Anne's Journal

 Friday May 23 As martin had offered to help pack the car, Pam spent the morning packing cases, organising the kitchen, packing foodstuffs etc. One moth in last night's trap, another new one for here, a Grey Dagger.  Burghead is not far, and a good place to sit and watch for passing seabirds.The birding area is dominated by the oldest Maltings in Scotland. It was here that we saw a first for Britain in November 1990. After school on Friiday, we drove to a Travelodge in Edinburgh, then on to Burghead on the Saturday. My coat had been forgotten, ( a fishtail parka, the trendy birding coat at the time), so we stopped in Aviemore without success. Early afternoon on an overcast November day when it looked like dusk, we set off in front of the Maltings. One birder was walking towards us and uttered the comforting words 'it's still there'. We found the Grey-tailed Tattler quickly, feeding amongst the rocks on the shore. Relief and jubilation - and we were the only people there...

  Thursday May 22 I spent the morning in bed - the only way I can keep my legs up - trying to reduce the swelling. I enjoyed reading my book, but got increasingly anxious to be out and about. Via Porthgordon, we took the coastal B road via Buckie. The coast is very rugged here, rocks like jagged teeth. with large beds of boulders where the sea foams in, depositing glossy kelp on the shore. I could watch the incoming rollers forever. On to Portsoy. Although very sunny still, there's a cool northerly wind. Having the window open to scope the sea did not last long, nor did the shortage of birds encourage me to do so.  Lone Gannets passed by well out to sea, as did the occasional Guillemot. their whirring wings made them look like the kite aeroplane Sara had as a child. I played with it more often though. As always, plenty of gulls, Herring and a few Common. For the first time this trip, Cullen's ice-cream shop did not have a queue - and we could park outside. Out of a vast select...

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 al...

 Tuesday May 20 It was early afternoon by the time we set off, we needed to look for somewhere to eat. We took the Fort Augustus road from the A9n and found a small car park, labelled Littlemill, amongst the woods. The dramatic landscape of Littlemill has a fascinating story to tell. Glaciers from the last ice age carved out the landscape here. The retreating ice left us with the strangely named esker ridges and kettle hole lochans. The mosaic of woodland, wetland and heathland make Littlemill an oasis for wildlife. From colourful springtime flowers to summer butterflies and autumn fungi, there’s always something to see here. Reads as though it's worth a visit for those who walk. We enjoyed our short stay, listening to Siskin, and Willow Warblers, and a distant Cuckoo. Time is flying by, a last chance to catch up with a missed bird. One we are unlikely to see elsewhere this year, Slavonian Grebe. The only accessible site for us is Loch Ruthven RSPB reserve. It's far too...

  Monday May 19 My favourite outing in years past, was to Dunnett Head and Bay, going via the Flow Country from Helmsdale ,and returning via the faster coast road. A lot to drive in one day now, and I haven't been able to find suitable accommodation for an overnight stay.  The east coast must have been a very long route north before bridges were built across the many firths. First, the Kessock Bridge across the Moray Firth, then Cromarty Firth, followed by our destination, Loch Fleet. Why that's called a loch and the other indentations firths I don't know.  A lovely drive in dry, sunny conditions - yet again. The farmers are getting really worried at the lack of rain. Caribbean blue water, freshly green trees, and bright, golden, gorse-covered hillsides. The eastern shores of the loch, designated a National Nature Reserve, are reached via Dornoch and Golspie. There's a parking area for about eight vehicles from which we could view the, at least a hundred and fifty, Harb...

 Sunday May 18 Having looked at the excellent Where to Watch Birds in Scotland app last night, we decided to have a look at Whiteness, said to be an excellent place for roosting waders at high tide. The app also allows one to link to a satnav route. Whiteness is only forty five minutes west of here, near Fort George and Ardessier. According to owner Mike, the Germans who had the cottage before us left it very dirty. Pam noticed that the unused dishwasher had a slight leak. When Mike investigated, he found that it had been stopped mid programme and the bottom was full of dirty water. We didn't have to stay in, but we didn't leave until he'd finished. Hence the late start and short trip. We followed the satnav directions, ending up in Fort George, where was the unmarked Whiteness? Through a height restricted arch, we parked waterside in dunes covered in gorse. Lovely. Where were the birds? After an hour or so we drove back to the adjacent Findhorn Bay. More gorse covered dune...

 Saturday May 17 Yesterday was our earliest start, to-day our latest. After a call for papers at Elgin Tesco, we took the coastal tourist route east. turning off for Portessie. Stopping for my meal at Buckie, we saw our first Eider ducklings. Just two of them. had there been more? Turning left immediately after passing under the railway viaduct which dominates the town, we parked sideways on beside the sea wall. From there, we had a splendid view of the incoming tide dashing against the rocky coast. I couldn't manage a photo from the car as some Germans parked their VW camper in the way.  Another cloudless day with very little wind is not good for birding. There were plenty of Herring and Common Gulls around, a few Gannets passing by out to sea with a few Eider bobbing up here and there. I read - in between hopeful scoping. Then, one of the Gannets flew closer inshore. I fired off  a few shots with varied success. Most of them need the contrast altering, I can only do tha...