Christine's walking & birds blog

It was strange to be in bustling Inverness and to look at Ben Wyvis across the river and know that up there on the airy heights are ptarmigan and dotterel.....


We ate lunch outside at Johnny Foxes and although it was a mite windy, it was a warm wind. Has summer really arrived at last in the Highlands? Swifts were a nice sight as they're scarce on the west coast.

We walked upstream away from the city centre. A dipper was making use of a fallen tree in dappled sunlight near the first bridge onto the islands.


This is a very pleasant walk under stately conifers and mixed deciduous trees. We crossed via the islands and suspension bridges and walked back along the other bank; this is more open, with grassy banks and small shingle spits.

Driving away from Inverness later I spotted an osprey from the Kessock Bridge; and as we got out of the car at home we saw, oddly enough, two swifts winging away over the roof-tops.