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| Raven |
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| Red Deer |
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| Kestrel |
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| Buzzard |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Common Toad |
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| Common Toad |
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| Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Peregrine & Carrion Crow |
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| Starling |
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| Snipe |
Having posted on Facebook that I was off on holiday for a week, I was quite surprised to receive a message from another birding buddy, Joan Farrel, to say that she too was off on holiday and if I didn't have Crested Tit on my year list already did I fancy a trip up north to Speyside to try and find these wee birds. My answer was No to having the Cresties and a definite Yes to fancying a wee trip up north. We made vague arrangements during the ADBC outing on Sunday 13th at Fife Ness and firmed things up later in the week. As things turned out Friday looked to give us the best weather forecast, so Friday it was.
Joan picked me up at 8am, and we set off for Perth and the A9 northwards. Carrion Crow was seen on the Kingsway with Woodpigeon added near Invergowrie. A Magpie was a bit of a surprise as we by-passed Perth, with Pheasant added ten minutes further on up the road. A Jay flew across the road in front of us as we neared Aviemore and a male Red Grouse was stood right at the kerb a minute earlier. Jackdaw was next on the list at the other end of Aviemore. We decided to try the Findhorn Valley for raptors first then head to Loch Garten for Crested Tits (hopefully) afterwards.
We missed the not particularly well sign-posted turn-off for Tomatin, but managed to get off the A9 and doubled back into the village before taking the minor road into the valley. A Blackbird was seen in the village, but there wasn't too much activity near the road as we headed further in. We stopped near a small burn and bridge. Joan heard a Dipper singing and we managed to locate it on a stone in the water by the far bank of the river. A Great Tit flew over and we could hear the baying of dogs from the hills opposite, no doubt from a shooting party. We scanned along the ridge lines looking for any raptors but drawing a blank, though Red Deer stags were seen high on the hills. I heard and then spotted a Raven before we set off again in the car.
Having only visited the glen twice before I thought we had somehow managed to miss the car park area, but it turned out we hadn't. Two Stonechats were a pleasant surprise not too far from the aforementioned small car park. We weren't the only birders at the car park, as two English ladies had a scope set up and were already scanning. I asked them if they'd had any luck, but despite having been there for an hour they hadn't seen much, and certainly no Golden, or White Tailed, Eagles. With four pairs of eyes scanning however we did manage to find a few raptors - Kestrels, a possible Peregrine and two Buzzards. Unfortunately that was our lot, and with lunchtime approaching we decided to head for Loch Garten. We had a few flocks of Fieldfares passing through the glen although they were rather distant, and a Mistle Thrush overflew us as we scanned around along the ridges. We could also hear the sounds of the rutting Stags with some groups of Red Deer picked out near the tops.
Heading back down the A9 towards the Carrbridge area, four large-ish gamebirds overflew the road relatively high. Black Grouse seems to be the best 'fit' for the birds, but we didn't get good enough views from the moving car to be sure, though female/young Capercaillie couldn't completely be ruled out, (although probably highly unlikely and more likely to be wishful thinking). We made it to Loch Garten at around one o'clock and wandered up to the closed Osprey Centre to check the feeders. There was one photographer there and a few Coal Tits and a Red Squirrel on the feeders but nothing else. We wandered back through the trees to the car park where another photographer was stood. I asked if he'd had any luck with Crested Tits and he said there were one or two around. The Coal Tits were flitting around, feeding down on the ground and in the trees. A
Crested Tit landed on a low branch and I succeeded in getting a few photos though none particularly great.
In addition to the Cresties the trees around the car park were busy with a mixed flock of Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Long Tailed Tit and Treecreeper. A fairly typical winter flock (although Cresties would be absent most other areas of Britain). A Jay flew over, as did a calling Siskin. A Chaffinch dropped in and the Coal Tits whirred past my head and landed in the branches behind me, obviously expecting a hand-out of food, but never staying still enough long enough for me to get photos. A Mallard was heard over the loch and I managed to see it through the trees as it sped away low over the water.
I received a text about Bearded Tits being reported at Loch of Kinnordy, so with our main target 'in the bag' and a plan to cross the moors and down through Glenshee on our way home, I contemplated the possibility of maybe popping into the reserve for a wee while on the way home. With that in mind, I suggested we could maybe take our time heading down the road and if we had time, make the detour in the hope of seeing Bearded Tits and possibly a Bittern, which had also been seen regularly recently at the RSPB site.
We stopped off in Nethybridge briefly then headed to Grantown-On-Spey managing to add Starling and Collared Dove as well as a Robin to our fairly short day list. We took the road south towards Tomintoul and the Lecht ski area. Birds were in fairly short supply with a few Red Grouse along the road edges, and Joan spotted a party of Red Legged Partridges at one point as well. A Buzzard was hovering above the ridge line near the Well of the Lecht. The weather deteriorated a bit and the clouds hung quite low above the tops, so our chances of raptor sightings were diminished somewhat. Red Grouse were really the only birds we saw until we reached lower ground with a few Pheasants, Carrion Crows and Woodpigeons seen as we neared Kinnordy.
I had joked that we'd get a text saying that the Bittern had shown well before we reached the reserve and as we walked from the car park we did indeed receive such a text. Needless to say, there was no sign when we got into the hide which was quite busy with birders hoping to see the elusive Bearded Tits and the Bittern. We did manage to find a space to sit in and with a few folk around that I knew there, banter flowed back and forwards.
Out on the water, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Teal, Moorhen and Mute Swan could be seen. A Peregrine was perched in one of the trees over the other side of the Loch with a Carrion Crow keeping an eye on it from a little higher. A Cormorant was on a dead tree in the water. A Pheasant was in the distant fields. Lapwings flew in, and a few Reed Buntings flew past the hide, giving short-lived hope that they could be Beardies. A Sparrowhawk dashed over. A couple of distant swans turned out to be Whooper Swans.
A Grey Heron was spotted among the reeds, but there was no sign of any Bitterns. A Goosander flew westwards from the eastern end of the Loch and a skein of Pink Footed Geese seemed to consider dropping in before continuing on their way over. A few Starlings put on a half-hearted attempt to form a murmuration before dropping into the reeds. Two Common Snipe hurried over. I heard a Pied Wagtail and managed to see it, adding another species to our list. A Water Rail flew in and disappeared into the reeds to the right of the hide. As the light was fading and the time approaching six o'clock we decided to head back to Dundee and home.
Only 46 species seen, though the intended target species was successfully seen this time, and another enjoyable day out with a birding buddy I don't get out and about with enough these days was had.
Species seen (year tick in bold) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Cormorant,
Crested Tit, Dipper, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goosander, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Grouse, Red Legged Partridge, Reed Bunting, Robin, Rook, Siskin, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon.