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

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