Christine's walking & birds blog

I wanted to follow up the brief sighting of a black grouse we'd had on a hill-walk in August, but didn't get the early start I'd intended. Two cars were already in the car park, and the walkers might or might not have taken the track up through the plantation, possibly flushing the grouse if it was still around. Oh well, I thought, I'm here now, I might as well go up anyway.

It was a warm, brightish morning and I enjoyed the walk. But half an hour later the weather had closed in over the mountains and it looked as though rain was heading my way; so up beyond the stream-crossing, beyond where we'd seen the bird, I turned. Going back down I got careless, because suddenly there was a thunderous flapping from the long grass at the edge of the pines and four or five grouse lifted off and winged down the hillside and out of sight.

They were in view for just a few seconds, but I saw one definite male - glossy black with white flashes on the wings - while at least one of the others had the brown plumage of female or juvenile birds.

The only other birds around were a dozen or so redwings, and distantly from the hills came the moaning roar of stags. The red deer rut has begun.