Whistle-stop Highland tour with White-winged Scoter

White-winged Black Scoter - File image

Phone-scoped image (Cliff Smith)

A view of many thousand ducks

Real Scotland

Findhorn Valley

Crested Tit

Crested Tit in moult

Whiskey time

Mountain Hare

Not bad hand held

View from the top of Glenshee

Fancy a ride

Red Squirrel

No blog for a few weeks as there is only so times you can write about Green & Common Sandpipers. on top of this I've has large project finishing involving me working all the previous weekend. 

This weekend however was very different as I took up the chance to team up with the Captain for a weekend of birding north of the birder. The plan would be to try and find the White-winged Scoter for a day then move into the Highlands whether we had seen the Scoter or not.

Leaving home at 3am we landed just before midday with the weather looking stunning & sea flat we were hopeful rather than confident. We came across another five birders who has been looking since first light with no avail. What we under estimated was quite the huge amount of ducks that would be in the bay. There were thousands & thousands of Common Scoter, Eider & Velvet Scoter & the bonus of two Surf Scoter. The views were just fantastic but there were so many to search through. It was painstaking but we stuck to our task well. We took a break around 4pm as we were hit horizontal rain giving us a real Scottish drenching. After a quick break we took up our positions again teaming up with three London based birders. One of those birders had a brilliant x100 telescope which he used to great effect to find the American Scoter, then kindly giving us all a view before we located it ourselves. The crescent eye was the most distinct feature & the extra knob on the beak the other. The bird showed well twice for about 4/5 minutes each time. The relief was ecstatic. Our twitter tips from Cliff & Steve were right in terms of approximate line & how it associated with Velvets rather than the Commons. Red-throated Diver was added to the day list along with a passing dark morph Arctic Skua & Bronxie.  

Next morning we headed east into I what deem the real Highlands, rolling hills and amazing views. Our targets of the day were agreed to be Crested Tit & Golden Eagle. Some close up views of Red Grouse (Raven & Red Kite over) broke up the journey until we reached a spot the Captain had seen Goldies on previous visits. Just as we were munching our mid morning stack I picked a White-tailed Eagle flying east, spitting crumbs everywhere we got great scope views & then the bird past again going the direction it started from about twenty minutes later. No Goldies so we headed towards Nethy Bridge. 

At a quiet corner of the forest I picked up a single Crested Tit, buoyed we held our position and waited & with some patience two Crested Tit going through mouth landed very close by allowing us to see the birds at close quarters. Now this was going well, time for Findhorn Valley. We picked up some lunch on route & set up at our favoured spot. It's a place sometimes you are scratching your head with nothing happening which nothing did bar a couple of routine Buzzards. As I was watching a pair of Oystercatchers on the river the Captain picked up a pair of Golden Eagles above one of the ridges circling high on the thermals. To find this pair within a hour was very satisfying giving us change to add an extra site to the day. To get there we took the famous Farr road, very few passing places & single track for seven miles. Once over the road we were quickly parked at Loch Ruthven where we added Slavonian Grebe to our trip list. A great finish to an epic day. 

A wonderful meal was served by the team at Grant Arms Hotel including Haggis which was followed by a number of the local whiskeys.

With a big journey home a tight schedule would be needed so we were out before breakfast where we accidentally flushed a roosting Capercaille whilst watching two Spotted Flycatchers & the cheeky Red Squirels. Not bad before breakfast.

Our route back would take in Glenshee where do took the ski lift to try & find any Ptarmigan. However a local shoot had taken place on Saturday & the birds had moved to a different location. We had to satisfy ourselves with some Mountain Hares which was a first for myself.

A brilliant action packed three days ! Thankfully our tactics of waiting for new of the Portland Yellow Warbler paid dividends as it wasn't seen all day. 

Black Grouse & much more at World's End

I had been determined to book a couple of Fridays off work but the slow start to spring & being stacked out with projects had made it more difficult that normal. This week I was going to be sticking to the plan whatever, so arrangements were put in place to head to Wales with the Squire. The alarm was set for a staggering 3am leaving the midlands at 4am. Motorway closures either side of the part of the M6 we used ensured a smooth passage ensuring we arrived as the sun began to rise.

The bubbling noises of Black Grouse greeted us from our parking space that we were lucky to get as more birders & photographers arrived. This was the first time Paul had seen Black Grouse and we got a wonderful display in fantastic weather. With the more dominant males in the centre of the lek, the birds on the outside dared not stray into the arena for more than a few seconds before retreating quickly. There were around 30 red blooded Grouse but it was difficult to get an exact count as birds were hidden whilst a few left the lek before returning. If you ever visit yourself you need to sit quietly in your car whilst the lek is in progress and be quiet. Under no circumstances get out of your car !

After enjoying the Black Grouse for about ninety minutes the birds had departed so we headed further north to a couple of locations I had visited before. Travelling over the moor I picked up a distant raptor and after quickly parking up we jumped out where there were two Hen Harriers, a male & a ringtail. Absolutely stunning, there really can't be many better sights. At the same location we also recorded a Sparrowhawk & a distant Goshawk, quite a start to the day.

While we could hear the Red Grouse we wanted a perfect view for Paul to record his 13th lifer of the year. Suddenly Paul slammed his brakes on as he spotted a Red Grouse sitting tight in the heather. The colours of birds neck were just majestic. 

We were determined to find our first Wheatear of the year however it took until late morning when we found four on the top of Horseshoe Pass. Other sightings Chiffchaff, Snipe, Stonechat, Curlews and at our final stop we found a flock of calling Crossbills however we only managed to see the females well. 

An epic day out and we safely back home by 5pm very tired but still ready for a good weekend of birding ahead.

Inglorious12th

For those who follow my Twitter feed  @NeilDuggan80 you would have seen me supporting the great work done by Mark Avery and thousands of other to put an end to grouse shooting. I’d just finished the compelling read Inglorious by Mark Avery and I’d urge everyone to read it. It brings all the scientific data together and makes in clear why driven Grouse shooting is bad for wildlife and the environment.

Despite the public outcry Iceland will be selling Red Grouse, not quite the family shopping environment they potray on their TV advertisments. I thought this country had moved on from shooting wild birds for profit.

Here is the statement from Iceland concerning the sale of Red Grouse - 

The frozen grouse we will be selling are a branded product supplied by Kezie Foods. Below is some further information on this product. 

The grouse were shot on the grouse moors of southern Scotland and Northern England towards the end of the last shooting season. 

It is generally accepted that frozen game including grouse will remain in great condition and safe to eat for two years. The grouse going on sale in Iceland were frozen no more than ten months ago. As freezing is Nature’s pause button they will be in excellent condition. 

Game shot with lead ammunition has not been proven medically to have any adverse health effect.

The FSA’s advice is to avoid eating shot game frequently, which they define as once or more per week every week of the year. There is no documented medical advice that moderate consumption of shot game is in any way detrimental to health. 

Game is good to eat, and is a great source of low fat tender meat. 

All our grouse are processed through an EU approved game plant which has strict health controls and each batch of grouse is inspected by an FSA approved vet and can only enter the food chain once approved. 

We do not condone illegal activities and would not source from any establishment which was involved in any illegal activity 

Proper moorland management is fundamental to the rural environment. Any form of wildlife control is properly regulated. We do not source from moorlands with unethical or questionable practices. 

A managed heather programme, involving limited and rotational heather burning, is an accepted part of good moorland management to protect the rural environment. If moorland were not managed, there would be no grouse. 

Not sure who is advising this company however the advise is ill-advised espically the statement there would be no grouse on unmanaged uplands !

Will mums really want to take the risk of feeding their family lead

And please see Mark Avery's blog here.... 

http://markavery.info/blog/

Mark Avery has launched a campaign to ban driven grouse shooting - we whole heartedly support this. To find out why we need to ban out of date enviromentally damaging practice please read "Inglorios" Mark's book explaining the reasons, and there are many! 

Ptarmigan at CairnGorm - Day 3

View from the top of CairnGorn

Ptarmigan

Another cake break

Red Grouse on the Moor

On what proved to be our busiest day of the break we started by making the short journey over to Nethy Bridge where we quickly located Black and Red Grouse whilst a Lesser Redpoll flew over. The Black Grouse were quite distant but the Red Grouse could be seen within just a few yards.

During the day we started to notice an increase in thrushes including a number of Redwing and Fieldfare that had freshly arrived. 

After a quick pit stop for breakfast it was off to the Cairngorn Mountains. The scenery was magnificent throughout the journey and we passed through the Ski resort of Aviemore. As we drove up CairnGorn a helicopter appeared to fly around the summit, not quite the welcome we were hoping for. Thinking the worst we headed up the mountain to the viewpoint where another birder informed us that she could see seven Ptarmigan, good news. However upon looking ourselves there was a brilliant 83 Ptarmigan. A rare sight indeed to see this many birds in one spot. On recent visits to the site other birders had reported on seeing 1 or 2 birds, so we were very lucky. The ptarmigan is a game bird that I could best describe as a plump partridge crossed with a chicken. 

The views from the top of the mountain was brilliant and a rare treat. We all retreated inside the Ptarmigan restaurant for yet another piece of cake and a hot chocolate.

Le Tour Yorkshire

With birding opportunities I headed off to Yorkshire to take in the stunning scenery and the Tour de France. We had an awesome time watching the racing and socialising. 

With stage 2 on the other side of the moor we opted to take the four mile walk over the top. As we headed through a wooded area at the bottom of the moor I found family of Wood Warblers which made the very steep climb easier to take. When on top of the moor Red Grouse could be heard all over along with breeding Curlews. As we cleared one of the gates a dozen or more Red Grouse poked their heads above the heather before taking off. 

Other birds observed was Lapwing, Carrian Crows, Chaffich and a Kestrel. 

Biggest Twitch to Worlds End

Worlds End at dawn

 Black Grouse

  

 Worlds End

 Cuckoo

 Grey Wagtail

Nant Ffrancon

 Meadow Pipit

Wheatear

After a brilliant day with Alan Davies (The Biggest Twitch) previously I opted to take advantage of one of his trips to watch the Black Grouse lek in North Wales. 

I met Alan at 5am and we made the short journey up on to the top of the Moors. We arrived at the lek in darkness but the noise of the Grouse bubbling call was extremely loud - so loud you would estimate there were at least 30-40 birds however we counted 13 in total as the light lifted slowly. It was interesting to watch the jousting at close quarters. The dominant males in the middle of the lek appeared more interested in their own superiority and completely missed a rare appearance of a female bird on the edge of the lek. During the lek a Red Grouse and a Red-legged Partridge appeared, obviously to see what all the fuss was about. It was definitely a session of birding I will never forget, simply awesome.

As we drove to the other side of moor we saw another two Red Grouse fly across low and quickly whilst a Whinchat was calling loudly and sitting up wanting to get noticed.  Once parked up and refreshed with a Hot Chocolate (luxury birding, I know) we walked up through the moor for a higher view. At least another 15 Black Grouse could be picked out at various points whilst a great range of woodland birds were observed here and slightly further down the valley including Cuckoo, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Coal Tit, Dipper, Stonechat, Crossbill, Raven, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler and Stock Dove.

After a rather hearty full welsh breakfast (whilst watching Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Buzzard) we headed through Betws y Coed and stopped off to watch Dippers and Grey Wagtail riverside. The birds offered superb views and were just happy carrying on their daily business.

Our final stop was the beautiful old glacial valley called Nant Ffrancon. As soon as we arrived numerous Wheatears were picked up and the call of Ring Ouzel rang round the valley. We watched a male and female Ouzel on the steep banks of the valley whilst a Raven was making it very difficult for Common Buzzard. In a area of small trees a returning Garden Warbler sang his heart out in the company of the Willow Warblers.

As we headed back round in a circle we picked up around 20 Sandwich Tern feeding off the sea front at Ross, no doubt they will be heading to Cemyln Bay on Anglesey.

This rounded off a brilliant day and I'd urge anyone to look up the Biggest Twitch. Alan and Ruth know every bit of North Wales and I enjoyed the fact I could take in the stunning scenery instead of concentrating on the driving.