Scottish Wildlife

30^th July to 6^th August 2005

Author; David Lee, Southend RSPB Members Group

Introduction

Having been on two birding trips, to Romania and Northern Spain, I thought it was time to add to my British List by going up to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. This trip was the "Top Thirty" organised by Heatherlea. This was based at Nethy Bridge, near Aviemore, with some time spent at Strontian.

The Trip

Saturday 30th

The holiday began with a meeting of some of the group in the lounge of the hotel. I had taken the train to Aviemore (a direct trip of 7h 30m from Kings Cross) and was met at Aviemore by one of the guides. Others had driven up or flown to Inverness and arranged their own transport to the hotel. As we were chatting I found that I was not the only person from Leigh-on-Sea. A couple, of a similar age to me, had driven up.

Sunday 30th

The birding proper started with a look around the grounds where Chaffinch, Jackdaw, 1 Blue Tit and 1 Siskin were feeding on the extensive array of feeders. A 7:00, pre-breakfast trip took us in a minibus to a nearby forest to search for Capercaillie. This was unsuccessful due to its having rained overnight. However along the way we saw Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Common Sandpiper, Mallard, Buzzard, Pied Wagtail and Rook.

After breakfast and a briefing for the day we drove into the Abernethy forest for a walk along a trail through the conifers. This didnt yield a lot of birds but we did see Crested Tit, Coal Tit and plenty of Chaffinch.

After a break for lunch, with refreshments provided by the hotel in the form of sandwiches, fruit and cake, we went on to a small lake to see if a Slavonian Grebe was still there. Unfortunately all we saw was Little Grebe and House Martin.

We then drove up onto the high moorland to a loch where we were able to see Black-throated Diver on the far side together with Black-headed Gull, Greylag Goose, Kestrel, Stonechat and Great Black-backed Gull. A short drive on and a walk up onto a ridge by the road gave us views of a sleeping Red-throated Diver.

Our final stop was to search a hillside for Mountain Hare. This time our search was successful with two hares being visible. We also saw Curlew and Mistle Thrush before we returned to our hotel for the evening meal.

Monday 1st

An early 6:00 breakfast saw us ready for a 7:00 departure. We drove down to Fort William before turning west and following the "Road to the Isles" past the famous Glenfinnan monument to reach Arisaig by 10:00. Along the way we nearly ran over a Red-legged Partridge which have recently been introduced and have started breeding. At Arisaig we were due to take a boat at 11:00 which would take us to Eigg and then on to Muck. While waiting for boarding we saw Hooded Crow, Raven, Common Gull, Common Tern and Grey Heron. A small bird with a white rump flew by and our best guess was a Storm Petrel, although only a few of us noticed it.

A pleasant crossing in sunny skies gave us Common Seals, Cormorant, Black Guillemot, Great-Black-backed Gull, Eider, Shag, Common Guillemot, Manx Shearwater and Razorbill. At one point we stopped to circle as Harbour Porpoise surfaced quite close to the boat. While we were stopped at Eigg a Rock Pipit flew over the boat and on the journey on to Muck we were accompanied by Gannet and Mallard.

After a slightly late lunch and comfort stop, while we watched House Sparrow, we started along the only road from the small harbour with a view of a Wheatear. The road led slightly uphill, past some trees, and on to the top to give good views to the north towards Rhum and Skye. The trees gave us views of Lesser Redpoll while the fields gave us Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Starling, Skylark, Twite, Greylag Goose, Linnet and Rock Dove.

Our return trip yielded Oystercatcher, Fulmar, Lesser Black-backed Gull and an Arctic Skua at Eigg. Crossing to the mainland we saw a flock of Manx Shearwater being harassed by a Great Skua and a Common Tern being forced to drop its Sand-eel.

After loading up the minibus we drove on in bright sunshine to Strontian passing some very pleasant west coast scenery. At on stop we saw a Stonechat sitting on a fence while we waited for our second minibus to catch us up.

Tuesday 2nd

An early walk, in the hotel grounds gave me views of Dunnock, Robin, Lesser Redpoll, Chaffinch and Song Thrush. We then had a drive round to the far side of Loch Sunart to attempt to find Otter. At first all we saw only Buzzard and Grey Heron but eventually our guide was successful and we saw the head of an Otter as it swam ashore and then some views of the whole animal as it ate its meal before slipping off into the water again. A drive further along the loch gave us some views of Harbour Porpoise. Shortly after we saw the otter another stop gave us brief views of the silhouette of a White-tailed Eagle as it flew away from us on the far side of the loch, shortly to disappear behind a hill.

At one stop we saw Wild Boar in an enclosure where they have been put to turn over the soil after trees have been felled. Our return to the hotel gave us a female Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher and Hooded Crow.

After breakfast we went to pick up some of our group, who were staying at a hotel a couple of miles away. We found them viewing a Peregrine Falcon beside the loch. We then headed up into the higher areas south of the loch to attempt to see Eagles. Unfortunately the weather was mostly cloudy and occasionally wet and we saw no Eagles at all. All we saw were Red Deer, high on the mountains, and flocks of Swallow.

A brief comfort stop at Lochaline enabled us to view a Raven. We then retraced our journey and passed Strontian to go for lunch at a nature reserve beside Loch Sunart with a hide overlooking an island. On the island were a large number of Common Seal, close enough to photograph without the rocking that our boat had given us yesterday.

A further stop to scan the ridge for Eagles was also unsuccessful but the nearby trees yielded Coal Tit, Blue Tit and Treecreeper. Our final stop, en route for the hotel, gave us Red-throated Diver and Black Guillemot.

After dinner we headed back to the nature reserve to attempt Pine Marten but, after an hour sitting in our minibus in the fading light, we gave up and got out to attempt to locate bats. This proved a bad move as we were immediately attacked by thousands of stinging midges. Before retiring for the night we made one more attempt at a bridge near the hotel but still had no luck.

Wednesday 3rd

The morning began with a cloudy sky with occasional heavy showers. So there was no pre-breakfast activity, just a Pied Wagtail, visible from my bedroom. Luckily the final downpour was during breakfast and it was quite dry by the time we set out to pick up the rest of our group.

By the loch we saw Hooded Crow, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Great Black-backed Gull and Curlew. Driving round the head of the loch gave us a Greenshank and a little later Buzzard and Goosander. At first we retraced our drive of yesterday to try the high ridges for eagles. Still no luck but at our stop we did see Red Deer, Whinchat and Stonechat with a Meadow Pipit flying over.

We then drove down a picturesque valley to reach to shore of Loch Linne where we made a comfort stop, \using the loo in the local, small church. From the road we could see Eider duck, floating on the loch, and Common Gull and Ringed Plover on the shore, with House Martin and Chaffinch flying overhead.

Driving on we passed a flying Arctic Skua before taking our lunch break further up the loch. Here we saw Twite, Meadow Pipit, Swallow and Wheatear. Further driving, past a hovering Kestrel brought us to the Cullen Ferry, where you can cross to the other side of the loch at its narrowest point. While waiting for the ferry to come from the far bank we saw Shag and Black Guillemot .One Black Guillemot was roosting on the old pier and so gave views of its red feet. Just before the ferry arrived a Rock Pipit flew over.

Driving up the other side of the loch took us to Fort William after which the clouds built up and it rained heavily as we progressed along the A82 and A86. About half way though our trip along the A86 the rain stopped and the Sun came out and further driving led us past a flying flock of Mistle Thrush. Arriving at Loch Insh we made our way up to the church where we scanned to the local Osprey nest. It was unoccupied but shortly after, as we viewed the Loch and the two Mute Swan an adult and a juvenile Osprey flew over and the young bird went into the nest.

Having returned to our hotel I went for a short walk alongside the River Nethy where I saw just Great Tit.

Thursday 4th

Waking early I went back to walk along the river before breakfast. Walking through the village gave me Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Song Thrush, Jackdaw and Rook. Viewing the river, from the bridge, enabled me to see a Dipper and the walk along the river gave me two more along with Blackbird, Wood Pigeon and Red Squirrel. Returning through the village added Black-headed Gull and Greenfinch.

After breakfast we drove north, seeing Merlin on a post, for a first stop at Loch Ruthven. Here the wind was blowing more than we would have liked making the water rather choppy. However we did get views of an Osprey, Tufted Duck and some rather elusive Slavonian Grebe which kept of disappearing behind the waves. Driving on we passed Inverness and ventured onto the Black Isle. At our first stop at Avochy, another comfort stop, we saw Carrion Crow, Swallow and Collared Dove. We then drove on to Chanonry, which stick out into the Moray Firth, where we hade good views of Herring Gull, Bottle Nosed Dolphin (which were jumping out of the water and showing their tails), Common Tern fishing and one Grey Seal, which just showed its head.

Driving north we arrived at the RSPB reserve of Udale Bay for lunch. Here there were a large number of roosting birds: Canada Goose, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Hooded Crow, Common Gull, Sandwich Tern, Lapwing and Knot. As we returned one of our group spotted two Red Kite, at Munlochy, which gave us some lovely views of their grace in the air.

Having passed Tomatin on the A9 we branched off onto a road leading up Strathdearn. After several miles we parked beside the River Findhorn for a final attempt to scan the ridges around us for eagles. This time we were lucky to get distant views of two Golden Eagle as well as some false alarms as Buzzard flew over the ridges. We also got a Grey Wagtail, on the river, and several Red Deer stags on the hillside. Returning down the valley we stopped to view Mountain Goat.

Back at the hotel we caught another Siskin and some Blue Tits on the feeders. A walk into the nearby coniferous forest before the evening meal showed no signs of life at all.

At 20:45 half our group, including me, set off for an attempt to view Badgers from a purpose built hide. These were much more co-operative and started to show within five minutes of our arrival. For the next hour we watched their antics and saw at least eight animals. During a lull in the activity we make a hasty exit and drove to the shores of Loch Garten, as it got dark. Here, with the aid of two bat detectors, we heard, rather more than we saw, Pipistrelle and Daubentons Bats.

Friday 5th

Our final full day started with broken cloud and the usual array on the feeders outside the hotel. At 7:00 we made a second attempt to see Capercaillie by driving to the original site, but in drier conditions. En route we saw Rabbit, Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow and Kestrel, beside the road, and Oystercatcher, Mallard and Dipper on the Spey. Advancing slowly along the wooded track brought us to a convenient passing place where we stopped and saw Robin, Wren, Red Squirrel, Treecreeper and Spotted Flycatcher. A little further on we saw two Capercaillie among the trees and some of our party, in the second minibus reckoned they saw another. During breakfast a flock of Mistle Thrush were seen in the trees outside the hotel, which were cased off by the resident Jackdaws.

At 9:30 we then drove up into the Cairngorms. The weather away from the mountains was fairly sunny but grey cloud cloaked the mountains all day. A few of the party opted to go up the funicular but most headed south-west along a trail, paved with stone, to ascend 1,500 feet to reach a "meadow" after a two hour hike. Near the top we saw three Ptarmigan but efforts to locate Dotterel on the top were unsuccessful. We broke for lunch just as the cloud came down and a short, sharp shower of rain caused some hasty donning of waterproofs. A little later the cloud lifted again and we were alerted by a series of sharp peeps to a Dotterel flying up and over the ridge, having been accidentally flushed by some other walkers. Attempts to locate it, by returning to the ridge and looking down the other side, proved fruitless. The only other birds seen at the top were a Wheatear and a Meadow Pipit.

The return to the car park gave no further sightings but we were amazed to see seven Ferrari cars parked near the Visitors Centre. Having gathered the group together and refreshed us with tea or coffee with cake we set off down the mountain road, stopping to view a captive herd of Reindeer on the other side of the valley. Once we reqched the valley floor, and were passing the main Visitor Centre, one of our party noticed a Reindeer being led along the path by the centre. So it was stop, get out and stroke the reindeer time. A final stop, on the edge of some coniferous forest, for Crossbill produced nothing so it was back to the hotel where I saw four Buzzard circling about a quarter of a mile away.

After dinner there was a brief round up meeting before the other half of the group set off to look for badgers. Im pleased to report that they were as successful as my group.

Saturday 6th

A grey start and the need for a fairly early breakfast before returning to Aviemore station to catch the 8:29 south meant that only the usual bird feeder species were seen

Overall we were very well looked after by out two guides and we certainly got a good variety of species and habitats.

Birds Seen