Sandra (Taylor)
Well-known member
Friday
Drove towards Insh Watersports where our friends had seen an osprey fishing earlier in the week. Nothing out today.
Then to the fishfarm where we used a free pass we'd been given to shelter for an hour in the hide there. Goldeneye were displaying then mating on the pond and a raft of maybe a dozen tufted ducks floated past. Lots of house martins hawking over the water.
Then we split up - the other two went to walk round Lochan Mor (?) still hoping for cresties and we went to stock up on shortbread from the Walker's shop in Aviemore.
Then to pay our last visit to the RSPB centre at Loch Garten. EJ & her fella were guarding the nest but what made my ears ***** up was someone saying there was a caper in view from the r/h side window. It was far right of the hide, reaching up out of the heather to pick pine needles from a sapling. His huge white bill and the white spot on his shoulder showed up well. We watched for some time before he moved away through the heather, and we turned our attention back to the ospreys. We had time then to chat to the volunteers on duty.
Met up with the other two and drove up the Findhorn Valley - beautiful afternoon by now. A female goosander flew alongside the car before veering off to the other side of the river. Lots of common gulls on the shingle. We chatted to the group leader when we came across two Heatherlea buses at the end of the road.
Didn't see any raptors from the road end but on the way back down the valley we had four buzzards at once. One was very light coloured, almost white and at first I had thought it was an osprey. A pair of wheatear were on a rock at the side of the road.
On the way back down the A9 we assumed a steam train was due to come through as there were loads of cars parked by the railway. We took the exit for Carrbridge then doubled back to the left and drove to a bridge where we had super views of a 'double engine black 5' ??!! These trainspotters were as keen as lots of birders - one guy had followed it up from Perth and seen it about four times on its journey.
This was a lovely holiday, with good company and a very comfortable house to go back to. We now have no need to search for any other s/c place to stay - we will go back to Cherry Cottage.
I haven't mentioned all the birds we saw in my report. I will write a complete list on another thread. Will be going back to Scotland for two weeks in October, but this time to the west - Mull and then Strontian. Oh, with Lesvos
thrown in for good measure before then.
Sandra
:t:
Drove towards Insh Watersports where our friends had seen an osprey fishing earlier in the week. Nothing out today.
Then to the fishfarm where we used a free pass we'd been given to shelter for an hour in the hide there. Goldeneye were displaying then mating on the pond and a raft of maybe a dozen tufted ducks floated past. Lots of house martins hawking over the water.
Then we split up - the other two went to walk round Lochan Mor (?) still hoping for cresties and we went to stock up on shortbread from the Walker's shop in Aviemore.
Then to pay our last visit to the RSPB centre at Loch Garten. EJ & her fella were guarding the nest but what made my ears ***** up was someone saying there was a caper in view from the r/h side window. It was far right of the hide, reaching up out of the heather to pick pine needles from a sapling. His huge white bill and the white spot on his shoulder showed up well. We watched for some time before he moved away through the heather, and we turned our attention back to the ospreys. We had time then to chat to the volunteers on duty.
Met up with the other two and drove up the Findhorn Valley - beautiful afternoon by now. A female goosander flew alongside the car before veering off to the other side of the river. Lots of common gulls on the shingle. We chatted to the group leader when we came across two Heatherlea buses at the end of the road.
Didn't see any raptors from the road end but on the way back down the valley we had four buzzards at once. One was very light coloured, almost white and at first I had thought it was an osprey. A pair of wheatear were on a rock at the side of the road.
On the way back down the A9 we assumed a steam train was due to come through as there were loads of cars parked by the railway. We took the exit for Carrbridge then doubled back to the left and drove to a bridge where we had super views of a 'double engine black 5' ??!! These trainspotters were as keen as lots of birders - one guy had followed it up from Perth and seen it about four times on its journey.
This was a lovely holiday, with good company and a very comfortable house to go back to. We now have no need to search for any other s/c place to stay - we will go back to Cherry Cottage.
I haven't mentioned all the birds we saw in my report. I will write a complete list on another thread. Will be going back to Scotland for two weeks in October, but this time to the west - Mull and then Strontian. Oh, with Lesvos
thrown in for good measure before then.
Sandra
:t:
