Highlands Revisited

Wednesday May 21 

Lochindorb was our first destination, always a favourite. The first part of the road leads us through a Common Gull nesting area. Every post is gull topped, all the nests hidden from view, just the heads and shoulders of the sitting birds showing. 

 

Sad to see a few corpses on the road, they do like to sit there and some of them didn't fly away in time.

No birds on or beside the loch. Pam saw a pair of Red-legged Partridges scuttle away into the heather, soon after seeing a female Red Grouse, and then, at least three youngsters. Trying to catch them on camera was a problem as they ducked and dived into the heather, sometimes running over the top. Pam did better  than I, these are her photos.

 

 

Via Aviemore Tesco for papers, we then went back to the bridge where we saw Dipper last week.Yes, one adult and two young showed fairly distantly on a fallen tree. Pam also saw a Grey Wagtail, briefly, on the bridge.

Loch an Eilein car park has always been good for birds. I enjoyed eating my meal there, parked in welcome shade, only seeing a Blackbird, whilst being serenaded by the inevitable Willow Warbler. The bird feeders have gone too. Glen Feshie was equally as birdless - apart from our first Goldcrest.

Pam wanted a last drive up to Cairngorm funicular station. All the remaining pockets of snow have gone. A quick look round in the 20 minute free parking time, before making our way down again.

Almost inevitably, we drove home via Lochindorb, the pretty way.  The shores have been surprisingly short of birds. We expect to see waders. At last, our first seen Common Sandpiper, their calls have been heard fairly regularly. Still no Common Redshank! The Sandpiper was never still, running amongst the stones, my excuse for a less than good photo.

I thought we'd missed out on Tree Pipit - until one turned up on a roadside fence. Pleased with that. 

At the end of the Common Gull colony, there is an attractive bridge.