[IanF]

Sunday 8th June

Dull overcast weather to start off the day, but it just about remained fine. We started off with a trip up to Lochindorb a few miles north of Granton on Spey. As we turned left onto the Lochindorb, Margaret spotted a Short Eared Owl gliding down the valley over a large colony of Black Headed Gulls. We watched it for what seemed like several minutes as it quartered the area, all the time hoping it would land and present a photo opportunity, but it didn’t oblige. We carried on towards Lochindorb all the time watching out for the Red Grouse which the area is known for. We spotted several birds in the thick heather, but it wasn’t easy. Luckily as I stopped the car to scan the loch I realised a mother and two chicks were just a few yards away. They are quite numerous back home, but it was interesting to see the variation in colours from ours. These seemed a lot darker. I'm afraid the file size compression has left this one a little 'soft'.

Red Grouse

As I scanned across the eastern end of the loch I spotted a pair of Black Throated Divers near the far bank. Tips from Bird Forum members had mentioned they might be around. We had superb views of them through the scope but I never did manage a photo as they made their way west along the bank diving frequently. There were plenty of other birds to see including Pipits, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail and Common Sandpiper. As we drove to the west end of the Loch we spotted an Osprey flying low over the loch.

Next stop was a visit to Loch Garten and a walk through the Caledonian Pine Forest to Loch Malachie. The ‘Lock away your valuables’ signs mean what they say. We did, but still had our car broken into whilst out walking and a camera bag stolen! Blissfully unaware of what was occurring in the car park we had an enjoyable walk through the woods. As you reach the first fork we realised from the overhead din that there was a large flock of birds about. We quickly realised they were Crested Tits, at least twenty of them. Last year we hadn’t found any in this area. Towards Loch Malachie there were even more birds about including Chaffinch, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Coal Tit, Blue Tit and Spotted Flycatcher.

On the loch itself were several Goldeneye, Mallard and Common Sandpiper along the margins.

We then headed up to the Osprey Centre for a quick look in but there was no sign of either Osprey or Capers.

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting local gardens and sightseeing.

Monday 9th June

Following a night of heavy rain, the morning began fine and sunny.

Today we started off by heading north along the A9 stopping of at the Schloct Summit where Ring Ousels are reportedly seen, I say reportedly since we didn’t find any, nor any other birds for that matter! Anyway we carried on until we reached the turn off into the Findhorn Valley and continued up the single track road to a wooden bridge just past the turn off to Farr. Findhorn Valley is a beautiful place. The previous year we had seen several Golden Eagles and Buzzards a little further up the valley along with wild goats and several hundred deer. This time the only raptor we saw was an Osprey, but there were plenty of other birds around, including Whinchat, Wheatear, Stonechat, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Common Sandpiper, Chaffinch, and Common Redstart – all within a few yards of the wooden bridge.

We returned to the Farr junction and wended our way over the moors to the RSPB reserve at Loch Ruthven. We weren’t disappointed either with locating eight Slavonian Grebe, including one nesting which gave spectacular views. Unfortunately the reeds on the loch were a lot thicker than in the previous year so close views weren’t as good as last year. It was cheering though to find quite so many birds on the loch. The only other birds we saw were Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit and Willow Warbler.

After an hour or so we continued our journey heading northwest and as the road passed the scenic Loch Taff I spotted a Common Sandpiper perched on a fence post. The photo in the Gallery doesn’t do this bird justice, it proved to be the perfect model for taking photos.

Common Sandpiper

By then time was getting on so we followed the road back along Loch Ness calling in at Loch Milton in Boat of Garten where we found Spotted Flycatcher, Swallow, Willow Warbler and Eurasian Wigeon along with the Heron and Mallards by the loch. The afternoon sunshine was almost perfect for taking photos.

Willow Warbler

On the loch itself were several ducks including about a dozen Mallard, Wigeon, Moorhen and Coot.

Eurasian Wigeon

[Roy Ledgerton]

Hi Ian

I parked my car in the Mallachie car park on 8 June also. I came back to find that an attempt (unsuccessful) to break in had been made. This happened some time between 1100 and 1215. It's just cost me £100+ to have a new lock fitted. I reported it to RSPB, Aviemore police and wrote RSPB HQ. Received a sympathetic letter and a free booklet from RSPB Director for Scotland but my suggestion that RSPB could do a bit more in terms of security at this very popular site were politely dismissed on terms of cost. The birding was good!

[Sal]

I have greatly enjoyed sharing this trip with you Ian, thanks, it sounds really great. The pictures were lovely too, especially the sandpiper - you could almost read the ring!

[Andrew]

Another great instalment, I really hope there are more to come. I am quite put off the Loch Garten car park. Was it a busy car park or more of an unused lay by?

[IanF]

Thanks Sal and Andrew. I never did finish off my series of reports. I guess I will do so now, probably this weekend as the notes are all to hand.

Andrew the car park is quite large holding may be 20 cars, but it is just off the actual road. It's a popular walk to the two lochs so the car park is well used. There are signs displayed warning motorists about thefts but the local police said there wasn't generally a problem there. I think we were just plain unlucky that day as it sounds as if several cars were broken into by the same individual. It may never happen again.

[Andrew]

Takes one fly to ruin the soup. Probably an opportunist thief that drove by.

(I did not think Liverpool was that close to Scotland! )