After a domestic morning, cooking meals for the rest of the week, we bought a newspaper and drove up Station Road. It’s a dead end track starting at the bridge and leading up into the hills. The devastation caused by the heavy winter snows is so saddening. Broken branches everywhere, trees snapped at the top, scars starkly white. Nowhere seems to have escaped.
Disappointed at the lack of birds, it didn’t take long before our return trip. Pulling in to allow a car to pass, Pam spied a large dot soaring above the hill. Our first mainland Golden Eagle of 2010. The stop allowed us to scope a Tree Pipit atop a small juniper. Not so bad after all.
Determined not to drive far to-day, we stopped at Loch Vaa, admiring the snow topped Cairngorms en route.
Pam couldn’t see any of the reported Slavs but a stop at the viewpoint for a small roadside lochan outside Boat of Garten, came up trumps. A handsome Slavonian Grebe, Goldeneye male, four Pinkfeet and a Barnacle Goose. New trip birds.
Lunch at Abernethy Forest Lodge, very little activity. On the way back through the forest on the dreadfully potholed track, Pam stopped having glimpsed a flying bird . Lucky stop. I saw a female Scottish (Parrot)Crossbill and one young in a nearby pine. Excellent, they can be tough.
Not as tough as Crested Tit in May. Pam talked to two men we’d met on Iona at the Garten Osprey Centre ( we were checking that the Caper watch is still on),and they’d seen two, 50 metres down the Loch Mallachie track. We just had four Goldcrests.
Nesting Dippers was another piece of intelligence we’d gleaned, under a bridge near the Glen More road. We didn’t stay long, rather cold and spitting with rain, didn’t see any either.
Back to access our Emails at the hotel before retiring for the night.
Monday May 10
Having forgotten what time the RSPB Capercaillie watch started, we didn’t get there until 6.30. Slightly later than planned anyway as we’d stopped to photograph a handsome male Common Crossbill in a roadside puddle. Welcomed by the news that a male ‘had been showing until 5 minutes ago when it flew into a tree’ we hobbled up to the hide, seeing an Osprey fly away through the trees. The bird had been re-located and, through a scope, showed as a big black blob preening happily. That was enough for us, we both hate the ‘caper scrum’ but it serves a useful purpose in keeping disturbance to a minimum. The jostling for position without regard for others is not for me.
Tulloch Moor next call, several cars but most people were leaving. Good. I then enjoyed the best Black Grouse display I’ve ever seen. At least 4 males jumping into the air, puffing out their chests, whilst splaying and cocking their pristine white tail feathers. tail held like outriggers. All the while uttering their cooing, purring calls.
These pics of distant birds (they're easily spooked) were taken through my scope.
A nearby Tree Pipit called and displayed too.
Lochindorb, our first visit, was very disappointing. No sign of Black-throated Diver, just a Red-throat flying off to feed. Red Grouse were showing well, they’re more readily seen here than anywhere else.
After a welcome breakfast, more like brunch, we drove my favourite Valley, Findhorn. The surrounding hills were powdered by overnight snow, it looked lovely under a weak sun. We sat for an hour or more seeing nothing but enjoying the changeable landscape - it snowed. On and off all day actually, sometimes more like hail, at other times, sleet. Plenty of feral goats grazed the hillsides,only a few Red Deer obvious on the skyline.
Pam always has to drive the Farr road to Ruthven at least once annually. It’s a narrow, twisting, track with few passing places, winding upwards to bleak moorland, supposedly good for raptors. We usually see a couple of Meadow Pipits in the 8 mile journey......To-day was a record. We added 2 Red Grouse and a Wheatear to the Pipits! All in a mini blizzard and a temperature of -3C. I can understand why she takes this route, it's the shortest by far (!!). After a coffee at Ruthven we drove Lochindorb again. Four Red-breasted Mergansers,still no divers, -1C and sleet.
Lindsey and Alison are away for the night so no internet access to-night.
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