Christine's walking & birds blog

Back to the wind and the rain today - but yesterday gave some respite. There was blue sky between broken white clouds. There was sunshine. And up on the high moors there was snow.

A couple of great tits were among the birches, and a hooded crow darted about up on the ridge. This female was the only bullfinch seen, but quiet, plaintive calls issuing from the trees around confirmed she wasn't alone. A wren alarm-called from cover.

Two black grouse rose from the heather up the slope, one going down again almost at once and the other flying across the track and disappearing below us behind a tangle of young pines and birches.

For a change, and because we badly needed exercise, we went through the second gate where we usually turn back and on to the small power station; a female stonechat was foraging a little way down the bank above the loch.

On the walk back we spotted a male stonechat. There were quite a few people around by now, most of them just wandering along the dam and taking pictures with their smartphones. Ben Wyvis was solid white, but most of the time it remained hidden by cloud. We drove back along the loch and had coffee and mince pies in the big lay-by. There was no sign of whoopers (a few days ago there had been six here) nor of snow buntings; but high above a distant ridge, a speck just visible with the naked eye resolved through optics into a golden eagle. A cold wind was now getting up. It was time to go home.

We stayed in yesterday, cooking and eating our Christmas dinner. This was no hardship as the weather was pretty awful, but today we felt like getting out. Greger suggested Loch Glascarnoch but I'd seen reports on local social media about flooding on the road between Leckmelm and Braemore, so we decided against it. A trip to Ardmair brought nothing special, but back in the village I spotted a common scoter in the harbour.

Greger tried to shield me from the wind while raindrops spattered the camera lens - and as the rain came down even harder we gave up and came home. The ferry made it over this morning from Stornoway and is due to return at 6.30 this evening - with the warning that the sailing may, thanks to the weather, be subject to delay or even cancellation. If that happens, let's hope that all the islanders going home for Christmas are already there!

There was another hard frost overnight. Unable to sleep in the early hours, I unlocked the back door and stepped outside for a few minutes; there were no northern lights, but low in the south-west was Sirius - appearing to sparkle pink and blue through the binoculars like a decoration on a faraway Christmas tree. It was freezing cold and I soon went back inside!

I drove to Ardmair but once again I'd missed high tide. Near the gulls on the spit were a couple of turnstones, a couple of ringed plover, and a redshank.

A rock pipit foraged at the edge of the waves and a pied wagtail flew over the camp-site.

A cold bright day called us out to Loch Glascarnoch, where we had a 5 km walk during which we both experienced hip pain - Greger, worse than me. Oh dear. Never mind, soldier on. There was snow on the surrounding hills but it was dry underfoot, with thick ice on the few puddles that remained - although a vehicle driving along the track earlier had shattered most of it.

A sudden swift drumming of wings between us and the loch - into the dazzling sun - had us confused for a moment, then Greger pointed out two birds flying towards the plantation on the hillside. He thought they were black grouse. On the way back we flushed them again, and I grabbed a shot of one as they appeared to return to their original location.

Might as well start the new month with some rubbish pics - here's another one.

That's probably a male kestrel on the skyline. A raven was flying around an established nest site, a stonechat was spotted at some distance, and a pair of mallards were dabbling near the dam. And that, bird-wise, was it!