Friday, January 29, 2021
After a night of strong winds it was a relief to wake up to a calm day of blue sky and sunshine, and we decided on the Ullapool Hill route for our walk. It was only about 3℃ when we set out, and the path was icy in many places - so the going was slow.
We stopped for a breather somewhere above the upper quarry, and scanning the ridge to the north with the bins I spotted what I thought might just be a bird-shaped rock, sticking up against the snowy backdrop of Cul Mor. But it turned out to be an eagle. I think it's a golden eagle, although at that distance I couldn't be sure (Greger's just measured it on the map and the eagle was 1.4 kilometres away).
The only other birds seen on/from the hill were a buzzard and a blue tit, although there was a flock of tits and siskins at the bottom of the quarry road - where, on our last walk, we saw a treecreeper.
At home there was a small tragedy in the garden - a female siskin with feathers so fluffed up she looked bloated, and sitting on the ground below the feeders with her head tucked back. I looked on the RSPB site and learnt that it could be either salmonella or trichomonosis. Either way, the bird will die. We've moved our feeders around on the lawn and I've kept them reasonably clean, but maybe not enough. We'll stop feeding for a while, and I don't think I'll bother with the Big Garden Birdwatch count this year.
