Scotland Trip Day 3 : Mountain, Valley and Coast : 28th May 2014

For our second day of guided birding John decided that we would do some birding around the forest near Loch Garten and then see what the weather was going to be like later in the morning with a view to a possible trip on the funicular railway up Cairngorm. In the afternoon a drive up to the Black Isle was probable. With all this surely we would be getting some great birds and probably some lifers.

Abernethy Forest at Loch Garten [mapref 25]

Again the target bird was Crested Tit and the other couple in our group had this as their principal target of their holiday. Unfortunately they were to be disappointed. It seems that Crested Tit, like Crossbill, is not what it used to be and although it is clear that there are some around it is not as simple as taking a walk in their woods to find them.

The nicest spot we had was, in fact, Pied Flycatcher of which we managed to see a couple, one of which was actually feeding a chick which was nice to see. We had a pleasant walk but there was nothing else especially interesting except that we heard a Cuckoo calling. So after a while, and after checking the weather forecast we though ti was worth risking Cairngorm.

Cairngorm [mapref 21]

A sign that this was going to be a much more profitable visit to the top of the railway than we had last year when it was freezing cold and blowing a gale was our sighting of a Ring Ousel on a post as we ascended. This was followed by a Mountain Hare but the very best was left for the top at the observation deck and this went to show the advisability of having a guide because John eventually managed to locate a Ptarmigan for us huddled behind a rock not too far away. We got great views in the scope but this was somewhat trumped when, eventually, the bird decided to rise from its roosting position and, flying to a fence post, started to show even closer and really well. It is hard to imagine a better view od it and I even managed to get a little bit of video on my phone. This bird eluded us last year so we were well pleased to have got this “life tick”. The pleasure was added to when John found us a somewhat distant Dotterel- another “life tick”. This bird was not as obliging as the Ptarmigan but if you were patient it suddenly emerged from its environment when it made a movement. Only then could you see the broad stripe running across its chest and the eye stripes going along the back of its head. The impression was something like a plovery version of a Wheatear. Pied Wagtails and Meadow pipits also bounced around the general area.

They say that this area has the most diverse habitats in Scotland within a short range of each other and our next port of call could not have been greater. From the three and a half thousand feet of the viewing platform we descended and drove on to the valley of the River Findhorn – Strathdearn. Here we hoped for Eagles !

Findhorn Valley / Strathdearn [mapref 13]

We took the long and beautiful track down Strathdearn sometimes driving right next to the River Findhorn and sometimes bending away from it only to met it again further down the valley. Mountain Goats, Red Deer, Red Squirrels and Brown Hares were on the hillsides. We eventually parked at a lay-by by a stand of woods just by a footbridge and here we found a splendid sight. Oystercatchers were nesting there and a Red-breaseted Merganser sat on a rock. You could see for miles down the valley whilst being surrounded by high mountains over which small black dots appeared and disappeared. Eventually one of these small black dots became a bigger dot – a Raven. Another became and even bigger dot – a White-tailed Eagle, majestically riding the thermals over the mountain tops. I managed to get it in my scope and I followed it for about ten minutes as it surveyed the surrounding land looking for a spot of lunch.

Back on the river bed Common Gulls were again common and a Common Sandpiper worked its way through the rocks looking for tasty morsels. In good weather there can hardly be a more silent and remote spot around this area except at the mountain tops.Swifts flew high up in the air whilst lower down House Martins and Swallows kept themselves busy. Pied Wagtails seemed to be everywhere and Meadow Pipits busied themselves stopping occasionally on a post.

We stood there and waited for a Golden Eagle but there was only the odd Buzzard or Kestrel to trick us momentarily. However we didn’t feel too hard done by and we might try again tomorrow or perhaps the next day when we had booked ourselves a “free” day. From mountain to valley and next to the sea as we made the long drive up to the Black Isles and Chanonry Point.

Chanonry Point [mapref 7]

As we neared Chanonry Point we passed a golf course and in the rough we could see Linnets and Skylarks.We parked up and started looking for the non avian attraction of the site – Dolphins. Chanonry Point is known as the very best site in Scotland to watch Dolphins from the beach. We had been twice to this area before to try to see this spectacle and had been disappointed. After a few moments on the beach it was clear that we were not going to be disappointed this time as we immediately started to see them. We walked around to the head where quite a large number of people had collected. We watched for about fifteen minutes and the Bottlenose Dolphins seemed quite happy to hang around feeding in the strip of water between Chanonry Point and Fort George.

We were there to see the birds, though, and there were a few around. Common Terns and COmmon Gulls were in the air as well as Herring Gulls, Cormorants and Starlings. I got a quick glimpse of a Rock Pipit and I located a small mixed group of Ringed Plovers and Dunlins, the latter is beautiful breeding plumage. It was pretty windy though and after a while we decided to head for less blustery environs so we took a drive back to Grantown-on-Spey via the agricultural area inland of Munlochy Bay

Fields near Munlochy Bay [mapref 8]

These fields turned up a few nice birds including a Yellowhammer, Linnet, Dunnock, Goldfinch and, rather worryingly, a single Red Kite when last year we had seen quite a few of them. It seems that someone does not like their presence that much. We also got a Raven there but it was less productive than we had hoped. As we neared home we stopped for a last walk in Abernethy Forest – again looking for Crested Tit. All that we got, though, was a complete drenching as the rain poured down accompanied by thunder and lightening. This was a bit of a shame as we had been avoiding the bad weather quite well until this point. Still, at least we could not be accused of being only fair weather birders.

Bird Sightings : Loch Garten Environs

Species	Count
Common Goldeneye	2
Northern Lapwing	12
Eurasian Oystercatcher	1
Black-headed Gull	12
Common Wood Pigeon	4
Common Cuckoo	1
Common Swift	8
Eurasian Jackdaw	20
Rook	20
Great Tit	5
Spotted Flycatcher	2
Common Starling	12
Pied Wagtail	4
Chaffinch	20

Bird Sightings : Cairgorm

Species	Count
Ptarmigan	1
Eurasian Dotterel	1
Ring Ouzel	1
Pied Wagtail	4
Meadow Pipit	6

Bird Sightings : Findhorn Valley / Strathdearn

Species	Count
Red-breasted Merganser	1
Grey Heron	1
White-tailed Eagle	1
Common Buzzard	3
Common Kestrel	1
Common Sandpiper	1
Black-headed Gull	30
Common Tern	10
Common Swift	10
Eurasian Jackdaw	6
Carrion Crow	12
Common Raven	1
Barn Swallow	12
Northern House Martin	20
European Robin	1
Mistle Thrush	1
Pied Wagtail	4

Bird Sightings : Chanonry Point / Strathdearn

Species	Count
Great Cormorant	8
Ringed Plover	6
Dunlin	6
Common Gull	20
Herring Gull	10
Common Tern	12
Eurasian Skylark	6
European Robin	1
Eurasian Blackbird	2
Common Starling	20
Rock Pipit	1
Common Linnet	10
House Sparrow	12

Bird Sightings : Fields nr Munlochy Bay / Strathdearn

Species	Count
Red Kite	1
Common Buzzard	2
Dunnock	1
Yellowhammer	1
European Goldfinch	4
Common Linnet	4
Eurasian Tree Sparrow	12

View 28/05 08:23 in a larger map

Scotland Trip Day 3 : Mountain, Valley and Coast : 28th May 2014