You Should Have Been Here Yesterday

The weather in the Highlands was marvellous today.  Blue sky, white fluffy clouds and temperatures well into the 20's.  OK not the record temperatures they got in Englandshire but very acceptable.  It was even hotter in Alexs' car.  For some weeks the engine has been overheating and the only way to keep it cool is to have the cabin heater full on.  The only way to stay just about comfortable was to have the windows fully open as well.  Hopefully some time soon Skoda will deliver the spare part that is needed.

Lochindorb Castle

We had chosen to go to Lochindorb for two reasons.  The first was to get a Quail ticked for our 200 target.  This was a longshot.  When I was there three years ago I had heard Quail.  There had been no reports of Quail there this year.  We did not hear a Quail.  The second reason was to get photos of a Black-throated Diver.  This was not a bird that was new to our year last but our sightings had been of birds in winter plumage which is drab in comparison to its elegant summer feathering.

At our first and second stop along the edge of the Loch the only indication that they were present was a poster.

We also had an eye witness account from someone doing a bird tour for two Americans.  He told us that 'Yesterday they were just here and close to the Loch shore'  If I had a pound for every time I had heard 'You should have been here yesterday/last week/ an hour ago....' I would be able to afford all manner of expensive optical and photo equipment even after I had deducted a pound for every time I had said the same thing.

On our next stop we found the Divers. There were two of them and they were on the far side of the Loch.  But I a got a photo, but it wasn't as good as the one I would have taken if I had 'been here yesterday.'

Black-throated Diver

I dd get photos of some of the other birds that were around.....

Lapwing Chick

Red Grouse and Chick

Redshank

Common Sandpiper

....and a Toad

I was quite surprised by the number of people driving round the Loch searching for the Divers.  The Divers had disappeared by the time some of them arrived.  At the same time a van load of kayakers arrived and we saw someone getting fishing tackle out of the car.  Its possible that with that sort of disturbance the late bird watchers might not get to see the  Divers and may only go away with 'you should have been here an hour ago' ringing in their ears.

We headed home via Aviemore and Craigellachie Woods NNR which lie to the west of the village just the other side of the A9 Perth to Inverness road. 

It is mainly a birch wood and is the summer home of many warblers, flycatchers and other species.  Alex, who is on 198 birds for the year wanted photos of Pied Flycatcher and Redstart.  I wanted Redstart for my year list.

Once our brains had filtered out the A9 traffic noise it became clear that the wood was full of birds because we could hear the chip, cheep, chirrup of birds coming from all directions.  Occasionally we could identify the sounds - a Great Tit, a Willow Warbler, Wren, Chaffinch and so on.  Even less frequently we managed to see a bird but none were are target species.and sightings were mostly fleeting as they were high in the leafy canopy and highly mobile.

Total on list 192

I Bag a Monroe and Get a Tick and Elli Gets a Proposal

The last three days have been a bit of an adventure.

On day one I travelled to Oban to see my sister and family.  I went via Aviemore top stop off and do a bit of birding.

I got to Craigeallie Woods NNR at about 7.30 after a two and a half hour drive.  I like to set off early on these trips.  As I went under the A9 to enter the wood I was greeted by the song of a Wood Warblers (tick 1).  I followed the 'Buzzard Trail through the woods and to be honest there was nothing much apart from Chaffinches and Willow Warblers.  The trail did live up to its name however 'cause I saw a Buzzard soaring high over the crags.  If you want to have a look at these woods the best place to start is the Aviemore Youth Hostel car park.  Returning to the car park was much more productive, a Pied Flycatcher (tick 2), Spotted Flycatchers and a Goosander in the first of the pools.

Goosander

Pied Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

 And for the readers of the blog who like cute furry things, and I am sure there are many here is a baby bunny that was in the woods

Rabbit

The next stage of the adventure was to go to the Cairngorm.   This was the true adventure.  My aim was to see what birds lived on the mountain top at over 4000 feet.

The views from the base station were stunning...

Loch Morloch with Aviemore in the distance

 ... even if my photographic skills leave a lot to be desired.  I seem to have missed the edges of the Loch from the frame!.

I suppose at some time I will have to confess to a bit of cheating.  From the base station I did not hike up to the top of the mountain.  I went on the funicular railway that takes you to the Ptarmigan restaurant and within about 600 feet of the summit.  Here I joined a guided walk to the summit.  You see I did do some of it unaided.  There were nine of us in the group ( the maximum they can take is ten).  There is a strict conservation plan that does not allow anyone who has used the railway out on to the mountain top unless they are part of a guided walk.  Her is the party I was in.

 
There was me, of course, two guides, four blokes from Yorkshire who were on a serious birding holiday (I was out lensed and out scoped) another birding couple from Yorkshire, and a couple who were hill walkers, from Darlington. A group with a definite NE England flavour.  The first bird we saw caused a lot of excitement.

Meadow Pipit

Until it was identified as a meadow pipit.  The Pied Wagtail we saw next was a bit of a disappointment to some.

Now a little digression.  The web site for these guided walks said to be prepared for any weather.  The conditions on the summit can be dramatically different from those at the base and at the Ptarmigan restaurant.  The inference was that the condition could be dramatically worse.  So I had a thick pullover and a waterproof coat.  I decided not to take my normal  'birding hat' but to take a woolly one instead that would not get blown off in the wind. On this day the conditions on the top could not have been better and I was very much over dressed.and over heating.  I did not wear the hat but that lead to sunburn on my (small) bald patch.  I think the answer is to take enough to be flexible.  There again if I had done that would I have been able to carry it all?

After a gruelling climb we did eventually see our first target bird, a Ptarmigan.  Admittedly not the best of views to start with.

Ptarmigan - (you can see its head to the left of the ridge)

 But things did improve.

Ptarmigan

 It wasn't until we were coming down that we saw our next two targets.  An we got stunning view of Dotterel and Snow Bunting.

Dotterel

Dotterel

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

So not many birds, but that wasn't the name of the game it was these three particular birds in there natural habitat that people had come to see.

In addition to that we got some facts an information from the guides, we could have wished for better.  We got some stunning scenery

Ben Nevis in the distance

Cairngorm Cairn and Andrew

Loch Morloch and Aviemore

The drama did not stop there.  In the shadow of the cairn Andrew, the lad from Darlington proposed to his partner Elli.  There is going to be a wedding in winter.  Its going to be somewhere outdoors and their favourite walking area is the Yorkshire Dales.  I hope they find a location to match the location of the proposal.  Sammy one of the guides pointed out some semi precious stones on the way back down.  I wonder if the engagement rind will feature some Cairngorm stone?

Andrew and Elli

And yes I refrained from saying to the happy couple as they lift the summit 'Well, its all down hill from here'

While I am on the theme of happy couples and the consequences thereof back at the base camp there was a Ring Ouzels nest with the young waiting to be fed.

Ring Ouzel Nestlings

Grubs Up

Total on list 188