For those of us
leaving the South West by train it meant an early start and a long
day. Everyone except Philip had delays of one form or another, but
eventually we all arrived safely at our hotel in Nethybridge. We had
our evening meal and then despite the thunder and lightening we
retired to bed ready for the morning.
DAY 2 27th Aug
This morning the
weather had cleared and blue sky and sunshine made the view from our
hotel towards the mountains a beautiful sight. As we ate breakfast
we were distracted by a Red Squirrel in the garden. Having finished
we headed for the Abernethy Forest. After only a fifteen minute
drive we soon arrived and then set of for a walk. The forest was
rather quiet except for several mixed tit flocks which included
Goldcrests, Coal Tits and even a few Crested Tits although they did
not show as well a we would have liked. Continuing on through the
forest we came to a clearing where we could look across towards the
Cairngorms. Two Black Grouse suddenly flew up from the heather and
disappeared over the hill with only a few of us managing to see
them, a Roe Deer was then spotted feeding down in the valley. We
then returned to the vehicle and drove to a bridge over the river
Spey where we had our picnic lunch. A superb Dipper was seen very
close on the river while Common Buzzards and a Goldeneye flew over.
We then continued on to Loch Indorb and as soon as we had arrived we
were out of the minibus and watching two adults and a juvenile
Black-throated Diver swimming silently across the loch. As we
watched these birds Mick then spotted an Osprey which was soon
joined by a second bird after which they flew around with one bird
eventually diving in to catch a fish. We moved further around to get
better views of the divers and then drove to the other side of the
loch where we set up the telescopes on a few Red Grouse which were
trying to hide in the heather. We left here and drove back towards
the hotel stopping briefly to view several small pools which held
both Wigeon and Teal plus a Little Grebe. A short drive then saw us
back at our hotel ready for our evening meals.
DAY 3 28th
Aug
After an early
breakfast we set off towards the West coast. A short stop at Tullock
moor soon had us watching a male Black Grouse stood proud on a mound
of heather. Another four birds were then seen flying across the
road. We continued on to Arrisaig where we soon boarded the boat
which would take us to the island of Eigg. While waiting for the
boat to depart we spotted an Otter floating on its back close to the
shore, everyone enjoyed seeing this beautiful animal before the boat
set off. It wasn't long before we spotted our first Black Guillemots
on the sea and families of Common Seals lazing around on the rocks.
Once we had cleared the mainland we started to see more and more
Common Guillemots and Razorbills, allowing good comparisons of these
two species. We also saw several more Black Guillemots, there were
lots of Kittiwakes and then we saw our first Harbour Porpoises, soon
followed two Great Skuas, including one bird that the captain
steered the boat right alongside. With the flat calm conditions it
wasn't long before we spotted the first of six or more huge Minke
Whales, the captain setting chase to try and get the boat close to
where we thought the whales would surface next. The excitement of
seeing these large mammals blow and break the water fairly close to
us was a highlight of the crossing. A short stop was then made on
the island of Eigg before we continued on to the smaller island of
Muck. Again Black Guillemots, there commoner cousins and more whales
were seen. After disembarking we spent a couple of hours here. First
our picnic lunch was eaten along with some of the local fresh cakes
and then we took a short walk so as we could overlook the island of
Rhum. There were a few Hooded Crows seen and some very distant
Twite, plus common species such as Meadow Pipits, Stonechat and even
a Kestrel a rare bird for the island. On our return boat trip we
picked up several distant Manx Shearwaters and a couple of Arctic
Skuas as well as a single Barnacle Goose amongst some Greylags. The
return journey was less eventful but we did see two close Harbour
Porpoises and several more Black Guillemots. Once ashore we were
soon back in the minibus and on our way to the hotel.
DAY 4 29th
Aug
towards Cairn
Lochan
After breakfast we headed off to the
Cairngorms. We arrived at the car park collected our packed
lunches and then set off walking uphill towards Cairn Lochan.
Two Wheatears were seen while Meadow Pipits could often be
heard giving their (sip) calls. After an hours walking we
got to an area of scree where several of the group took a
higher path than the rest and then we continued walking parallel
to each other. We hadn't gone far before two Ptarmigan flew
up calling and then landed on some rocks not to far away.
With our telescopes trained on these birds we all enjoyed
wonderful views before they eventually flew off again. We
then walked a little further until we reached a flat plateau
which was a good place to eat our lunch. The views from this
height were spectacular, and once we had finished our lunches
we set off to search the plateau.
higher area
A close Ptarmigan was seen by a few,
before we all got to ahigher area of grasses where we then fanned
out and slowly walked along. A group of twelve Ptarmigan appeared
and were watched running along in front of us, and this was
then followed by a Dotterel flying off calling. We continued
slowly on and then Mick signalled as he then found a second
bird no more than twenty feet in front of him. This juvenile
Dotterel allowed us watch it very close for as long as
we wished. After half an hour of stunning views we left the
bird alone and set off back down the mountain. The group of
Ptarmigan were seen very close again and then we headed
downhill toward a very distant car park. It seemed to take forever
to get back but once there we found three Twite feeding on some
weeds, showing very well. From here we then returned making
a quick tea break beside Loch Morlich, where we found eight
Goosander and seven Goldeneye plus two Red-throated Divers.
We then made our way back to the hotel ready for our evening
meal.
Dotterel
Ptarmigan
DAY 5 30th Aug
Today we were up early for a
pre-breakfast walk. En-route to Tullock moor as we passed through a
woodland Margaret and then Chris shouted as they spotted a head
sticking out from the heather. We reversed the van up and then
watched as two or three Capercaillie walked through the heather
showing on occasions. We decided to get ahead of where the birds
were walking and then as most of waited in the forest a few then
slowly walked towards the area we had seen the birds. Amazingly five
Capercaillie then flew up right in front of us, giving superb views.
We watched as one bird landed in a nearby tree giving us wonderful
scope views, before it then flew off and through the wood. Elated
with this we then continued on to the moor where it wasn't long
before we spotted a male Black Grouse sat on the top of a ridge of
heather. We quietly set the scopes up and despite the mist enjoyed
good views of this bird as well, making our early morning start well
worth while. After breakfast we headed to a private hunting estate
where we then drove slowly around the woods. Several small tit
flocks were found but the last one produced the hoped for views of
Crested Tits that everyone wanted. We had a few of these lovely
little birds right beside the minibus allowing excellent views.
Other birds in the wood included Meadow Pipits, Goldcrests, Mistle
Thrushes and lots of Coal Tits. Leaving the wood we then drove to
the Findhorn valley where we parked at the end and ate our packed
lunches. On the hillside opposite we watched lots of Red Deer, most
of which supported huge antlers. Lunch over with we then decided to
walk up the valley. There were lots of Buzzards and Ravens seen
while Peregrines also put in an appearance. We scanned the sky for
hours and just as we were about to leave a sub-adult Golden Eagle
was spotted flying along the hillside beside a Buzzard, it then
dropped to land on a small rock, from which we could all enjoy super
views. As we watched this bird another was spotted flying right
overhead, giving everyone time to appreciate this magnificent bird.
Content we then left, but not before the eagle on the rock then took
off and flew low around the hill in front of us. We then drove back
to the hotel with a brief stop as Mick spotted a Short-eared Owl.
After our evening meal we took a short walk up the road where we saw
what was probably a Long-eared Owl, several bats including
Piperstrelle and Long-eared and finally a Hedgehog.
DAY
6 31st Aug
Mick's early
morning walk paid off when he found a pair of Capercaillie and some
Roe Deer. After breakfast we all headed into the Abernethy forest,
where despite the drizzle we were going to try and find crossbills.
At Loch Garten we walked slowly through the wood. It was generally
quiet although Siskins could be heard calling overhead and on the
nearby Loch we found several Goldeneye. We decide to try another
part of the wood and it wasn't long before we had brief flight views
of two or three Capercaillie. A mixed flock of birds included a
Spotted Flycatcher, Treecreepers and several Crested Tits which came
down very close. We had our lunch at Loch Garten and then headed to
the Black Isle, with a brief stop to look atCarrbridge.
Continuing on we made our first stop at channery point.
Unfortunately the winds were from the west so our chances of seeing
seabirds was slim although we did see plenty of Kittiwakes and a few
Sandwich Terns. From here we then drove to Udale where we were able
to watch over the estuary from the RSPB hide. As we arrived an
Osprey was spotted circling around and then flying out to sea. The
tide had just started to go out and wading birds were leaving their
roost to feed on the exposed mud. Lots of Oystercatchers were soon
joined by Redshanks, Dunlin, bar and Black-tailed Godwits and a few
Knot, there were 1,000s of Wigeon in the bay plus a few commoner
duck. With the weather wet and miserable we then left and headed
back to the hotel. After our evening meal we had a short walk down
the road where we saw a Piperstrelle and then a Daubenton's Bat
which was hunting low over the water under a bridge.
DAY
7 1st Sept
Almost everyone was up at dawn for a
walk into nearby Dell Wood. It was drizzling but we weren't put off.
It was generally very quiet excepting the ever present Wrens singing
and Siskin's flying over, and after an hours walking we were about
to return through the wood a different direction when suddenly a
male Capercaillie flew up from in front of us soon followed by a
female, they both flew away and everyone got good views. We then
returned to the hotel for breakfast after which we decide to try one
last attempt to find crossbills. We went into a different part of
the Abernethy forest and after a fifteen minute walk a Scottish
Crossbill was spotted on top of a tree. It then flew off joined by
another eight but there was still two juvenile's left in the same
tree. We approached closer and eventually everyone got fairly good
views as these birds feed on the pine cones. Leaving here we then
collected our packed lunches from the hotel and set off to the east
coast. When we arrived at the Ythan Estuary we searched the first
Common Eiders we found to try and locate the resident King Eider. We
saw Golden Plover, Turnstones, Lapwings and both Sandwich and Common
Terns. Not finding the eider we decided to try nearer the sea. We
searched through hundreds of eider but still could not find the
king. By the mouth of the estuary we watched a Great Skua fly close
by chasing the terns while on the sand and out at sea we saw
Shoveler, Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, lots of Kittiwakes
and a couple of seal pups. We walked back to the minibus leaving
Mick and Chris to find an Arctic Skua while we went through the
waders finding lots of Knot and Ringed Plover plus a Greenshank,
Grey Plovers and some Bar-tailed Godwits. We never found the King
Eider which must have been out at sea, so we decided to check
further up the river. Here we found two Pink-footed Geese and three
Ospreys plus a single Spoonbill sat amongst the Cormorants. Finally
we left and returned back to our hotel, but not without an emergency
stop for a superb Short-eared Owl sat on a fence post and then
flying around.
DAY
8 2nd Sept
After an early breakfast we said our
farewells and then all headed off back to our respective homes
bringing this great tour to a memorable end.
