A Slow Start but a Lightning Finish; Sunday 11 June 2023

Our first full day in Scotland didn't start as we'd planned. In fact that's not quite true since we hadn't planned to do anything specific. The weather forecast wasn't promising with thunder and lightning likely across the Speyside region. So we took it easy, watched the mizzle through the cottage windows and considered our options. My original plan was to go to the Ythan Estuary and see the King Eider that had been present throughout the preceding fortnight until Friday, but then it had disappeared so there didn't seem much point in keeping to it. After much deliberation we eventually decided to go for the tried and trusted drive around Lochindorb where we'd be able to see birds from the car windows and avoid getting wet.

However, before we'd reached the end of the drive, Mrs Caley announced that a Red-necked Phalarope had been reported at the RSPB's Loch of Strathbeg reserve on the north-east Aberdeenshire coast so we made a quick change to the Sat Nav and headed eastwards after all. Better weather was to be expected once we'd gotten away from the mountains too so we were hopeful of a good day. Unfortunately after an early positive update on the status of the Phalarope a further report, when we were about halfway there, said that it had been flushed by a Sparrowhawk and had disappeared. We kept on course to Strathbeg anyway because sometimes birds will return once the coast is clear. The Red-necked Phalarope had other ideas though and wasn't seen again, so for the third time this year already, we missed out on seeing one by just an hour or so.

I spent a bit of time scanning the marshes at the reserve but couldn't find anything other than Lapwings and Oystercatchers. The vibrant Common Tern colony at the visitor centre had also been deserted this year. The outbreak of bird-flu definitely seems to have affected the status quo this year. In the carpark we watched some of the Tree Sparrows and got a close up view of a Swallow which was sitting out the drizzle that had followed us from Speyside.

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

We decided to cut our losses and head down the coast towards the Ythan Estuary to the difficult to find, unless you know where it is, Meikle Loch near Collieston. Over the years we've seen many good birds in the area. At the Ythan we saw our first Greater Sand Plover after driving from the Isle of Skye to twitch it before doubling back for a week in Speyside. We've seen a Roseate Tern at the Ythan mouth and of course, Elvis the King Eider on many occasions. Close to Collieston we saw a fabulous Blyth's Reed Warbler, a photograph of which gained me my one and only Photo of the Week award from BirdGuides. At Meikle Loch itself, we saw a Lesser Yellowlegs once. Just in the past week a Pectoral Sandpiper and three Temminck's Stints had graced the shallow Loch but sadly all four had decided to disappear as we were winging our way northwards on the Saturday.

The entry track to the small parking area by the loch side has become more than a little rough since I'd last driven it a few years back. The grass that grows in the middle of track was high enough to give the undercarriage of the car a good brush. I was terrified that the grass could be concealing a rock or two so I drove very gingerly indeed. Once I'd reached the parking area, I even gave the car a once over, but all seemed to be fine. The loch itself doesn't actually look attractive to wading birds, there are no muddy edges and reeds grow around most of it so the waders use a corner of the loch that has a rocky shore and some rocky groynes that fishermen have presumably laid for better access to deeper water. Even though the Pectoral Sandpiper and Temminck's Stints had moved on, I knew that there were three Little Stints still present and I found them readily enough on one of the small man-made rocky peninsulas. Conditions were still a bit grey and dreary and they were a fair distance away so you may have to squint a bit at the photo below, but all three birds are in it.

Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

Year List addition;

245) Little Stint

There wasn't much else worth seeing in the area, a negative report had been posted concerning the King Eider, so we thought we'd head up to the Moray coast, to Lossiemouth, and watch Ospreys fishing on the river there. There are lots of Ospreys in the Highlands and they are likely to be seen just about anywhere, especially if by a river or loch. The River Lossie is one of the best places to watch them. You can park right next to the river and you have an extensive view of the whole area. Ospreys usually arrive from the east and can't sneak in without being noticed, the hundreds of Gulls that also use the river will always give warning that an Osprey has entered the vicinity.

The amount of time that is required to wait for an Osprey to appear varies of course, but we have never failed to see one here in a two hour shift. The best time seems to be on a falling tide when the river empties and leaves shallows with just a few deeper pools where stranded fish become concentrated. There were no Osprey present when we arrived at half past two but the river supports many other birds, and a small flock of Ringed Plover and Dunlin briefly landed close to us before being upset again by one of the (far too many) dogs that are exercised here.

Dunlin (Calidris alpina) & Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

There are usually Hooded Crows digging amongst the weed exposed when the tide falls but today we only had an inquisitive Carrion Crow which was showing great interest in the coffee shack set up a few metres away. I can vouch for the coffee too which is delicious. There is much beauty in a Carrion Crow, particularly when the sun puts in an appearance and shows that it's not just a black bird but radiates deep glossy hues of blue and purple.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

The first Osprey arrived at ten past three, unusually it flew in from the south so we didn't get such an early warning from the Gulls as usual, and which were probably as surprised as we were. Mrs Caley spotted the Osprey before me so she won the first hot-dog of the holiday. Not that we eat hot-dogs, it's just a thing that I always say, "First one to see the sea, gets a hot-dog" for example. The Osprey then let us down by flying straight out to the sea after a couple of high passes up and down the river.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

The Osprey returned to the river ten minutes later, giving us extended views this time. It made a dive soon after but failed to catch anything. Some birds are extremely proficient at catching fish, others less so. This one didn't appear to be a very good fisher-bird because it missed out second time around as well. I was struggling to keep the camera focused when the bird dived anyway since the busy background fooled the R7. Six months on after first using it and I'm still coming up against its limitations. I was happy enough to take photos of the Osprey soaring overhead. Then when the Osprey finally made a successful dive, I missed it!

Another Osprey arrived fifteen minutes after the first had left. The river was now at its lowest state so the Osprey didn't have much choice of fishing spots. This bird spent a lot of time hovering over a point right by where we watched but despite looking like it would it never tried to catch anything. After fifteen minutes, as the rain began to fall, it left empty taloned. I had a look over my shoulder to the south and saw one of the blackest clouds that I've ever seen. The predicted thunder storm was imminent. We legged it to the car as we heard the first rolls of thunder.

The drive from Lossiemouth to Elgin was horrendous. I've driven through many heavy downpours before but the deluge as we approached Elgin was so heavy it brought traffic to a standstill. I pulled over into a gateway and watched the road turn into a tributary of the River Lossie. The lightning, both sheet and fork, was incredible and I witnessed something that I'd never seen before when a bolt of lightning hit overhead power cables. The huge puff of smoke that erupted from the struck cables resembled a bomb going off, a mass of orangey smoke rising high into the sky. Seconds later another lightning bolt struck the same run of cables right in front of us, no more than hundred metres away. I decided that waiting around wasn't such a good idea so tentatively returned the road and headed into the town. I intended to refill our car at the filling station just ahead but decided against it in the circumstances!

The storm passed and the rain eased as we headed towards Forres and the turn for the road back to Grantown over the Dava Moor. As we drove there were more rain showers, and more thunder and lightning, but none were as intense as the mother of all thunderstorms earlier. They couldn't have been. We still needed petrol and the local filling station in Forres was closed so I'd have to fill up at Grantown. I calculated though that we'd have enough juice to do a tour around Lochindorb. The bridge that collapsed last spring had been repaired since out last visit in September so the road from Dava was open again. It was good to drive through the flourishing Common Gull colony, thankfully no sign of bird-flu there. The missing Ring-billed Gull from Loch Turret could be secreted in the colony somewhere but I felt sure that somebody with a lot more patience than me would have found it by now if it was. Besides it was getting late so I drove straight to the shore of the loch.

An evening drive along the shore-side road can often reveal one of the local Black-throated Divers feeding close in. I usually stop at the high point at the northern limit of the loch and scan the roadside edge. I couldn't see any activity though so drove on slowly to see what else we could find. First up was one of the many Common Sandpipers that breed close to the loch. Common Sandpipers are a puzzle to me. In my home area of Oxfordshire they are very skittish birds and hardly ever allow a close approach. In Scotland on their breeding territories they are incredibly showy. At Lochindorb they allow extremely good views, and from a car those views can be absolutely crippling. We pulled up alongside one and admired it as it hunted insects in the shallows.

Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

The next bird we encountered was less pleased to see us. A Redshank scolded us loudly as we pulled up. The fact that it stood in the water yelling blue murder indicated that it had a youngster in tow somewhere. Sure enough a little long-legged ball of fluffiness appeared and scuttled off to rejoin its parent.

Redshank (Tringa totanus)

There was no sign of any of the Divers. I already knew that they were present though so they would be around somewhere. There were still quite a few folk dotted around the shore and the disturbance throughout the day had probably caused the Divers to seek somewhere quieter on the opposite shore.

I turned the car around and retraced our route along the edge of the loch, stopping to photograph a Pied Wagtail that stood atop one of the boulders that line the shore. I like unheralded birds like Pied Wagtails. They are gutsy little birds, mostly busy and bold. This one however, was just serenely seeing out the rest of the day.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii)

A Red-legged Partridge in the field on the opposite side of the road was a surprise. We have seen them here before but they are hardly common in these parts.

Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa)

I stopped to take a few photos of some of the Common Gulls. So many people, me included sometimes drive straight through the colony with hardly a look, but Common Gulls are beautiful birds, sleek looking in their grey and white plumage. I spied a pair of nestlings stood waiting patiently for their parents to return with food. 

Common Gull (Larus canus)

Tomorrow the weather promised to be better, indeed for the rest of the week we could expect warm and dry conditions. My original plans for the holiday, which were to use Speyside as a base and travel out and about to locate and see specific birds, would hold. We would head north to Dunnet Head in the morning to see the seabirds that nest on the cliffs.