Sunday, January 11, 2015
Back in October, crossbills and bramblings were seen at the start of our Ben Wyvis walk, so we came here this morning to see if any were still around. I'm not sure I entirely approve of information boards ("spoiler" boards) at the base of mountains; but the area is a nature reserve and there are habitats (woolly hair moss) and species (dotterel in summer) to be protected, so I suppose it makes sense. (Greger read this and mildly protested, as he quite likes the boards, particularly the upright ones. OK.)
We walked a short way up the rocky path but saw no birds. A fallen pine blocked the way at one point - just one of many victims of the recent strong winds.
Two RAF Mountain Rescue Toyotas were the only other vehicles in the car park, and on the way back we were overtaken by a file of cheerful young men who had probably been up the hill on a training exercise.
We drove back to Glascarnoch Dam and had lunch in the car.
There were five snow buntings on the dam today.
There was a bit of robin-like tail-cocking going on, but I don't know what that means - if anything. Wet snow was now falling hard, but it was slightly warmer today and we drove home through rain to do a couple of hours' work before dinner. The only other birds we saw were five hooded crows on the high moorland and a buzzard on a road-side post.
// posted by Christine @ 10:23 AM 
