Christine's walking & birds blog

I wanted to get up a very small hill with a trig point on the top, which seemed accessible from the track where we saw the waxwings. But nothing's ever easy - nothing is as straightforward as it looks on the map; and as we walked the track towards Benmore Forest, steep slopes, very rough ground, and numerous barbed-wire fences kept putting us off, so that in the end we just continued walking out to Loch Ailsh. It was a new walk, anyway.

The loch held two whooper swans, a male and female goldeneye, and a pair of goosanders - all fairly distant. The River Oykel flows into and out of the loch, and we sat on a bench on the riverbank to eat our lunch. The bench carried the number 4, corresponding probably to the number of that particular stretch of the river for fishing purposes and known as a beat.

Just before we reached the car, a crossbill started singing in the conifers and then four birds flew out and across the road to plantations beyond. As for the hill - we decided to come back in a drier period and bash straight up from the A837 - it would be just as rough, but a lot shorter.

Today, three bramblings were with at least 17 chaffinches waiting for dropped seeds below the feeders.

Greger had never been "over the other side", so we drove south and took the bridge across the River Broom, passing between two ranks of mature trees (maples?) and turning back north for about a kilometre to park at Clachan. We walked across the saltings and a short way up the single-track road. A kingfisher has been reported here several times recently, so we looked out for it. In my perverse way, I would have enjoyed seeing it but I don't mind that we didn't, as I can still find my own first Scottish kingfisher.

As we drove away a sparrowhawk shot across the road in front of us and alighted on a distant post.

 
Back at home two bramblings were again in the garden under the feeders.


The individual by the pole has facial markings round the eye that give it the rather anxious, peevish expression of a puffin; and when it's tilting its head to look up at the feeders, you can imagine it saying "Pleeease send some seed down here for me!" I've seen one of them on the peanuts for a brief time, but otherwise they feed on the ground.

A day spent indoors was cheered by two (possibly three) bramblings feeding with the other finches in the garden. (The misty appearance of the pictures reminds me that I must clean the window.)



Yesterday it was also cold but blue skies and sunshine lured me out. I snapped the stonechat at Brae of Achnahaird through the car window, while waiting in a passing place for a car leaving the beach car park.


Way over on the far side of the bay, a long-tailed duck was associating with two black guillemots.


At least four great northerns were present, and a shag surfaced quite close to where I was eating my lunch on the rocks and gave me a startled look. Must have decided I was harmless, as it carried on diving there.

After doing some shopping in Inverness, we drove to North Kessock and parked under the bridge for a walk along the side of the Moray Firth. A drake goldeneye was one of very few birds on offer.


Still, I'd rather it be quiet on the water than see the hundreds of auks that were here last January; many died, and the storm-blown circumstances of their arrival took the gloss off my first sightings of little auks.

Yesterday we paid our first visit to Achmelvich Bay with its gorgeous white sand and turquoise water. There's a caravan park here, and in summer it gets pretty busy; but today we had it almost to ourselves.


You walk up onto the dunes and gain access to the cliffs here, crossing the fence with the aid of that rare thing - a perfect stile.


Two well-spaced steps (not too far apart), and a tall sturdy post to steady you as you go over. Okay, this is a lowish fence, but the principle could still be followed for higher fences by simply adding more steps and a longer post.

When we'd driven back along the very narrow lane to the main(ish) road, we found that that road had just been closed for roadworks, so we couldn't turn right to get back to the A835 - the way we'd come. This meant a fairly lengthy diversion - but I didn't mind when I spotted two dark-headed geese with greylags on Loch an Aigeil near Stoer. Probably pink-foots.


Is the greylag on the right making sure he gets in the picture?

Rounding a bend we came upon more roadworks, and were startled to see a digger perched on top of a cone of rubble. We were even more surprised as we drew level and realised that a second, identical digger was standing next to it.


How did they do that?!

We took the scenic route to Tesco, along the river paths and out around the spit. The river was running fast and high - and had been higher, judging by the flattened grass on the banks and the waterlogged appearance of the island vegetation below the boardwalk.

Oystercatcher, turnstone, ringed plover, and curlew were on the shingle spits; and black guillemots and a great northern diver were far out in the middle of the loch. Having shopped, we wandered down to the harbour and found two large gulls on the roof - evidently not on speaking terms.


I think the great black-backed is a 3rd winter bird, and the glaucous possibly a 2nd winter. But just as I start to study gull plumages (something I never thought I would do!), I learn that there is such a thing as a glaucous/herring gull hybrid. And elsewhere in the Highlands, just as I get to grips with Iceland gulls, there is a Kumlien's gull floating about. It never ends.

With regard to my muddle over how many white-wingers I was seeing the other day - apparently there were two glaucs in Ullapool, in addition to three Icelands at Ardmair. So maybe I did see two of each!  

We had planned a walk along the dam wall, but even with the Toyota in 4-wheel drive mode, the snow was just too deep to pull into the lay-by - and we'd forgotten to bring a shovel. We drove on and saw a dozen red deer close to the road, seeming intent on crossing; so I walked back to get a couple of pictures. Most of them had jumped the barrier and were making their way up the hillside.


A lingerer crossed the road just in front of a car - the driver had seen it, however, and slowed down.


We gave up on the dam and went for a forest walk. A kite was loitering near the Ben Wyvis car park, probably on the scrounge for whatever people might throw away on this lovely day - and, it being a Saturday, the car park was full.


Greger took the snow-scene on his mobile.


Two crossbills were a nice find.

High on West Terrace, I watched the hail-storm sweep in from the sea and blot out the loch, so I drove to the harbour - because on just such a day as this, in January 2015, I looked across the road to the harbour from a sheltering doorway and saw, through the driving sleet, my first ivory gull.

Today, however, I had to be content with a glaucous and an Iceland gull. Not that I'm complaining; I still find these white-wingers exciting - and today things seemed more exciting than usual when I thought there were two of each. But I think I just kept seeing the same two - sometimes separately, sometimes together.


Nineteen redwings (newly arrived?) were on the sports field, and as we watched them, two birds flew over which looked like small geese. In the afternoon I drove to Ardmair to see if they'd ended up there, but they hadn't. A pair of stonechats hunting along the fence in a burst of sunshine provided compensation.


One brambling was in the garden; a couple of days ago there were three.

It had just begun to rain when I spotted a sea eagle flying away from us. We lost it over by the road, where a bunch of greylags flew off in panic, and then picked it up in the distance being pursued by a raven.


Later I got a better view of what was possibly the same bird.


The tail doesn't appear pure white, but I think it's too white to be one of the juveniles hatched last year; and the bill is clearly yellow, so this is probably an adult bird.

The dead dolphin was on the beach at Badentarbat. As we pulled in, a bunch of gulls (including a great black-backed) rose reluctantly from their feasting on the carcase.



Seeing a raptor gliding away from us over the moorland, I felt it looked rather long-winged for a buzzard. The picture shows some interesting features, but I'm not seriously claiming it's a rough-legged buzzard. After all, there are often common buzzards mooching about here.


I got better views today of a golden eagle, although the light was still abysmal and the bird was still very distant.



A cormorant was on one of the freshwater lochs.


Also seen: a dozen curlews, a stonechat, and a far-off but welcome gannet.    

A free day didn't coincide with good weather, but by the time I drove into the car park at Achnahaird the rain had stopped although it remained grey and dull. The beach yielded only gulls - a great black-backed and over 50 common gulls.

Two great northern divers were feeding in the bay - perhaps beginning to show signs of breeding plumage.


Just before diving they draw their heads back....


Driving back through the Coigach area I spotted a golden eagle over a faraway ridge. It was mid-afternoon by now, and beginning to spit with rain once more. That's my excuse anyway.


The eagle disappeared but a pair of ravens started to circle above, seeming uneasy about something. Then I spotted the peregrine - so I'll post the picture because I've had hardly any sightings of this falcon since moving to the Highlands.


My plan to stop off at Ardmair on the way back was scuppered when I gave a lift to two boys who'd missed the bus and just been dropped off by someone turning off onto the Achiltibuie road.  So in the end I just drove round by West Terrace to see what I could see - and what I saw was a glaucous gull cruising over.


It went down on the river spit among black-headed gulls; I was too tired to walk out there, despite the extra allure of purple sandpipers that had been reported recently - being content to snap it from a distance.


I still failed to find waxwings for the year, so it looks as though I've missed the boat. Can't complain, though; and as the waxwings move south, I hope birders all through the country get as good views as we've had this winter.

The dead pine was a long way up the hill, but this was an interesting way to see my first bullfinches of the year.


Despite the lack of birds, we enjoyed our shortish walk on this cold, bright day. And on the way home, there were more distant birds. Five white blobs on Loch Glascarnoch, just beyond the old road, raised their heads from feeding now and then (though never all at the same time!) to show that they were whooper swans.

A brambling was in the garden this morning.


I didn't go out until 2 pm, and that's really too late on these short winter days. And even then I spent too much time looking (unsuccessfully) for waxwings before driving round to the harbour in hopes of a glaucous. I didn't see one, but an Iceland gull was ample compensation as I haven't had nearly as many sightings of these.


It was quite distant and about to disappear round the end of the quay, so I walked out to find it and realised it was making its way towards me at the foot of the wall.


It eyed me a couple of times, wondering perhaps if I had anything to eat - but I hadn't, so it flew off and landed on the water a bit further off. The camera was now warning for too little light and I was fairly cold, so I gave up and went home.

Making a start on my birding for 2017 yesterday, I "went green" and just walked round the village rather than driving anywhere. From the edge of the golf course I saw turnstones and a rock pipit.


There were at least a dozen shags out on the loch; and this is one of two black guillemots with patchy plumage.


Two otters were playing or fighting in the shallow water near the beach, and a merganser flying past with a goosander challenged my panning skills, which are non-existent.


A dozen twite were still on the scrubby area near the bonfire, some with deliciously "curried" heads.


I was too tired to walk right round via the camp-site spit, so I headed for home - where the brambling had learned how to perch on the tray and wait for bits of food to drop from the madhouse above.


This dull weather does nothing for the brambling's plumage; brighter light is needed to bring out the contrast between the crisp orange and white of the underparts. Snapping through the window doesn't help, either.