HEATHERLEA TRIP REPORT THE TOP 20 BIRDS AND MAMMALS IN WINTER March Heatherlea Guide: Phil Knott. Sunday 8 th March

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HEATHERLEA TRIP REPORT THE TOP 20 BIRDS AND MAMMALS IN WINTER 7 14 March 2015 Heatherlea Guide: Phil Knott Heatherlea (Scotland) Ltd The Mountview Hotel, Nethy Bridge

Our targets didn t mind the weather, with Red Squirrel on the way up, and 12 Black Grouse on the moor.

1 HEATHERLEA TRIP REPORT THE TOP 20 BIRDS AND MAMMALS IN WINTER 7 14 March 2015 Heatherlea Guide: Phil Knott Heatherlea (Scotland) Ltd The Mountview Hotel, Nethy Bridge Inverness-shire PH25 3EB Tel: Fax: info@heatherlea.co.uk Sunday 8 th March We started in the snow, up behind Nethybridge. Our targets didn t mind the weather, with Red Squirrel on the way up, and 12 Black Grouse on the moor. Highlight for many though was the superb Stoat, in full white ermine that Jim found. It bounced around across the long grass, eventually getting a vole for its efforts. A Kestrel then had a swoop at it, but we couldn t see the story through as they both disappeared in the grass!

2 We returned for breakfast, before heading out to Loch Garten, where Crested Tits showed brilliantly within minutes. We then moved up to another pinewood, where another Crestie showed well. At a local pond we had commoner wildfowl plus Whooper Swans, and then we looked over another wetland, brimming with birdlife. Phil said to keep an eye out for the local Buzzards and Roy duly found them, mobbing a sub-adult White-tailed Eagle! What a sighting, and low over the Strath too. Surely we couldn t keep up this pace? Within seconds we added another Top 20 target, with a smart juvenile Iceland Gull at the road junction. It posed well for us, feeding amongst Common and Herring Gulls. Next stop was a local strath, where we quickly scoped Mountain Hare and Red Deer. Overhead were Raven, Peregrine and Buzzard, but no Eagles, the increasing wind strength was starting to have an effect on us! After an hour we headed back to civilisation, before taking the back road. There were good numbers of waders and wildfowl in, with the first Redshank of the year among Lapwings. Goose numbers were high, with Pink-footed and Greylag in large feeding groups. Our next stop was Tomvaich, where within seconds of arrival we were scoping Crossbills, feeding on the spruces. They were Common Crossbills, mostly yellow too! It was a good show. We closed the day with a circuit of a large loch, gaining excellent Red Grouse views. A great day of wildlife watching! Monday 9 th March We were prepared for it; the forecast was abysmal, with a severe weather warning in place. We started locally with a look for Capercaillie, but it was too windy by far, though nice Treecreeper and Crested Tit made the outing worthwhile. The majority of the strath was flooded, but the road was clear, save for the snow on the route. At Laggan we had a good group of 30+ Skylark overhead, it didn t feel springlike though! A coffee stop at Loch Laggan gave us Raven, before the rain and snow came again! We continued west, reaching the west coast at Fort William, where we drove down and over Loch Linnhe, crossing at the Corran Ferry. Hooded Crows and Canada Geese were our rewards, but the driving salt-laiden rain and spray made other sightings tough! We continued south, with a few gulls, feral goats and Meadow Pipits on the list. We took lunch at a sealoch, where we birded in between the downpours, recording Great Northern Diver, Black Guillemot, Red-breasted Merganser and Eider. Heading over the top gave us our best Red Deer so far. The wind and rain was now truly wild, so we needed a bit of luck as we dropped down to the sealoch. A good tide, could we manage to spot anything from the bus? Phil got a Common Seal, but that was immediately trumped by an Otter, found by Roy. We edged towards it, but kept losing it. Phil took a gamble and drove ahead of it, to be downwind and in cover. Nothing for a while, then bang! One, two and then three Otters, a mother and cubs. Not only did we see them, they fished, played and rested just 20 yards away on the seaweedy shore below, blissfully unaware of the smiling group, taking shot after shot in the wild conditions. What a stroke of luck. We could not top that, and headed straight to the hotel to warm up and get a cup of tea. At 5:30pm we then headed out again, over the hill to look for Pine Martens. A fine Red Deer stag was seen on the way. We pulled up at our watchpoint, with the trees bowing in the gales. We would need to be lucky again in these conditions. It was getting dark, and after 30 minutes we weren t optimistic. Jim spotted something though, and there it was, a female Pine Marten. She was nervous in the wind, sheltering under our bus before grabbing a sandwich and making a run for it. She didn t show again, but it was enough for us all to see her well. We headed back to the hotel, where the power was going on and off as the gale reached stormforce. The hotel did brilliantly to cope and we had a lovely meal and stayed warm and dry.

3 Tuesday 10 th March The day dawned dry and bright, with a much lighter wind. We met local guide Matt Wilson and he took us down for a scan over the loch. Jim proved to be top spotter again, finding a fine male Golden Eagle. A great start to the day, and another top 20 target. Back for breakfast, before heading down to Laudale again, where one Golden Eagle became two, and maybe three, with a superb sub-adult female overhead, showing the white markings well. Heading up the hill, we were again in luck, with a stonking adult male White-tailed Eagle drifting over the road just a few hundred yards down. Within minutes we then had a sub-adult White-tailed Eagle, alongside an adult Golden Eagle, with two Buzzards too what a raptor fest, and in such great light. Delighted with this we headed down the White Glen, seeing plenty of roadside Red Deer. On to a ferry point, where an Otter put in an appearance, fishing out in front of the pier, even bringing its catch up on to the navigation buoy. We headed for lunch at Matt s house, where he talked us through the local wildlife, especially the local eagles. We then headed back through the White Glen, looking along the shores of the sealoch, with Matt finding an Otter that fed on the seaweed, our fifth in a short time on the same stretch. We said our farewells to Matt and headed east, stopping at a viewpoint where we enjoyed Great Northern Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Common Seal and the stunning view of Ben Nevis and over to Glen Coe. It was then time to head back, with a nice change of scenery through Glen Truim, with Roe Deer and Red-legged Partridge as we went. A great day again. Wednesday 11th March It was an extremely windy forecast, so we opted to take the best few hours of the day to look for Caper. On the way we recorded the juvenile Iceland Gull at the junction once again, a good start. We drove the road slowly, and then ventured into our private Capercaillie estate. The wild winter had not been kind, and with a number of trees down we couldn t get to our favoured areas. The top section was not much better, with extensive ice banks remaining, providing good entertainment as Phil entrenched the bus. A few branches later and we were on our way, clocking the only birds in the windy forest, Bullfinch! Back to Carrbridge we went, and then headed down to the coast (with roadside Raven and Red Grouse en route!) to restart the day. We headed straight for West Beach, where in between gusts, it was very pleasant and proved great birding. On the foreshore were Pale-bellied Brent Geese and Bar-tailed Godwit. Offshore we had a good selection, with particularly good Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Diver and Black Guillemot. Further offshore were numerous Razorbill, Kittiwake, Fulmar and Gannet. We looked out from the harbour too, adding Turnstone and Sanderling to our growing list, with Common Scoter a sign of things to come. From here we headed east, stopping in at a pool to get a common wildfowl selection, with smart Little Grebe in breeding plumage, another sign that spring is not too far away in the Highlands! Spring did feel miles away though for the next few hours as the storm picked up a pace. We first looked at the farmland, out on to the bay. Shelduck were new here, and there were hundreds of Pinkfooted Geese. In the fields we had excellent Yellowhammer too. Up to East Beach, which was wild. We scoped out, seeing a good selection of wildfowl, with an extremely distant Velvet Scoter in with Commons. We took lunch then started again, and our prayers were answered, as a fine pair of Velvet Scoter were much closer in, showing all their salient features beautifully! Next stop was near the forest, with superb Whooper Swans at the roadside, with thousands of Pinkfooted Geese. We looked carefully for rings and rarities, but no joy, we all enjoyed the spectacle though. On to a couple of harbours, both of which added little in the stormy conditions. The weather finally broke a little at a river mouth, allowing us to scope on to theestuary. Pick of the birds was a

4 nice group of Snow Bunting, showing well. New for the trip was Dunlin and Lesser Black-backed Gull. We headed for home, happy with our days haul. Thursday 12th March With another horrendous forecast, with trees coming down before we left, Phil opted for the northeast corner. It would offer a modicum of shelter and hopefully keep us drier than anywhere else! We started at Fochabers, moving on to a quiet loch. Here we added three new birds for the week, with Coot, Gadwall and Moorhen. We then took the loop around the back roads of Moray, with the centre being the Pitgaveny farm. Here we had great views of Whooper Swans, an ominpresent on our checklist this week. Up at the feeders we had Tree Sparrows and Yellowhammers. It was now very windy, and finding other farmland birds proved tough, though we did enjoy a large flock of Chaffinch with a Skylark and Yellowhammers. We took tea in the relative shelter of the pinewoods by Loch na Bo. Several small birds were heard here, whilst we scoped the loch through the vegetation. It was busy with lots of Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Gadwall and Teal, but nothing new. Next stop was Spey Bay, but the gales had cleared the flats of interest and we headed along the coast. Portgordon was much busier, with a great selection of waders, with close Dunlin, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Turnstone in good numbers. Offshore were Common Seals and Long-tailed Ducks. Gulls came in at Buckie, our next village, but just Herring Gulls of various ages. We took lunch at Findochty, one of many attractive fishing villages in this stretch. A tame and lame Curlew gave good views, as did an unusually plumaged Oystercatcher, with a white-speckled back! New for the week was a single Grey Seal offshore. Our next port of call was Portsoy, where we looked out from the promontory for divers. There were numerous seabirds passing, with a heavy passage of Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets, but no divers. There was still time for a few more sites, so we stopped in at Whitehills to scan out from the beach, getting a Red-throated Diver. Our last stop was Banff, which came up trumps. We drove along the coast road, seeing very close Eider, getting more waders as we returned to the harbour, including our top target, Purple Sandpiper. They were difficult to pick out at first, but then showed beautifully for everyone alongside Turnstone, Oystercatcher and Redshank. It had been a tough day in the wind, but we had still recorded 75 bird species, including several hard to find elsewhere. Roll on the calmer weather. Friday 13 th March Friday 13 th was lucky for us, a sea-change in weather conditions overnight, leaving us with a glorious, still day. We started our local round-up with a walk just out of the village. Red Squirrel showed well, whilst small birds were noisy and mobile, including a fine Yellowhammer. We then tried near Grantown on Spey. Lots of usual suspects, but not our hoped for large Crossbills! We took tea at Curr Wood, overlooking the Spey. It was a stunning viewpoint, with large numbers of waders and particularly Pink-footed Geese to sift through. In the woods behind were Treecreeper, Bullfinch, Siskin and Buzzard. We headed along a back road, again seeing good numbers of Pink-footed Geese and Brown Hare, before taking a drive and a walk looking for Capercaillie. Phil saw 4 Capercaillie in his exploits, but only a few of the group had snatched views as they powered across the ride. Lunch was taken at Whitewells overlooking the Cairngorms and great forests, a beautiful spot. We then revisited a forest from a few days before, but only a brief Goldcrest was new. It was time to head up the mountain, and what an afternoon it was for it! We arrived in time to catch the train, and then at the top, stepped out and scoped the hill. It took a matter of minutes before Phil

5 picked up a pair, quickly turning into two pairs of Ptarmigan, some moulting, others still snowy white. It was a superb view in breathtaking light. Down below were another pair, allowing for photographs. Delighted we headed back down for a cuppa in the car park. Still a few targets left, and we went for Reindeer at Coire na Ciste, a longshot, but Robert picked them out and they gave good scope views. Out last stop of the holiday was in the Abernethy Forest, where a single large Crossbill flew over, probably a Scottish type, but we couldn t pin it down again. One for next time! Group total: 110 species of bird, with one heard Out of Top 20 targets, 17 for whole group, 19 for some, with brief flying Capercaillie and larger (probably Scottish type) Crossbill. Group Highlights: Keith: Otters, adult White-tailed Eagle, Stoat in ermine Jim: Long-tailed Ducks, Golden Eagles Roy: Sea Eagle and Golden Eagle together, Purple Sandpipers and Pine Marten Lorraine: Sea Eagle and Golden Eagle together, Purple Sandpipers and Pine Marten Claire: Stoat in ermine, Otters, White-tailed Eagle and goose spectacle Wendy: Stoat in ermine, raptor fest with Buzzards and Eagles Robert: Otters, White-tailed Eagle and Purple Sandpipers Phil: Otters, Ptarmigan

HEIGHTS HOTEL WILDLIFE BREAKS Friday April 19th Sunday April 21st 2019

HEIGHTS HOTEL WILDLIFE BREAKS Friday April 19th Sunday April 21st 2019 Saturday April 20th Weather: warm sunshine all day in a light north-easterly breeze, 0900 In the most beautiful Spring weather we