Monday, August 06, 2007
Scotland
As we drove up the A9, an osprey was spotted hunting over the River Tay north of Dunkeld and a second one was seen near Aviemore. But we didn't linger; our destination was Ullapool.
Ben More Coigach is a great slab of rock when seen from the south across Ardmair Bay, and seemingly unassailable for a hill-walker.
However, there are ways in (albeit long ways) from the north, and it was a bright morning when we set out to climb it from the single-track road to Achiltibuie.
The Allt Claonaidh is a rocky, tree-lined stream with a great waterfall. It looked good dipper terrain but we could only manage two great tits and a wren. Greger can just be seen at the top of the falls.
There was some level but boggy work to reach the shore of Lochan Tuath, and here it began to rain. A steep climb brought us to the broad col between the northern tops and the ridge above the sea-cliffs that would give us the view we wanted over Ardmair.
But the clouds had really closed in so we decided to leave the northern tops for another time and quickly gain the ridge. As we crossed the col we heard the piping of golden plover, and later two birds went flying above us through the murk.
We waited on the ridge for some time willing the cloud to lift - but of course it didn't; so we headed north-east, taking in the lovely little top of Speicin Coinnich before dropping back to the col and following the ridge to Beinn Tarsuinn. As we paused for a breather, five or six red grouse erupted from the wet grass and heather at our feet and winged off round the flank of the hill.
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On Wednesday, a long drive inland brought us to this Munro; Ben Klibreck. On the way, we carefully scanned the moorland near Ledmore Junction where, some years ago, we saw our first short-eared owl. Nothing today; perhaps on the way back.
Just before parking the car, we saw a ring-tail hen harrier hunting along the edge of a plantation, so I had high hopes of a hill-walking harrier tick. This was not to be; but, considering what did turn up, I'm not complaining.
It was extremely windy and the long grassy ridge was very undulating, so we tried traversing; this was a mistake as the going on the flanks was rough and wet and tiring. Frogs of assorted sizes kept hopping out of our way.
Just before we reached the top, a spell of bright weather gave us a view northwards over Loch Naver to the long profile of Ben Loyal.
We reached the trig point of Meall nan Con and sat huddled against the wind to eat lunch. The cloud came and went, giving glimpses of the bleak Sutherland moors; and in one break I saw a small brown raptor powering across the slope below - a merlin and a hill-walking tick!
We abandoned our plan to do a round walk and set off back the same way, but keeping to the crest of the ridge this time. It gave dry, easy walking. We passed at a distance a large herd of red deer.
We gained the top of the last "bump" and realised that the car was not so very far away. Yippee! As we made our way down, with Greger ahead, I looked back - and got the surprise of my life.
Sailing on the wind just behind us was a huge raptor.
Well, what can you say when you're being followed down a mountain by a golden eagle?!
The eagle banked nonchalantly away and drifted off towards Loch Shin without so much as a beat of its wings.
Driving back along the A836 in something of a daze, we had good views of a buzzard on a fence-post, caught another glimpse of the hen harrier and flushed a male merlin that had been sitting in the middle of the road. After all that, we couldn't really hope for a short-eared owl as well. And we didn't get one!
Driving back along the A836 in something of a daze, we had good views of a buzzard on a fence-post, caught another glimpse of the hen harrier and flushed a male merlin that had been sitting in the middle of the road. After all that, we couldn't really hope for a short-eared owl as well. And we didn't get one!
// posted by Christine @ 2:06 AM 
