The Highlands and Islands Thread (11 Viewers)

[Vipers]

Morning Vipers, view from either point. I was up the valley same time as John and had the Goldies and WTE from the midway point, just a different view!

Farr road is a beautiful drive and good for Red Grouse, however I have not had many eagles from there, best down in the valley.

Like John a couple in the mid point car park was saying they kept dipping out on WTE, just when one had flown directly over their car about 5 minutes previously!

As David Lindo Says "Keep looking up!"

Good luck and Good Birding!

Dave

Thanks Dave!! Yeah looking up does help when looking for raptors.
It looks like I'll be there on Monday weather permitting.

 

[Northern123]

Had a great couple of hours at the Findhorn Valley today. 3 Golden eagle, 1 White-tailed eagle, 1 Peregrine and 1 Ring ouzel from the car park at the end of the road at the valley between 11am and 1.30pm today.

 

[jpoyner]

Had a great couple of hours at the Findhorn Valley today. 3 Golden eagle, 1 White-tailed eagle, 1 Peregrine and 1 Ring ouzel from the car park at the end of the road at the valley between 11am and 1.30pm today.

I think it was you I was talking to with my group.........some excellent spotting, cheers, they were keeping very high up today in the clear conditions.

 

[Andrew1998]

Hi, I am visiting Aviemore and Skye soon. We will be at Aviemore from the 15-17th June and are climbing Carn Ban Mor and maybe up to Sgor Gaith for Dotterel. I was wondering how elusive they will be as I expect they will have large chicks by then. I'm not too woried about ptarmigan as I have already seen them a few times and between Carn Ban Mor and our detour Applecross we should pick up few anyway!

We will visit skye on the 29th and stay for the week at Portree. We will of course visit the Sea Eagles a few times and I have googled a few Corncrake sites but I would be interested to know if they will still be singing(rasping) as this will make tracking them down much easier. I believe Great Skua(bonxie) nest at Neist Point? if anyone could comfirm that would be great. If anone has any additional sites for the species already mentioned or others your help would make whats hopefully a very good holiday a great holiday. Even otter or deer sites would be really helpfull.

cheers Andy

 

[RichC]

Evening Andy, quick reply but, as always when heading upto Skye, take a browse around here.
http://www.skye-birds.com/reports

More in the near future, eating at the mo
Rgds
RichC

EDIT When you are heading up do stop and have a look around Broadford bay as you pass by. Stop at the hrrapool end and have a look around and down Waterloo, then stop again in the public car-park just after the broadford petrol station.

 

[Andrew1998]

Thanks Rich, any info will help a lot so thanks, will have a look around bay and the link to the skye website will help aswell.
Thanks

 

[RichC]

My Pleasure Andy.
boat trips for WTE (+ other stuff) Portree
http://www.skyeboat-trips.co.uk/index.php?idx=1
http://www.portree-boat-trips.co.uk/

Website dedicated to wildlife in Glendale area
http://www.glendaleskye.com/sightings.php

Boat Trips NW (Waternish) Skye
http://www.divers-eye.co.uk/

Well worth a walk out to Neist point for some sea, and seabird watching.
http://www.glendaleskye.com/neistpoint.php


Finally, as you have a week, if you get a chance head down to Elgol and (book in advance) a day out with these guys n gals.
http://www.aquaxplore.co.uk/
http://www.bellajane.co.uk/
(one company originally under the Bella Jane banner)
Not cheap but excellent value. Especially the RIBS, a day out to various small isles is cracking. I know the owner and two of the skippers, a great bunch.
Find them on facebook here and check the photos of recent trips.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bella-Jane-Boat-Trips/330471607552


Hope the weather holds up for you and you have a great time on "my patch".
Rgds
RichC

 

[Andrew1998]

Thanks Rich for the great links.

Was looking at the MV Stardust as it costs 48 all in for the 4 of us which is pretty good which specializes in the eagles. Brigadoon photography trips are pretty pricey but they run a 'Wildlife Spotting' trip which have dolphins, seals, otter and porpoises advertised aswell as the eagle. I think we are defo doing the MV Stardust trip at least once. The wildlife spotting trip says the eagle get fed during the day but does this mean this boat feeds the eagle or just that there is a chance of seeing them but you need to do their overpriced photography trip at £120 for the feed. I would rather do the Stardust twice and the wildlife spotting trip where there is a reasonable good chance of dolphins ect and pay the extra £30 myself than the Brigadoon .

Thanks again Rich, other trips look interesting too.
cheers Andy

 

[jpoyner]

Thanks Rich for the great links.

Was looking at the MV Stardust as it costs 48 all in for the 4 of us which is pretty good which specializes in the eagles. Brigadoon photography trips are pretty pricey but they run a 'Wildlife Spotting' trip which have dolphins, seals, otter and porpoises advertised aswell as the eagle. I think we are defo doing the MV Stardust trip at least once. The wildlife spotting trip says the eagle get fed during the day but does this mean this boat feeds the eagle or just that there is a chance of seeing them but you need to do their overpriced photography trip at £120 for the feed. I would rather do the Stardust twice and the wildlife spotting trip where there is a reasonable good chance of dolphins ect and pay the extra £30 myself than the Brigadoon .

Thanks again Rich, other trips look interesting too.
cheers Andy

£120 may seem overpriced but is pretty standard for a specialist photography opportunity. Charges for Osprey fishing photography hides range from £90-£180pp locally and they don't even use a boat! These things require a lot of setting up and it's a short season to get a return for the effort. Also you have to consider the photographer may be professional so there should be a return anyway. From what I hear some of these boats are fully booked for the next few months!!

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

You can read more about photographing the eagles on this article

http://www.ebirder.net/Pages/wteguide.aspx

Essentially a private charter you are paying for every seat on the boat. If no-one else has gone out early then you have as much chance on the regular boat. Also you need to find out if the birds have chicks this year. Last year the pair used were unsuccessful so the parents weren't up for free food as much.

Skye is a bit of a free for all in my experience for the Eagles. There is little co-operation between the skippers and a bit of a race out to the feeding site.

 

[Andrew1998]

Hi
Marcus & jpoyner= thanks for responding.

JPOYNER- I think I wrote my post too quickly as it does not really sound the way it was ment to! The £120 although not cheap is not that bad but when you see a rival boat offering £12 per person it wouldn't be hard to jump at the stardust. I'll phone a few of the companies for available spaces and paying £120 for the eagles is 10 times a better deal than £180 for an Osprey, both are stunning but I know the one I'd rather see every day, don't think you could get bored seeing eagles.

Marcus-I've read that article a few times now, those eagle pics are stunning. Your right about the space, just looking on youtube at the eagle feeds the stardust can appear a bit cramped and the ability to move to the best angle can make a great difference to the shot.

There is little co-operation between the skippers and a bit of a race out to the feeding site

- a private character might be the way to go as you can leave Portee earlier and plan the dive more carefully but like many have said"no dive is the same" so with a bit of luck I'll get a few good shots.

Thanks to everybody who has helped me so far

 

[Sandra (Taylor)]

Thanks Rich for the great links.

Was looking at the MV Stardust as it costs 48 all in for the 4 of us which is pretty good which specializes in the eagles. Brigadoon photography trips are pretty pricey but they run a 'Wildlife Spotting' trip which have dolphins, seals, otter and porpoises advertised aswell as the eagle. I think we are defo doing the MV Stardust trip at least once. The wildlife spotting trip says the eagle get fed during the day but does this mean this boat feeds the eagle or just that there is a chance of seeing them but you need to do their overpriced photography trip at £120 for the feed. I would rather do the Stardust twice and the wildlife spotting trip where there is a reasonable good chance of dolphins ect and pay the extra £30 myself than the Brigadoon .

Thanks again Rich, other trips look interesting too.
cheers Andy

We went out on the MV Stardust in October. There didn't seem to be any competition between the boat skippers. They kept a decent distance between each other and when they moored they kept this distance. Only two fish from each boat are allowed to be thrown, if I remember correctly. The skipper soon found an eagle perched on the cliff top but another came in suddenly from one side of us to take the fish. We didn't take this trip for photography but I did manage to get a couple of photos as well as being able to see the birds. Good views were had of it feeding on the shore line.

Sandra

 

[gordon hamlett]

Hi guys

Work continues apace on the second edition of my book - The Best Birdwatching Sites in the Scottish Highlands


If anybody wants to check or comment on my latest jottings, the following chapters are now available. Just let me know which one(s) you are interested in and I'll forward a draft copy. All constructive criticism particularly welcome.

Cheers

Gordon



The Lairg area

Caithness and the Flow country

Northwest Sutherland

Morvern

Findhorn Valley

New chapters now available for anyone to check including


The Black Isle

Glenlivet

Insh Marshes

Loch Arkaig

Loch Hourn

Loch Laggan

Moray Firth

Skye

The Inverness Glens

There is too much text for a pm so you will need to email me at

gordon dot hamlett at btinternet dot com


Thanks again for all those who have helped so far

Cheers

Gordon

 

[RichC]

Note to Andy, first basking sharks of the season spotted around summer isles, so you may be in with a shout of seeing these fabulous beasts too.
Rgds
RichC

 

[Andrew1998]

Thanks, only ever seen basking shark once while on a boat to Arran, that's great rich.

Thanks to everybody who helped me with Skye trip and I have settled with the earliest trip with the MV Stardust one day and booked the Brigadoon early for another day.

cheers Andy

 

[jpoyner]

Sadly reckless disturbance of a male Caper locally mainly by people chasing it with cameras, has now led to the Police becoming involved. If you have photos of that bird I certainly wouldn't be showing them off all over the internet!! It was perfectly visible from vehicles with no need to get out and chase it all over the forest. In the past, CCTV cameras have been set to record such criminal activity.......smile!!!!

 

[gnome]

Hi all,

I'm heading up to Scotland in just over a week's time (11th to 15th) as I felt that it was about time that I finally caught up with some of the Scottish specialities. Specifically: Crested Tit, Scottish Crossbill, Parrot Crossbill and Capercaillie are my target birds. Naturally, I'm heading over to the Loch Garten area but was wondering in particular about good spots and tactics for any of these species or it there are any other areas that I should also consider. Any advice on any of these species would be much appreciated

Adam

 

[jpoyner]

Black Stork seems to be wandering about somewhere....anyone know any more details of the Gruinard sighting...was it a fly over?

 

[Ian Bell]

Sadly reckless disturbance of a male Caper locally mainly by people chasing it with cameras, has now led to the Police becoming involved. If you have photos of that bird I certainly wouldn't be showing them off all over the internet!! It was perfectly visible from vehicles with no need to get out and chase it all over the forest. In the past, CCTV cameras have been set to record such criminal activity.......smile!!!!

The birders there,would be there,because they knew Capercaillie were In the area.As such,they would know the law and protocol to follow,regarding this species.

Therefore,should the Police become Involved and action Is taken against the offending people,they deserve everything they get and I hope they are "Named and Shamed". :C

 

[devon.birder]

I saw this bird from the car earlier in May and I was disgusted to read the comments from jpoyner. If you were a Birder then you would not need to get out of your car to get crippling views. The people who went in to the wood are not Birders and they give true Birders a bad name. When I left Aviemore I went to the Outer Hebrides and whilst there I relocated two Dotterels on The Range. Whilst I was scoping the birds from the tarmac road two vehicles stopped. The six occupants saw the Dotterels and then one asked me if I minded if they got a bit closer. I replied that I would rather they didn't to avoid flushing the birds. Five minutes later I turned my back to speak to my wife and I when I turned back I saw all six were walking up to the Dotterels all armed with cameras with long lenses. They formed a semi circle around the birds which I have to admit did not fly off. Whilst I was watching their antics a car drew up driven by a local resident. He told me that the locals were very glad when the peak weeks in May were over due to the antics of photographers, especially the hounding of the Snowy Owl. I have been going to the Outer Hebrides in May for many years and was very disappointed to hear these comments. Roger