ORIOLE BIRDING TOUR REPORT SPEYSIDE 5TH 11TH APRIL 2015

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Letitia Harris
5 years ago
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1 ORIOLE BIRDING TOUR REPORT SPEYSIDE 5 TH 11 TH APRIL 2015

2 Sunday 5 th April Setting off early from Norfolk, myself and one group member reached our base for the first night in Dunfermline at 1430 after a very good journey north. The rest of our group, travelling over from the United States, would join up with us tomorrow after the first leg of their tour with Neil in southern Britain. After a swift check in we met up straight away to make the most of the beautiful warm spring sunshine and head a short distance up the road to RSPB Vane Farm reserve at Loch Leven. We enjoyed a great two hours birding at this picturesque location, and in shirt-sleeve weather to boot! From the western most hide, we picked out Common Snipe, two pairs of Northern Pintail and a few Gadwall among the Tufted Ducks on the pool, while at least one hundred Eurasian Curlew were in the fields behind. The area was bustling with displaying Northern Lapwings and singing Skylarks, and out on the flat calm blue waters of the main loch, many hundreds of wildfowl could be seen. We had better views from the next hide, and could see that Common Goldeneye was the most numerous species, followed by Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal and Tufted Duck. We picked out a fine redhead SMEW which was a real bonus, and a Ruff was sleeping among the tussock grass of one of the marshy pools. The main observation hide gave us superb close views of Tree Sparrows, and two nice Bullfinch were also in the bushes nearby. The island in the loch was thronging with breeding Lesser Black-backed Gulls and more importantly, geese! Walking east a short way along the cycle track to the viewpoint, we were able to get a great panoramic view of this whole part of the loch and a few hundred Pink-footed Geese could be observed grazing on the island, with a few vocal groups seen in flight as well. Among them were about five Barnacle Geese, and a single WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE which although distant, looked good for the Greenland race due to its extremely dark appearance. Seven GOOSANDERS were sleeping at the far east end of the loch among yet more Common Goldeneye and many Great Crested Grebes, and we also picked up a single female GREATER SCAUP among the ducks there. A great introduction to this new location for our tours - we will return tomorrow when the rest of the group arrives into Edinburgh airport. Monday 6 th April We awoke to dense fog this morning, which rather scuppered our plan to visit Largo Bay. We made the fifty minute drive across to the site hoping it would clear, but it sadly didn t and we could not even see as far as the shoreline, so had no hope of seeing any ducks! We did see both Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting in the area, and Red Squirrel among the pines as some compensation. After heading back to Dunfermline, it was time to drive down to Edinbugh airport and collect the rest of the group off the 1120 flight in from Bristol, which arrived on time. All went to plan and by noon we were on the road and heading north towards the RSPB reserve at Vane Farm, Loch Leven. The early mist and fog had cleared and we enjoyed beautiful spring sunshine as we had our picnic lunch under the trees by the visitor centre along with a variety of common birdsong. Two Tree Sparrows were glimpsed we would return for better views of them later. Heading out onto the reserve we headed to the western most hide first and from here we got some great views of a large flock of Pink-footed Geese. A single Ruff was also present and two redhead GOOSANDER included one sitting out on the shingle island right in front of the hide. Plenty of common wildfowl included lots of Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon and Tufted Duck, a few Gadwall and Northern Shoveler and a couple of fine Northern Pintails. Single Common Pochard and a few Eurasian Curlew were also noted, and all around were displaying Northern Lapwings. Three WHOOPER SWANS were a nice bonus, especially in such stunning light this really is a great reserve for getting good views of wildfowl. The next hide gave more views of the same species [plus a Common Toad trying to get in the door of the hide!] so we quickly moved on to the main hide which overlooked the shore of the loch itself. Here among the throngs of superb Common Goldeneye, we picked out a redhead SMEW, mainly sleeping as it floated along but occasionally popping its head up so we could get better views. Further along the cycle path, we could distantly pick out some Barnacle Geese on St Serf s Island and eventually back around the visitor centre we had some really good views of Tree Sparrows. It was now 1500, and time to begin our journey north towards Speyside which would be our base for the next five nights. We made one short stop at Loch Insh, where we saw more Common Goldeneye on the water, before reaching Carrbridge around Tuesday 7 th April An overcast morning but with a high cloud base, we set off from Carrbridge towards Aviemore and upon seeing the tops of the Cairngorms free of cloud, immediately decided that we would head straight up there. Winding up past Loch Morlich and into the mountains, we reached the Coire Cas car park and were soon boarding the funicular railway towards Cairngorm. The scenery was spectacular, with a good 20km of visibility northwards towards the Monadhliath Mountains and beyond. We

started scanning for Ptarmigan from the viewing gallery, but there were already plenty of skiers out and with the good weather, we felt that the birds had probably moved to higher ground.

3 started scanning for Ptarmigan from the viewing gallery, but there were already plenty of skiers out and with the good weather, we felt that the birds had probably moved to higher ground. As the skiing was still in full swing, we were able to leave the building and head across to the start of the Cairngorm mountain walk, and scanning up the hill from here, we picked out a male ROCK PTARMIGAN perched sentinel like on top of the ridge. We watched the bird for about fifteen minutes until he eventually began preening, and then moved down off the rock and began to feed. Pleased enough with these views, he then became excited and launched into the air in display flight with quivering white wings a great sight! We saw no other birds up here at all other than Meadow Pipits and headed back down to the car park for a coffee before planning our next move. This was to spend some time walking the forest trails from Alt Mhor car park in the Rothiemurchus estate, and we saw a few Coal Tits, Goldcrest and Common Treecreeper among the pines. It only took a few minutes to locate a calling CRESTED TIT at this excellent site, and it flew and landed on top of a small pine right in front of us giving superb views. We saw and heard 2 3 others during the walk, and also had two separate overflying crossbills which were not assigned to species! We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sunshine back at the car park and then decided to head up to Findhorn Valley as more and more blue sky was appearing by the minute! Despite being more windy here it was still up around 13C and we saw plenty of raptors in this stunning location. Common Buzzard, Common Kestrel and a distant Peregrine were noted, with a nice male Eurasian Sparrowhawk flying along the ridge and landing on a rock for scope views. We then had two separate views of GOLDEN EAGLE, both very distant and despite being identifiable, were not ideal. Red Deer could be seen way up on the hillside, with a hind seen a bit closer sat among the Juniper bushes with some wild goats. We headed back along the valley, making frequent stops to scan and listen for Ring Ouzel, but could not find any. At the last of these stops, a near-adult GOLDEN EAGLE appeared above the moorland ridge, flushing RED GROUSE from the hilltop as it hung on the wind. The bird soared up before slowly crossing the valley in front of us, circling in the sun and showing its golden nape feathers a much better view! Time was wearing on so we continued heading out of the valley, making a roadside stop for close views of a fine male RED GROUSE with wattles erect, strutting his stuff by the roadside. One more stop to check another spot for Ring Ouzel was again unsuccessful, but we did have excellent views of at least five MOUNTAIN HARES, mainly still in full white coats. We arrived back in Carrbridge around 1800 after a very acceptable first day birding the Scottish Highlands. Crested Tit, 7 th April Alt Mhor Wednesday 8th April A beautiful sunny day in warm temperatures topping 17C quite unlike the weather one normally expects in the Highlands in early April! We met early for a pre-dawn start at 0510, and drove over to RSPB Loch Garten to have a go at the Caper Watch. In recent years we have been pretty lucky on the tours for seeing the birds from the hide, but it wasn t to be today despite perfect conditions. The hide was very busy, and ridiculously noisy, which surely doesn t help when trying to view secretive forest

grouse. We of course saw the resident pair of OSPREYS mating on the nest at dawn and doing some building repair works, but little else was on view other than the odd Roe Deer.

4 grouse. We of course saw the resident pair of OSPREYS mating on the nest at dawn and doing some building repair works, but little else was on view other than the odd Roe Deer. We then had a quick drive over to Tulloch Moor to see if we could salvage something out of our early start, but there was no sign of any Black Grouse at all today. Back at Carrmoor we enjoyed our breakfast a little more than usual and after popping into Aviemore to sort out laundry for everyone, we were soon on our way up to Lochindorb. The moorland around the loch was alive with RED GROUSE today and we had some super roadside views, with lots of males calling and displaying. A Rough-legged Buzzard had been seen in recent days, but we couldn t find it a nice view of a Peregrine passing over and a very distant WHITE-TAILED EAGLE over the ridge were some compensation. On the loch of course, the star birds were the breeding plumaged BLACK-THROATED DIVERS and they were nice and close to the shore today, preening in the perfect sunlight and looking absolutely immaculate. Black-throated Divers, 8 th April Lochindorb Heading up to the town of Forres, we continued on to the Moray Coast at Findhorn Bay. This is always a beautiful spot, particularly so today in the warm spring sunshine. Four Goosanders were fishing the main channel and two Sandwich Terns perched on a buoy, but otherwise there was little to be seen on the estuary other than the commoner waders. At the beach, our first proper Hooded Crow was in the car park and offshore we could see many birds, albeit all at a great distance. There were large numbers of Common Guillemots in particular, and a little closer in we were able to pick out a few LONG- TAILED DUCKS. There was also a scattering of VELVET SCOTER, but again only a couple of drakes close enough for everyone to get a decent view. The sea was so incredibly calm that everything seemed to be keeping well away from shore. We had more luck along the coast at Burghead, a beautiful spot with the snow capped mountains of the highlands visible far away across the firth. The water here was peppered with auks, this time mainly Razorbills, and a lot closer in too. A Red-throated Diver fished close inshore and small parties of Common Eiders and LONG-TAILED DUCKS gave stunning views the latter in particular with a splendid breeding plumaged drake among a group of females and immature males. Northern Gannet, Northern Fulmar, European Shag and Black-legged Kittiwake were noted further out and along the short turf at the top of the beach, two Northern Wheatears were freshly arrived and gave some great close ups. After lunch here, we began working our way back along the coast, stopping briefly at Roseisle to photograph a herd of WHOOPER SWANS by the roadside. Back at Findhorn Bay, we took a drive along the southern shore to view the merse, and here many geese were feeding. A couple of thousand Pink-footed Geese allowed us to scope them at a nice distance, and this allowed us to pick out two BARNACLE GEESE amongst them. This was our last real activity of the day, as everyone was getting tired after the early start we did try again briefly at Lochindorb on the way back, in case the Rough-legged Buzzard had decided to appear. We didn t see it, but enjoyed more great views of displaying RED GROUSE by the roadside before heading back to Carrbridge.

5 Thursday 9 th April Yet another lovely sunny day, though with strong winds at times it wasn t as warm as yesterday. We met on the bridge at 0720 and took a walk along the river, getting great views of a pair of DIPPERS nest building, singing and courting. The rest of the walk was full of common birdsong but we didn t see anything else of note before returning to the guest house for breakfast. Our plan for the rest of the day was to head up to Inverness and across the Black Isle then up to the west coast around Gruinard Bay. We picked up a Red Kite as we crossed the isle, but our first proper stop was at the head of Little Loch Broom at Dundonnel. Here we had some great views of Common Greenshank and also saw Common Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Raven. Two TWITE were a nice bonus and showed well in the sunshine despite being a little distant, picked up initially by their diagnostic wheezy call. Moving on we made a couple more short stops to take photos of the dramatic scenery, quite spectacular under cloudless blue skies. At Gruinard Bay, we were soon watching our first GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS with double figures counted offshore here, including one or two coming into summer plumage. A fine BLACK-THROATED DIVER was in full breeding dress and we were also lucky to pick out a single ATLANTIC PUFFIN it was extremely difficult to get on though, only surfacing for a couple of seconds at a time and at a great distance. A small flock of BARNACLE GEESE were feeding in the meadows near the loch, refuelling before making the last leg of their journey north they had gone by the time we returned in the afternoon. Driving up the west side of the bay we took the road north from Laide where three Pink-footed Geese were feeding in a roadside croft and two lovely Rock Doves were seen, as well as a close pair of Common Raven by the roadside. We continued to Mellon Udrigle which is always a lovely spot for lunch on the white sandy beach overlooking Caribbean-coloured waters! A Northern Gannet cruised through the bay, a Redthroated Diver was fishing inshore and a single GREAT SKUA was seen, in flight over the heather moorland to the north. A quick drive along the road to see if we could relocate it was unsuccessful, but we did add Barn Swallow, two Northern Wheatears and a pair of Common Stonechats. Heading back to Laide, we stopped on the south-west side of Gruinard Bay and from here we had super views of GREAT NORTHERN DIVERS, a few Razorbill, many European Shag, a group of loafing Common Seals and about four BLACK GUILLEMOTS our target bird for this location. Again a bit distant, but we managed to find one in summer plumage which most people were able to get onto between dives! The drive back from here was punctuated by two stops to scan the ridges for White-tailed Eagle, as we had still not seen this species properly, but it wasn t to be today quite amazing that we had not seen any eagles given the perfect weather conditions. Back on the Black Isle, we picked up a couple more Red Kites and arrived back at base weary at Friday 10 th April We headed out very early again this morning to try again at RSPB Loch Garten Caper watch before breakfast. We got slightly closer to our quarry today, with a male Capercaillie visible on the TV screen, picked up by one of the CCTV cameras! It sat there doing nothing for about half an hour, just out of sight from both the main and forward hides, which was very frustrating. The resident pair of OSPREYS were of course on show but we didn t note anything more. After breakfast, we headed back into Abernethy Forest and parked at Forest Lodge. Here we spent about 2.5hrs completing the circular walk via Rynettin, which was very pleasant in the sunshine. We had another great view of a CRESTED TIT along the walk, but otherwise birds were few and far between and we could not get anything at all other than distant flyover crossbills. At the clearing, Song and Mistle Thrushes and many Meadow Pipits were in the meadow and we managed some decent views of Lesser Redpoll too, despite the birds being mainly flighty. The rest of the walk back was unproductive, but with the sun on our backs it wasn t so bad! After a coffee, we headed along to a nearby valley and spent a bit of time looking unsuccessfully for Black Grouse. We did fair better at our lunch stop where over the surrounding hills we saw quite a few raptors including at least six Common Buzzards, two Common Kestrels, Red Kite and a ringtail HEN HARRIER which we managed to get in the scope. A Reed Bunting singing here was new for the trip, in slightly unusual habitat. We then headed back along Speyside to Coylumbridge and took the road up towards Cairngorm, stopping at the Coire na Ciste car park which gives a wonderful vista across the moorland back across the Rothiemurchus forest. Another ringtail HEN HARRIER was seen at closer range, and while trying to get on this bird, we picked up two male RING OUZELS perched in a small conifer! We had fantastic views of them in the scope for several minutes before they moved up into the gulley behind, where one of them could be heard giving its plaintive song. Many RED GROUSE were around this area too, we there was still no sign of any Blacks. With the afternoon wearing on we decided to call back in at Allt Mor car park in the forest near Loch Morlich, and this proved a good choice. While having coffee in the car park, an adult WHITE-TAILED EAGLE drifted across the far hillside and everyone managed to see it a real bonus after missing out on the species yesterday! We then talk a walk through the woodland, hoping to find crossbills, but try as we might we

6 could not find any. Just as we were walking back through the car park, a chunky bird flew in and landed on the top of a pine right in front of us a female bird looking a very good candidate for a SCOTTISH CROSSBILL! Following this stroke of luck we headed back to base slightly earlier than normal so that we had time to go to the pub for a well-earned beer before dinner! Saturday 11 th April We made one last effort before breakfast to connect with the two missing grouse species, visiting first Tulloch Moor and then RSPB Loch Garten but in cold and wet conditions, we drew a blank at both locations, so it just wasn t to be this year. After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Christine and Michael and began the long journey back south, driving through some spectacular scenery after fresh snow fall overnight in the Cairngorms and Drummochter Pass. Systematic List Birds 1. Red-throated Diver 2. Black-throated Diver 3. Great Northern Diver 4. Little Grebe 5. Great Crested Grebe 6. Northern Fulmar 7. Great Cormorant 8. European Shag 9. Northern Gannet 10. Grey Heron 11. Mute Swan 12. Whooper Swan 13. Greylag Goose 14. Canada Goose 15. Pink-footed Goose 16. Greenland White-fronted Goose 17. Barnacle Goose 18. Common Shelduck 19. Mallard 20. Common Teal 21. Eurasian Wigeon 22. Gadwall 23. Northern Shoveler 24. Northern Pintail 25. Common Scoter 26. Velvet Scoter 27. Common Eider 28. Long-tailed Duck 29. Red-breasted Merganser 30. Goosander 31. Smew 32. Common Goldeneye 33. Greater Scaup 34. Tufted Duck 35. Common Pochard 36. Common Pheasant 37. Red-legged Partridge 38. Red Grouse 39. Rock Ptarmigan 40. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 41. Common Kestrel

7 42. Peregrine 43. Hen Harrier 44. Common Buzzard 45. Red Kite 46. Osprey 47. Golden Eagle 48. White-tailed Eagle 49. Common Moorhen 50. Common Coot 51. European Oystercatcher 52. Common Ringed Plover 53. Northern Lapwing 54. Common Redshank 55. Common Greenshank 56. Eurasian Curlew 57. Ruff 58. Black-headed Gull 59. Common Gull 60. Herring Gull 61. Lesser Black-backed Gull 62. Great Black-backed Gull 63. Black-legged Kittiwake 64. Sandwich Tern 65. Great Skua 66. Razorbill 67. Common Guillemot 68. Black Guillemot 69. Atlantic Puffin 70. Great-spotted Woodpecker 71. Woodpigeon 72. Collared Dove 73. Rock Dove 74. Stock Dove 75. Skylark 76. Meadow Pipit 77. Rock Pipit 78. Pied Wagtail 79. Barn Swallow 80. Winter Wren 81. White-throated Dipper 82. European Robin 83. Dunnock 84. Northern Wheatear 85. Common Stonechat 86. Common Blackbird 87. Song Thrush 88. Mistle Thrush 89. Ring Ouzel 90. Common Chiffchaff [H] 91. Goldcrest 92. Blue Tit 93. Great Tit 94. Coal Tit 95. Long-tailed Tit 96. Crested Tit

8 97. Common Treecreeper 98. Rook 99. Carrion Crow 100. Hooded Crow 101. Common Raven 102. Western Jackdaw 103. Magpie 104. Common Starling 105. House Sparrow 106. Tree Sparrow 107. Chaffinch 108. Greenfinch 109. Goldfinch 110. Common Linnet 111. Bullfinch 112. Lesser Redpoll 113. Eurasian Siskin 114. Scottish Crossbill 115. Reed Bunting 116. Yellowhammer 117. Corn Bunting

TOM BEDFORD S OXFORDSHIRE LIST [IOC 2017] UPDATED

TOM BEDFORD S OXFORDSHIRE LIST [IOC 2017] UPDATED 1 Canada Goose 2 Barnacle Goose 3 Greylag Goose 4 Pink-footed Goose 5 Tundra Bean Goose 6 Greater White-fronted Goose 7 Mute Swan 8 Tundra Swan 9 Whooper Swan 10 Egyptian Goose 11 Common Shelduck 12 Gadwall