digi-birder
Well-known member
DAY 11:
First stop today was Bonar Bridge and the Dornoch Firth area. To get to Bonar Bridge we took the B9176 which passes through some very attractive scenery and has some good views over the firth in places. On the way we pulled into a layby and scanned over a very scrubby area with a few pines scattered here and there. Down at the bottom of the valley was a little stream and there were several Stonechats flying about and landing on the wire fence. Keith spotted a Tree Pipit, but I missed that one. We sat there for quite some time and as we were about to pack up and move on a female Crossbill landed at the top of the pine quite close to the car. A few seconds later the male appeared. What a marvellous sight at long last! I tried to quietly reach in the back seat of the car to get into the camera bag and attach the adapter, but as soon as I was ready to fix it to the scope, they were off.
[Don't ask me to say which particular Crossbills they were - we've put them as Common, but if anyone can make an educated guess that they could be something else, please let me know. According to Collins Bird Guide the colours in the distribution map show that the Common Crossbill can be seen in that area on migration, yet the text says that it is the commonest and most widely distributed species, whereas the Parrot Crossbill is present all year, including when breeding. It certainly didn't appear to have a very heavy bill and bulky size. As the Parrot Crossbill is intermediate between the two, I suppose it might well have been that one, but who knows. I am certainly not qualified to comment. At least we saw one, whatever it was!]
We proceeded on to Bonar Bridge and then back along the road running alongside the southern shore of the firth. At Tain we took the minor road to take a look at Loch Eye. There wasn't much here, except another Buzzard sat on a barn roof.
Then we drove down to Nigg Bay and decided to get the ferry over to Cromarty. While we were waiting for the ferry to come across, we noticed a Common Tern sat on one of the lamp posts. There were the usual flocks of Common Gulls flying around. While we were on the ferry, we noticed some little black dots floating on the water in the distance, just too far to make out. We noticed a headland where we might get some better views with the scopes, so after disembarking at Cromarty, and having a tea room break in the town and a little walk round, we drove up to the viewpoint. Across on the other side were some disused buildings and shacks with connecting walkways across the rocks, but I'm not sure what they had been used for. In amongst the rocks and the shacks was a reasonable sized colony of Guillemots (the black dots we had seen), gulls and, new bird, Fulmars.
After spending some time there we drove back down the Black Isle with the intention of visiting a small brewery. I know there are lots of whisky distilleries around Scotland, but I can't drink it - it makes me ill - so the brewery was the better option. It is a small, independent micro-brewery and they use organic ingredients. As you arrive you get a tour of the brewery and an explanation of the process and then they let you buy some! It's wonderful stuff. As we left the place another Red Kite flew over our heads. As it happens, one of the beers we bought is called Red Kite Ale.
We headed back to the site to relax a while before heading round to Cafe India again for a buffet meal. Gosh, were we stuffed!! I could hardly move.
DAY 12:
Packing up day. When we walked to the shower block the tent was dry, but just after arriving back and preparing to pack up it started to rain. Why this always happens to us I'll never know. That really fine stuff that wets you to the bone. Every time. We packed as best we could, leaving the tent loose in the trailer trying not to wet everything else, and drove south, intending to break the journey with bed and breakfast again.
The further south we drove, the better the weather became. First stop was Loch of the Lowes, a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve which had been recommended to us when we bumped into IanF. It was glorious warm sunshine by this time. After a little performance trying to park the trailer in the small car park, we walked to the visitor centre and then into the hide overlooking the loch and the Osprey nest. The female arrived shortly after we did and then the male just after that. He had not long since delivered a fish to the nest so he just sat there watching. The female was calling but he wasn't responding. I took lots of shots of both the male and the female on the nest, but could never get one with all three juveniles showing at the same time. We also added Common Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe to the list.
We then nipped into nearby Dunkeld for some refreshment (a very pleasant little town, but full of wrinklies on a coach trip). Then we drove on to Kinross and found a nice guest house for the night. We walked into the town to have yet another Indian meal, as it was the only place that was open apart from hotels and pubs.
DAY 13:
Left the B&B to travel the short distance round Loch Leven to Vane Farm RSPB reserve. It was all closed up when we arrived, but the trails are open at all times, so we took the scopes over to the wetland part of the reserve. There is also a woodland trail.
We added eight new species to the list; Moorhen, Coot, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Common Teal, Gadwall and distant views of a Short-eared Owl hunting. Managed to get some reasonable photos of three juvenile Swallows preening. Walked back to the now open visitor centre and had a bit of lunch before starting the trip home.
I won't bore you with the hold up round Newcastle because of flooding on the outside lane of the A1, and the downpour that caused spray that reduced visibility to about six inches! It soon cleared and the rest of the trip home was quite uneventful. It was still light when we arrived home, and quite sunny and warm, so we draped the wet tent over the garden table and chairs and dried it a little bit. Took two days to get it fully dried out though.
The total species count for the trip is, at last count, 91, but I will have to check and will post the full list later.
The End.
First stop today was Bonar Bridge and the Dornoch Firth area. To get to Bonar Bridge we took the B9176 which passes through some very attractive scenery and has some good views over the firth in places. On the way we pulled into a layby and scanned over a very scrubby area with a few pines scattered here and there. Down at the bottom of the valley was a little stream and there were several Stonechats flying about and landing on the wire fence. Keith spotted a Tree Pipit, but I missed that one. We sat there for quite some time and as we were about to pack up and move on a female Crossbill landed at the top of the pine quite close to the car. A few seconds later the male appeared. What a marvellous sight at long last! I tried to quietly reach in the back seat of the car to get into the camera bag and attach the adapter, but as soon as I was ready to fix it to the scope, they were off.
[Don't ask me to say which particular Crossbills they were - we've put them as Common, but if anyone can make an educated guess that they could be something else, please let me know. According to Collins Bird Guide the colours in the distribution map show that the Common Crossbill can be seen in that area on migration, yet the text says that it is the commonest and most widely distributed species, whereas the Parrot Crossbill is present all year, including when breeding. It certainly didn't appear to have a very heavy bill and bulky size. As the Parrot Crossbill is intermediate between the two, I suppose it might well have been that one, but who knows. I am certainly not qualified to comment. At least we saw one, whatever it was!]
We proceeded on to Bonar Bridge and then back along the road running alongside the southern shore of the firth. At Tain we took the minor road to take a look at Loch Eye. There wasn't much here, except another Buzzard sat on a barn roof.
Then we drove down to Nigg Bay and decided to get the ferry over to Cromarty. While we were waiting for the ferry to come across, we noticed a Common Tern sat on one of the lamp posts. There were the usual flocks of Common Gulls flying around. While we were on the ferry, we noticed some little black dots floating on the water in the distance, just too far to make out. We noticed a headland where we might get some better views with the scopes, so after disembarking at Cromarty, and having a tea room break in the town and a little walk round, we drove up to the viewpoint. Across on the other side were some disused buildings and shacks with connecting walkways across the rocks, but I'm not sure what they had been used for. In amongst the rocks and the shacks was a reasonable sized colony of Guillemots (the black dots we had seen), gulls and, new bird, Fulmars.
After spending some time there we drove back down the Black Isle with the intention of visiting a small brewery. I know there are lots of whisky distilleries around Scotland, but I can't drink it - it makes me ill - so the brewery was the better option. It is a small, independent micro-brewery and they use organic ingredients. As you arrive you get a tour of the brewery and an explanation of the process and then they let you buy some! It's wonderful stuff. As we left the place another Red Kite flew over our heads. As it happens, one of the beers we bought is called Red Kite Ale.
We headed back to the site to relax a while before heading round to Cafe India again for a buffet meal. Gosh, were we stuffed!! I could hardly move.
DAY 12:
Packing up day. When we walked to the shower block the tent was dry, but just after arriving back and preparing to pack up it started to rain. Why this always happens to us I'll never know. That really fine stuff that wets you to the bone. Every time. We packed as best we could, leaving the tent loose in the trailer trying not to wet everything else, and drove south, intending to break the journey with bed and breakfast again.
The further south we drove, the better the weather became. First stop was Loch of the Lowes, a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve which had been recommended to us when we bumped into IanF. It was glorious warm sunshine by this time. After a little performance trying to park the trailer in the small car park, we walked to the visitor centre and then into the hide overlooking the loch and the Osprey nest. The female arrived shortly after we did and then the male just after that. He had not long since delivered a fish to the nest so he just sat there watching. The female was calling but he wasn't responding. I took lots of shots of both the male and the female on the nest, but could never get one with all three juveniles showing at the same time. We also added Common Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe to the list.
We then nipped into nearby Dunkeld for some refreshment (a very pleasant little town, but full of wrinklies on a coach trip). Then we drove on to Kinross and found a nice guest house for the night. We walked into the town to have yet another Indian meal, as it was the only place that was open apart from hotels and pubs.
DAY 13:
Left the B&B to travel the short distance round Loch Leven to Vane Farm RSPB reserve. It was all closed up when we arrived, but the trails are open at all times, so we took the scopes over to the wetland part of the reserve. There is also a woodland trail.
We added eight new species to the list; Moorhen, Coot, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Common Teal, Gadwall and distant views of a Short-eared Owl hunting. Managed to get some reasonable photos of three juvenile Swallows preening. Walked back to the now open visitor centre and had a bit of lunch before starting the trip home.
I won't bore you with the hold up round Newcastle because of flooding on the outside lane of the A1, and the downpour that caused spray that reduced visibility to about six inches! It soon cleared and the rest of the trip home was quite uneventful. It was still light when we arrived home, and quite sunny and warm, so we draped the wet tent over the garden table and chairs and dried it a little bit. Took two days to get it fully dried out though.
The total species count for the trip is, at last count, 91, but I will have to check and will post the full list later.
The End.
