Speyside 2

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Speyside has been well known for breeding Goldeneye for some years, using nesting boxes in most cases. This year we only came across a couple of pairs which we found close to Aviemore. We also found breeding Wigeon , a female with 4 young on a loch in the middle of an ancient forest.

Another gem in the area is Slavonian grebe, we found a few pairs back in 1979 and although two of the nesting sites had been lost due to building work we did find a pair near Boat of Garten and two pairs on another loch.

 All these photos were taken from a public footpath, and behind fishermen next to the loch.

We were told that that main area at Loch Ruthven only had a couple of pairs and most had moved into the Spey valley. Slav Grebes are lovely colours and the red eye really stands out again the black head and golden tufts.

                                                                                                       Grey Wagtail

                                                                                         Sedge Warbler

A couple of pairs of Little Grebe , pairs of Teal and lots of Mallard all nested around these lochs. The vegetation held Sedge warbler, Wren and Pied Wagtail.

                                                                                                                   Teal

                                                                                                     Goldeneye

The rivers held the usual species, Dipper , Grey and Pied Wagtail, Common Sandpiper and thousands of midges  which attracted numerous House & Sand Martin, Swallow and a few Swift

                                                                                                    Swift

                                                                                        Sand Martin

                                                                                      House Martin

                                                                                                        Swallow

                                                                       mother and Zepha the young dolphin

                                                                          Bottle nose Dolphins at Channery Point

One of the jewels of the ancient forest is the Crested Tit and I manage to find a couple of pairs in Rothiemurchus Forest very close to the main path. They only called a few times in the half and hour I watched them so they could have easily been missed. No Crossbill on this trip and this was the case for several other birders who had searched good areas

                                                                                                      Crested tit

                                                                                                              Buzzard

                                                                                                                    Gt Tit

                                                                                                              Goldfinch

                                                                                                       Pied Wagtail

                                                                                                            Dunnock

                                                                                                            Greenfinch

                                                                                                  Mistle thrush

                                                                                                             Blackbird

Speyside 1

Recently we sent a week in Speyside, just north of Aviemore. This was the first time we had visited the area since 1983 but became well acquainted with the area in the 1970's visiting several times at different times of year.

It was good to get back to Loch Garten to see the nesting Osprey. The male had already dropped a fish off about 2 hours before my arrival and normally wouldn't be back until mid afternoon. The CCTV revealed young in the nest which was good. It was also sad to hear that an Osprey had been killed when it hit a wind turbine just a few miles north.

The area was more or less the same although the Aviemore had expanded north with new housing. Coming down from Shetland the first thing you notice is the massive amount of trees of varying ages. I do like walking through the ancient Caledonian Forests of Rothiemurchus and Abernethy, there is an expectation of something unusual turning up.

                                                                                           Young Long Tailed Tit

Speyside was alive with the song of Willow warbler, which seem to be very numerous, unlike Chiffchaff which could only be found in small numbers. Siskin , a striking green and black finch was also numerous both in the forest and in gardens.

                                                                                                     Lapwing

The chance of seeing Capercaille are now remote even in favoured areas, unlike the 1970's when we saw several birds on each trip.

                                                                                                    Jackdaw

 With lots of Chaffinch, a few Redstart, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Spotted Flycatcher, Gt and Blue Tit, Cuckoo and Blackbird most of the Forests seemed very quiet.

                                                                                                            Red Deer

It also surprised me that we failed to see a Kestrel, only a handful of Buzzard , but did have three Osprey sightings away from Loch Garten RSPB nest site and one Hen Harrier,  Peregrine and one Golden Eagle north of Aviemore.

                                                                                                Young Greylag

The weather was good throughout the week but although the tops of the Cairngorms looked inviting I didn't think my legs could last the 2.5 hour walk up onto the top. The new mountain railway is an option to get up but you are only allowed out of the upper station if you go on a guided walk, which cost £20 each + cost of train, generally taking you away from the birds such as Dotterel, Ptarmigan and Snow Bunting