Christine's walking & birds blog

About a week ago, the trampled ground and prints in the snow showed that deer had been visiting this molasses (?) block.


A line of tracks looking like a file of flying geese suggested that black grouse are also making use of it - but we failed to see any on our walk up to the stream.


So it was a relief today to see at least nine black grouse from the weather station lay-by. They were feeding in trees and sometimes flying between branches.


We decided against walking up through the plantations; we'd already had one walk at the dam and it seemed a shame to disturb these intently-feeding birds, especially as it was -3˚C. They were at least 300m away but the males were fairly easy to pick out even amongst the conifers, while the females stood out better against snow.

The branch the male is on below wasn't originally at that angle; a female tried to join him on it, but the branch dipped and they both nearly fell off. After much struggling to keep her balance the female gave up and tried another tree!


There were at least a dozen whooper swans still on Loch Glascarnoch, but we saw no small birds. The road had been cleared and gritted; but the Dirrie Mor does have snow-gates, at Braemore Junction and by the Aultguish Inn. It would clearly take more snow than this - and possibly blizzard conditions - to close them (I think it last happened in 2010).

Back home, we went into the bedroom to change - and I spotted a white bird flying across from the direction of the harbour. My mind raced - white winger? No, wings too rounded. Little egret then? But it was a barn owl; it flapped off to the north, looking rather odd above the roofs and chimneys. Hope it's finding food during this cold spell.

A bird was sitting on the cairn up on Cnoc Mor as we made our way back across the cliffs. Ravens are sometimes active round that top and a buzzard isn't unlikely. But by the time we'd reached the car park, it became clear that the bird was a peregrine falcon.


There was no snow at sea level out in Coigach but it was pretty cold, and shining wet patches on the sand were frozen and slippery. Our walk around the dunes and across the beach had brought nothing but a handful of meadow and rock pipits, and a great northern diver, so the peregrine was a welcome sight.

Yesterday: Under fresh snow, the stalkers' path leading towards Cul Mor invited a moorland walk on this brilliant, windless day.



Today we drove to Loch Droma and walked across the dam and along the pipeline. A buzzard was the only bird of note; and on the way back we noticed what I think must be a kind of cattle-cake meant perhaps for the deer. Not sure - but the robin and a dunnock were finding it good to eat.


Driving on to the Loch Glascarnoch lay-by we failed to spot any black grouse, but there were at least 19 whooper swans on the loch with four Canada geese; and an insistent "syoo" call alerted me to a reed bunting - my first at this site, and a first for the year.


Heading for home, we stopped to admire distant An Teallach - and spotted a golden eagle over the snowy shoulder of a nearer hill.



I lost the eagle against the hillside where it cruised over seven or eight red deer, foraging on very steep slopes.

The black guillemot was resting and preening off the camp-site spit.


A red-throated diver was again present, and a cormorant was fishing close in while several shags were further out. Before Christmas, we met Andy on this walk and he told us there were four common scoters out by the big orange buoy. We failed to see them on that occasion but today the conditions were more favourable, with better light, no wind, and a fairly calm sea; and with the bins I could just pick out two females.

It was great to spot and snap my first golden eagle of the year from the car.

Trouble was, I'd pulled into a passing place on a single-track road to do it - and wouldn't you just know it, on this fairly quiet day two cars met there at the same time and I found myself in an embarrassing situation. However, I waved and mouthed "Sorry" to both drivers - but carried on clicking away, leaving them to sort themselves out. Well, no-one hooted at me anyway.

From there, things went even more downhill. I ate lunch at Badentarbat, adding just a male merganser to my year list, then set off on the usual round trip.  I started to feel that there was something not quite right with the brakes - they stopped the car okay, but then felt spongy. I decided to call off the diversion to Achnahaird beach when a warning light came on - low brake fluid level. Blast! The car had its annual service and MOT less than two months ago, so it must have sprung a leak. I drove home slowly and carefully. My birding was over for the day but at least I got a record shot of the eagle.

Yesterday on the quayside Mister Grumpy.....


.....eventually presented his profile, so I should be able to work out whether this is a genuine glaucous gull.


Well, his legs seemed thicker than the herring gulls' legs but he didn't appear much larger overall, although it was hard to say when they were all hunched up against the cold; while the eye is certainly small, but is it the true, mean, "go-to-hell" glaucous eye? And is the head flat enough? Questions, questions. Otherwise it's a glaucous/herring gull hybrid, known (I'm not sure why) as a viking gull. Could that have something to do with rape and pillage and a bit of bigotry? - as in "bloody Scandinavians, coming over here seducing our nice herring gulls".

A great black-backed gull on the shore was scavenging from a dead fish. When it flew off I walked down for a closer look, and found the remains of what I think is a fairly large skate.


It was impossible to get close to in the slippery seaweed but I'd say it measured roughly three feet between wing-tips and probably not far off five feet in length.

Earlier at home, I'd been looking out at the bird feeders when a dark shape scythed down over the roof, skimmed the lawn, and swept up into the depths of the cypress tree. A few minutes later it flew to our neighbour's rowan, where many of the birds seek refuge when disturbed from our garden, and almost immediately it came hurtling in pursuit of a smaller bird across our garden and away. I'm fairly sure this was a sparrowhawk.

Well, thank goodness that's over. And what better way to celebrate the new year than with some really rubbish photos? I'd just started the list with 29 whooper swans this morning, when two black grouse went flying high over the plantations, heading south-east.


I took a walk a little way up the track, and soon after passing through the gate in the deer fence I flushed a male which flew off through the trees; a rather russety female stayed put for a while until she, too, flapped unhurriedly away.

Back in the village and feeling lazy, I drove along West Shore Street and sat in my car in the turning circle. Beyond the great grey slabs of rock that form the sea-defence I spotted a red-throated diver and a guillemot.


The sight of guillemots or other auks this close to land makes me uneasy; it often means they're in trouble. I got out for a few minutes and walked over to the rocks; and as I suspected, the diver and the guillemot melted away. Four drake goosanders came snorkelling round the end of the spit, became gradually aware of me, and paddled off with many a backward look.