A Devonian & Two Mancunians' Highland Fling!

[Andrew]

26-03-05
Location : Vane Farm RSPB & Nethybridge. Perth & Highland.

Yesterday I made a long and troublesome yet worthwhile train journey up to Manchester to join James and Jeannine on a week's trip to Scotland full of promise. Early this morning we boarded the loaded Freelander and before we even left the courtyard I asked "Are we there yet?". The passage through the Lake District was more than pleasing with reassuringly impressive countryside. I was puzzled how they managed to get away with ploughing a motorway right through it with even a cement works. Cheers went up as we passed the 'Welcome to Scotland' sign. A momentary rest at Abington service allowed me to pick up a bottle of the local water, Irn Bru! Chancing twenty pence in a slot machine rewarded me with a pound so I took this as a portent of our good birding fortune to come this week. Just over half way there we paused for lunch at RSPB's Vane Farm reserve on the banks of Loch Leven hoping to see an Osprey or a Smew. The Scottish list was started off with a fury in the car park and the first hide. From the car park a Common Raven soared above the woods. Among the masses of Pink-footed Geese it was slightly satisfactory to tick some genuinely wild Greylag Geese. The first hide offered a few ducks, waders and other birds but the highlight was undoubtedly a majestic Osprey I spotted flying overhead while watching a singing Skylark. That was Osprey sorted as a year tick. I would not need to rush out to Bowling Green Marsh in the autumn to see one but I suspect I will do so anyway as they are fine birds. James spotted a single male Reed Bunting in a bush and it proved to be the only one we saw all week. From the third and final hide the pick of the bunch were a single Little Grebe feeding in a channel in front of us and a shy Common Snipe nipping out of the grass on a distant bank. We had been mindful of a Snipe in all the hides so it was a relief to bag one and not have to worry about it the rest of the week. Sadly there was no sign of the Smew, I suspect it would have been very difficult to find on the immense loch. Loch Leven impressed me with it's numerous Common Goldeneyes. Vane Farm had given us a forty bird start. The birds not already mentioned were Common Blackbird, European Robin, Magpie, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Pied Wagtail, Tufted Duck, Grey Heron, Black-headed Gull, Common Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Great Crested Grebe, Common Shelduck, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Curlew, Common Moorhen, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Pochard, Northern Lapwing, Gadwall and Common Linnet. The stop had done wonders as we were all refreshed and continued north to Nethybridge. The switch from the lowlands to the highlands of Scotland was a dramatic change of scenery. It was now awe inspiring swathes of brown and green heather with domineering granite hillsides littered with grey rocky screes. It was the immense power of nature's immovability at it's finest. As we approached our base at Nethybridge, James pulled over to afford us fine views of at least two Hooded Crows feeding around some straw or manure. Not even into our accommodation and I had scored a lifer. I hoped all our target birds would fall as easily but suspected that that it would not be so. After unloading our possessions into 'The Bothy' we settled on a bench to watch several bird feeders with the requisite cup of tea in hand. Several birds came to the feeders with the company of an alluring Red Squirrel stealing a few peanuts. Our genial host came out to offer us a plate of hot baked shortbread. Hot shortbread is novel to me but it worked a treat on a cold day. Eight more were added to the list but sadly no Crested Tit. The additions were Yellowhammer, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Eurasian Siskin, Eurasian Collared Dove, Redwing, Wood Pigeon and Mistle Thrush. The evening was spent in the Heatherbrae Hotel in Nethybridge playing pool and enjoying a local ale, Trade Winds, which easily passed muster. Other local delights were Black Gold, a stout that tasted of honeyed liquorice and Stag Beer which was sadly very flat and soapy. That decided it, Trade Winds was to be our beer for the week. Today was a good start with a quality year tick and a lifer, you could not ask for a better start when most of it was spent driving.

[Andrew]

27-03-05
Location : Loch Garten, Boat of Garten, Loch Ruthven & Findhorn Valley. Highland.

After last night's beer sampling it was with a heavy head I woke up early this morning. We also lost an hour's sleep due to a switch to British Summer Time. Dunnock was ticked off in the garden before setting off to Abernethy Forest in search of Crested Tit and Scottish/Parrot Crossbill. In the gloomy light we could make out several Sand Martins acrobatically feeding over Loch Garten while James spoke to the an RSPB warden about local prospects. We were advised to move onto the next forest trail for Crested Tit and to forget about the Crossbills with it being a poor year for the pine cone crops. I was quite miffed to think that one of our target birds had to be written off. A complete circuit of a forest walk taking in the shores of Loch Garten and Loch Mallachie produced no Crested Tit or Crossbills at all, just a load of Chaffinches. I made a bad call while looking over Loch Garten, shouting out a Grey Heron in flight as an Osprey. Well, my excuse is you have to call it out just in case! During a coffee break back at the car park we added a consolatory Great Spotted Woodpecker before moving on to Boat of Garten where James had a back up site for Crested Tit. On the way through Boat of Garten we saw the original Heatherlea birding holiday building where James and Jeannine had their honeymoon. A walk through a forest behind a football pitch with a much wider and open path looked promising. After about 500 yards we watched a pair of birds feeding in a pine tree until they came into view and we saw the unmistakable crest of a Crested Tit and burst into unbridled ecstasy, jumping up and down and hugging each other in self congratulation. Anyone watching would have thought us odd, unless they were birders. After the disappointment of the morning I had a tightness in my chest and it evaporated at the sight of the monochrome passerines brimming with effervescent charm. What a lifer! When we had calmed down we turned back to watch them but only managed a few seconds more before they moved on. Back at The Bothy we celebrated with fuel rich bacon and egg baps and copious amounts of tea. Song Thrush and Goldcrest were added from the garden before setting off again to Loch Ruthven for summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe. New birds seen along the way were Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook, Common Redshank, Common Gull, Common Starling and Common Pheasant. I called for us to stop by a small river at Farr to add a stunning drake Goosander with a few House Sparrows behind some houses nearby. Some dog walkers flushed the Goosander further upstream so it was onwards again. Loch Ruthven provided superb views of a single summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe that was hard to get close to. Despite the views being distant they were still good enough to make out the golden ear tufts and the hypnotic red eyes. It was a hard task trying to get a decent picture of it as it dived under regularly to feed but James managed some video footage to take home. Even though I had already seen them in numbers off Dawlish Warren this year, it was a special bird and a lifer in a way as I had never seen them in their enchantingly handsome breeding attire before. On the way back to the car we thought we had seen a few Twite in flight but without being so sure we did not count them, pity as they would have been a year tick for me. The clouds were breaking and time was on our side so James and Jeannine suggested to my delight that we make an early trip to the Findhorn Valley for the Golden Eagles on our way home. Once again I called for us to stop at a bridge over the Findhorn River near Tomatin as there was a divine White-throated Dipper foraging in the river below. The drive through the Findhorn Valley was breathtaking and some birders were already there looking for Golden Eagles. I could imagine an army of raptors charging down the valley following the powerful and ageless river but the reality was much more sporadic but impressive nonetheless. Several Common Buzzards showed in various places over the ridges and a well-formed Peregrine Falcon put in an exciting appearance. James and I were absolutely convinced of a Golden Eagle soaring down the valley along a ridge but the other birders were not so sure. It did not matter as about half a hour later an unmistakable Golden Eagle glided in the same direction and manner with wings at a slight angle and huge fingers in the wings. This time all the birders were unanimous about it. Lifer number two for me today. Some of the birders passed on some information of a good site for a male Capercaillie that we would try tomorrow morning. The day's fortunes were toasted with some fine wine in the evening before retiring to bed early for an early rise in the morning but I suspect more so because the day had worn us out!

[Andrew]

28-03-05
Location : Lochindorb, Findhorn Bay, Burghead & Loch Spynie. Highland & Moray.

We rose at half past five this morning to visit some woods just outside Grantown-on-Spey hoping to see a Capercaillie at a roosting and feeding site. While walking through in the dark I was sure of a Tawny Owl flying away from us. If I was a hundred percent positive of it then it would have been a lifer for me but I could not dismiss a Wood Pigeon so it was one that got away. Robins were amusingly hopping along the path in front of us in the dark. We found the mound with a tree stump favoured by a male Capercaillie then waited and watched from various points for an hour and half. A few other birders turned up with the same ideas but as it got too light for a good chance we headed back home for consolatory bacon sandwiches. At least we gave it a try and had another opportunity at the end of the week when they start the Caper Watches at Loch Garten but I had practically written off my hopes of seeing a Capercaillie and channelled my enthusiasms on to the remaining target birds. Duly refreshed we were off once again to the coast with a stop half way there at Dava Moor and Lochindorb for Red Grouse and summer plumaged Red-throated Divers. Driving through Dava Moor we saw plenty of Red Grouse including two small coveys but the best was on the banks of Lochindorb. A pair was right on the edge of the water and we stopped close to them affording ourselves an excellent photograph opportunity. I managed to get out round the back of the car and sneaked up behind a wheelie bin to get about five feet away from the male as it investigated us. That was very fulfilling and we carried on alongside the loch. Close encounters with Oystercatchers and Lapwings allowed us further photographic opportunities. Unfortunately we had no Red-throated Divers at all but some more wild Greylag Geese around a ruined castle in the middle of the loch and a stunning male Stonechat on top of a road sign. Next up was Findhorn Bay on the Moray coast. Scanning from the hide boosted our trip list with Ringed Plover, Red Knot, Dunlin, Sanderling, Red-breasted Merganser and a Peregrine plucking an unidentifiable kill. Our peregrinations took us to Burghead next to view some genuine Rock Doves, at the time I was not impressed but later thought it good to have seen them as a replacement lifer for the feral Pigeons I have been ticking off. Scanning a choppy sea behind the shelter of a tall mini-bus produced an eye opener. I have twitched one or two Long-tailed Ducks and a few Eider in Devon and here there was endless rafts of Long-tailed Ducks and countless Common Eiders too. The long tails of the ducks were most soothing on the psyche. Anyone who claims to be unmoved by breeding plumaged male Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks is evidently a pathological liar. Other trip ticks scored here included Great Black-backed Gull, European Shag, Common Scoter, Northern Gannet, Ruddy Turnstone and Red-throated Diver. The strong cold wind was biting into us so we gladly moved on to Lossiemouth but that was out of the frying pan and into the fire as it was even colder there. The wind was whipping up the narrow estuary but that was no match for my thirst for year ticks. I stuck it out on the benches for as long as I could possibly, scanning the gull flocks failed to bring the white winged gulls I had hoped for. A few Grey Plover were meagre compensation for my suffering. It was much easier to watch the gulls from the car with lunch. Looking at the map we could see Loch Spynie was not far away and knew it had recently hosted some white winged gulls. James asked a local birder for directions and we were away. After some confused efforts we were glad to finally find the small car park for the loch and a hide. There were quality views of a gentle faced adult Iceland Gull and both a juvenile and an adult Glaucous Gull with meaner expressions in the gull roost. That was both gulls sorted for the year list and this made all three of us very content indeed. It was enlightening to have the two in close attendance for comparison. The length of the wings of the Iceland Gull was the most striking feature for me. An expatriate Australian birder in the hide tipped us off about a few Mandarin Ducks in the river at Elgin which would be good for another year tick. Despite walking up and down the river we failed to see one at all but that was not too disappointing as the river was strewn with litter and the adjacent stadium had unnecessarily excessive jingoistic graffiti scrawled all over the walls. It would not have been a nice bird to look back on, a diminutive Winter Wren was a welcome addition to the trip list here though. Our final stop of the day was somewhere along the way back to Grantown-on-spey, of which I forget the name, for a Northern Bullfinch. Sadly we could not find it at all and carried on back to The Bothy. It was another good day with some quality year ticks rounded off by some good wine in the evening.

[Andrew]

29-03-05
Location : Gruinard Bay. Highland.

I woke up from a vivid dream where I had found an Alpine Swift on the top of a mound on St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly. It turned out to be a very controversial sighting resulting in riots spilling out of the pubs, fires breaking out, looting, and total anarchy in the streets. A wise old man emerged from a dark alley and gently pressed my arm and said something along the lines of "Good find, son!". Jeannine confirmed the madness of my dream as she had heard me from the room next door, shouting "Call the police!" which worried her a bit. Today we were making a long journey to the west coast to try to see a White-tailed Eagle at Gruinard Bay. The long drive wound through emotive scenery of heather clad hills and pine fringed rocky lochs, I was transfixed at times. During a coffee break at Loch Maree, James rightfully complimented a pine tree for it's uncanny beauty and it rewarded us with a foraging Eurasian Treecreeper. Stopping at Gairloch harbour gave us stunning close views of Common Eiders and a superb year tick, a summer plumaged Black Guillemot. It surfaced very close to the harbour but by the time I got round there it had drifted away out of decent photography range. Further on towards Gruinard a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk passed over the car near Aultbea and we stopped once again at a lay by overlooking Loch Ewe with the Isle of Ewe in the middle of it. This was a good stop as it added Great Northern Diver to the list. Finally we arrived at a lay by looking out to Gruinard Island. This is also known as Anthrax Island as the government ran anthrax tests on cattle here during the second world war. As a result no one is allowed on to the island for the sake of their health. That is of great benefit to the White-tailed Eagles we were hoping to see. A couple were there already looking for them having been there since missing one by five minutes, two hours ago. Being positive I suggested to James that they had done two hours of waiting for us. The man sported a green woolly hat adorned with a profusion of metal birding badges around the rim and he struck me as very familiar. He later came up to me and asked where he had seen me before. It transpired that he has a friend in Exeter and often birds down in Devon, a small world. We never worked out where we met. A party of eight Black-throated Divers drifted into view and showed well for the rest of our stay. They were of various plumage stages including one or two in almost full summer attire. Another year tick sorted. To our right a flock of genuine wild Barnacle Geese were feeding, another replacement lifer and a trip tick. I tried to find an abmigrating goose with them such as a Red-breasted but no luck. Black Guillemots flew by which were an uplifting sight with a few on the sea in front of us along with a few Great Northern Divers moving into breeding plumage. Acting on a tip off we returned to Loch Maree to look for an Eagle but it did not work out successfully. While there someone suggested we try Longa Island where they often feed. Sadly there were none there either. All was not lost as we enjoyed excellent views of a trio of Great Skuas around the island. Year tick! We returned to Gruinard for two hours until six in the evening with nothing to show for it and headed back home disappointed but aware that that was birding, you can not win them all. Our sadness was brushed aside by a visit to a Little Chef where a large and decadent Mixed Grill did the trick followed up by more Trade Winds beer at the Heatherbrae Hotel and some entertaining games of pool. Tomorrow we had ambitious plans to bag Black Grouse and scale Cairn Gorm for Ptarmigan. This double whammy should ensure I enjoy a lifer tomorrow so it was off to bed feeling content with my lot.

[Andrew]

30-03-05
Location : Cairn Gorm & Insh Marshes RSPB. Highland.

An early morning search of the back roads through the pine forest as well as a moor failed to yield a Black Grouse as we had hoped. Even checking out Kingussie Golf Course was no help. That dropped my morale like a stone as we had now failed on two target birds in a row. A small flock of Whooper Swans on the edge of Insh Marshes on the way home were a minor sweetener. After breakfast I perked up and forgot about the defeats and focussed on the Ptarmigans up Cairn Gorm with renewed confidence. Before we reached the Cairngorm Mountain Railway we stopped at Aviemore so Jeannine could pick up a fleece hat and I finally found some genuine Scottish heather honey to take home. James disappeared into a bank for a while and looking though the window we found him playing golf of all things! I have to admit that his conscience was unquestionably clear as it was for charity. My confidence took a temporary blow as a guide at the Railway centre said due to planning regulations we could go up the railway but would not be able to walk about to look for Ptarmigans. After a chat with the ranger we had reassurance, an option was to walk just over a mile up the mountain into the snow line and listen for them as they were quite vocal. Without hesitation I agreed to it, no one was going to stop us seeing a Ptarmigan. Early into the walk there was a possible Snow Bunting but views were too brief to count it. The ascent was a slightly hard slog for me as my ears began to hurt and I had a few dizzy spells but we persevered into the icy clouds stopping now and then to search after passing the snow line. A walking party was led by a bold guide wearing an open buttoned tee shirt as if it was summer time. The sweat on my fleece hat had turned into ice but my head was still warm. About three quarters up the mountain we stopped for the fourth or fifth time to scan and I spotted a few tiny blotches moving about in the snow and shouted out a few expletives followed by "PTARMIGAN!". In no time we had scope views of a wonderful ptarmigan coming out of it pure white winter plumage less than thirty metres away from us. Sheer elation overwhelmed me and I was buzzing with excitement. The cameras came out and I managed a few cloudy digiscoped pictures with James securing some video footage. With pictures sorted we edged a bit closer to the bird for some hand held pictures until the Ptarmigan got too uncomfortable and inched away. That was enough of a hint as we backed off being satisfied having seen all that we need to see. That was a very important target bird achieved as I had been studying photographs a few weeks ago and mentioned to James that Ptarmigan were such intricate bird and put them at the top of our wish list much to his agreement. With the victorious group photograph done we did not suffer the cold any longer and returned down to the visitor centre. As expected the descent saw me develop wobbly legs. An hour later we were enjoying hot sandwiches and coffee with broad grins on our faces. Surely a lifer I shall remember for a very long time as the effort we put in for it was unarguably reciprocated by the bird. Unfortunately there were none of the reported Snow Buntings around the car park so we moved on to Insh Marshes. There was nothing new but we did not care as we were resting on our laurels and having a dude afternoon, enjoying the displaying Curlews, Red Deer, soaring Buzzards and Lapwings in flight as well as more Whooper Swans. Back at The Bothy we rested on the bench while photographing the Red Squirrel at the feeder before rounding off the evening watching the England match with some wine. A grand day indeed!

[Andrew]

31-03-05
Location : The Black Isle, Highland.

I had got used to rising from bed very early in the morning and could not take advantage of a lie in this morning as I was up at six as usual to read my book. We were off at the leisurely hour of nine to the Black Isle for some Red Kites. A dense sea mist had engulfed the Black Isle and hampered our efforts but after a decent drive around the western side of the Black Isle we finally glimpsed a single Red Kite over a farm at Bogallan which was the first of the year for all of us. Jeannine spotted an Eurasian Jay to add to the trip list. One Red Kite was enough for us so we moved on to our next location, a picturesque valley to look for Golden Eagles and an eyrie. It was a long valley drive made pleasant by stunning scenery, at the side of a loch there were a few Grey Wagtails. The sun was in our eyes when we found the correct location so we pushed on to the very end of the public road by a loch for lunch. A Pied Wagtail posed benevolently for us to take a few photographs. On the way back we found what we thought was the eagle's eyrie and gave it some time for the eagle to put in an appearance. None showed up so we drove back to the Black Isle to check a few coastal locations for sea birds. The mist had departed and the countryside was bathed in glorious sunshine bringing out the Red Kites including a few right over the car. At Chanonry Point a couple from a circus had a parrot of some sort that squawked "Hello love!" to James, we did not dare stroke it as we valued our digits too much. They later brought out an Eagle Owl that struck fear into the local gulls. They claimed it had a starring role in Harry Potter, I suppose all Owl owners would do. Scanning the sea from the point rewarded us with Black-legged Kittiwake and Little Gull, the latter was a good year tick for me. I later learnt that I had mistakenly ticked it already this year. It was a good bird as it prompted discussion as I wanted to be sure we were not dismissing anything rarer. The sea was heaving with Razorbills but no Puffins as we had hoped. A few other spots were checked with nothing new before retiring to 'The Pantry' in Cromarty for tea and scrumptious cakes. Several Long-tailed Ducks were in the Cromarty Firth and I tried to photograph them at range with only one passable shot to show for it. On the way out of Cromarty there was a single Rock Pipit that appeared to be nesting in a rainwater outfall pipe in the sea wall. There was a wader roost at the end of the road that offered hope of something new but it was not to be. The last stop was a look out to the Moray Firth behind Inverness Caledonian Thistle's football stadium with a drake Goldeneye very close in that produced a good photograph. That was it for the day as we headed home for an exceptional Ruby Murray crafted by James's own fair hand before heading off to the hotel to toast a satisfactory day with Trade Winds. Early tomorrow morning we hope to see a Capercaillie at the RSPB Caper Watch in Abernethy Forest.

[Andrew]

01-04-05
Location : Abernethy & Gruinard Bay. Highland.

I could not let April Fool's Day pass unused so in the dark hours of this morning James was shocked for a few seconds to find the plastic turd I had surreptitiously placed by his boots. Jeannine had elected to stay in bed for a change and who could blame her after a week of continuous early rising. After a warm pot of tea we were on our way to Abernethy Forest by Loch Garten. The RSPB staff waited until first light before opening the flaps of the large Osprey hide. Incidentally, one of the Ospreys had returned but there was no sign of it on the nest or anywhere. After half an hour of scanning what we could see from the hide without a hint of a Capercaillie I suggested to James that we cut our losses and try the roads and moors for a Black Grouse. Thankfully he was of the same mind and promptly agreed so we were off with a few others thinking the same of our chances of a Capercaillie. It was a good move as we spotted three birders with scopes on the moor looking at something. Luckily they were watching two male Black Grouse challenging each other for territorial rights. The tails were fanned broadly revealing fluffed up tufts of white feathers, when relaxed the black tail feathers were in a gorgeous fluted structure. They showed well for twenty minutes and were still there when we left. This last minute switch of tactics had rewarded me with a fantastic lifer and James with a super year tick. Whatever we did for the rest of the day did not matter as we had put right our failure to see a Black Grouse earlier in the week and I had my lifer quotient of the day. Back at The Bothy we enjoyed bacon and egg baps followed by a short nap before setting off for a touristy day in Inverness. Just before entering Inverness we ticked off a Common Kestrel hovering over the road. There was an eye opening Whisky store in Inverness where James had a special bottle made up for him which dashed my plans to buy a bottle as a gift for Jeannine and him. The museum by the castle had some amazing displays of Scottish birds, albeit stuffed and mounted. We soon ran out of things to do in Inverness so James proposed a wild idea of returning to Gruinard again for a second attempt at the White-tailed Eagles. After dispelling any suspicions of a late afternoon April Fool ruse I wholeheartedly agreed to it and we promptly sorted out lunch which was a genuine Scottish Scotch Pie for me and we were off again. After a long drive we arrived feeling very lucky indeed. I mentioned that if we saw one I would do a Shankly salute and James bettered that as he would unquestionably drop his trousers! After a long wait we had a possible bird that prompted a lot of frustrated discussion due to it’s distance. It was a few days later after much more discussion and checking the books that we accepted it was indeed a juvenile White-tailed Eagle on the basis of it’s jizz and structure. Not knowing it at the time meant James got away with his promise! I wish I had known for sure at the time to celebrate the lifer in the manner it deserved. It repeatedly dived down to the sea, I suspect to exhaust an Eider or something like that. The bill was visibly chunky at range with huge talons hanging from it’s body as it hung in the strong winds. Jeannine and James claimed to have seen a white tailed adult calling to it at one stage. Above all it was clearly a bird of great size but the distance was always dashing our belief at the time. A small flock of European Golden Plovers passed between us and the island. Not having ticked the eagle off for now meant we returned home slightly subdued but not despondent. After a cup of tea and smartening up we enjoyed the delights of an Italian restaurant near Aviemore.

[Andrew]

02-04-05
Location : Loch Lomond. Clyde.

Our last day and we had a leisurely lie in prior to packing up, cleaning the place, settling our electricity bill, paying our respects to our hosts and then setting off on a gentle drive across Scotland to Loch Lomond for a long staying Great White Egret. This species is a bit of a bogey bird for me in Britain as I have been after a few and always dipped so I was prepared for it to do a flit as soon as we got there. There was also a possibility of a flock of Greenland White-fronted Geese which would be a year tick. There were no reports of the Egret on the whole journey but we were positive by acknowledging there were still no reports that it was not there. On the A811 a slow drive found some gates marked Wardshill with some birders emerging from a park of some sort. They assured us that it is still showing well and directed us to a parking space. Sure enough the Great White Egret was showing well as it fished along the edge of an immature reed bed, a super lifer! It's curvy neck looked uncomfortably disjointed at times which I suspect was due to a fish lodged in it's throat. Plenty of photos and some filming was taken while watching it stab at small fish. Skeins of geese flew over head but they were all Greylags. The lake had a few decent birds including Goosanders and Whooper Swans. With the target bird sorted we were on our way back to Manchester but not before we had our lunch. The drive through Glasgow took in Kelvinside where I stayed with a friend in my university days and a chip shop plus a few watering holes were familiar to me. Happy days. The day was rounded off nicely with a Liverpool win to do our Champions League qualification hopes a lot of good. We had finished on a hundred and ten species which is pretty good going as I did not expect to even break a hundred. It has been a splendid introduction to birding in Scotland with several lifers and some quality year ticks as well as relentlessly good company.

[Hotspur]

Wow! Good trip? Great read.

[Mickymouse]

What a fabulous read, thanks.

Mick

[kingfisher]

Simply stunning Andrew, you have wetted my appatite, Scotland is a place that I have yet to go birding.

[KernowBirds]

That sounds like a wonderful trip. Many thanks for sharing it.

[Geoff Pain]

Great report as usual Andrew,shall be visiting about 90% of your sites in June when I go to Scotland for the usual annual holiday.

[Andrew]

Thanks for all the kind words.

Geoff, Hope you do well and you are lucky to go every year!

[mike coleman]

I always enjoy reading what folk have to say about this part of the world. Nice one Andrew, and hope to have you back up here again soon! Not sure about your 'real' Rock Doves on the Moray Coast though! ;)

[alan_rymer]

Andrew

A great read ( as usual ), well done James and Jeannine, and yourself for a great birding trip. ( another note to self, must do this sometime ).

[Andrew]

Cheers folks.

Mike, seriously are they not the Real McCoy? I'd prefer to know.

[Ruby]

Hi Andrew,

Sounds like a great trip - very jealous as my (maybe) planned tripp to Scotland has gone pear-shaped, so all those great birds that you saw will just have to stay wishful thinking for me....

Well done...... Ruby

[Sandra (Taylor)]

Hi Andrew. Supposed to be doing some work on my PC but got sidetracked by half an hour reading your report. Nearly all the places are known to us except Loch Lomond area but it's so good to read your version. I don't think we could keep up your pace though! You may know this - but one place where we rarely miss crested tits: as you leave the village of Boat of Garten driving towards the school, there are some feeders hanging in trees on the edge of the forest - park in the layby with legend of Slavonian grebe on a board. You may have to wait 20 mins. or so but we have always seen a crested tit there. It's a good standby if you miss seeing one 'naturally'.

Sandra

:clap:

[digi-birder]

Fantastic report for what sounds like an amazing trip. Some of the places were very familiar from our trips to Scotland.

[devon.birder]

You may know this - but one place where we rarely miss crested tits: as you leave the village of Boat of Garten driving towards the school, there are some feeders hanging in trees on the edge of the forest - park in the layby with legend of Slavonian grebe on a board. You may have to wait 20 mins. or so but we have always seen a crested tit there. It's a good standby if you miss seeing one 'naturally'.

Sandra

:clap:

Andrew may not need to visit this site this year at least Sandra but I am sure many other Birders, including myself in a couple of weeks time, will look out for Crested Tits here. Many thanks for the information. Roger

[Reader]

Cheers folks.

Mike, seriously are they not the Real McCoy? I'd prefer to know.

I could be wrong Andrew, and locals are sure to put me right, but the only true Rock Doves I see are on the northern Scottish shores. I find them north of Tongue quite often near the Skerray area.


As usual your report was a gret read and more importantly so as I am going to Nethybridge next week. The only new place you sprung on me was Loch Spynie. I must admit to not knowing a thing about this place. I have looked it up on the Internet and it seemed like that some of it is private. Was it an easy place to get into. I have the o/s map of that area and there does seem like some access roads around there. Whereabout was the hide situated?

Some excellent birds there Andrew and I am certainly targetting the Capers and the Ptarmigan. I hope I have better luck with the former than you but at least the morning watch is open every day of the week we are there. Hopefully we will get one before we move onto Skye.

[John N]

Fantastic Andrew. Thanks for a super read, backed up by some very nice photo's.

[mike coleman]

Mike, seriously are they not the Real McCoy? I'd prefer to know.

I think the generally accepted view is that the 'real', single-colouration, wild-living, large flock version lives along the very north and west coasts and on the Hebrides and Northern Isles where there is a total lack of oddly coloured 'feral' versions mixing in and creating a colourful selection of doves.....but, hey, who doesn't count Greylag, Barnacle and Canada Geese in England, so I say do what you want!

[mike coleman]

but one place where we rarely miss crested tits: as you leave the village of Boat of Garten driving towards the school, there are some feeders hanging in trees on the edge of the forest - park in the layby with legend of Slavonian grebe on a board. You may have to wait 20 mins. or so but we have always seen a crested tit there. It's a good standby if you miss seeing one 'naturally'.


The feeders were empty and dangling in the breeze today, but Cresties were in that area anyway. On the puddle over the road though look out for Coot, a local semi-rarity!

[tom mckinney]

A top quality read. Brilliant mate.

[Eagle]

Andrew...very interesting reading. I have yet to bird properly in Scotland...so helpful pointers to next year!! That is unless I can manage to go at the end of this year!!!
I was on the Isle of Arran end of Sept 2004 for a w/e walking. I was very fortunate to see 4 Golden Eagles flying . Two full adults and two juveniles!!!
Thrilled, just a bit!!
Sounds like you had a great trip!!

[Andrew]

Thanks for all the replies.

Will PM you Reader, hope you ain't left yet.

[Stuart Watson]

A fantastic adventure and a great deal of ticking-Well done. As a fairly recent and opportunist birder this story has given me enormous inspiration to pack up and take off north again for the sheer thrill.
I also visited Vane Farm on passing(for the first time) that very week (25th)and can highly recommend it- i saw a few fairly common (but new to my list) species. My list is not near as impressive, however i was pushed for time and unable to do the woodland walk into the hills where PEREGRINE had been sighted. I did however from the comfort of the cafe spend a considerable part of the afternoon watching the resident LITTLE EGRET - (Egbert-i think) and my first WHEATEAR a male, before strolling excitedly down to the first hide, checking my first REED BUNTING of the year on the way (also male). The first hide offered amazingly close views of LITTLE GREBE, SHOVELER, MOORHEN, COOT, MALLARD, GREYLAG and PINK FOOTED GEESE and the journey to the second SKYLARK, followed by an almost flattened COMMON TOAD (which we helped off the pathway). These second and third hides were great for intimate viewings of TEAL, POCHARD, TUFTED, WIGEON, CURLEW and just before we left a SPARROWHAWK. The couple of hours had been an eye opener - there were GREAT and BLUE TIT at the feeders with CHAFFINCH, and ROBIN singing proudly beside the nest boxes at the car park.
We left on a high, before I realised that we hadn`t properly picked out a single GADWALL - we were probably looking straight at them at points, but inexperience and excitement likely had us overlook them as female TEAL,POCHARD or WIGEON of which
I had no previous experience.

The previous day by two was Loch of the Lowes just as the sun went down- the Loch was still and beautiful in the fading light as we arrived at the hide to be informed that we`d only just missed the OSPREY doing a bit of night fishing. He was now sat cosy in the nest, and we waited paitiently hoping he would `stretch his wings`. He popped his head up now and again, but it wasn`t to be. A TUFTED DUCK kept us `active` and we were rewarded-when an OTTER came out from reeds below the nest for a swim followed by a pair of CANADA GOOSE flying overhead. RED DEER and an abundance of BATS were slowing our journey back to to base as were the usual suicidal RABBITS. Not to much in the way of birding, a tourist visit to St. Andrews made up for that the next day.

24th March saw a slightly clearer sky than previous days, so a trip to Saint Andrews historic Castle and Cathedral ruins was in order - no intent of `spotting` whatsoever, although I naturally took the field glasses anyway (to take in the views) ahem.
The castle walls on the cliff face were teaming with FULMAR which would have made good photo opportunity had we brought a camera with us. This was a bird I`d longed to see and now they were flying around beside me. More was to come - as I watched a couple of dozen EIDER on the rocky beach below, a ROCK PIPIT caught my eye and led my binoculars straight into the path of a male RED BREASTED MERGANSER (another first for me). Further examination of the coastline revealed CORMORANT, MALLARD, GREAT BLACK BACKED GULL, CARRION CROW, HERRING GULL, BLACK HEADED GULL, GREY HERON, REDSHANK and JACKDAW. Looking back now I`m pretty sure there were KITTIWAKE there too- but once again lost in the excitement probably overlooked them as COMMON GULLS. Frustrating, as that would`ve been another first. Not to worry - we will go back and also visit the cool sites in the highlands! Thanks for the pointers ANDREW- I only just signed up earlier as I thought I`d spotted a Pigeon Gulliemot...
It was really only a BLACK GULLIEMOT (still another first for me) , my guide doesn`t show a picture of a summer adult!

Also got my first DIPPER and GOLDFINCH of the year today.
How many does your list stand at for the UK this year - it must be at least treble mine

[Andrew]

Glad you also had a good time Stuart, those Black Guillemots are corking birds!

[Ben Nevis]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your time in my homeland.Your stories are uncomplicated and written with a love of birds and the area you were visiting."Haste ye back,laddie".

[Andrew]

Cheers Ben Nevis.