Sandra (Taylor)
Well-known member
Sorry this has taken me so long to prepare. These are the salient points from a longer, more personal report. But if anyone wants to read that I will need an e-mail address as I don't know how to send a Word doc. to BF as a PM.
13th September
Spent the first night at a guest house near Pitlochry, visiting the Hermitage (SNT) for a walk on the way. This was the day of the Highland Games but we were too late to go onto the field.
14th
Instead of driving up the A9 we decided to go via Braemar. Lots of buzzards, linnets, house martins and swallows. 2 red grouse near Glenshee; 2 ravens & 3 buzzards near the Lecht. We scanned for ptarmigan from the big car park but the weather was too mild for them to come low down I suppose. Two red squirrels scurrying across the road in front of the car. It was a lovely drive. When we stopped for a coffee break we had mistle thrushes on a rowan tree.
Called at our friend's house at Tulloch but there was nobody at home so we drove over Tulloch Moor and walked out into the heather for a while. It was a lovely warm afternoon. Then onto Coylumbridge on the 'back road' and up to the funicular carpark where we could see part of the herd of reindeer grazing below us. We missed out on black grouse. That evening we ate in an excellent Indian restaurant in Grantown - the Syltet Brasserie.
15th
Weather forecast was better for the east so we visited the Black Isle. From the hide overlooking Munlochy Bay we had redshank, 'gulls', oystercatchers, curlew, dozens of wigeon, teal, shelduck, jackdaws, and a buzzard perched on a tree. Watched a sparrowhawk working its way down the length of a hedge. Two wildfowlers were sitting by the edge of the water with their dogs. From the carpark in the nearby village we added to our list a robin, blackbird, house-sparrows, starlings and 3 pinkfoot geese. At Udale Bay the tide was just right - dozens of oystercatchers, common gulls, b/h gulls, 6 red-breasted mergansers, teal, mallard, jackdaws, hundreds of wigeon and 2 terns (sandwich?) There were also mute swans, hooded crows, black-tailed godwit, dunlin and knot (one or two with reddish plumage). As the tide receded we watched the 100s of waders taking off and landing.
16th
Raining - as was the forecast for the day - so we donned wellies and macs and walked round Loch an Eilan. Goldcrests were 'hissing' everywhere though we didn't actually see many. Our first coal tits and greenfinch of the week. At the Osprey centre in Abernethy Forest the feeders at the gate were empty and I had hoped to see siskin there. I snook round the building and walked out to the main Centre. Saw the feeders which up until now I had only seen on a webcam. Delighted to see a couple of crested tits so I sat on a bench and watched them for a while.
17th
Drove north to visit our friends from Tod who were staying on a small caravan site just outside Dornoch. We did our birdwatching before seeing them - first to Embo where there were lots of b/h & common gulls along with confiding turnstones, cormorant, shag, common scoter, 2 red-throated divers, curlew & oystercatchers. A big flock of linnet dashed up & down from the telegraph wires.
At Loch Fleet were the usual gulls, mallard, redshank etc... c130 greylag geese were on the water at the far side of the loch - but I was very excited to see 17 whooper swans near them. I liked to think these birds had arrived that very morning - and our friend, who works for a local wildlife company, did say it was quite early for them .........
On the caravan site were oodles of pied wagtails - c20 feeding at once - and half a dozen buzzards circled the nearby copse of trees. It was almost dark when we left Dornoch and on reaching the outskirts of Nethybridge the satnav brought us back via Dulnain Bridge. Soon after driving over the bridge a barn owl swooped down behind a hedge at the side of the road. We reversed to see if we could glimpse it again and a car travelling in the same direction drew up alongside us to ask if we were OK! We explained what we had seen and she said there were a few in this area. On continuing down the lane, we saw another two before we actually reached the bridge in Nethy.
18th
Findhorn Valley today. A peregrine & 2 ravens. We parked at the end of the road and dozens of red deer were on the opposite hillside. At the estate buildings on the way out were half a dozen stags' heads lined up against a wall - presumably newly-killed.
Back at the guest house we had our first siskin of the week on the feeders, together with coal tits and a dunnock.
19th
Lovely bright sunny morning. No black grouse visible from the usual look-out point. Spent an hour there. Then on the back road to the car park at the Osprey centre where we walked down to Loch Mallachie. Two red squirrels played in the trees. Bob walked back to the car the way we had come and I did the circular route. There were numerous species of fungi and a huge wood ant nest which was fenced round, as apparently other nests in the vicinity had been 'disturbed' as the information board said. Saw more crested tits, coal tits and goldcrest.
To be cont...............
13th September
Spent the first night at a guest house near Pitlochry, visiting the Hermitage (SNT) for a walk on the way. This was the day of the Highland Games but we were too late to go onto the field.
14th
Instead of driving up the A9 we decided to go via Braemar. Lots of buzzards, linnets, house martins and swallows. 2 red grouse near Glenshee; 2 ravens & 3 buzzards near the Lecht. We scanned for ptarmigan from the big car park but the weather was too mild for them to come low down I suppose. Two red squirrels scurrying across the road in front of the car. It was a lovely drive. When we stopped for a coffee break we had mistle thrushes on a rowan tree.
Called at our friend's house at Tulloch but there was nobody at home so we drove over Tulloch Moor and walked out into the heather for a while. It was a lovely warm afternoon. Then onto Coylumbridge on the 'back road' and up to the funicular carpark where we could see part of the herd of reindeer grazing below us. We missed out on black grouse. That evening we ate in an excellent Indian restaurant in Grantown - the Syltet Brasserie.
15th
Weather forecast was better for the east so we visited the Black Isle. From the hide overlooking Munlochy Bay we had redshank, 'gulls', oystercatchers, curlew, dozens of wigeon, teal, shelduck, jackdaws, and a buzzard perched on a tree. Watched a sparrowhawk working its way down the length of a hedge. Two wildfowlers were sitting by the edge of the water with their dogs. From the carpark in the nearby village we added to our list a robin, blackbird, house-sparrows, starlings and 3 pinkfoot geese. At Udale Bay the tide was just right - dozens of oystercatchers, common gulls, b/h gulls, 6 red-breasted mergansers, teal, mallard, jackdaws, hundreds of wigeon and 2 terns (sandwich?) There were also mute swans, hooded crows, black-tailed godwit, dunlin and knot (one or two with reddish plumage). As the tide receded we watched the 100s of waders taking off and landing.
16th
Raining - as was the forecast for the day - so we donned wellies and macs and walked round Loch an Eilan. Goldcrests were 'hissing' everywhere though we didn't actually see many. Our first coal tits and greenfinch of the week. At the Osprey centre in Abernethy Forest the feeders at the gate were empty and I had hoped to see siskin there. I snook round the building and walked out to the main Centre. Saw the feeders which up until now I had only seen on a webcam. Delighted to see a couple of crested tits so I sat on a bench and watched them for a while.
17th
Drove north to visit our friends from Tod who were staying on a small caravan site just outside Dornoch. We did our birdwatching before seeing them - first to Embo where there were lots of b/h & common gulls along with confiding turnstones, cormorant, shag, common scoter, 2 red-throated divers, curlew & oystercatchers. A big flock of linnet dashed up & down from the telegraph wires.
At Loch Fleet were the usual gulls, mallard, redshank etc... c130 greylag geese were on the water at the far side of the loch - but I was very excited to see 17 whooper swans near them. I liked to think these birds had arrived that very morning - and our friend, who works for a local wildlife company, did say it was quite early for them .........
On the caravan site were oodles of pied wagtails - c20 feeding at once - and half a dozen buzzards circled the nearby copse of trees. It was almost dark when we left Dornoch and on reaching the outskirts of Nethybridge the satnav brought us back via Dulnain Bridge. Soon after driving over the bridge a barn owl swooped down behind a hedge at the side of the road. We reversed to see if we could glimpse it again and a car travelling in the same direction drew up alongside us to ask if we were OK! We explained what we had seen and she said there were a few in this area. On continuing down the lane, we saw another two before we actually reached the bridge in Nethy.
18th
Findhorn Valley today. A peregrine & 2 ravens. We parked at the end of the road and dozens of red deer were on the opposite hillside. At the estate buildings on the way out were half a dozen stags' heads lined up against a wall - presumably newly-killed.
Back at the guest house we had our first siskin of the week on the feeders, together with coal tits and a dunnock.
19th
Lovely bright sunny morning. No black grouse visible from the usual look-out point. Spent an hour there. Then on the back road to the car park at the Osprey centre where we walked down to Loch Mallachie. Two red squirrels played in the trees. Bob walked back to the car the way we had come and I did the circular route. There were numerous species of fungi and a huge wood ant nest which was fenced round, as apparently other nests in the vicinity had been 'disturbed' as the information board said. Saw more crested tits, coal tits and goldcrest.
To be cont...............
