Scotland Sabbatical - June 2018

After braving the 10-hour marathon drive up to Loch Garten, I arrived in time for an induction at the centre and saw EJ for the first time, perched up next to the nest. I’d already seen an osprey en route but it was nice to see her through the scopes, and I managed a decent Digi scope shot.  Unfortunately, the eggs have failed this year. Useless George, the young inexperienced male hadn’t fed her whilst she was on the nest and after a week of not eating she had to come off to fend for herself.  

After fish and chips in the Happy Haggis in Aviemore I settled into the no. 2 Chalet with Pete and Vic. In the morning, I headed out to Lochindorb, and stopped nearby to look at the common gulls on the moor with their chicks. 

It was nice to see the common gull living up to its name in Scotland. A couple of weasels were also lurking in the area and I took some snaps of them as they ran up and down the road.  No doubt they were taking advantage of the young chicks in the area, both grouse and perhaps gull. 

As I crested the hill I could see Lochindorb and the castle in the middle of the loch. I pulled over to get some pics and immediately saw a common sandpiper on the shoreline, followed by a red legged partridge which I wasn’t expecting. I couldn’t see any divers so I headed along the loch in the car and used the car as a hide several times, taking pictures of grouse and lapwing chicks. 

Near the Lodge, I pulled up and there were some other birders already on the black-throated divers. I quickly got my scope out and got some long-ranged views of them across the loch, with two young. It was great to see my first summer plumaged divers, albeit it at a distance with a surprising amount of heat haze for how much the temperature had come down on the day before.  

I continued along the fencing of the Lodge and took a photo of a red squirrel through a chain link fence which came out quite nicely. On my return, I got a good few pictures of a sandpiper which I took from the car with the window wound down.  

Before work I headed down and did the Two Loch Cicular walk at Loch Garten on the lookout for the crested tit. I saw goldeneye, tree pipit, spotted flycatcher, loads of chaffinch and siskin, and crossbill, but no cresties.  

After work, I headed to a known location for Slavonian grebe, and was rewarded with some great pictures.

I headed back up to Lochindorb, but the divers weren’t in sight and there was no sign of the nearby Red throats which I’d been tipped off about. I did however see a peregrine en route.

  

On the third day, I got lucky on the way into work as I pulled into a layby near the centre and after initially hearing and seeing goldcrest and a coal pipit, I clocked two crested tits, though I wasn’t able to get a good picture.  

 I headed off to Findhorn valley after work on the lookout for golden eagles. I had a couple of false starts, but didn’t get lucky, though more buzzards, a peregrine and a kestrel were present, along with the constant companions in the form of lapwings, oystercatcher and curlew.  

The next day was my day off, and I headed up Cairngorm after a quick stop at Loch Morlich for red throated diver, though still none to be seen. On the way up I had amazing views of ring ouzel and even found a nest. They seemed very tame in comparison to the ones I’ve seen in Wales, and the male was even confiding enough to enter its nest with me present. 

At the top the wind was blowing and I got lucky with a male and female snow bunting, though at separate times and they didn’t appear to be closely associating, though they were in roughly the same area.  

I headed off to look for dotterel, but didn’t get any luck, though I then came across a female ptarmigan with chicks, and later a male ptarmigan from a distance. I came down sharpish as the weather started turning for the worse.  

Storm Hector put a dampener on birding on the Thursday, but on the Friday evening I went to see some badgers in a local hide.  

Anti-Climax Feb 18

Forest of Dean Triple dipper.

Wern Ddu buzzard.

Travel birding pt 2 - New York

On our first morning in New York, with a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel in hand for breakfast we headed up to Central Park, and there was good birding to be had everywhere I looked. Eating the first half of my bagel I clocked an American Robin, and was on to a coopers hawk perched up in a tree shortly after that, as I was alerted to what I thought were bird of prey cries. The noises turned out to be blue jays, which call relentlessly from everywhere in the park, but on that occasion it helped me to spot the Coopers, and give me a better insight into the differences with sharp shinned. I had my shots of the confusion species confirmed on an American birding forum, but they can be quite difficult sometimes judging from the discussions and photos online.  

Nearby, Jess clocked a male and female cardinal in the tree whilst Iooked at a pintail on the frozen pond.

I picked up an amazing male yellow-bellied sapsucker up in a tree at the Bethesda Terrace, and when I turned back to see him after photographing a nearby white-throated sparrow he had come down the tree giving amazing views.

Shortly after arriving at the rambles we came across an area by the pond where people had put down seed, and we saw a white-breasted nuthatch, and I also got a glimpse of a different woodpecker before it flew on. Unfortunately that was the last sighting of the woodie, so I was unable to tell which species it was, but I think it might well have been a red-bellied. I also saw American goldfinch, and at the Evodia Field feeders added tufted titmouse and a common grackle. Up at the reservoir I had wood ducks pointed out, and saw more hooded mergansers and buffleheads, though both were sleeping. I clocked a brown creeper, and also a perched red-tailed hawk which allowed some amazing close views. 

On the last day we took another trip up to Central Park, and I also added hermit thrush which gave amazing views, and managed some better shots of the blue jay and common grackle.   

Travel birding pt 1 - Iceland and Canada

Sunday 28th January saw us set-off on a brilliant travel holiday, taking in Iceland, Niagara Falls, and New York. Iceland was absolutely fantastic in terms of an experience and for scenery and waterfalls, but fairly light on the avian front, not that I was actively birding per say, but more taking advantage of the trip to see what incidentals I could pick up. The Iceland bird list pretty much went as follows – ptarmigan (from bus), whooper (Reykjavik), tufted duck, teal, greylag, snow bunting (Vik and Blue Lagoon), starling, house sparrow, peregrine (at Thingvellir - don’t think it was a gyrfalcon) fulmar, various gulls, redwing, and that seemed about it. I did also get a glimpse of some distant ducks from the tour bus which I would have loved to have double checked for harlequin or barrow’s if we were able to stop.    

We arrived into Toronto and shuttled to Niagara Falls where, after a long 30 hour day on Jess’ 30th, I plucked up some courage and proposed.  

When I woke up the next day I took in the Falls view from the hotel window. I could see lots of gulls in the swirl of the falls, and clocked a big bird of prey out over the water, which I’ve identified as being a red-tailed hawk from pictures. A walk up to Dufferin Islands revealed lots of mergansers, canvasback, as well as others like scaup, goldeneye, hooded merganser, bufflehead, ring-necked duck, and ring-billed gull (plenty of rings going on). 

 I also got great views of black-capped chickadee and an incredibly tame downy woodpecker. 

The next day I caught up with several dark-eyed junco in the same area as the downy, and a cardinal. It was freezing today, down to minus 10! The river was freezing over before our eyes, and as such it closed up a lot of the areas in which the waterfowl had been previously.  

Dufferin Islands were frozen over and didn’t reveal as many birds as I had hoped but also added American Black Duck for me, and we saw a sharp-shinned hawk on the way back down.