The Beast

On Sunday 26th March the Aberdeen and District RSPB group organised an field trip to Glen Tanar.  I was told that there hadn't been so many people on one of these trips for ages.  There were over forty of us and a Pomeranian dog.  Here are just a few of them assembling at the bridge by the visitor centre.

As you can see the weather was glorious perhaps that is why so many came on the trip.  Or it could have been the prospect of seeing some special birds.

Glen Tanar is a sporting estate but one with a reputation for conservation.  It is in the Cairngorms Nation Park.  It has ancient Caledonian pine forests and various conservation protection statuses  such a 'Site of Special Scientific Interest' (SSSI) have been granted to many parts of the estate.  It is known to harbour the rare, endangered but elusive Capercaillie or Caper for short, also known as 'The Beast'.  Golden Eagles nest on the mountains, Ospreys inhabit the estate in the summer, Goshawks and Green Woodpeckers are residents as are three UK species of Crossbill, Common, Scottish (the UK's only endemic bird) and Parrot. The field trip leader was Tony.  Tony's job is sourcing timber for a local sawmill and knows the forest of Deeside like the back of his hand and knows his birds so it was stacking up to be a great day.

That's Tony on the right of this group

The route we were going to take was one of the waymarked walks of about five miles following the Waters of Tanar and relatively flat.  The route would take us through the old pine forests.

The first two bird we saw were not that special, a Chaffinch and a Pied Wagtail, but this was before we got to the woods.  The next birds were clearly a mere taster of what was to come, Siskin and Goldcrest, birds that thrive in the conifers.  On the river we saw a Grey Wagtail but that was about as good as it got.

Grey Wagtail

Every now and then some one would shout that they had heard a Crossbill but none were seen.  At a View Point someone saw what they thought might have been a Merlin but this was never confirmed by further sightings. Towards the end there was a shout for a Raven flying over.  I took a photo, it was a Rook.

Rook

There was a none birding highlight.  Lots and lots of Common Toads moving to spawning grounds, some were alone others in in an embrace of two, three and even four Toads.

One Toad

Two Toads

Lots of Toads, we think four

Now about 'The Beast' or Capercaillie.  At the furthest point from the visitor centre out path took a right turn and over a bridge.  Straight on would have continued thought the forest and out onto the moorland and eventually to Glen Esk.  The path had a sign which basically said 'don't go down here you will disturb Capercallie -  a schedule 1 listed bird'.  Tony was talking about the general conservation efforts being made on  behalf of Capercaillie and explaining why they shouldn't be disturbed and that forty plus people and a dog going into the birds territory was not a good idea when a bloke on a mountain bike came down that path with a frightened look on his face. 'Don't go there.  A Caper nearly knock me off my bike' he shouted as he sped past.  The sign, it seemed was a not just about the welfare of the bird but about the safety of pedestrians and cyclist.  Tony then showed us a photo he had recently taken of a Caper attacking a colleague while they were going about the forestry business.  From then on any Capercaillie was referred to as 'The Beast'.  They are big birds and have a beak that can be likened to tin shears. Some also have a reputation for being 'Rogue' and attacking anything that comes into their territory.  Straight on would have led us into a Rogues territory.

For the rest of the walk through the pine forest emotions were rather mixed.  On one hand it would have been great to see a Caper, on the other there was the fear of being attacked by one.

Given the distinct lack of birds - no one could remember a field trip with so few birds - we got back to the visitor centre earlier than expected.  Four of us Me, Trevor, Alex and Gordon decided to retrace our steps to see if there would be more birding luck in a smaller group.  Key target was a Crossbill, if a Caper came our way that would be a bonus.

We did have a debate about who was the slowest of us four and therefore who any Rogue Caper would catch up with first.  Or which of us would stand their ground to get that  close up photo that would go viral on the net and be the envy of all.  The discussion was academic.  We did not see a Capercallie although we did find evidence of there existence through droppings on the footpath.

We also found our Crossbill.  Trevor heard it and then spotted it high up in the pine canopy.

Crossbill taken with a 400mm zoom lens

Crossbill - cropped image

Finally thanks to Alex who drove me there and back.  Its my turn to drive next time

Total on list 134

Where Eagles Dared

11th March 2017

Now this was a big trip.  Brian asked if I wanted to go to the upper Findhorn Valley, otherwise known as 'Raptor Alley'.  The goal was to find a Golden Eagle.  Quick check with Jill that there were no other plans and we were good to go.  We started at 7.00am and I got back home at 6.30pm. In addition to Strathdearn we called in at Spey Bridge just outside Grantown on Spey to find a Hawfinch.  This is where I had seen them on the 8th January and where we had both seen them last year. Brian wanted Hawfinch for his year list.  It had been reported that one had been seen three days before.  Finding one Hawfinch along the banks of the Spey was always going to be a difficult task.  There were Chaffinches, Greenfinches, a Song Thrush, Mistle Thrushes, Blue and Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests but no Hawfinch.  On the water we saw a pair of Grey Wagtails, a Dipper and a pair of Mallards.  The other notable sighting was a Weasel in the road just as we got to Spey Bridge.

Long-tailed Tit

Female Mallard

Dipper

It is another hours drive to the Upper Findhorn Valley.  the last ten miles is on a single track road with passing places. The local council seemed to have skimped on the size of the passing places.
At one point we had to back up to let a car past.  Now Brian knew what he was doing and I knew that Brian knew what he was doing but that still doesn't help the nerves when you are looking out of the passenger window and the edge of the road is mighty close and there is a 30 foot or more drop into the valley below and the 'your are getting too close' beeper is going like mad because to get the two cars past each other wing mirrors had to be folded in.

But we got there all in one piece.  As soon as we got out of the car Brian shouted 'There's a Mountain Hare' pointing up a seemingly barren mountain side.  He was right, there was a mountain Hare.

Mountain Hare taken with a 400mm lens from the car park

We decided to try to get closer.  The Hare sat in its little niche in the hillside until we got quite close.

Mountain Hare Looking Cross

 It did eventually think we might be hostile and it left its spot and run up the hill.

When we got down to the valley floor and looked back we saw that the Hare had returned to the same spot.

This is when the walking started. It is a one and a quarter mile  slog along the track to get into Eagle territory.  The only things of interest we saw were two Ravens and some Feral Goats  This would make mammal number five if you count the road kill badger and squashed rat.

Feral Goats

From the car park we were accompanied by a little black terrier

Our Walking Companion

Just over a bridge we had a choice, carry straight on along the valley bottom, on a previous visit Brian had seen a pair of Golden Eagles that way, or turn right following the river Calder,  others had seen Eagles this way.  We turned right.  This path took us on a 250ft climb which eventually came to a ford that, given the amount of water in the river, we deemed impassable.

The Ford

 We still hadn't seen anything and headed back the way we came.

Brian Scanning the Skyline for Eagles

Did I mention that the scenery was stunning?  It was stunning.

On our return to the valley we were extremely surprised to see a bat in the broad daylight (Mammal No 6).  By this time our doggy escort had deserted us.

As we had yet to find an Eagle we thought that it would be foolish not to explore the path that continued up the valley.  About a mile along here we saw it, a Golden Eagle.  I have to admit that we were a little confused.  The bird came into sight from behind us and soared above the mountain to our right, it then disappeared from sight.  A moment later what we thought was the bird reappeared but this time it was clear that it was only a Buzzard.  We had to examine the photos we took of the first bird to reassure ourselves that we had indeed seen a Golden Eagle.

Golden Eagle

Common Buzzard

All that was left to do was to walk the couple of miles back to he car. Some more Goats and a Dipper and a herd of Red Deer (Mammal No 7) later we got back to the car park.

Dipper

You are Kidding

Red Deer

In all we had been out away for about five hours so you won't be surprised to know that the Mountain Hare was still in its mountain side niche.

Still Hare

Now all Brian had to do was drive home starting with ten miles of single track road. Mammal No 8 was a Brown Hare seen from the single track road  He did it in less than three hours we were back in Fraserburgh at 6.10pm

Total on list 127