Golden Eagles

Day 7 Findhorn Valley and the Moray Firth

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - as my old Granny used to say. So no apologies for what follows, in photographic terms they are a disaster but these images represent the best two hours birding I have enjoyed in a long time.

The Golden Eagle is probably Scotland's most iconic bird and no birding trip is complete without at least a try to locate one. Boy, were we lucky, the weather window was small, the forecast for later in the day was continuous rain. As we arrived in the Findhorn Valley it was still dry and scanning the tops we located a pair of Ravens and then a larger bird, try as we might we couldn't get a positive ID, on reflection it was probably an eagle but at the time it just wasn't right. Who sees an eagle within five minutes of arrival?

Then high on a crest a much more encouraging sign, a large raptor carrying a sizeable chunk of carrion. Yup a Golden Eagle - a long way up but a definite sighting.  Then there were two and for a couple of hours they popped up and entertained us royally. Oh that the conditions had been better, just a small amount of sunshine would have helped - but that is how it was and it just means that we shall have to return another day.

First sighting - a long way off.

Confirmed ID - first winter bird?

Then there were two!!

Upside down.

 

A very heavy crop!!!

After the excitement we journeyed down to Inverness by way of the Farr road and spent some time at Alturlie Point where a flock of nearly 40 Scaup loafed offshore. Travelling further along the coast gave very little but at last we started to see Pink-footed Geese in larger numbers.

Crested Tits

Day 5 Loch Garten, Boat of Garten and Lochindorb

With some sunshine forecast it was a day to visit Loch Garten for the Crested Tits. As always they were present and as always they were somewhat difficult to photograph. It never fails to amaze me how they can turn up and disappear again in the blink of an eye, leaving the photographer with partial shots, out of focus shots and just plain empty branches. Anyway this activity kept us occupied for the morning,though standing around in the bitter cold wasn't that much fun.

With a need to get warm we decided to try some other venues, especially as the winter sun was doing its best to light up the Highlands. Next stop was the small lochan in Boat of Garten, usually a pair of Whooper Swans reside here and this year is no exception. Two very obliging birds posed for us, not really bothered whether we stayed in the car or not. However the Mallards were a different proposition, scrambling up the bank towards the car and fighting for the bread that I threw.

 

Lochindorb is always a great drive, the Red Grouse come close and normally stay, even when you stop the car and wind down the windows. Pointing a lens at them results in a quizzical look and often a resounding scolding "Go back". Out on the loch were a pair of Goldeneye, not the usual divers.

 

As the light was still good we returned to Loch Garten for another go at the Cresties, just a few more shots to discard but I did manage some "usual suspects"

Harlequin Duck

Day 4 Seaton Park, Aberdeen and the Banff coast

In the weeks prior to our departure we had been monitoring the whereabouts of the Harlequin Duck on the River Don in Aberdeen. Sod's Law prevailed and on the Sunday before we left the duck disappeared. We had given up any chance of seeing it when, magically, it reappeared. So on the Monday morning we drove to Seaton Park in Aberdeen. The weather forecast was horrendous - a deep low tracking across Scotland's central belt - massive winds and torrential rain were on the way. We arrived early and for some reason I was filled with deep unease and melancholia - it just wasn't comfortable. Give Martin his due he remained optimistic and finally found the duck. The location was under trees and the light values so low that I look at the results and think that I must have been shooting in black and white. There are only so many poses that a bird diving in fast flowing water can make so, when the bird relocated, we packed up and made haste out of the city. Still - a pretty rare bird and a life tick.

 

With most of the day left we returned home making visits to the Ythan Estuary at Newburgh where we saw Eiders, Goosander and Greenshanks fully supported by the usual suspects. As we stood on the viewpoint the wind had reached howling proportions and the wind chill was cutting to the bone.  On the way back we visited McDuff, Banff, Buckie and finally Spey bay which provided close views of a Razorbill, Shag and a brace of Eiders, just about everything had dived for cover - although in the afternoon the sun finally came through.

At the old harbour in Seatown we located another small flock of Snow Buntings but as we returned to the car for the cameras they gave us the slip.

Snow Buntings

Day 3 Moray and Nairn Coast (cont.)

Following our success with the Twite we were keen to make progress along the coast. At Burghead we had our first disappointment - no ducks on the harbour, just a few gulls on the harbour wall and a single Shag. So we made the short journey to the beach, just around the headland, for a short sea watch. The ever present flock of Eiders were diving for crabs, half a dozen Long-tailed Ducks and a Red-throated Diver were just off shore. Cormorants and Shags were feeding and several Red-breasted Mergansers were loafing just out from the rocks. Further out Gannets were plunge diving. On shore were a Rock Pipit and a rarity, a Hooded Crow that refused the bread that I had thrown for him.

At least it was pleasant here, out of the biting winds. So we made a brew and watched the sea until we were bored. Time to move on, a quick visit to Hopeman produced nothing so we dropped into Lossiemouth. A quick scan of the harbour revealed nothing so we drove round to the East Beach and the estuary. Things were not busy here either, several Bar-tailed Godwits on the far bank, plenty of Wigeon and Gulls but nothing to get the pulse quickening. Recently flocks of Snow Buntings had been reported on the beach, up to 80 plus, where on the south coast we are used to twos and threes. Sitting in the car and scanning the sand dunes opposite we managed to locate a small flock of ten plus. So it was camera gear out and across the small wooden footbridge. When we left the sun was shining, by the time we were in the vicinity of the birds, a squall came over, the skies darkened and it rained heavily. Unfortunately not enough to prevent the sand being blown everywhere, even the Snowies appeared to be sheltering behind whatever cover they could find. Of course it eventually passed and we enjoyed ourselves stalking some charming birds.

Having been half blown away and with sand in everything we moved inland to the hide at Loch Spynie. This is another superb example of how to position a hide and feeders. The front windows provide views of the loch whilst the side windows overlook a host of feeders, all frequented by a horde of tits and even a Treecreeper. A Red Squirrel was eating so many peanuts that he was in danger of becoming stuck!

On the way home we checked out Inchbroom and Anniesland for any stopover Pink-footed Geese. Flocks of 4000 plus had been reported roosting on Findhorn Bay and I was keen to find some of them. Unfortunately the stubble fields were bare but we did find several small flocks of Whoopers. Finally on the way home we spotted a small flock of 18 PfG in with the Greylags, not the numbers I was expecting but at least a tick.

Twite

Day 3 Moray and Nairn Coast


We rose early, loaded the car and had a hearty breakfast and left for a day's birding. This was to be our modus operandi for the holiday, resulting in long but often rewarding days out. We decided to start at Nairn, the reasoning behind going to the coast was the weather was better and we were saving the sunny days for Loch Garten and Cairn Gorm.

We visited Nairn beach first, in the corner between the pier and the sea wall were Knot, Oystercatchers, Curlew  and Turnstones along with the usual gulls. Offshore, desultory ducks, no big flocks to be seen anywhere and on the pier itself a Hooded Crow, which was probably a hybrid with Carrion Crow.

Along the beach a lone walker whose dog was being harassed by five "hoodies" which showed no fear and were constantly swooping on the hapless dog.

Not an auspicious start so we moved to the other side of the river were we found a substantial roost of Redshanks, a flighty Grey Wagtail and several Oystercatchers. Now I am used to seeing plenty of Oystercatchers but during this holiday we encountered them everywhere, even spotting one on the roof of a bungalow near Forres. A fly past of 5 Whooper Swans was nice to see but I failed to get a reasonable capture.

On along the coast to Findhorn Bay where we parked at the hide. There was a police car present and it was apparent that another incident had taken place, something that is developing into a trend with our birding. As the third police car arrived I was politely asked if I would remove my scope and if it was possible for me to relocate elsewhere. Luckily we had been monitoring the Moray and Nairn website recent sightings page and we were aware of a flock of Twite on the foreshore in Findhorn Village so off we went to find them.
Parking in the village we walked just a few yards before locating a mixed flock of Linnets and Twite.

 

This one has all the hallmarks. Longer deeply cleft tail, pink on rump, bolder pale wing bar, more heavily dark streaked plumage and a dark tipped yellow bill.

There are three problems with photographing Twite - they are highly mobile, consort with Linnets causing identification confusion and they are difficult to locate in the debris of the foreshore. For comparison some Linnet shots taken at the same location.