April 26-27

 

Wednesday April 26

My day started well. A Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Jay on the cottage feeders, viewed from bed. The Jay is a Scottish tick. Although widespread across the UK, they are rare in northern Scotland. Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinch, Robin, Long-tailed Tits and Wood Pigeons are daily visitors.

It was also a lovely looking morning. Although still cold, the sun was shining from a largely blue sky. An excellent day for visiting Strathdearn, better known as the Findhorn Valley. On our way by 10.45, we took the A9 towards Inverness before taking a road west for the lovely Findhorn river valley.

Shortly before the road ends for the public – there is a hunting lodge further along – there is a wood and a small parking area near a bridge where Dippers can be found. We always make a stop here, today, four cars were already there. And,,,,,, one of them was occupied by John Geeson and Sue Bryan, both standing outside looking through a scope. What a surprise. 

After a short chat, we moved on to park elsewhere. Buzzards, Wheatears and Meadow Pipits abounded, we saw nothing else. It needed a longer wait for the possibility of larger raptors, we’d already seen a Golden Eagle a couple of days ago so the urge was not overwhelming. 

Shortly after we'd started our way back, Pam spotted something crouch-walking across the road. It looked like one of the Ministry of Funny Walks Monty Python sketch. It was a Woodcock. Pam managed a shot through her side window as it melted away into the undergrowth.

We moved on, taking the Farr road to Loch Ruthven. At the start, the road passes through a meadow with some mixed woodland. A Mistle Thrush posed on top of a dead tree.

 Loch Ruthven latter is an RSPB reserve set up to protect nesting Slavonian Grebes. The entry to the hide is along a steep and slippery path through sloping lochside woodland. We parked on a wide corner roadside from which I scoped a loch glittering silver in the sunlight with a difficult heat haze to boot. We saw two Grebes early on, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and Mallard. We stayed for an hour and a half hoping for better views, enjoying the Wheatears, Meadow Pipits and Stonechats in the meadow beside us.

 

We drove home via the business centre outside Inverness, where Pam filled up the car on 139.9 a litre petrol at Tesco . 

Alturlie on the Moray Firth was nearby. A group of ten skittish waders turned out to be a mixture of Curlew and Whimbrel. Good to compare them.

 

 A phone call from Grantown Health Centre sent us home via the clinic to pick up a prescription. The pharmacy in town had closed at four   we’ll have to go again tomorrow.

 

Thursday April 27

Rain. All Day. Never heavy, but incessant. Whilst picking up my medication in Grantown, we changed our plan for the day. The Black Isle on a rainy day offered very little in the way of additions to our list. We both love the sea and seabirds. The route took us via Lochindorb. Seven testosterone driven Black Grouse were still displaying at gone eleven o’clock. We saw three Red Grouse in the heather, all distant.

 

Two Common Sandpiper and a Redshank.

Findhorn Bay has a disabled parking place, higher than the main area, overlooking the bay. Most of it was taken by an enormous motorhome. It was not displaying a blue badge. We were cross. Our viewing was hampered by its tall bulk. We didn’t stay long, driving on to Burghead. This time, the sea was like a millpond. We ended up at the western headland, adding Purple Sandpiper for the year. 

 

I was enjoying the large group of gulls, Shags, Cormorants, Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers on the rocks below when John Geeson arrived at Pam’s window. He’d been very successful at Cullen, helpfully telling us that we could drive out to the eastern headland.

 

We arrived at the headland (the first road on the left after passing below the B listed viaduct) at around three thirty on a falling tide. We found a very good place to park, near the Sea School, where I could scope across the bay to the cliffs on the far side. The sea was full of birds. Mainly auks, we could see their guano stained cliffs, Eider Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Scoter, Great Northern Diver and the coveted White-billed Diver. I love sea-watching for birds, this was a good session.

Taking the fastest route home, via Grantown for a takeaway supper, we were in soon after six.

We move on for a night in Lochalsh tomorrow before taking the ferry from Uig to North Uist on Saturday.