Last year I entered a competition to win a short "Birder's Blast" holiday with Heatherlea Birding based at Nethy Bridge in Speyside. As I don't always get the opportunity to visit that part of the world for the likes of Crested Tits etc, I was hoping I might win. I didn't, but I was a runner-up which meant I got a trip for half the usual price. This was still quite expensive for me but as I don't really 'do' holidays I decided to go for it. It was 4 nights stay and 3 days birding based at The Mountview Hotel in Nethy Bridge beginning on Saturday 3rd March. However as the date drew closer, the weather grew increasingly bad and the trip looked rather touch and go. Thankfully, despite trains not running between Dundee and Perth there were buses running.
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| Fieldfare |
The weather was still rather snowy and bitterly cold. I decided to keep a list of birds from the start of the 1st day till the end of the 5th day (Saturday - Wednesday), and these would constitute the 'holiday list'. There were a few birds around when I threw out some bread for the local smaller birds before setting off - Starling, Robin, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull and Magpie all seen from my bedroom window. On the journey to the bus station from around 1115 I added Woodpigeon and Blackbird. The roads were rather quiet and the bus journey passed quickly. Fieldfare was added on the Perth Road as the bus headed out of Dundee.
Roe Deer was seen in a roadside field from the dual carriageway to Perth, as were Oystercatchers, Woodpigeons and some Carrion Crows. The short walk from Perth city centre to the railway station gave me a few views of over 100 Fieldfares as well as Chaffinch, House Sparrow and a few Long Tailed Tits. Owing to my decision to not cut things too fine with regards any prospective travel problems I then had 2 hours to wait at the railway station till the train I was booked on. I could have caught the earlier train to Aviemore but my ticket wasn't valid and my collection time at Aviemore wasn't until 1630 anyway. There wasn't much wildlife to be seen at the station though I did manage to see a Black Headed Gull circling round outside while I sat for what seemed a lot longer than 2 hours.
Finally at around 1450 the train set off northwards. A Magpie and a Roe Deer were seen as we headed out of Perth and a Rabbit was in a field near Murthly. Pink Footed Geese and a Buzzard were seen just to the north of the village. Rooks were next to be added along with plenty of Pheasants. Woodpigeons were noted at various spots, usually perched all hunched up on a branch in a tree. A pair of Mallards were on the ice in the river as the train passed Killiecrankie. Greylags were in a field somewhere near Blair Atholl. The first Red Deer of the trip were added once we hit the higher ground past Blair Atholl. A Kestrel flew past the train nearby and a large group of Red Grouse were seen in flight in the same area. A small group of 4 Ravens were spooked by the train to the south of Dalwhinnie. A large herd of Red Deer were by the railway line just outside the village.
A Dipper was a chance sighting as the train crossed a bridge at Newtonmore. A few Teal and Mallard were in a small burn near Kingussie. I managed to spot a few Whooper Swans as we passed Loch Insh. There were also a number of ducks there most likely Teal, Wigeon and Mallard though none were definitely identified owing to focusing on trying to ID the Swans. I was collected at the station in Aviemore by Mark Warren, the guide for my short break. It turned out that owing to transport difficulties there had been a few cancellations for the trip though some from the previous week's break that were struggling to get home had decided to stay on and join the 4 of us who were still booked on the trip. We added Mistle Thrush to the list as we headed for the Mountview Hotel where I would be staying for the next 4 nights.
Not a huge list for the day with only 29 species of bird (and 3 mammals)
seen but given the weather conditions it wasn't a bad selection. As I
wasn't taking photos on the journey all photos here are from other
outings.
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| Fieldfare |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Teal |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Magpie |
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| Buzzard |
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| Carrion Crow |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Dipper, Fieldfare, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Grouse, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Starling, Teal, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon.
Mammals seen - Rabbit, Red Deer, Roe Deer.
