digi-birder
Well-known member
DAY 8:
Keith had remembered reading (mistakenly, as it turns out) that Wick was a pleasant little town, so it was decided that we would have a break from shooting all over the place and have a nice relaxing train journey to Wick and spend a few happy hours there before getting the train back.
Admittedly the train journey itself was wonderful. Three hours of marvellous scenery as the train snaked inland over the bleak moorland and then back out to the coast again. One of the stations was the Forsinard RSPB reserve visitor centre. There were many birds to be seen along the coast and on lochs as we passed, but it's not easy to keep binoculars trained on the birds from a moving train (excuse the pun). There were obviously many Buzzards flying around, and there were some that were perched on trees or fences quite close to the tracks giving excellent views.
Unfortunately, when we arrived in Wick, it did not seem the place that Keith remembered reading about. We couldn't see our selves staying there for five hours till the return train. We had a quick tour round the town and swiftly headed back to the station to get the same train back after its one hour turnaround time! Keith later remembered that the place he had been thinking about was somewhere else!
Returned to Dingwall station, cake and cup of tea in the tea room, then relaxed on the site for the rest of the day. Only new bird seen today was a Pheasant.
DAY 9:
Long trip today over to the west coast. First stop was supposed to be Beinn Eighe, but the weather was so foul we never even got out of the car. As we went further west the weather did improve slightly and had stopped raining by the time we reached the Loch Maree Hotel. We went in for a coffee and then headed down to their public hide overlooking the loch. The only problem with this is that the windows are fixed glass and so it distorted the view through the scope. The manager/owner told us that he'd put a road-kill Red Deer on one of the islands for the eagles to feed on. He said that the Ravens had been the day before so the eagles usually come afterwards. We sat there for some time only managing to see a Spotted Flycatcher, so we went back to the car and continued our journey.
It was still a bit misty and murky and showery on and off. We arrived at Inverewe Gardens and took a look at the other Camping Club site nearby. It looks very nice, right on the bay of Loch Ewe, but was very waterlogged in places. It seems that the west had been getting more bad weather than we had at Dingwall. Still, we'll probably give it a try if we go up later in the year. It looks a great spot to nip out of the tent before breakfast for some sea-watching. We stopped and scanned the bay and saw some more Common Eider, a Ringed Plover, Red-breasted Mergansers and many more gulls. Still no divers.
After a tasty lunch in the tea room in Poolewe we drove further on to Gruinard Bay. Stopping in most of the laybys and scanning the loch produced a Black Guillemot and a few more mergansers and Eiders.
The weather was getting bad again by now so we set off on the longish drive round to Ullapool for an evening meal. Just before reaching the main A835 road, I noticed some large black birds flying over the valley and there was a handy little pull-in just coming up. The birds landed in very good view and we confirmed our initial thought of Common Raven.
After fish and chips in Ullapool, the weather had improved slightly so we decided to try the Inverpolly area a little further to the north. We reached the area and drove up the minor road with passing places to a parking place overlooking Loch Lurgainn. There, at last, in the distance, we saw the Black-throated Diver. He was quite a distance away and was sleeping with his head on his back as he floated on the water, so it wasn't the best view in the world. But at least we'd seen one.
We headed back to the site, but decided to pull in at the side of a loch as there were a few birds flitting about. Some fishermen were just coming back to their car and asked us what we were looking at. We had seen a Northern Wheatear and some unidentifiable pipits. We mentioned that we had just seen the diver at Inverpolly and he mentioned that a pair breeds further up this loch every year. I only hope he doesn't go round telling everyone this fact as it is very near to the main road. We drove a little further on and pulled in to a layby and there, a few hundred yards away, was a pair of Black-throated Divers. It was a very good view, but the light was fading giving little chance of a good photo. I'm not sure if any other BF members know of this location (it wasn't mentioned to me when I asked for birding info before the holiday), but I have deliberately not stated the exact location just in case any unscrupulous person may be reading this.
DAY 10:
Today we drove up Glen Affric. It was a glorious day and first stop was the Dog Falls car park, from where we walked alongside the river and round to Coire Loch. We only managed to get to the point overlooking the loch, as it was too hot to go any further - it would have involved a long pull back up the hill from the loch, so we scanned it from the viewpoint instead. We made out a Little Grebe and in a nearby tree to where we were standing, there were a few Common Redstarts flitting about giving excellent views. On the way back we saw Long-tailed Tits, a Dipper, Grey Wagtail and more Redstarts.
After eating our sandwich back at the car, we drove further up the valley, but it had become quite busy now and the car park at the far end was full. We decided to call it a day and drove back to the main road, where we made a quick decision to go and see Urquhart Castle on the shore of Loch Ness. Again, this was very busy so we headed back to Dingwall, stopping for an afternoon tea on the way to the site. We then downed a few glasses of wine and cooked our meal and relaxed for the evening.
One more to come...
Keith had remembered reading (mistakenly, as it turns out) that Wick was a pleasant little town, so it was decided that we would have a break from shooting all over the place and have a nice relaxing train journey to Wick and spend a few happy hours there before getting the train back.
Admittedly the train journey itself was wonderful. Three hours of marvellous scenery as the train snaked inland over the bleak moorland and then back out to the coast again. One of the stations was the Forsinard RSPB reserve visitor centre. There were many birds to be seen along the coast and on lochs as we passed, but it's not easy to keep binoculars trained on the birds from a moving train (excuse the pun). There were obviously many Buzzards flying around, and there were some that were perched on trees or fences quite close to the tracks giving excellent views.
Unfortunately, when we arrived in Wick, it did not seem the place that Keith remembered reading about. We couldn't see our selves staying there for five hours till the return train. We had a quick tour round the town and swiftly headed back to the station to get the same train back after its one hour turnaround time! Keith later remembered that the place he had been thinking about was somewhere else!
Returned to Dingwall station, cake and cup of tea in the tea room, then relaxed on the site for the rest of the day. Only new bird seen today was a Pheasant.
DAY 9:
Long trip today over to the west coast. First stop was supposed to be Beinn Eighe, but the weather was so foul we never even got out of the car. As we went further west the weather did improve slightly and had stopped raining by the time we reached the Loch Maree Hotel. We went in for a coffee and then headed down to their public hide overlooking the loch. The only problem with this is that the windows are fixed glass and so it distorted the view through the scope. The manager/owner told us that he'd put a road-kill Red Deer on one of the islands for the eagles to feed on. He said that the Ravens had been the day before so the eagles usually come afterwards. We sat there for some time only managing to see a Spotted Flycatcher, so we went back to the car and continued our journey.
It was still a bit misty and murky and showery on and off. We arrived at Inverewe Gardens and took a look at the other Camping Club site nearby. It looks very nice, right on the bay of Loch Ewe, but was very waterlogged in places. It seems that the west had been getting more bad weather than we had at Dingwall. Still, we'll probably give it a try if we go up later in the year. It looks a great spot to nip out of the tent before breakfast for some sea-watching. We stopped and scanned the bay and saw some more Common Eider, a Ringed Plover, Red-breasted Mergansers and many more gulls. Still no divers.
After a tasty lunch in the tea room in Poolewe we drove further on to Gruinard Bay. Stopping in most of the laybys and scanning the loch produced a Black Guillemot and a few more mergansers and Eiders.
The weather was getting bad again by now so we set off on the longish drive round to Ullapool for an evening meal. Just before reaching the main A835 road, I noticed some large black birds flying over the valley and there was a handy little pull-in just coming up. The birds landed in very good view and we confirmed our initial thought of Common Raven.
After fish and chips in Ullapool, the weather had improved slightly so we decided to try the Inverpolly area a little further to the north. We reached the area and drove up the minor road with passing places to a parking place overlooking Loch Lurgainn. There, at last, in the distance, we saw the Black-throated Diver. He was quite a distance away and was sleeping with his head on his back as he floated on the water, so it wasn't the best view in the world. But at least we'd seen one.
We headed back to the site, but decided to pull in at the side of a loch as there were a few birds flitting about. Some fishermen were just coming back to their car and asked us what we were looking at. We had seen a Northern Wheatear and some unidentifiable pipits. We mentioned that we had just seen the diver at Inverpolly and he mentioned that a pair breeds further up this loch every year. I only hope he doesn't go round telling everyone this fact as it is very near to the main road. We drove a little further on and pulled in to a layby and there, a few hundred yards away, was a pair of Black-throated Divers. It was a very good view, but the light was fading giving little chance of a good photo. I'm not sure if any other BF members know of this location (it wasn't mentioned to me when I asked for birding info before the holiday), but I have deliberately not stated the exact location just in case any unscrupulous person may be reading this.
DAY 10:
Today we drove up Glen Affric. It was a glorious day and first stop was the Dog Falls car park, from where we walked alongside the river and round to Coire Loch. We only managed to get to the point overlooking the loch, as it was too hot to go any further - it would have involved a long pull back up the hill from the loch, so we scanned it from the viewpoint instead. We made out a Little Grebe and in a nearby tree to where we were standing, there were a few Common Redstarts flitting about giving excellent views. On the way back we saw Long-tailed Tits, a Dipper, Grey Wagtail and more Redstarts.
After eating our sandwich back at the car, we drove further up the valley, but it had become quite busy now and the car park at the far end was full. We decided to call it a day and drove back to the main road, where we made a quick decision to go and see Urquhart Castle on the shore of Loch Ness. Again, this was very busy so we headed back to Dingwall, stopping for an afternoon tea on the way to the site. We then downed a few glasses of wine and cooked our meal and relaxed for the evening.
One more to come...
