Snowy Owl etc (1 Viewer)

Ben Nevis said:

No offence Intended but locations of Black throated Diver at this time of year,should not be discussed on an open forum.

There have been a few White billed Divers seen off the coast at Portsoy,which Is not too far from Buckie.They have been seen from the mainland but perhaps a local boat trip,may bring a result with this species and some other Divers and sea birds.

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dowitcher said:

I probably should have qualified that. I'm aware of the problem of discussing rare bird breeding sites, but there are usually some publicised general areas: Lochindorb was one, when I used to visit about 10 years ago, and this was in Madders and Welstead. I was just seeing if there was another site like that which I wasn't aware of, not asking for somebody to give me the exact location of a nest. I hope nobody would be daft enough to do that on here.

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dowitcher said:

I'm off up to stay at the SYHA hostel at Loch Morlich next week, and obviously planning a couple of walks up the Ben Madui path (2 out of 3 last time I went, with Dotterel and Ptarmigan). Does anybody know what happened to the Snowy Owl? Has it cleared off now that you don't need crampons to get up there?!

Also, does anybody have any recommendations for places to go in the Speyside-ish area beyond the following?

Loch Ruthven,

Findhorn Valley (and the Farr road) for eagles.

Loch Garten

North Sea coast (going to spend a couple of days around Cullen, catching up with seabirds at Troup Head etc)

Last time I was up, I tried out Lochindorb, where I'd seen Black-throated Diver years ago, but either I'm going blind or they're not there any more. Are there any other lochs where they're reliable now? Or do you have to go into Sutherland now?

Any advice gratefully received!

Andrew McCafferty

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Marcus Conway - ebirder said:

I don't think it has been realistically possible to get to the Cairngorm Plateau in the last five weeks. The wind has been above 50mph most days and the temperature rarely above freezing. In many ways it is still full on winter and I would be surprised if the Snowy has moved on.

There is still a significant amount of snow at car park level. I for one would not venture up unless conditions were perfect. You are talking about a five or six hour walk.

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dowitcher said:

Ah I see! The balmy conditions down here in London are lulling me into a false sense of security then... I'll see what it's like when I get up to Aviemore then, might have to rethink some of my plans!

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Matthebirder said:

Maybe a daft question from an southern person, but is the top railway stop of any use for observing the area? I've not been up there for 20 years but maybe making a 'flying' visit in a week or so. Assuming it is running that is. White-billed divers sound better bet I guess.

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dowitcher said:

Others will know better than me, but I think bird viewing opportunities are a bit limited from the top railway stop, because (quite rightly, given the numbers of people who could potentially go up), it's closed in and you can't walk around. I think there are guided walks around the plateau starting from the railway station though. If the snow's actually as severe as people are saying on here, I might have to think about something like that myself! Although the path I took up from the right-hand side of the car park last time was very clear, so if the snow's not that heavy lower down, I might be able to get part of the way up without crampons etc! Last time I went, I saw Ptarmigan way before I got anywhere near Ben Macdui, and Dotterel once I reached the first plateau (which is maybe 3/4 of the way up).

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