A tour of the Moray coast taking in the stretch from Spey Bay to Burghead gave a good selection of birds with Purple Sandpipers, Red Throated Divers, Long Tailed Ducks and Common Scoters being the highlights, a call at Loch Spynie never disappoints with a wide range of birds being added to our list. Returning to the hotel I presented a talk about travels in a truly unique country – Costa Rica.
They say lightening doesn’t strike twice but it certainly did on this trip, whilst checking out a viewpoint at Findhorn bay a car was parked on the banktop with a gent looking through his scope over the bay. His remark that he was looking for a late season Osprey in his soft dulcet Hampshire tones made me realise this was Roy Dennis a conservation champion and a pioneer of specie re-introduction. I considered it an honour to have met him and questioned why that knighthood had not found him yet, being a very unassuming man, I don’t think he would be bothered in the slightest.
Up early the next morning, breakfast and away down to Perthshire to Argaty rewilding project to see the Red Kites, with feeding time at 2pm albeit a minimal feed of offal it certainly brought the birds in with E7 a local bird of some 16 years of age being the star of the show. Odd crows and a couple of Buzzards joined the fray whilst Tree Sparrows and Yellowhammers continued at the seed feeders nearby. A big shout out to Ollie who had only recently joined the Argaty team and was most helpful with our group, Thanks.
