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Photography advice in Scotland (1 Viewer)

K

kneonlight

Well-known member
Hi

My family and I are heading up to Scotland next weekend and we will be travelling aound for 3 weeks. I was wondering if anyone could advice on any places that are particularly good for wildlife photography.

We will be staying in North Cairngorms, Nr Loch Lomond, Mull, Islay and Fort William.

We have booked a Sea Eagle trip on Mull and we are also planning to visit Chanonry point to try and photograph dolphins. (is this the best place?)

Ideally we would like to photograph crested tits (wrong time of year??), crossbill and dotteril but not sure how easy this will be. My son is also desperate to see (and hopefully photograph) an Osprey.

My youngest is also obsessed with seeing a King Eider. I appreciate these are very rare and highly unlikely but is there a good website I should check for locations of possible sightings?

Many Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Kneonlight

Try and get hold of a copy of Gordon Hamlett's book "Best Birdwatching Sites in the Scottish Highlands", you'll find it very helpful. Also have a look in Opus, there's some great information and links on the various areas that you'll be visiting. This is the main Scotland page.

These will keep you going I think, until someone else comes through with some more information for you.

Young Ospreys are just fledging now, so you should get plenty of sightings, especially further east, rather than the West Coast.
 
Elvis the King Eider can usually be found on the Ythan estuary at Newburgh, north of Aberdeen, at particular times of year. I've no idea if he's still around (likely to be moulting at present, so not quite so 'bonny') or whether he usually is at this time of year. Some of the Aberdeenshire birders may be your best bet. Ospreys are pretty easy to see, and Loch Garten may be your best bet for a sighting of Osprey. Other places will probably give you a better chance of a photo. Cresties might be around in that area too. Not sure if that is any help. Delia's tip on getting Gordon's book is probably your best bet.
 
There was a king eider at Nairn yesterday (eclipse drake, so not quite as spectacular as it might have been...), which is not too much of a detour if you're heading towards channel point. If you're after Dolphins though, Aberdeen is your best bet really.
 
Fat Paul Scholes said:
There was a king eider at Nairn yesterday (eclipse drake, so not quite as spectacular as it might have been...), which is not too much of a detour if you're heading towards channel point. If you're after Dolphins though, Aberdeen is your best bet really.
Click to expand...

Thanks - we are visiting Aberdeen. Whereabouts should we go for dolphins there?
 
Aberdeen harbour - if you're visiting between Thursday and Sunday look for the dolphin watch signs. The watch point is at the battery on the south side of Aberdeen harbour - see the attached map. Also an otter has been seen there on and off recently, and there are seals and porpoises in the area too.
 

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kneonlight said:
Gordon's book arrived this morning.
Looks great :)

Any further tips welcome :)
Click to expand...

It is a great book, but then I am a tad biased <big grin>

Try Lochindorb for very photogenic red grouse. Ospreys fish regularly there and give great views.

Other good Osprey sites at the moment are Findhorn Bay and Spey Bay. Also Udale Bay which is easy to combine with Chanonry. On the way up, consider stopping at Loch of the Lowes SWT (well signed, just off the A9) for excellent views of Ospreys - much better then Loch Garten

Cresties are going to be tricky. Loch Garten to Loch Mallachie is a good bet, as is a walk round the Allt Mor trail at Glen More.

If I was taking one of my groups out I would probably be doing something along the lines of

Day 1 Findhorn Valley for eagles, dipper etc am and either Loch Ruthven RSPB for Slavonian Grebes, or Nairn Harbour and Lochindorb pm

Day 2 Glen More (or Loch Garten) am, Cairngorm (walk up or funicular depending on your choice) pm Note there is no access to tops unless you go a ranger's walk if you take the funicular

Day 3 Burghead Bay am and Spey Bay pm seabirds and waders

Day 4 Black Isle Munlochy Bay for Red Kites etc, Chanonry for dolphins and seabirds (a rising tide is best) and then Udale Bay an hour before high tide. You really need to get the tides right for this day out

Good luck and have a great trip. let us know how you get on.

Gordon
 
Thanks so much Gordon.

Thinking of walking up Cairngorm - would this be our best bet for Dotteril? (are they even likely to still be around next week?)
 
kneonlight said:
Thanks so much Gordon.

Thinking of walking up Cairngorm - would this be our best bet for Dotteril? (are they even likely to still be around next week?)
Click to expand...

Dotterel start to ship out at the end of July so you should just be ok. Make sure that you talk to the rangers at the visitor centre to see if they know of any recent sightings and can point you in the right direction. As an alternative, a couple were seen up Carn Ban Mor recently (see book for details).

Gordon
 
Good start (despite the weather!)
Managed Crested tit within 5 mins on day 1 - landed on a post about 5 foot away rom where we were standing!
Good views of Osprey fishing at Lochindorb although fairly distant.
Highlight so far has to be the Black throated divers we got at near point blank range.
Seen loads of Red Grouse as well and managed a few pics although the rain made getting pictures tricky!
 
kneonlight said:
Good start (despite the weather!)
Managed Crested tit within 5 mins on day 1 - landed on a post about 5 foot away rom where we were standing!
Good views of Osprey fishing at Lochindorb although fairly distant.
Highlight so far has to be the Black throated divers we got at near point blank range.
Seen loads of Red Grouse as well and managed a few pics although the rain made getting pictures tricky!
Click to expand...

Appreciate the Divers were probably photographed safely from the road in this case but worth popping this in to this thread I think. Released by SNH today.

http://snh.presscentre.com/News-Releases/Wildlife-photography-could-you-be-breaking-the-law-1d7.aspx
 
The juvenile Black throated diver was caught up in fishing line with the adult staying close by, I called the RSPB and RSPCA, they came out with a boat and released the Juvenile from the fishing line, that was the reason both birds were so close to the shore.
Gordon.
 
speyghillie said:
The juvenile Black throated diver was caught up in fishing line with the adult staying close by, I called the RSPB and RSPCA, they came out with a boat and released the Juvenile from the fishing line, that was the reason both birds were so close to the shore.
Gordon.
Click to expand...

When was this Gordon ? I was there Thurs and adults present but no sign of Juv?
 
photo Sotland

Hi John,
Not sure what day it was last week, I am up at 3.30am every morning right now and the days all seem the same, I was guiding a photographer to Red Grouse and we had a look at the Juv through a scope spotting the fishing line, it seems a call was made to RSPB Abernethy before I called and they were aware of the situation and were waiting to get a boat out to the Loch that day, I was out that way again the following day and it looked like it had been rescued.
Gordon.
 
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