Scotland23w2

After spending some downtime on the beautiful Isle of Bute and then a break in Glasgow it was time to put our tour guide hats back on and return to the highlands to lead our second group. Welcoming back three previous clients and two new ones we soon all got to know one another in the pre tour evening get together and laid out the schedule for the week.

A first day spent up on the Moray coast including our inland site at Loch Spynie gave our list an early birding boost with 67 added to our list, birds of the day were a low flying Goshawk, large rafts of Common Scoter with a few Velvets in them. The Purple Sandpipers were back at various rocky outcrops adjoining the various harbour walls.

Having taken a roll call the previous evening we went out early to see the Black Grouse on their now familiar lek site, a beautiful morning as the sun rose over the local hills made the experience more special with seven males coming to the site. Later speaking to a local guide back at the hotel he said some rather idiotic photographers had tried to get nearer to the site and had been caught and duly reprimanded. Post breakfast a drive around Lochindorb yielded everything ‘Red’ with a lone deer, six squirrels and some grouse.

After coffee at the three bridges café, a leisurely drive down Strathdearn gave great views of both Eagle species and a selection of other raptors.

We finally finished up at Burghead where the east side yielded vast rafts of Eider and Common Scoters driven inshore by the storm, but the best birding of the day was in the west harbour where close views of Shag, Long Tailed Duck, Eiders, Black Gulliemots and a Slavonian grebe were enjoyed by the whole group.

It was morning off for all the guests on the Wednesday as it was to be a late night in the Marten Hide. A steady birdwatching drive took in Old Spey bridge, Loch Garten, Avielochan and Insh Marshes. With Hen Harriers at Insh being voted birds of the day by our clients.

With the wind getting up to gale force the evening hide watching was at the mercy of the weather and it seemed to spook the badgers whilst no Martens put in an appearance which was quite understandable.

The following day the weather forecast was wet and windy, so Black Isle was to be our venue, with no Otters showing at Kessock Bridge, we carried on to have a tasting session at the Black Isle Brewery with us all taking some purchases away. After a look in Cromarty harbour, we parked up at Udale bay, a warming snack and cuppa enthused our birdwatching as an avian horror played out in front of us. A Great Black Backed Gull singled out a Wigeon and proceeded to bully it into submission before drowning it and eating a large part of it before other gulls finished off the carcass. There was the usual supporting cast, a great selection of waders and waterfowl present which by now were all very wary of the killer in their midst.

Setting off back to the hotel a power line had been blown down on the A9 at Tomatin so a very long and arduous detour took place via Nairn which resulted in doubling our return journey time.

It was official we were in the grip of a named storm called Babette studying the weather the following day the Moray coast was to be our destination as it may offer some degree of shelter. Starting at Cullen a place never visited on our tours before we were all pleasantly surprised as there were over 300 Long Tailed Ducks bobbing about on the waves which were coming in at four to five metres high. There was a large and varied selection of interesting architecture as we progressed on our journey westwards. We finally finished up at Burghead where the east side yielded vast rafts of Eider and Common Scoters driven inshore by the storm, but the best birding of the day was in the west harbour where close views of Shag, Long Tailed Duck, Eiders, Black Gulliemots and a Slavonian grebe were enjoyed by the whole group. This was to prove a fitting finale as the following day was virtually a wash out as we spent time in the hide at Avielochan watching the birds come to the feeders whilst drinking a selection of warming beverages. The end of tour quiz took place in the evening with some fierce competition which eventually went to a tie break.

The final tally for this week was a creditable 105 species with Elaine and I feeling shattered after running two separate trips, having our own holiday in between and covering many, many miles. We reassessed on the way home and agreed that 30 days away from home was far too long and we would not do this again.

Greenspaces Nature Tour of Speyside and the Cairngorms

15th to 22nd October 2023.