• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Griswold's Vacations 2019 (1 Viewer)

Our last day in Norfolk. Stopped off at Sculthorpe Nature Reserve intending to have a short walk with the dog. Unfortunately no dogs were allowed though except guide dogs. Carried on down to Cantley where we had distant views of some Taiga Bean Geese and some White-fronted Geese. The Taiga were a lifer for me so well pleased.

Then it was off to Thurne to look for some Common Cranes. RBA directions weren't particularly helpful and we ended up at a caravan site! Needless to say we dipped.

Setting the sat-nav for Long Stratton we did have a good, if brief view of a Merlin sat on a telegraph pole. At Long Stratton itself the Waxwings were sat on a tree behind the police station. A strange place to go birding:-O

Just planning the route home for tomorrow which may take in a reservoir in Leicestershire to allow Bud to stretch his legs;)

Rich
 
Forgot to mention that when I was at Titchwell I had to give my car reg about 5 or 6 times. Didn't realise my accent was that strong. Good job it wasn't Ben Nevis/Ian. He'd still be there:-O:-O

Rich
 
A couple of very decent birders were there from the Midlands - Coventry and Burtom upon Trent. Had great views of a pair of Short-Eared Owls before eventually the target bird showed. Great pick up by the birder from Burton. My first Rough-legged Buzzard. Happy daysB :)

Stopped off back at the Railway Inn again on the way home as my eldest had been brilliant company all day.

Congratulations on the RLB lifer and your 25th wedding anniversary, Rich
 
Returned from Norfolk yesterday. Took the pup out to stretch his legs before the journey home. Nice to see another Barn Owl and two Grey Partridges along the bridle way.

Our route home required a little creativity. And as it happened we drove past Eyebrook Reservoir:t: Didn't have any time there though so a quick glance gave a male and femaleSmew, some Goldeneye and surprisingly a new bird for the week, several GCG's.

Next trip is up to Speyside at the beginning of March. Hopefully we'll be watching the Welsh beat the Scots, and a whole flock of big Grouse :t:B :)

Norfolk was brilliant. Met some really friendly and helpful birders. Here's a link to where we stayed. Superb location with easy access to the whole of North Norfolk. Would totally recommend :t: http://norfolkchapelcottages.co.uk

Rich
 
Once again a great account. Look forward to reading about your spey side trip. Won't be getting up there myself this year as we are planning a may birding trip to the camargue and provence this year instead.
 
Info. request

Heading up to Speyside in just over 5 weeks. Does anyone know if there are any boat trips in the Portsoy area? I can see that relatively recently a couple of skippers have stopped/retired. Would it be worthwhile scanning from the harbour/headland? Not sure if it's the right time of the year for Divers? Also, are there any decent areas for Purple Sands? I'm guessing Burghead or Nairn maybe a good bet.

Our priority is definitely the Speyside specialities but if we have a spare day we may be able to head up to the coast.

Thanks for any advice.

Rich
 
Lossiemouth and Nairn Beach may hold some Rich.Or go via Aberdeen.I have decent sized flocks a 10 minute walk from my house |:D|
 
The great muppet Caper

So we arrived in Nethy Bridge last Friday having stopped at Strathclyde Loch on the way. No sign of the Ring-billed Gull but a female Goosander was present.

On arriving at Nethy we did our usual and stocked up at Mustards and Rothiemurchas Delhi. I can totally recommend the Beef short ribs :eat:

A quick drive out Nethy gave heaps of Brambling and Fieldfares at Sliemore Steading.

Time for the hot tub:t:
 
Up at 06:00 on Saturday and off a wander around the Abernethy tracks. After about an hour Paul got on to a male Capercaillie which was in sight for all of 2 seconds. Unfortunately neither myself nor Kev could spot it in that timescale. Anyone who's been here will know it's incredibly difficult to pinpoint a bird that's only in view for such a short period. Row upon row of Pine Trees:eek!:

A quick look around Loch Garten Car Park gave Coal Tits, Chaffs, GSW, Siskins etc. but no Crested Tit. Also stopped at the Mount View Hotel for a quick pint but unfortunately the bar did not open until 18:00. Managed a year tick on the feeders though in the form of a Lesser Redpoll We also picked up a selection of pies from the Highland Bakery in Grantown - Steak, Lasagne and Macaroni Cheese. Superb!

Today was always going to be a relatively short day as the match was kicking off at 14:15. Down to The Nethy Bridge Hotel we walked and watched Wales beat Scotland. Really thought the Scots were going to turn us over in the second half but luckily the boys held on:t: Back to the hot tub for a celebratory beer.B :)
 
Now normally I’d be having a gripe about the hire car around about now. Not this time though. The 4 of us splashed out a little and hired a Merc. Really comfortable for covering a big distance. The only thing I noticed was it was a little soft on some of the twisting single laners around Lochindorb/Wester Ross and you couldn’t fully turn off the T/C.
 

Attachments

  • 5B033BF9-CEF0-4D8B-9385-5D16D8135784.jpg
    5B033BF9-CEF0-4D8B-9385-5D16D8135784.jpg
    137.6 KB · Views: 23
  • 98EBD51D-4B0B-4966-894B-E4AC2329097A.jpeg
    98EBD51D-4B0B-4966-894B-E4AC2329097A.jpeg
    285.1 KB · Views: 35
  • 01B859DA-A591-488F-938A-DD3CF65D45A1.jpeg
    01B859DA-A591-488F-938A-DD3CF65D45A1.jpeg
    252.2 KB · Views: 20
The Sunday after the Wales v Scotland game was always going to be a more relaxed affair. We left the car and walked around the local forest. Not too much bird wise but a couple of Roe Deer and a Treecreeper were a nice sight.


Still being early we decided to do the loop alongside the river that comes out by the Spar. The lane that linked up the road that we were on with Lynstock Crescent was absolutely stuffed with small birds. Loads of Bramblings, Siskins and a handsome male Bullfinch. Along the river itself were more Siskins and a Dipper by the road bridge.


From the road bridge itself, if looking downstream, there are some very well stocked feeders. The bushes were chocca with Chaffinch, Brambling and Siskins


Back at the cottage and Bev had surfaced. After a quick breakfast we decided to head out. First stop was Cairngorm Mountain. Swipe me was it cold and blustery up there. Well worth it though as in the car park there was a good sized flock of Snow Buntings. I hadn't realised this was a lifer for Kev so he was well pleased.

A quick look around Loch Garten gave the same species as previously. Then it was up to the Findhorn Valley. To be honest we didn't stay long. The weather was really closing in - not great for raptors. The only birds of note were a couple of Common Buzzards and a few Red-legged Partridges sitting on top of a dry stone wall.


Time to head back to the hot tub:t:

Rich
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6167.jpg
    IMG_6167.jpg
    387.4 KB · Views: 20
So up early again on Monday and back along the productive track from Saturday. A light covering of snow made the whole place incredibly beautiful and atmospheric. Good to see that Roe Deer were using the same path as us. Unfortunately(for meo:D) my worst nightmare then occurred. Kev spotted a male Caper flying approx. 200 metres from the path. Again I couldn't fix on the bird. It's fair to say that Kev and Paul wound me up for the rest of the day:C

Back to the cottage and Bev and Paul were up. It was off to the Pass of the Cattle. The field alongside the road that runs past Mustards was absolutely full of Curlew.


On top of the pass itself we could find no sign of Ptarmigan in the car park, or on the walk to the top.A word of caution. The wind was very strong at the top resulting in large chunks of ice being blown off the structure there. Very dangerous.

Next it was off to Shieldaig.
 
This is as cold as it looks!
 

Attachments

  • D80BE1BE-ECBC-40A6-A210-E57AC9C51DE7.jpeg
    D80BE1BE-ECBC-40A6-A210-E57AC9C51DE7.jpeg
    179.9 KB · Views: 22
  • AA333E13-2144-4720-884B-CF1CEC5606A9.jpeg
    AA333E13-2144-4720-884B-CF1CEC5606A9.jpeg
    101.4 KB · Views: 20
  • 02DFE8F7-C99D-40CB-9CE0-50CB585EC4E4.jpeg
    02DFE8F7-C99D-40CB-9CE0-50CB585EC4E4.jpeg
    291.7 KB · Views: 13
Off to Shieldaig and we quickly pulled the car over as a Golden Eagle was over the hillside. On stopping we quickly saw that there were 3 circling together. They appeared to be a family as judging by the white on one of the birds it certainly was a juvenile. This had to be one of my best birding experiences ever! I'd been re-reading Tomkies before the holiday where he describes seeing family groups. To see such a group for myself was amazingB :)

At Shieldaig itself there was a Dabchick and some Shags on the loch. On the loch shore were a couple of HoodiesWe were also too late for the Smoked Salmon:eek!:

Leaving Shieldaig we again had to pull the car over but this time for a White-tailed Sea Eagle. An absolute giant of a bird - superb! A few Red Kites were along the A9 not far from the feeding station.

Back to the hot tub:t:
 
Warning! This thread is more than 5 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top