Down to some serious birding, 4th June

After taking it easy on Sunday it was now time to get serious and tour around some local sites and see a few of the good local bird species that Strathspey has to offer. The weekenders and day-trippers had largely all gone home leaving the area much quieter and we could now enjoy the birding at our leisure. The holiday birding could really begin in earnest.

We've been visiting the Strathspey region for over 20 years now and have garnered much information of places to go to almost guarantee seeing the Scottish specialities. Some of these sites are well known and are firmly on the "map", others less so, and at 08:30 on a warm but cloudy morning we headed to a small lochan just a few miles from our base to catch up with a rare breeding bird which, in the UK, only breeds in the Highlands of Scotland. Specific site details will be omitted (unless well known) since rare birds need space to breed successfully and increased visitor presence is a growing problem. We are very careful to only observe from a respectful distance and never encroach into the birds immediate habitat (which sadly cannot be said of many other people). The bird we came to see, the Slavonian Grebe, was spotted almost as soon as we'd left the car behind. Just one or two pairs breed here in most years and we are normally successful in seeing them. This time we saw two but presumably at least one of the pair would be sitting on eggs. On the previous Friday a superb summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe had been seen at Farmoor (typical!) and had offered very close views resulting in some local birders obtaining some crippling photos. The birds that swam on the lochan in front of us were much further away so my own images pale in comparison somewhat but I have had stonking views before so I wasn't too disappointed.

Slavonian Grebe

Goldeneye also breed on the lochan and we managed to find 3 females along with some recently hatched ducklings. Mallard ducklings abounded with at least 4 flotillas following their doting mums around. I should point out, for the those of you that don't know, that most males of the duck species leave the parenting to the females and bugger off to hold big bachelor parties on nearby rivers and coasts. Very old fashioned! We only saw a couple of drake Goldeneye in the whole fortnight.

female Goldeneye

Mallard duckling chasing after mum!

Other birds around the lochan seen were the ubiquitous Oystercatchers and Greylag Geese that also had young to tend to. There is a decent colony of Sand Martins here too that nest close by. In the murky light capturing images of them in flight was beyond me but one did dutifully pose for me as it preened upon a telegraph wire.

Sand Martin

We returned our focus back to the Slavonian Grebes and were rewarded when one took to flight allowing me to take some action photos. The bird flew into one of the reedy margins and a few minutes later a different bird emerged (slightly less brightly coloured) so I'm guessing a parental duty changeover had taken place. Good to know that they're probably sitting on eggs.

Slavonian Grebe

On our walk back to the car a Common Sandpiper tootled a warning to us and a Little Grebe surfaced in the weed covered water. The day was going well.

Our next stop was at a nature reserve on the southern edge of Aviemore. Craigellachie NNR has become pretty famous as the breeding spot for a pair of Peregrine Falcons. Their eyrie is placed high up on a sheer rock face and as I walked underneath I noticed that there were now cameras installed overlooking the rock ledge. Not sure if they're there for security (a sad sign of the times, egg stealing is still rife) or whether they're serving as a webcam with footage beamed elsewhere. Anyway, in keeping with just about every other visit we've made here, the Peregrines were absent and nowhere to be seen. In fact I can only remember seeing one here once and that was years ago! But the information boards still proclaim that they're still breeding here so I guess we're just unlucky. 

I discovered a cunningly disguised Chaffinch nest in the fork of a tree. The way in which the birds had used lichen to help their nest blend in with the tree trunk was quite brilliant. A young recently fledged Robin watched from a branch nearby but I very much doubt harboured the same admiration.

Spot the Chaffinch nest!

Robin fledgling

I'd been given some first hand knowledge of a couple of pairs of Pied Flycatchers that were using some of the many nest boxes that have been provided and we turned our attention to finding those. The first location returned a blank so we headed uphill in pursuit of the others. We passed a fine pair of Tree Pipits but they were difficult to view clearly remaining, as they did, in the foliage, eventually though one showed in the open.

Tree Pipit

As we reached the "Tank" after a decent uphill walk I could hear a male Pied Flycatcher singing close by. It took a while to track him down but he was located high up in the canopy. These are fabulous little birds and I always enjoy watching them. They are very dynamic, often flying out to catch winged insects in mid-air but for now this one was content just to sing his little warble as we sat under the trees. The warm weather had encouraged insects to be active and there were a fair number of midges abroad, something we'd noticed yesterday too. Midges are not usually a problem in the Highlands unless you go further west but there definitely seemed to be a lot around this year. Thank goodness for insect eating birds like the Pied Flycatcher, at least they get rid of a few! Problem is modern farming practices get rid of many more bugs, far too many in fact, which then results in fewer insect eating birds and hence the paucity of farmland birds surviving in particular. After a while the Pied Flycatcher came within reach of my lens and I took some reasonable images. It was then joined, first briefly by a female and then by a second male. A territorial spat then ensued and although I can't be sure (since all male Pied Flycatchers look the same to me) the invader was repelled and departed stage right.

male Pied Flycatcher

We had also heard a Wood Warbler trilling away as we walked up the path and we returned to see if we could find it. I can't get enough of Wood Warblers. They are simply gorgeous little birds putting every bit of energy that they posess into their song. We had excellent views of them earlier in the year in Mid-Wales so didn't have to put too much effort in here (see Birds the colour of rainbows...) but as our luck would have it the Wood warbler suddenly appeared in a small stand of dense silver birch trees close to the main path and began singing in earnest. It still took a while to get decent views but once we'd pinned him down, a few photos were secured and we moved away and walked back to the car.

male Wood Warbler

Remarkably we didn't see a single Spotted Flycatcher on this walk despite them usually being very common at Craigellachie. Indeed a friend had seen no fewer than 8 just a few days before. Where they must have been I had no idea and after Mrs Caley had missed the one by the cottage yesterday, she was now getting a bit twitchy! I did find a presumed Spotted Flycatcher nest in one of the boxes but there was no activity and if there was a sitting bird then I couldn't see it.

Spotted Flycatcher nest (?)

We left after a very enjoyable couple of hours at this excellent reserve to the sound of a Chaffinch singing incessantly while a Buzzard lazily circled overhead. Now for a visit to one of the best lunch spots that we've ever found for coffee and cake!

male Chaffinch

Buzzard

To our great disappointment (shared by many) the Potting Shed Tea Rooms is no more, the owners having retired and given up the business. The Potting Shed was one of the best places to go for a fine coffee and made and sold some of the most amazing cream cakes we've ever eaten! You could also sit and watch a plethora of birds and squirrels at the feeding station while partaking. It will be sorely missed. As an alternative we took in the Marina cafe at Loch Insh which served us well enough before moving down to Insh church to look at a well known Osprey nest. The nest is situated at the top of a tall tree on a small island in Loch Insh and close viewing is possible from the path below the church. I much prefer to come here and get my initial Osprey fix rather than join the hordes at Loch Garten. Both Ospreys were present, the female on the nest and the male attendant in a dead tree next to the nest tree. As soon as we arrived however the male flew up and disappeared away over the island. Gone fishing. Usually an Osprey returns after a half hour or so but despite us staying for over an hour he hadn't returned so we departed also.

Osprey

We saw a drake Teal here along with another family of Mallards and a Curlew flew past but in the afternoon heat (the sun was beaming down and the earlier cloud has dispersed) the birding had slowed so we moved onto our next destination for the day.

male Teal

Curlew

Mallard family

The Spey Dam and Laggan area is famous as a former breeding spot for Temminck's Stints but sadly to my knowledge they no longer do so there. My purpose of driving there was to maybe see an Osprey fishing which we had seen a few times before but there was no sign of any. We did scope a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers way out on the Loch but it was fairly quiet probably due in some part to the massive Energy Co. works being undertaken on the far bank. The hot afternoon had generated a vibrant heat haze too so long distance photography was pointless. We stopped at the small cafe in Laggan where there is delicious coffee served (the cake however just left us feeling sick!) and listened intently at the trees opposite. Two years ago we had seen an Icterine Warbler at this spot but lightning wasn't about to strike twice this time.

Our final stop for the day was at the Cairngorm Mountain Ski Carpark primarily as a recce since we were planning on a mountain walk the following day. While gazing up the various tracks and wondering whether we'd make it up the "hill" (we do this every year but we always manage it) a fine male Ring Ousel appeared close to the stream that runs through the gully. It was feeding voraciously on earthworms and other bugs and we sidled a bit closer. We were pretty much alone too since by some stroke of luck (for us anyway) the Mountain Railway had closed the day before for a month for essential maintenance to take place so the usual coach loads of visitors that choose to take the train were absent. The Ring Ousel fed quite happily very close to our position until a group of returning walkers put it to flight. 

male Ring Ousel

We could hear another (or the same) Ring Ousel singing it's squeaky song from higher up the track so we walked up towards it. We spent a good 15 minutes searching amongst the rocks without success (they are incredibly difficult to locate on the mountainside, it is vast!) until finally it blew its cover by flying down to the railway track side. Now we followed it once more as it searched for food around the concrete stanchions of the track but it rarely emerged into the open. We were in luck again though when the bird appeared perched on an inactive steel hawser that normally pulls the train and proceeded to sing. For the next 10 minutes and totally unperturbed by our presence we were treated to a fabulous concert even if the music was a bit repetitive. Maybe it was proclaiming for anybody that didn't already know that the "railway is shut for the next month". Nothing to see here. Except for a mighty fine Ring Ousel that is!

male Ring Ousel

Tomorrow, with more good weather forecast, we'd head up the mountain in search of the special birds that make that special place their home but I had still to decide on the route, should we try a more direct path following the now quiet railway track or go our normal way up? Decisions, decisions!

Into the woods and a breeze through the moor, 3rd June 2018

After the long drive north it's customary for Mrs Caley and I to take it easy on the first day proper of the holiday. So at 06:00 (!) we were walking out into a slight mist towards the woods up behind our holiday cottage. This walk has been very productive on previous visits and we've found and seen Redwing (with fledged young), Parrot Crossbill, Redstart and even Capercaillie amongst many others. The track leads up past some disused farm buildings (I may have to inquire if it's ever likely to come up for sale) and is usually very quiet apart from the odd crazy cyclist (aren't they all?) that comes whizzing past. Once past the farm there are paths that enter into some really nice pinewoods and (if I was that way inclined) my spiritual home. There is no better place to be in my opinion than a Scottish Pine Forest. I find the smell of the pine needles intoxicating as well as mesmerising. The woods can be peacefully quiet but also quite noisy when the birds are singing. The trees themselves form a type of cathedral within which I love to wander.  Ok, enough of that sentimental nonsense. I don't think poetic and romantic writing is my forte somehow.

I spied a Spotted Flycatcher flitting from one tree to another but failed to get Mrs Caley on to it but not to worry since we'd be sure to see more at other sites during the following fortnight. Next we came across a small party of Lesser Redpoll that were engaged in feisty squabbles presumably sorting out their breeding pairs. This area is good for these diminutive finches. Cuckoos could be heard far off and both Mistle and Song Thrushes were all around us. We entered the woods and could hear Common Redstarts singing from the tree tops and Tree Pipits were taking to the air on their short but delightful display flights. The morning was warming up, the birds were busy and we were relaxing. Heaven!

Lesser Redpoll

A Crossbill alighted onto a pine bough close by but its high pitched chattering indicated a Common rather than its Scottish cousin. It didn't settle for long and was soon away. We were now casually looking for the "Horse of the Woods" but in truth it was now past 8 o'clock and any Capercaillies would be tucked up resting and ruminating on its early morning breakfast of pine shoots and grit! This time of year the best chance of seeing the denizen of the forest is to be out at daybreak which is around 04:00, a bit too early for us. Besides there is a chance that male Capercaillie could still be displaying so I prefer not to take the risk of disturbing them. Many of our sightings of Capercaillie have actually been later around mid-morning when the birds are just resting up in a pine tree. Wet weather is best for seeing them too, along with a massive slice of luck! So today, with the ever broadening sunshine, was unlikely to result in a sighting but I'm ever hopeful of coming across one. We've chanced upon them several times before and I'm confident that we will do again, it just needs the time and effort putting in. We did find some fresh looking droppings so at least we knew at least one was present. Walking along pine forest tracks with eyes fixed firmly on the ground looking for Capercaillie crap is a major hobby for Mrs Caley and I've been known to join in too! Don't say we need to get out more because thats exactly where we were!


Back at the farm Swallows were now showing well but numbers appeared to be down on former years. In fact many birds seemed to be in lower numbers, much as it is down south too. Our birds are definitely suffering, maybe the wet spring is to blame. Hopefully the numbers will recover next year. There were definitely not as many Chaffinches and Willow Warblers in the woods as one would normally expect. A Goldcrest was busy foraging in an isolated pine tree and was suitably elusive. Back at the cottage we listened to a very melodic Blackcap. An unusual flutey rhythmic song that I'd not heard before but it was definitely a Blackcap that was singing it. We also saw a Jay flash through the trees at the bottom of the garden. Jays are increasing in numbers in Strathspey and will be seen most days now in wooded habitat whereas just a few years ago they were really scarce.

Goldcrest

I had put some bird food out in the garden just after we'd arrived and already there were visitors. Coal Tits and Siskins had found the offerings as had a small (young?) Red Squirrel. We've had trips up here when we've hardly encountered any Squirrels so this was a real pleasure to have one feasting just feet from the cottage window. They have an incredibly cheeky expression.

Coal Tit

Red Squirrel

After a more than adequate Sunday lunch at the Grant Arms in Grantown (recommended to all; the food is good and it's only £13 for 3 courses plus free coffee!) we went for a drive around Lochindorb primarily to see if the well known pair of Black-throated Divers were showing. The minor road was so busy with cars (it was the last day of the school half-term) that we basically drove through without hardly stopping. I hate busy places! That proved to be a mistake since just a few hours later a Long-tailed Skua was observed resting on a grit tray (put out for the Red Grouse) and reasonably close to the road! I only found that out a few days later though so despite it still being present on the Monday morning I had no chance of knowing. A situation in need of rectifying and thanks to Peter Stronach (the Highland bird recorder) I am now more in the know than I was before! We didn't see the Divers either but most of the pull-ins had been taken by other folk so we didn't really have the opportunity of searching fro them and besides we'd have the time to revisit later in the holiday. We did see Red Grouse with chicks, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Redshank and the Common Gull colony looked to have increased in size from previous years (I estimated over 100 sitting birds).

Lapwing

The Red Grouse formed family groups and many were close to the road. The chicks, some of which couldn't have been more than a few days old, moved clumsily through the heather but were always closely guarded by mum and dad. The chicks are adorable and it's very sad that people with a lot of money but not an ounce of sense will soon be happily blasting them out of the sky in the name of "sport". Barbarism that deserves to be stopped, please support the petition to end Grouse shooting if you haven't already done so (search Ban DGS online).

male Red Grouse

Red Grouse chick

female Red Grouse

We retired early to the cottage and I made plans to "mop" up some of the easier but localised species over the next few days. The evening was clear so just before dark I stood outside the cottage and waited for the Woodcocks to "rode" above the woods. It's a good spot for them here and they didn't  disappoint with at least 10 flights overhead (could have been the same bird 10 times or could have been 10 different birds; who knows?). A grey heron flew leisurely over, heading to its night time roost, most probably at Boat of Garten where there is a small heronry. A couple of Bats were buzzing around the tree tops too, not sure which species but they seemed much bigger than the Pipistrelles that I'm used to seeing.

Woodcock

Northwards, 2nd June 2018

We never bother doing too much on the Saturday journey northwards and this year was no exception. We left Melrose reasonably early and sailed past Edinburgh before the roads became too busy pulling into the RSPB Loch Leven (formerly Vane Farm) reserve by mid morning. The reserve is currently the site of much upheaval with a new underpass being constructed to enable visitors to access the ponds and scrapes without having to cross the road. Because of the work the bird feeders have been relocated but we still managed to find a couple of Tree Sparrows (for which this reserve is very reliable for) including a lovely recently fledged youngster which still sported its yellow gape.

Tree Sparrow

The coffee was as excellent as ever and after buying some bird food we were on our way again, this time diverting off to the Famous Grouse distillery near Crieff. Not to buy or taste any whisky but because a few years ago we had seen at close quarters a beautiful Dipper on the river there. Mind you we haven't seen a Dipper there since and we didn't this time either! But there's no harm in trying. There were at least some Grey Wagtails flitting around, too quick for me and the camera this time though.

It was now a very warm day (by Scottish standards) and further thunderstorms were forecast but, after loading up with provisions in Blairgowrie, we ventured out towards Glen Shee and the long way around via Tomintoul rather than use the much quicker A9. Until the rain started falling just after turning off the main road it was an uneventful drive. The rain changed that though and at times we were driving through torrential downpours with visibility much reduced and the pace slowed considerably. Any birds would be well out of that and sheltering, not that we'd be able to see them anyway. The rain had abated somewhat by the time we had pulled in at Glenmulliach. We stop here to view Black Grouse which can usually be seen high up on a hillside adjacent to the road and sure enough we spotted 14 male birds feeding in the heather. This is the most reliable and accessible site I know for this species in the Speyside area in the summer, all other leks either being a long way from any access points or sadly demised in recent times.

Black Grouse

We pulled in at the holiday cottage and after refilling the garden bird feeders made plans for our first full day tomorrow.