Ready to go
First view of the Highlands
Findhorn Valley
Stag with hinds
It's always been a long term goal to visit the Scottish Highlands so when Alan Davies from The Biggest Twitch announced they were running an Autumn trip I jumped at the opportunity. The Highlands offer a wealth of birds and wildlife not available anywhere else and Alan's expertise would be a perfect opportunity to maximise the visit to its true potential.
I met up with the mini bus in Frodsham on the M56 at 7am (after a 2 hour drive from Worcestershire) we then drove the six hours up to our accommodation the Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey. We made a couple of short stops along the way to stretch the legs and have some lunch. Alan's wife, Ruth, found us a superb place for lunch used by many locals and walkers on the edge of the Highlands. Tasty lunches and cakes proved a constant theme throughout the break, no doubt I will pay for this at the gym now back at home.
We picked up a distant Golden Eagle on the edge of the A9 however by the time we had set up our scopes the bird disappeared into the distance.
After dropping off the luggage we met with the rest of the party of eight and set sail for our first visit to the Findhorn Valley famed for its breeding Golden Eagles. On this occasion though we were out of luck and had to settle for a number of Buzzards, Peregrine, Kestrel, Ravens and Siskin.
The highlight of the session was the roar of the Red Deer Stags which could be heard all round the valley as they looked after their hinds.
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