Glens and Moors

Tuesday April 30

The best moth this morning was a Scarce Prominent. Not scarce in this area and a second record for us - we had one last year. Another very lively specimen cooling off in the frig., photos to-morrow I hope. 

Here's one of yesterday's Glaucous Shears.

Findhorn Valley is a much anticipated favourite. Not as warm nor sunny as yesterday but enough to enhance the stunning scenery of this glen. 

Much changed landscape on the link road from the A9. What looks like a sub station has been built on the moorland. Scars on the countryside.....We did see a Rough-legged Buzzard, called and identified by Pam. They once bred in the Findhorn valley.

Our first birding stop is at what is known to us as the Dipper bridge. We once saw an adult feeding its family here. An ArcticTern flew upriver, Grey Wagtail and Common Sandpipers flitted amongst the stony banks, disappearing on landing. Our first Raven, hassled by a Carrion Crow, flew evasively along the high ridge. Their life must be made annoying by the  constant attack by lesser birds. 
A Peregrine was also under attack, showing fairly briefly above the valley.

On to our usual viewing spot, parked on a roadside grassy mound shortly before the official parking place. The biggest surprise to-day has been the lack of Red Deer. None at the farm nor as a frieze on the mountain tops. Odd. One more rabbit - normal brown - not the jet black we saw yesterday at Lochindorb.
Two Sand Martins perched on an overhead wire were too tempting to miss. It's nearly impossible to catch them in flight. Through the windscreen......

 

A lack of traffic on the way down enabled us to stop and photograph the wild flowers clustered along the hillside. Slide film could never manage to re-produce blues and violets naturally - neither can our Digital equipment. 

Violets

Primroses

Wood Anemone

Very little action so we made our way back to the Farr  road junction and the mountain moorland single track road across to Loch Ruthven. One Red Grouse, two Wheatears and a pair of Red-legged Partridges. Even more scarring up here. A long line of giant silvery electricity pylons marched across the moor. The scars of the roads built to deliver the materials jigsawed into the distance. Heaps of felled logs testament to the natural destruction. We wish we'd photographed the attractive information board provided by the Tomintoul Group. It mentioned that most of the world's moorland was in the UK, three quarters of it in Scotland. In order to protect this valuable natural history, heather had to be burnt (fresh shoots for Grouse) and traps and cages were legally placed to control vermin such as Foxes. Interference with the traps would be punished. Wow. Sounded like Natural England.

As we dropped down into the glen, Pam saw two raptors flying a longish way away - I can't see very well beyond a certain distance. Lifting my bins, I could see that one was a Buzzard which was hassling an Osprey carrying a fish in its talons. My photograph is laughably poor - but it shows the fish.

I'd remembered from last year, that Loch Ruthven can be seen from an unofficial layby near a gate on the road. The walk from the official car park is very rough underfoot and I would have needed to carry a seat.  There was room. I set up my scope from the car as light rain was falling. Two pairs of Slavonian Grebes swam into view. Brilliant. Very active little birds. It was difficult enough catching them in the bins let alone trying a photograph for the year folder. I couldn't see them with the naked eye. We both managed indistinct Grebe shaped blobs !

We drove home via Carphone Warehouse on the Inverness Tesco estate, where a young man quickly sorted my IPhone for me. What a relief.

Local Search - Curate's Egg

Monday April 29

More of the same in to-day's moth trap  - apart from one new to us. Glaucous Shears, a mountain species. Photo to-morrow as I had a dirty mark on my lens so will take more in the morning. We, luckily, retained the moth. 

We thought we'd better try to see the Highland specialities, without any real confidence in doing so. Enforced birding from the car and wayside does not help sighting Crested Tit, Crossbill, Ptarmigan, Black Grouse - to name a few.

We started in Loch Garten RSPB car park where feeders have been hung for the last couple of years and there is a good chance of Crested Tit. Not to-day. Not a feeder, nor any scattered food, in sight, just large campervans, tethered dogs and sunbathing tourists. We hung our feeder up and saw one Coal Tit.
Taking a back road to Cairngorm, we pass a lochan where a wonky dead tree usually supports a Cormorant and Sand Martins swoop the water.

Pam was interested in seeing a lepidoptera species I'd noticed flying about.  I pointed out the small scrub behind which they kept landing where Pam found the only flower in sight. Pam then moved the car so that I could photograph. I managed the plant  - Cuckoo Flower - the Orange-tip Butterflies were a blur.

Coire na Ciste, well  on the way up the mountain,  has a large parking area from which Black Grouse are advertised as being seen. We never have and we didn't to-day either. A small herd of young Reindeer suddenly appeared, as they do, attracting tourists out of their cars holding hands out for petting. They should know better. These young animals ignored them and trotted off, disappearing as suddenly as they arrived.

What about Cairngorms car park? We knew that the funicular no longer runs but we could give scoping for Ptarmigan from the car park a try. I did a lot of scoping from several different positions without success. Such a beautiful, sunny and warm - 18C - day, one could see for miles and miles. No Snow Bunting either. 

A song from the lower unmade car park alerted us to the presence of Ring Ouzel. There he was, perched on a distant stone down below us. There was also a man with a camera, walking about, stalking the bird, which did not come any nearer, just kept flying elsewhere.

 Damn him. I snatched a shot of the male sitting on a fence, part obscured by roadside vegetation. That was the best I managed.

A fuel stop at Aviemore before driving to Lochindorb, checking for Black Grouse en route. A flock of sheep in the lekking field.......

The Lochindorb drive is always a treat. The first bird sharp-eyed Pam saw was a male Hen Harrier which flew rapidly along the ridge before disappearing over the  top. Excellent. 

A few Red Grouse and a Common Sandpiper kept us amused. 

Many patches of heather have been burnt, as is the practise  in order to encourage young shoots to feed  the Grouse before they are shot.

We shall continue to check the river at Carrbridge every time we pass but will probably never see Goosander there again. We shall still look..........

Banana Bill

Sunday April 28

Waking to warm sunshine, blue sky and the ever present song of Song Thrush, Blackbird and Dunnock - the Siskin just talk to each other - we emptied the moth trap before making for the coast. Nothing local in the trap but all specimens are in fresh and immaculate condition. Especially the Red Green Carpet and four more lovely Pine Beauty. The latter are much brighter than those we catch at home. We are surrounded by Scots Pine.

Another latish start, the moth-ing takes time. 
Soon after leaving Nethy Bridge we encountered a Brown Hare on the road in front of us. The verges were lined with wire fencing and the poor animal, getting more and more frantic, couldn't find a way off. It ran along in front of us and I tried a photo through the dirty and tinted windscreen. We were going as slowly as we dared with two cars behind us all longing to pass. We breathed a sigh of relief when it eventually found an opening, its heaving sides betraying its anxiety.

 Our first stop was Burghead Maltings. This was the nearest page posting of to-day's target, White-billed Diver. Along with several other birders, I scoped the calm sea, finding a few Guillemots, a single Razorbill, passing Gannets and nothing resembling a Diver.

Cullen, famous for its Skink, was an hour's drive away.
Cullen skink is a thick Scottish soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. An authentic Cullen skink will use finnan haddie, but it may be prepared with any other undyed smoked haddock. 
The town has a good sized parking area right on the pebble beach, we often stop here. The eastern end is unmade and decorated by an enormous weathered tree trunk and roots.This seems to have been moved landwards by the tides since last year. This end also has fresh water running in, a favourite gathering and washing place for gulls.
I scanned.... and scanned... and found two White-billed Divers, several Red-throated Divers, a few auks and some passing Sandwich Terns. No need to go on to Portsoy.
A quick visit to Spey Bay - a warm and sunny Sunday brings out  the locals as well as tourists and the parking area  at the Dolphin Centre is small. Only six Goosanders this year and nothing else to delay us, it was back to the coast road and Burghead Maltings western end.
Somewhere along the road we saw a Corn Bunting perched on roadside wires.
We often see a selection of waders at the western end of Burghead shore. One Oystercatcher to-day. We sat and enjoyed watching gulls in a feeding frenzy at a current upwelling, accompanied by my favourite Gannets. When asked what bird I would choose to be - I have been to some funny parties - Gannet was often the choice, despite not being able to eat fish ! 

Back in 1974, on Mainland Shetland, a 7 year old Sara wanted to buy a present for my sister. We found one jeweller's cum knick knack shop selling little figures of birds sitting on rocks. These were labelled ''Shags on Rocks''. And that is what has stuck in my family ever since.

Shags on Rocks

This group also contains Cormorants.
The shore was decorated with mounds of pink Thrift, at their best.

Home in time for the second half of Man U drawing with Chelsea, that should have been a 6 pointer win. Another De Gea howler. What's gone wrong?

Old Haunts

Saturday April 27

What would the morning bring? It's the first time I've used a Robinson 150 MV trap in the Highlands, previously I've used a 30 actinic suitcase trap. There were 2 Streamers, 4 Currant Pugs, 2 Engrailed and 2 Garden Carpets on the outside of the trap, four on the white wall apart from one on the door jamb.

5 Hebrew Characters, 5 Pine Beauty, 3 Common Quaker and 1 Early Tooth Stripe were in the trap.Very similar selection to home, except that we don't get Streamer.

After a hectic three days, it was necessary to have an easier time. It was mid morning before we left for Lochindorb, via Boat of Garten Post Office for Saturday's Telegraph with the Cryptic crossword - and hot chocolate.

As we drove across the bridge at Carrbridge, I - as always - glanced at the ancient packhorse arch framing a tumbling waterfall, parallel with the road bridge. Glimpsing a medium sized bird with a lot of white showing, I called ''Goosander''. We returned for views of what indeed was a pair of Goosander, fishing amongst the turbulence of a good stream of water rushing over the rocks. Many photographs followed. Such a handsome back-drop but not easy conditions for good photography....... Never happy eh?

Spot the female

Lochindorb is a favourite destination of both birders and anglers.  The loch has a pair of breeding Black-throated Divers and Red-throated Divers. The surrounding moorland is managed for Red Grouse, their guttural calls ringing out from the heather clad hillsides. We have also seen displaying Short-eared Owls, fishing Osprey and Golden Eagle here. The loch is dominated by a ruined castle on an island.

Lochindorb Castle is located on the bleak Dava Moor south of Nairn and Forres on the way to Grantown-on-Spey and Aviemore, in the south-eastern heart of the Scottish Highlands.
It sits on a partly man-made island in this remote loch, 6.5 miles north-west of Grantown-on-Spey.
Lochindorb comes from the Gaelic meaning 'Loch of Trouble' and the castle has certainly had its fair share of that! Dating back to the 13th century, it was originally held by the Comyns, but later occupied by the English and was visited by Edward I in 1303 when he stayed here for 9 days, hunting out on the moor. Later it was used as a prison and also a garrison for English troops. At the end of the 14th century, it was gifted by Robert II to his third son, the notorious Wolf of Badenoch, Alexander Stewart, who rampaged around quite a bit of the local area. Lochindorb was said to be his favourite haunt.
When the Scottish Privy Council instructed the Thane of Cawdor to dismantle Lochindorb after it had been forfeited by the Earl of Moray in around 1455, the huge iron yett was transported to Cawdor Castle and can now be seen in the bowels of the building.
Although now in ruins, the castle was still in fairly good condition up until the end of the 18th century when its four 7-metre high round towers were intact. The main quadrangular courtyard is 48 x 38 metres in dimensions and is enclosed by a 2-metre thick wall which stands 6 metres high. A later extension to the south was made probably to give the island extra protection from assault. Apparently it was bought by the Cawdor Campbells in the 1970s. 

To-day, we saw two Black-throated Divers, 1 Red-throated, 2 Tufted Ducks and several Red Grouse . Although it wasn't raining, the clouds were a heavy grey.

Nairn is reputed to be one of the sunniest and driest places in Scotland. Well, it was dry. It's an ancient fishing port and market town around 17 miles (27 km) east of Inverness.  We parked at the harbour in order to scan the sea. A King Eider has been reported from the area this week - but not yesterday. Much scanning found a couple of dozen Eiders, at least sixty Long-tailed Ducks, several Sandwich Terns, Shags and many Gulls. It was fun looking.....

This sculpture stands at the car park entrance to mark its historic background in the fishing industry.

Reports of two White-billed Divers off Portsoy were tempting but left for another day. It would have added a three hour round trip to the day, including searching time. Later reports of one at Burghead would have broken resolution. 
Via Sainsbury's to stock up for the week, we called in at a barren Loch Flemington - two Song Thrushes, a Wheatear and a Reed Bunting in a lochside field were nice - and then Alturlie Point, a few miles along the Firth from Inverness. The tide was way out, acres of mud greeted us. A few Hooded Crows, a Rook and a Grey Heron dotted the view. A slow journey along the shore on a narrow dual carriageway (!) with passing places, stops curtailed by traffic, saw a large flock of Long-tailed Ducks, Whimbrel, 

Shag and a flock of gulls which had found a feeding upswell. No sign of any Scaup to-day.

Pam had spotted a group of Golden Plover in breeding plumage in a landside field. We stopped on the way back to view these beautiful birds, so well camouflaged in what looked like more stones than soil.

Yet again, a vehicle moved us along.
A Hooded Crow made its presence felt in the increasing gloom as we turned to leave. It rained.

Lay by 51 on the A9, south of Inverness, is well known as a site for Ring Ouzel. To-day it was full of machinery, we were stopped by a long queue at traffic lights, giving plenty of time to view the hillside crags. Men were working on the mountainside  doing I know not what. Despite that, the song of a Ring Ouzel rang out. What luck.

What will to-morrow bring.

Scottish Mist

Friday April 26

We woke early to find that it was raining steadily. The car packed, to-day's meals bought at M and S, newspapers from the garage, we set off north on the A9. Not pleasant driving conditions. The mud flaps on large lorries threw a curtain of spray high into the air, markedly marring visibility. Passing one only brought another trundler into sight. 

Dunkeld and the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve is not far from Kinross. It's one of our favourite stopping places but the first time we have visited in the rain.We parked in the designated disabled area, which is very near the Centre, and just sat there. Two very wet Pheasants sat hunched up in the woods nearby, Willow Warblers sang, a Great Spotted Woodpecker made a brief appearance and the rain eased and then stopped.

The Centre does not open until 10.30 but the hides are available from dawn until dusk. We sat in the lower section of the Tower Hide, avoiding the steep steps. We sat for over an hour watching the female Osprey incubating three eggs, the nest tucked in between two pines across the loch. Her wet head and shoulders all that was visible from our lowly position.

There is a very good webcam available on YouTube. Dedicated watchers have named the female Lassie and the male Laddie as - officially - they only have letters and numbers. All the Welsh Ospreys have names as do the Scottish White-tailed Eagles. I have no feelings either way.......

No water birds close to the hide to-day, nor Beavers either. The latter are best looked for late evening or early morning as they are nocturnal.  A sizeable flock of Goldeneye, a small group of Tufted Duck, six displaying Great Crested Grebes, eight Mute Swans chose the far end of the loch, A small group of darting, restlessly feeding Sand Martins, skimming the water to within a millimetre without breaking the surface tension, took the breath away. Brown Arrows.

No nest changeover or food drop-off for us to-day. Too cold and damp for me after way more than an hour, the Centre was open and the hot drink machine beckoned. Warming hands on hot chocolate, we sat and were entertained by the birds and animals coming to the well filled feeders outside the picture windows. Fewer birds and a smaller variety than in the past, the rain didn't help. 

Best was visits by two different Red Squirrels. The first shimmied up a tree, running across a slung rope before diving head first into a peanut feeder box, its lower back and bushy rain defined palomino tail the only part visible. The second chose a nearer box after running through the undergrowth. Delightful.

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker made a short visit as did Yellowhammers, Dunnock, Coal and Blue tits and Siskin.

Siskin

Yellowhammer

The ever present male Mallard lurked under the feeders waiting for a dropped meal - until a female turned up. She ran for her life (or virtue) hotly pursued by amorous males. One managed to grab her neck a couple of times - not the most sensitive of foreplay - but did not pin her down. 
Time to leave for Boat of Garten after a ten minute drive around the loch shores where the Wood Anemones were in bud. These were fully open last year at the same date.

We lunched off road, near KillieKrankie, at the Queen's Lookout where P and D was free for disabled badge holders. That was a surprise. 

Shortly after leaving the area, Pam called 'Raptor'. Our first Golden Eagle of the trip. As there was no sun, our entire glass roof was available to watch the bird overhead. For me anyway - Pam was driving !!

Yet more building under way in Aviemore and the Cairngorm funicular is still being signposted, despite it being very unlikely to ever run again. It was out of commission last year.

Our less than smart looking Craigowrie Cottage was a welcome sight. The lichen encrusted wooden fence and the rough, pebble, edgeless pathway does not give a good impression. The inside is warm, comfortable and well equipped and it's well situated.

Unable to access the internet, we drove to the Post Office which has the master router. No help there, but we did see our first Common Sandpiper from the bridge over the Spey. I rang  Property Sevices who told me that there had been problems with the router so there was a new one in the hall cupboard. The WEP key was on the back. Indeed it was, so here we are. Why not tell us? Pam is watching the Liverpool game on my IPad via SkyGo, sounds a good one to watch.........

Crossing the Border

Wednesday/Thursday April 24/25

Wednesday was a day of travel. Not an early start, we didn't leave until 10.20, arriving in Berwick upon Tweed at 4.40. An uneventful journey, most of it in bright sunshine, gradually clouding over as we drove north.

Thursday

A very late start.... Pam was very tired after a short night and a long day yesterday so had a lie-in. Most unusual.

Berwick is very near the Scottish border. I'd requested a stop to photograph the sign and Saltire for the first time ever. We missed it - and there's no turning back.

Soon after the border , we turn off for St Abbs, a fishing village perched on a rocky shore. The road down is narrow, steep and winding, ending in the harbour and a parking area for both boats and cars.

A few boats at moorings, rather more amongst the stacks of crab pots and other sea detritus in the parking area.

We parked at the far end of the concrete pad to view the sea breaking on the rocks - a favourite pastime of mine -

and the auk colonies on the distant cliff face.

We could identify a few Guillemots on the sea, one Shag and nesting Fulmars. The ever present Gannets glided by much further out.

We always drive down to Cove. I often wonder why.........

Eleven men from Cove lost their lives in the great East Coast Fishing Disaster of 1881, and there is a memorial at the top of the cliffs.  A pile of soil prevented viewing it from the front and a digger was perched on top of the pile. A man came along and moved the digger so that the back was visible !

Torness Atomic Power Station, its grey and white Lego cubes a blot on the horizon, heralds the turn off to Skaterraw Bay. A favourite breakfast stop where we can follow another winding lane down to a bay with parking area and a wooded gully which migrants find attractive. Several cars more than usual gave little parking choice. Luckily, we swerved away from one where the door was open, the engine running and, its near area full of scattered bread. The woman who eventually appeared, dressed in a high vis jacket, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, bucket in hand, never stopped talking in a very loud voice. As she strode off towards the sea, her driver drove off promising to return later. The car engine had been running for the whole of their stay. Off to collect Mussells was our best bet. Phew. 

Eider ducks loafing on the sea, a Wheatear on the shore below, two Redshanks and more passing Gannets. And brunch.

The sea was so far out at Aberlady that even my scope was almost redundant. We did manage a few winter plumaged Black-tailed Godwits, more Redshank and what I'm pretty sure was a Wood Sandpiper. It was playing hide and seek amongst the stones.

Longniddry Bents No 3 parking area had even more piled up earth barriers between the parking area and the sea than we'd suffered last year. Pam found a place where I could scope over the top when I found a half dozen Red-breasted Merganser amonst the Eider.

Herring Gulls, handsome in their breeding finest, mar their image by scavenging everywhere, especially near the fast food places in motorway cafes. I took this photograph at North Berwick before a lively little boy chased everything off.

A visit to view the distant Bass Rock is a must. White with both hordes of nesting Gannets and years of guano, it looms out of the far mist, a constant procession of birds coming and going. Strangely this is not apparent in photographs. Not mine, taken from North Berwich anyway. I can see one flying bird.

 Navigating Edinburgh is always a chore. We usually use the bypass but decided to let our SatNav decide the route. It was much shorter BUT through the city. Not easy driving with so many roadworks, instructions from the SatNav, rain and traffic with which to contend. At least the rain washed off the red Sahara dust which covered the car overnight.

Loch Leven RSPB is only a few miles from Kinross Travelodge, we paid a short visit. In the rain. Siskin, Greenfinch and Robin in the car park. Tufted Duck, Coot, one Wigeon, Shoveller and Greylag on nearby pools. Scintillating.

The Travelodge has a nearby garage and shops which include an M and S and a Greggs.That was supper sorted.

The forecast does not look promising for to-morrow.

Itinerary

 Itinerary

Wednesday April 24

Drive to Berwick on Tweed Travelodge for 1 night stay

Thursday April 25

Travel to Kinross Travelodge for 1 night.

Friday April 26 - Friday May 3

Craigowrie Cottage,  Boat of Garten 

Friday May 3

drive to Corran Ferry and Ardnamurchan for 1 night at Heatherbank B and B, Strontian

Saturday May 4 - Friday May 10

Witch's Cottage, Croig, Isle of Mull 

Friday May 10

Drive to Hazel Bank, Portree, Isle of Skye for 1 night B and B 

Saturday May 11 

Ferry from Uig, Skye,  to Lochmaddy on North Uist, Outer Hebrides. 

Saturday May 11 - Saturday May 25

Ann t-Seann Dachaidh Cottage, North Uist, Outer Hebrides 

Saturday May 25

Carlisle Todhills Travelodge 

Sunday May 26

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