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Abernethy & Mull June 2013 (1 Viewer)

Eliter7

Well-known member
Due to the problems with the site yesterday ive had to re write this from scratch but will hopefully contain similar report to the original. As this holiday/trip was a family one I have obviously not been able to 'all out bird' and as such im not doing as a day by day record, rather a summary or overview with comments etc. Also worth noting that I normally visit in May which I have found to be best time to see all species so any comments or comparisons may refer to this.

Week 1 - Abernethy
Base for the week was the Lazy Duck Cottage in Nethybridge which is a lovely cottage on their camp/hostal grounds. Was perfect for us and particularly my 2yr old as they had captive/ornamental ducks, sheep and chickens all on site which he loved watching. Had an enclosed garden for him to play and 2 feeders and bird table just outside 2 windows which were very busy. Red Squirrel, Siskin families, tits and finches were all regular visitors which he loved watching. Was told we might get Crested Tits but didn't expect to see at this time of year but can imagine they would in colder months. Other birds of note on or over the site were Oyster Catcher, Curlew, Woodcock and Redstart. Also some nice walks locally in to the forest or heath/Bog etc. Overall would recommend this accommodation.

Birds Seen
Key locations birded were generally around, Grantown, Abernethy, Boat of Garten, Nethybridge, and Rothiemurcus. Other locations included Cairngorm and moorland around above areas.

Crested Tit Showing surprisingly well (considering breeding time) at almost all woodland locations visited with good views often had. Loch Garten Feeder at entrance was being visited regularly giving obviously good views.
Redstart As with Crestie these were at most locations and again showing well. Often calling making them easy to find and several family groups with adults feeding young was nice to observe.
Tree Pipit Only odd ones seen and a few heard only but much tougher this year I found.
Spotted Flycatchers perhaps my best year for these with pairs or individuals showing well in most locations noted above.
Capercaillie See 'Highlight' below.
Black Throated Diver Pair seen well at the 'usual' site.
Dipper Really struggled with these as well this year and only saw 2 birds at perhaps 4 regular sites that I normally would expect to see multiple birds. No juvenile or obvious pairs this time. 1 also seen at the burn near Cairngorm car park which quite high??
Osprey At all the expected locations/Nests and the usual fly overs etc.
Peregrine 1 seen in the air above an Osprey nest oddly enough but only one for the week.
Red Grouse Good Family Groups showing well at numerous locations including family party with atleast 7 chicks at summit on cairngorm which highest ive ever seen them, especially given weather was poor that day.
Ptarmigan 2 pairs showing well close to summit of cairngorm but wind and low cloud prevented any more being spotted.
Goldeneye Plenty of females often with young in tow but didn't see any males at all which I though odd?

Numerous other more common species all seen including Wheatear, Rock Pipit, Yellowhammer, Redpoll, Stonechat, RB Mergansers etc. Not forgetting the Red Squirrels which showing well in most places including the feeders at Loch Garten.

Birds NOT Seen
Crossbill Species Didn't see any types and perhaps only heard on 1 occasion but as im rubbish with calls im not certain. First year ive not connected with any at all and didn't speak to any other birders who had seen while I was there.
Dotterel Was my target bird for the Cairngorm day but although they had been seen I don't think we had much chance with the wind and variable cloud cover.
Ring Ouzel In perhaps 10 visits to Scotland ive never not seen these but couldn't locate anywhere on cairngorm where I virtually always see them. Checked a couple of other areas as well with no luck at all. A favourite of mine so quite disappointed on this one.
Black Grouse Given time of year I didn't even go looking for these on this occasion as normally see at the May Leks etc.
Wood Warbler Checked a couple of regular sites but not with any huge determination but none seen or heard.

Also didn't make any attempt for other birds of prey (e.g Findhorn) as knew would see the 'big ticket' stuff on Mull the following week. Did however look for SEO on the moorlands that I found them last year but none at all to be seen this year.

Highlight of Week 1
Capercaillie *** This bird was not viewed at a lekking spot and was viewed/photographed solely from our car. At no time was it followed or chased and nobody left the car at any point. I will for obvious reasons not disclose the site.***
I had told my missus that we had virtually no chance of seeing at this time of year compared to May time but what transpired was perhaps my best view ever and one of 'those moments' I wont forget. We had done family things in the morning to entertain my 2yr old and had decided to drive to a woodland site and have an afternoon walk and let him burn off some energy. On the way we passed an area which I know to be a good area for Capercaillie and as we would do in May or on an early morning bird we drove through slowly on the slim hope we might see something. To my utter disbelief I managed to spot a female Caper about 15ft from the side of the road! After the initial shock of actually seeing/finding we soon realised she had 1 and possibly 2 chicks with her which were scrambling around near her in & out of the cover feeding. The adult and chicks seemed totally content to carry on their business while slowly moving away from us. At this point a Range Rover sped past us totally oblivious to what we were watching and seconds later another chick appeared from the opposite side of the road and proceeded to walk in front of the car and join the adult and other chicks! It was at this point it occurred to me that there may be other chicks on the opposite side of the road that we could be sitting between and therefore separating from the group so we (reluctantly if im honest) moved away very carefully and left them to it. The disbelief and smiles from what we had just seen lasted for some time and was easily the weeks highlight and right up there with my lifetime biding highlights. In a word... Special.

Week 2 Mull to follow.....
 

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Such a shame you've had to re-do this Eliter, but still just as good second time around.

What a great experience seeing those capers - lovely pictures too.
 
Week 2 Mull
For this week we had a nice cottage in Glen Forsa which I had hoped would yield some good birding to the front door. Whilst we did have fly over White Tailed and Goldie on a couple of occasions it didn't yield as much as id have hoped for. This might have been down to poor weather on occasions and I perhaps should have persevered more but for my evening birding I ended up resorting to my favoured sites for target species. I have no doubt that another week or year and this would be a great area but wasn't to be on this occasion.
As per week 1 above I didn't bird as much as previous visits due to making time for my 2yr old but its hard not to see things on your way around the island.
Key Areas on the island which we focused on were Lochdon, Glen More, Loch Na Keal and Loch Schridain although majority of island was visited at some point.

Birds Seen:
White Tailed Eagles: good views at the 'usual' viewable nest sites with some chick activity seen and of course numerous fly overs at various times/locations.
Golden Eagles As per the WTE's above, some great views of adults feeding chicks at 2 nests and reasonable fly overs at various points.

Eagles in general whilst showing well at the commonly known spots were not as 'flighty' for me this year and didn't get the good numbers in the air at the same time ive often seen in previous years (normally May time). Im guessing it likely to be because of breeding activity and weather may not have helped.

Raven Really Good and vocal groups of birds showing well all over.
Hen Harrier Mostly distant views of male and female at various sites and was looking like being my worst year ever for these until 'Highlight' noted below.
Short Eared Owl Only 2 seen all week in evening only which was def' the worst year ive ever had on Mull for these. Perhaps more noticeable after last years extravaganza in May where you could see these and the Hen's all over the island at all times of day in all weather. Also had LEO last year a first for me on the island. Must be a bad vole year.

Plenty of Buzzard & Kestrel with odd Sparrowhawk too.

Red Throated Divers Didn't expect to see at this time of year but had 2 lovely adults with 2 juveniles showing well which was a treat.

Other notable birds were Winchat showing beautifully at various sites, probable Twite but seen at distance with heat haze so not certain, Grasshopper Warbler heard only this year, Black Guillemots showing well on ferry over and various lochs, RB Mergansers with young in abundance, Female Eiders with young on most sea lochs, Yellowhammer, Rock Pipit, Wheatear, Redpoll, stonechat, snipe etc.

Otter: Nice family party of 4 seen well on one day and again at distance on another. 2 other individuals also seen but surprisingly the worst year for us on these, and missed them at many of the regular sites ive watched for years which a shame.

Target Species NOT seen:
Rarely see Merlin, LEO, or Barn Owl but as seen previous years always look for but didn't connect this year. Unusually I didn't connect with Peregrine either which disappointing as a favourite of mine. Didn't cross to Iona for Corncrake this year as knew would be trickier than the epic views I had in May last year. Also didn't really get the weather to justify the outlay for family to do Lunga/Staffa so missed many of the normal seabirds there too.



Overall a reasonable week but with rubbish weather (wind and low cloud) on a fair bit of the week and was always going to be tougher than the bumper trip I had last year.

Week's Highlight
After the epic highlight for me of week 1 I wasn't expecting anything to live up to that but Goldies feeding young at nest was a rare treat. However 1 more treat, right up there for me, was to happen on literally the last few hours birding on the last evening. I had been out every night except 1 (which was dire weather) as I like to bird in the evenings as quieter and sometimes really nice light IF the weather is kind enough of course. I have a favourite area I have used for years on Mull to see perhaps my favourite bird, the Hen Harrier which usually has Short Eared Owl in attendance too for the 'side show'. As noted above this year I was really struggling with these 2 and getting quite disappointed as this 'banker' area/site for me wasn't really producing anything other than long distance and occasional views. On the last night I was struggling to decide if to go out or not but my family persuaded me to go out and give one more go. I got to my favoured area and moved between good viewpoints in the car trying to locate target species. Except for some good views or Winchat at side of the road and a couple of fly over White Tailed it started to look like it was going to disappoint. This was until I spotted a female Hen Harrier hunting at distance which slowly came closer to the car and eventually landed in a tree quite close by giving superb perched views I have rarely had in the past. Not long after she flew off back high towards my car and also calling, at least I thought it was her calling...... Quite quickly I realised it wasn't her calling but a male that had appeared out of nowhere and promptly carried out a food pass with the female almost above my car! Now oddly enough ive seen a Montagu pair do a food pass but never Hen's so this was a special moment for me as the male Hen is perhaps one of my favourite birds. The female flew off out of view to a clearing within a plantation (likely nest site im guessing) but soon re appeared and perched back in a tree in full view. Meanwhile we watched the male slowly move away from the area giving good flight views. She then continued to hunt herself in front of the car returning to perch occasionally which we watched for perhaps 90mins. Towards the end of this time the male appeared again for a 2nd (!) food pass close by before giving good views again and flying away. Overall perhaps the best views ive ever had of probably my favourite bird.

Whilst the 2 weeks trip was perhaps average at best from a birding point of view compared to previous years, it did have 2 special moments that rank up there with the best ive had.
 
Week 2 Mull
For this week we had a nice cottage in Glen Forsa which I had hoped would yield some good birding to the front door. Whilst we did have fly over White Tailed and Goldie on a couple of occasions it didn't yield as much as id have hoped for. This might have been down to poor weather on occasions and I perhaps should have persevered more but for my evening birding I ended up resorting to my favoured sites for target species. I have no doubt that another week or year and this would be a great area but wasn't to be on this occasion.
As per week 1 above I didn't bird as much as previous visits due to making time for my 2yr old but its hard not to see things on your way around the island.
Key Areas on the island which we focused on were Lochdon, Glen More, Loch Na Keal and Loch Schridain although majority of island was visited at some point.

Birds Seen:
White Tailed Eagles: good views at the 'usual' viewable nest sites with some chick activity seen and of course numerous fly overs at various times/locations.
Golden Eagles As per the WTE's above, some great views of adults feeding chicks at 2 nests and reasonable fly overs at various points.

Eagles in general whilst showing well at the commonly known spots were not as 'flighty' for me this year and didn't get the good numbers in the air at the same time ive often seen in previous years (normally May time). Im guessing it likely to be because of breeding activity and weather may not have helped.

Raven Really Good and vocal groups of birds showing well all over.
Hen Harrier Mostly distant views of male and female at various sites and was looking like being my worst year ever for these until 'Highlight' noted below.
Short Eared Owl Only 2 seen all week in evening only which was def' the worst year ive ever had on Mull for these. Perhaps more noticeable after last years extravaganza in May where you could see these and the Hen's all over the island at all times of day in all weather. Also had LEO last year a first for me on the island. Must be a bad vole year.

Plenty of Buzzard & Kestrel with odd Sparrowhawk too.

Red Throated Divers Didn't expect to see at this time of year but had 2 lovely adults with 2 juveniles showing well which was a treat.

Other notable birds were Winchat showing beautifully at various sites, probable Twite but seen at distance with heat haze so not certain, Grasshopper Warbler heard only this year, Black Guillemots showing well on ferry over and various lochs, RB Mergansers with young in abundance, Female Eiders with young on most sea lochs, Yellowhammer, Rock Pipit, Wheatear, Redpoll, stonechat, snipe etc.

Otter: Nice family party of 4 seen well on one day and again at distance on another. 2 other individuals also seen but surprisingly the worst year for us on these, and missed them at many of the regular sites ive watched for years which a shame.

Target Species NOT seen:
Rarely see Merlin, LEO, or Barn Owl but as seen previous years always look for but didn't connect this year. Unusually I didn't connect with Peregrine either which disappointing as a favourite of mine. Didn't cross to Iona for Corncrake this year as knew would be trickier than the epic views I had in May last year. Also didn't really get the weather to justify the outlay for family to do Lunga/Staffa so missed many of the normal seabirds there too.



Overall a reasonable week but with rubbish weather (wind and low cloud) on a fair bit of the week and was always going to be tougher than the bumper trip I had last year.

Week's Highlight
After the epic highlight for me of week 1 I wasn't expecting anything to live up to that but Goldies feeding young at nest was a rare treat. However 1 more treat, right up there for me, was to happen on literally the last few hours birding on the last evening. I had been out every night except 1 (which was dire weather) as I like to bird in the evenings as quieter and sometimes really nice light IF the weather is kind enough of course. I have a favourite area I have used for years on Mull to see perhaps my favourite bird, the Hen Harrier which usually has Short Eared Owl in attendance too for the 'side show'. As noted above this year I was really struggling with these 2 and getting quite disappointed as this 'banker' area/site for me wasn't really producing anything other than long distance and occasional views. On the last night I was struggling to decide if to go out or not but my family persuaded me to go out and give one more go. I got to my favoured area and moved between good viewpoints in the car trying to locate target species. Except for some good views or Winchat at side of the road and a couple of fly over White Tailed it started to look like it was going to disappoint. This was until I spotted a female Hen Harrier hunting at distance which slowly came closer to the car and eventually landed in a tree quite close by giving superb perched views I have rarely had in the past. Not long after she flew off back high towards my car and also calling, at least I thought it was her calling...... Quite quickly I realised it wasn't her calling but a male that had appeared out of nowhere and promptly carried out a food pass with the female almost above my car! Now oddly enough ive seen a Montagu pair do a food pass but never Hen's so this was a special moment for me as the male Hen is perhaps one of my favourite birds. The female flew off out of view to a clearing within a plantation (likely nest site im guessing) but soon re appeared and perched back in a tree in full view. Meanwhile we watched the male slowly move away from the area giving good flight views. She then continued to hunt herself in front of the car returning to perch occasionally which we watched for perhaps 90mins. Towards the end of this time the male appeared again for a 2nd (!) food pass close by before giving good views again and flying away. Overall perhaps the best views ive ever had of probably my favourite bird.

Whilst the 2 weeks trip was perhaps average at best from a birding point of view compared to previous years, it did have 2 special moments that rank up there with the best ive had.

Nice trip report Chris. Congrats on the Caper and that view of the Harriers sounds special.

Rich
 
Well Done Chris.

Despite It being a slightly quieter time for birds for you,the Capercaillie and Hen Harrier moments,shall make up for It and even more so,as you have memories for life.

Super Trip Report and very enjoyable reading.
 
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