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

Bird Survey

Well before we moved to Shetland I was involved in numerous bird surveys in Sheffield for Sorby Natural History Society, Woodhouse Wildlife Club or the BTO. These have been varied, from Breeding birds using Hedges, Farmland Bird, Waterfowl and woodland bird surveys.

When we moved to Shetland in 2014 I immediately signed up for the Shetland Beach  survey which aims to record dead birds washed ashore throughout the year. The good news is that I have recorded very few birds, one unusual one was finding a dead Blackbird.

I have been involved with the Shetland Breeding Bird Survey for two years now. For obvious reasons I am not going to reveal exactly where my two 1km squares are but the are both very different. This survey started in 2002 with a joint  venture between the Shetland Bird Club and Shetland Biological record centre.

In the 2013 breeding season 60 people took part covering a total of 87 one km squares and although these squares are not randomly generated the information can be used to determine trends in breeding numbers. People tend to stay with the recording, the gaps tend to appear when people leave Shetland. The two squares  I have taken up used to be surveyed until the recorder left Shetland.

Each square is visited twice. Once between the 20 April and 10 May , and once between the 20 May and 10 June. These take place before 9 am and in good weather( sometimes a problem in Shetland). A record of wind direction, force, visibility and start and finish times for each visit.

The same route is taken on each visit , birds are recorded within 100 m either side of the route and the appropriate BTO code is placed at the point on the map a bird is present. Signs of breeding and those that are not . Singing, displaying, alarming, territorial disputes, carrying food , nest material or fecal sack all indicate breeding and chicks seen with numbers.

Birds such as gull, Skuas, Divers, terns and those migrants that are clearly passing through are not recorded. Rare migrants do breed in Shetland, recently Red Backed Shrike, Marsh Warbler and uncommon migrants such as Linnet, Swallow and Grey Wagtail.

                                                                                                  Twite

Undertaking these survey's are very rewarding, its not all about rarities, the more common birds need to be assessed . In the last Shetland Bird Report (2013) the BBS revealed alarming declines in Redshank and Lapwing both considered by some to be common waders

                                                                                                         Raven

I have only two years worth of data to look at, but here are some of the results, the main details can be found in the bird report.

Plot 1              Pairs                 2015                 2016
Lapwing                                     1                      3
Redshank                                   1                      1
Curlew                                       2                      1
Oystercatcher                             0                     1
Skylark                                     3-4                    4
Meadow Pipit                           6-7                    2
Wheatear                                    1                     1
Blackbird                                    1                     2

Plot 2
Redshank                                    1                    0
Curlew                                        1                    1
Oystercatcher                              2                   4
Ringed Plover                             1                    0
Skylark                                       8                    6
Meadow pipit                             5-6                 4
Wheatear                                     0                  1
Blackbird                                     3                   3
Wren                                           1                   1

Of course its early days yet so nothing can be deduced from these figures. Starling and House sparrow are not included but are breeding species in each plot.

                                                      Lapwing using distraction technique to lure predator away from nest

Else where it was good to hear that young have been found in three Goshawk nests in the Derwent Valley near Sheffield, however one other nest failed due to persecution- a regular feature in the area. In Somerset , five Great White Egrets have been successful and there is hope that both Little Bittern and Night Heron may also have bred.

North winds

Recently the winds have been blowing from the north so not much chance for seeing migrants. The other day the first stop Grutness where Red Throated Diver (6) was a good number in the bay for this time of year. A flock of 30+ Common gull and 12 Razorbill made up the supporting cast.

On the pool a couple of Dunlin and several Arctic terns, some carrying fish to pass onto their mate. I didn't see any with sand eels just small fish which is not a good sign. A couple of Bonnix passed over mobbed by several gulls.

The garden was quiet with only a Willow warbler and a singing Chiffchaff. A flock of noisy Twite passed overhead as I walked onto the beach.. Two Swallow flew low over the beach collecting insects and  a flock of 18 summer plumage Sanderling scurried up and down the beach avoiding the incoming tide.

Approaching Sumburgh Gardens it didn't sound good as the gardeners began clearing the weeds and cutting the grass making the area less attractive to migrants.

At Hillwell Tufted (12) Mallard (6) Shelduck (3) Moorhen (2) around 50 terns flew over the pool, around the edge Oystercatcher (6) Curlew (3) Redshank (6) BH Gull(12) Raven (3) Greylag (6). Down at Quendale just a single Chiffchaff and Swallow.

Spiggie held Gt Skua (138) bathing , Whooper Swan (pair +6 young which is great to see as there is only around 15 pairs breeding in the whole of the UK. They did breed here last year. Tufted (34), Teal(6) Shelduck (2) Mallard (16) Red Throated Diver(4) and a number of gulls made up the rest.

At Scousborough Bay Gt Northern Diver (2), Red Throated Diver (3) Black Guillemot (6) Razorbill (8) Eider (8) Fulmar, Gt BB, LBB, Herring Gulls and many seals on the beach

On the way up to Sumburgh Farm I met a birder just back from Fair Isle that morning and on the way back he had incredible views of the Black Browed Albatross that turned up for around 5 hours. This must be the bird that has recently been seen in Germany as `Albert Ross' - the one seen at Hermaness for many years 1970- 1995 must be at least 50 years old. ( we manage to see it among Gannets in 1993)

Later on Sunday evening, news came in that an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler had been found in a garden at Scatness, just my luck as I had no chance to get down to see it.

                                                                                    Redpoll

Sorry for the late post but no internet for a week