some larch trees. There were just too distant to do anything with though. We did see our first Red Squirrel here - and see it well we did...

Nice!!

We were all feeling really tired, but couldn't resist a drive down the Findhorn Valley, which was very near to our accommodation in Tomatin. The Findhorn Valley is one of my favourite places on this planet...

Just stunning!

We could see plenty of Red Deer up on the hill tops, but few birds. The team's weariness was starting to show now...

Still keen though!!

We then spent the next half hour trying to find somewhere to eat - which is harder than it sounds! We finally found a place in Aviemore - and can honestly say we will never be going back to it again!!! To be fair though the pizza's weren't all that bad.

Over dinner we were practically falling asleep, so went on to our Guest House to crash out...

This proved an excellent choice of accommodation

Check back to this blog over the next few days for the rest of the trip's action....