Speyside May 2001

This is an account of a trip to Scotland made by myself and my birding partner Richie Bedford from the 30th April to the 3rd May 2001. We flew from Luton to Glasgow on EasyJet (£60 return) then picked up an EasyCar Mercedes 'A' Class (only £9 per day with 75 mile per day allowance, one off prep charge £20) and drove up to Boat of Garten to stay at Old Ferryman's Cottage (£20 per night with excellent and massive breakfast). We could have flown to Inverness and had a much shorter drive, but we just aren't that clever.

30th April 2001

On the way up we got tasters of what was to come. A male Goosander on a stream by a petrol station, many Curlew and Oystercatcher in roadside fields and a total of 7 Buzzards.

Our first stop was the obligatory pilgrimage to Loch Garten. At first we walked back along the road from the car park, away from the main visiting area. Siskins were calling all over the place, and we came across small groups of birds in the more open, sunny patches of woodland beside the road. One of the things we noticed in the woodlands was the way that long stretches appear totally birdless and then, suddenly, you come upon a stretch which is full of life. I have spoken to other birders who have found the same. We quickly picked up a number of the commoner woodland birds, including Willow Warbler (Chiffchaff is scarce here), Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Coal Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker. We were, of course hoping for Crested Tit or a Crossbill of some description, but it was not to be. We returned the way we came and went to the visitor centre. I had forgotten my RSPB membership card, but some smooth talking by Mr Bedford followed my quiet and pathetic request to the young lady on duty got me through without the need to pay (tight budget, not tight fisted!). I believe that the young lady took a shine to Richie, as after we returned from seeing the Ospreys (a female sitting tight on the nest, with just her head showing) she appeared to have had a makeover (shiny, brushed hair and make-up). Despite my prompting Richie didn't make a move, which was a shame as I could have done with a laugh. Both our attention was drawn away from the young lady when a Crested Tit materialised just feet away and proceeded to take nuts from the bird table! We had stunning views of the bird, which apparently appeared approximately every 40 minutes on its feeding circuit. It seemed a bit of a cheat to see such a bird in this setting, so we decided to go onto the Abernethy Forest to try to find our "own" bird, but not before a red squirrel had joined the Crested Tit and also given us excellent views.

The "birdless" phenomenon occurred again in the Forest. We walked for half an hour without seeing or hearing a thing, but then Richie saw a movement in the tops of some Birch trees beside a clearing and there was "our" Crested Tit, moving through the treetops quite rapidly, and difficult to get onto. We added one or two more species to our tally, including a sparrowhawk which struck an unidentified passerine in the woods and proceeded to devour it on the woodland floor.

We headed for our B&B and, after unpacking and freshening up, headed for the pub (the Boat Hotel). Crossing the bridge over the Spey an Osprey put in an appearance, flying downstream. There were also Goldeneye, Grey Wagtail and Oystercatcher here, as well as Common Sandpiper. Later, looking out of the window of the Lounge bar, we saw another Osprey fly past. The place was heaving with them!

1st May 2001

Up at the crack of dawn to join one of the RSPB's Capercaillie watches. Meeting at 5.30am in the visitor centre, we had excellent views on the closed circuit television of a male displaying some 500m away. We had no chance of seeing this bird in the flesh, not only because of it's location, but because of the heavy mist which cut visibility down to a matter of a few metres. Things didn't bode well for our chances of a sighting. Capercaillie have been seen from the visitor centre even in the middle of the day, but sightings had become more infrequent as the vegetation began to grow up. The RSPB have a forward observation hide about 100 metres from the visitor centre which overlooks a distant area where Capercaillies are frequently seen. The plan was that if one was seen there, we would be taken down in small groups to look. By about 6.45am there were about 30 people in the visitor centre, and so numbered tickets were given out (first come, first serve) so that a fair order of viewing could be arranged. Shortly after the word came through that a male was sitting in a willow tree giving good views. Richie and I were in the second group down. A 'scope was already set up on the bird, to allow a rapid throughput of people and to minimise noise and disturbance. Looking through the scope we saw, just as described, a male Capercaillie sitting in a small birch tree a few hundred metres away. Although distant, it was unmistakable, its size, structure and markings plain for all to see.

Okay, it would have been nice to have had a longer look, and some people may turn their noses up at the regimented way in which the RSPB organises viewing in this way. But the fact remains that many people, who may not otherwise have had the chance due to infirmity or disability or lack of time/money, have seen a Capercaillie on its breeding grounds, without causing any disturbance to it or its habitat. The RSPB are raising the profile of this species at Loch Garten, now that Ospreys are lower on the list of conservation priorities.

After breakfast (porridge, full English/Scottish, toast and tea) we headed off on a quest for more grouse species. The previous day we had spoken to the area warden ant Loch Garten who had persuaded us not to attempt going up to the top of Cairngorm unless we wanted a ride back in a big yellow helicopter or a body bag. He told us that Ptarmigan had been seen around the Lecht ski area, and so we decided to head in that direction. During our chat he had also said that Crossbills of all descriptions were very thin on the ground this year. The RSPB had a researcher looking for nests and he had only found 2 and only seen another 6 individuals all spring. So we resigned ourselves to the fact that we weren't going to get them, and to devote our time to other things.

On the way to Lecht we stopped off at a few interesting looking spots and picked up Tree Pipit, Raven, Wheatear and Ring Ouzel. At Lecht the deserted muddy mess that were the ski runs produced 11 Red Grouse, 4 Ravens and 3 Buzzards, but no Ptarmigan. There were a great many Common Gulls, some nesting here, and also a lot of Arctic hares, many still in full white pelage. A distant flight of geese proved to be c.60 Pink-Footed heading over the mountains to the east.

From here we decided to take a fairly leisurely drive back to Loch Morlich at the base of Cairngorm. On the way we found a Red Grouse by the roadside. It was very much alive and intact, and may just have been hit by a car and stunned. I placed it over the roadside fence so that stray wheels didn't flatten it before it recovered. At Loch Morlich, after a short search, we located a Red-Throated Diver in full summer plumage, a very good looking bird, at the eastern end of the loch. There were also a number of Goldeneye and a single Red-Breasted Merganser here. The scenery was superb, with the mountains forming the backdrop to the wooded fringe of the loch. From here we drove on to the Cairngorm Ski Centre.

Construction was underway on the Funicular Railway, and so no lifts were running to higher levels. A helicopter was ferrying building materials to and from the construction site, so the car park was a noisy place to be. We accosted a birder on his way down from one of the paths around the side of the mountain and learned that Ptarmigan had been seen earlier in the Eastern Corrie, well below the snow line and a fairly straightforward walk around the mountainside. We decided to have a look. Donning stout footwear and warm clothing we began the walk which soon took us up to the lower reaches of snow. It was hard going, but our walk was enlivened by sightings of Wheatear and, best of all, very close flight views of a male Merlin.

To cut a long story short, despite grilling the surrounding area thoroughly through telescopes, we failed to discover any Ptarmigan, and reluctantly decided to call it a day. On our way back down the Merlin put on another commiseratory performance for us, which was nice of him.

2nd May 2001

Our last full day in the area. Having read an article about the Findhorn Valley in the February issue of Birdwatching we had decided to make this one of our target areas. Having found the head of the valley, sign posted by an Osprey hovering over the river at this point, we slowly drove down the narrow road as far as we could go. Wheatears, Ring Ouzels and Buzzards all put in appearances, as did Grey Wagtails and Dippers on the river, and Redstart and Green Woodpecker (a scarce bird locally) in the woods. A group of tame Red Deer by the roadside provided an interesting diversion. Unfortunately we were unable to walk from the end of the road along the footpath due to Foot and Mouth, so we parked up and waited for any raptors that might pass our way. Despite being sunny, there was a strong wind which made it quite chilly, and frequent sojourns in the car to warm up were called for. During one such period, Richie declared that we had seen nothing for too long and that he was going to find a Peregrine. Literally 30 seconds later he called me from outside and pointed up to a Peregrine flying up to the crag on the other side of the river. This is not the first time this has happened. He did the same last year with Osprey at Summer Leys. There is something unnatural about Mr Bedford, and it's not just limited to birds.

After about an hour we decided to pack up and make for Farr on a single track road across high moor. Red Grouse and Wheatear were numerous, and we stopped a couple of times at likely looking places to scan the skies for raptors. At one place we were both looking in the same direction when I happened to glance round. I was greeted by an unforgettable sight. Low across the road, some 100 metres away a very large raptor with a white rump was flying - an immature Golden Eagle! Richie was onto it quickly and we enjoyed excellent albeit brief views as the bird wheeled out of site beyond a nearby hill. A phenomenal moment.

After this excitement we headed on to Loch Ruthven. The reserve was closed (F&M) but scanning from the road we found a summer plumaged Slavonian Grebe swimming around on the loch, and a Hooded Crow in a nearby field. We then retraced our steps across the moor and back up the Findhorn Valley to head north-east to Lochindorb, where we had heard there were Black-Throated Divers. The wind was still strong, but the light was excellent, and shortly after arriving at Lochindorb we were watching a Black-Throated Diver swimming quite close into the shore on choppy waters. In full summer plumage, this must be one of the cleanest looking birds we have, albeit monochrome. So ended another fantastic days birding.

3rd May 2001

With time to kill before our flight home, we were able to take a fairly leisurely route back to Glasgow. We popped into the Insh Marshes viewpoint (rest of the reserve closed due to F&M) and although we didn't see anything new we were impressed by the extent of the marshes and wondered just what was down there (a pair Bluethroats bred a number of years ago). We made our way to Aviemore where a flock of Waxwings had been present for a number of weeks. We picked up Collared Dove and Bullfinch here whilst wandering around looking for Waxwings. Eventually we spotted a lady on the way out of the supermarket with a pair of Swarovski bin's around her neck who was able to direct us to the birds. One of the residents had been putting apples on their bushes to attract the Waxwings, and it was around this front garden that we saw 10 birds and got fantastic views down to 2 or 3 metres in bright sunshine. A fitting end to a fantastic few days!

The drive back was fairly uneventful. There were many road casualty Arctic Hares and a possible Scottish Wildcat on the way back through the mountains. Our total for the trip was some 73 species, a good number with high quality. In a future trip we would like to get up into the mountains for Ptarmigan, Dotterel and possibly Purple Sandpiper and Snow Bunting and maybe even a friendly passing Snowy Owl. All in all it was an excellent trip which we will remember for a long time to come