Insh Marshes / Glenmore (24/03/13)...

Yet again the entire country seems gripped by Winter whilst the Black Isle and Inverness area has none! The last few days have had plenty of flurries but no snow has settled and is a long way from some of the conditions being seen elsewhere.

Three of us decided to head South to Insh Marshes today partly for some research for coursework and also for a day. Plenty of Buzzards seen on the way and as we neared Kingussie the conditions started to change with plenty of snow on the hills and blizzard conditions although when we parked up at the RSPB carpark the sun was out with plenty of snow on the ground. 

We took a walk around the reserve starting at the circular hide. The marsh was fairly quiet with 14 Whooper Swans, a lone Great Black-backed Gull and a couple of crows. We continued round exploring the Aspen woodland (the main reason for visiting) and spotted plenty of Roe Deer and some Ravens but unfortunately no Hen Harriers about. The reserve seemed very quiet which wasn't a surprise considering the conditions but a small opening in the woodland was busy with Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Reed Bunting and plenty of Lesser Redpoll.

The fields across from the carpark also held some Greylag Geese and a couple of Oystercatcher. We carried on North along the backroads passing through Insh village itself to Inshriach forest which produced a albeit brief view of a female Capercaillie a first for me. We then headed further up the road past Inshriach Nursery which we noticed had a tea room so it was time to turn back and get some tea and cheesecake. The tea room called The Potting Shed turned out to be fantastic. Not only was the tea and homemade cheesecake excellent but half of the tea room was surrounding by a viewing window looking out on 16 large peanut feeders that were absolutely covered in birds only a couple feet away. I never seen so many Coal and Blue tits in one place. There was also Great Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, a single Goldcrest and the best of all a female Great Spotted Woodpecker. I could have stayed there all day (and night when they supposedly are visited by Pine Marten). It was the most luxurious "hide" I have ever visited (short video HERE).

We then decided to head up to the car park at the Ski Centre at Cairn Gorm but conditions were bad enough to close off the road so we decided to go for a walk around Glenmore Forest looking for more Aspen. The forest was very quiet as expected with on and off blizzard conditions. We did however manage to see 2 Crested Tit, a pair of Bullfinch, Treecreeper and Coal Tit.

All in all it was a pretty good day and I always love being out in Winter conditions, however, with my trip to Finland it has felt like winter to me for almost 7 months now so some proper signs of Spring would be greatly appreciated...

Year List Additions:
92. Lesser Redpoll
93. Capercaillie (Lifer)

Gairloch area (19/03/13)...

Yesterday was my birthday and my girlfriend and I had planned a day trip to the Gairloch area to try and spot my first ever eagle believe it or not. The weather at home however was pretty horrendous with heavy snow and blizzard like conditions. The forecase for Gairloch was completely different being sunny and clear. So we decided to give it a go. Driving up through Contin then on to Garve the conditions were pretty horrible, most of the road was covered with snow falling towards us making driving not the easiest. After Garve we turned off for Gairloch and conditions weren't changing. But by the time we got to the Queen's View car park, where we stopped to scan for eagles, above the East end of Loch Maree the weather was really starting to clear up and the snow was easing off.

We didn't spot any eagles but plenty of red deer on the slopes then we headed on down to road past the main Ben Eighe visitor centre to the Coille na Glas Leitre carpark where the woodland walk starts through the Pine wood in the National Nature Reserve. I was hoping for Scottish Crossbill but not only did I not see at Scotbills we didn't see anything at all not even a Great Tit, the woods appeared empty. The sun was out fully now though and the views across Loch Maree to the peaks on the otherside really were stunning.

I am surprised I didn't start to get a sore neck as I was constantly scanning the sky and ridges for a glimpse of my first eagle but I wasn't having any luck. We stopped at a couple more car parks along the shores of Loch Maree but still no signs although there was plenty of buzzards around. The scenery was so stunning we couldn't take our eyes of it, no matter where you were there was something impressive to see. We moved on passing on through Gairloch itself and up to Gruinard Bay where I was told would be my best chance of seeing a eagle.

After what seemed miles upon miles of of winding coastal roads and more stunning scenery we came to a rather normal looking layby which is actually the best place to scan across Gruinard Bay, it's beach 3 rather large and obvious fields on the point of land sticking out on the other side. We pulled up and I starting scanning, my girlfriend was too. There didn't seem to be anything on the beach so I worked the fields. I could see the odd gull, a few hooded crows and a couple of ravens but nothing eagle shaped. I set my binoculars on the dashboard when all of a sudden my girlfriend starting shouting "look! look! what's that!?". I looked up to see a group of about 30 Barnacle Geese flying up into the air as a massive shape flew low over the fields. I had just enough time to get my binoculars on it and see the gigantic wings and bright white tail in the sun, I had seen my first ever wild eagle, a White-tailed Eagle! But it quickly crossed the fields and went over and down the otherside of the headland.

Gruinard Bay

We had a look at the map and even though the main road went off in the opposite direction, a few miles further on my girlfriend noticed a small single track road that curved around the otherside of the headland towards the area the eagle seemed to fly. I knew it could be a long shot because by the time we would get there the eagle could have covered miles.

We drove over to the other side of the headland which gave superb views of Little Loch Broom and the surrounding hills. We crawled along the road scanning when all of a sudden it flew up from behind the houses and trees on the hill side. Although it was huge it was easily lost against the backdrop of vast water and hills in the sunlight. We thought we lost but further up the road we saw it again and watched it soaring and being harrassed by some gulls and crows for a good few minutes. Then it was gone. We stayed in the same place for half an hour but never saw it again with a distant buzzard setting alarm bells ringing for a few seconds. I did try and get some distant photos but you will just have to believe me!

Look across Little Loch Broom

Very distant White-Tailed Eagle

We then headed back round to the previous layby for another check, no eagle but it did produce my first Gannets of the year plus a distant lone Great Northern Diver.

Great Northern Diver.

We followed pretty much the same route back home with a short stop at the Queen's view car park again for a quick scan and to look at the view in the fading light. All in all a fantastic day.

Year List Additions:

89. White-Tailed Eagle (Lifer)

90. Gannet

91. Great Northern Diver

Glenmore....

A trip to the Cairngorms National Park today, more specifically Glenmore Forest Park in changeable weather (snow/hail showers and sunny warm periods) produced my first Crested Tit of the year. Other birds seen were Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Buzzard, plenty of Willow Warblers, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker heard and not a lot else really. Weather wasn't great for getting the camera out but I did manage to get a decent picture of a Willow Warbler in the Alt Mhor carpark at lunch. Probably the clearest view I have had of one.

Willow Warbler - Phylloscopus trochilus

Layby 151...

Apologies for the cheesey title which sounds like a low rate horror movie but today I headed down Aviemore way with my girlfriend for the day. I had heard and read that Ring Ouzel (one of my most sought after species) is regularly seen from layby 151 on the A9 so I had to stop in for a look on my way South. We pulled over into the layby and scanned the scree slopes and the heather either side of the road. First sight was a pair of White Wagtails at the roadside but not Ring Ouzel. We stayed there for awhile and I managed to see some Mountain Hares still in their white coats and then two birds flew over the ridge. On closer inspection it was a pair of Peregrines! A life tick for me and a bird I just never managed to spot before. So no Ring Ouzel but still very pleased and we continued down to Aviemore.

I have lived in the Highlands for just over 23 years now yet I have never been up to the Cairngorm summit. So even though the weather wasn't great we decided to head up there for a bit of fun. We made our way up to the main car park where the weather was very changeable and the summit was shrouded in mist and cloud. I had read that Ring Ouzel, Wheatear and Snow Bunting were very possible from the viewing platform and was excited to get up there. We made our way up on the funicular railway, had a quick look at the exhibition then out onto the viewing platform. Wind chill was minus 6 degrees Celsius with heavy snow and visibility down to 30 metres.

"View" from the top.

The worst bit was there were definitely no birds about that could be seen, but it was still fun and we had a coffee in the Ptarmigan restaurant. After a couple hours spent up there we caught the funicular back down to the main car park.

Whilst scanning over the hillsides I spotted some movement about 100m away in the heather. I tried to keep my focus on it and lost it a couple times but it turned out to be an impressive looking male Red Grouse another life tick for me and my girlfriend managed to spot a female with him too.

Male Red Grouse

Not long after that a small herd of Reindeer came over the ridge and right into the car park which delighted many of the visitors, my girlfriend included.

Within the herd were what seemed to be two very pale (albino?) youngsters.

We then made our way down as it started chucking it down with rain with a couple more Red Grouse seen briefly from the road, and headed for home. A wet day but a good day

Integrated Land Use

As mentioned in previous blogs I attended a conference on Thursday (29th) and Friday (30th) at the Carrbridge Hotel just north of Aviemore within the Cairngorms National Park. The subject of the conference was Integrated Land Use and was organised by RSPB, University of Highlands & Islands (UHI) and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. It was designed for students undertaking environment related courses within the UHI so that they could come together to discuss and share ideas on land management. There were students from Forestry (of which I was one), Environmental Sciences, Gamekeeping and Heritage Studies courses with a number of UHI and RSPB staff and a variety of managers representing their chosen land use sectors.

We arrived at the hotel at 1pm on the Thursday and checked in before an introduction was given and then we headed to the Kinveachy Estate for a site visit which would form the main focus of the conference workshops. We filled up the minibuses and drove a couple miles to the site. We were split up into mixed teams and talked with managers located around the site to gain a better picture of what was going on and to form ideas. The weather was stunning and the trip well worth it. Discussions ranged from grazing and wader management to tourism, forestry and upland management. We spent 3 hours up there and once we had  finished we headed back to the hotel.

At 19:00 we were welcomed by George Campbell of the RSPB and given a brief introduction to what will be involved in the workshops the next day. Afterwards a very nice three course meal was had before we all sat down to enjoy a presentation from Peter Cairns. Peter is an award winning nature photographer and writer and he talked about the 2020 vision project which I found very enjoyable and inspirational. Some of his photos were simply stunning. Find out more HERE. A quote that Peter used in his presentation struck a chord with everyone present and is one I totally agree with. He said:

"Keep your mind open when others have made their mind up"

A great piece of advice for anyone involved in land management these days and anyone in general.

After a rather late night with quite a few drinks had in the hotel bar, the second day started with breakfast at 8:00 and a brief introduction to the day from Will Boyd the Senior Land Management Officer for the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

The keynote speech was given by Pete Mayhew the Senior Conservation Manager with RSPB in North Scotland and he discussed integrated land use and talked about the RSPB's Futurescapes project which promotes conservation on a landscape scale.

Following on from Pete was a talk given by Will Anderson who is the Forestry Director for Seafield & Strathspey Estates of which Kinveachy is a part of. He talked about the fact that Integrated Land Use in forestry is not a new thing and the importance of continuing it on a larger scale within forest management.

The second talk of the morning was by Peter Duncan from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). Peter is currently the reserves manager for South Highland and previously for East Highland. His focus was on the Creag Meagaidh reserve and the complexities of restoring native pinewood without deer fences and how this affected neighbouring estates and the benefits of everyone working together.

A mid morning break was then had with tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits on offer before the second half of the morning resumed.

Following on from the break the third talk of the morning was from Brian Lyall. Brian is currently the Head Stalker at Badanloch Estate and a part-time lecturer at the North Highland College. He talked about the importance of deer management to local economies and families in the North Highlands and changes in priorities of land use in his time at the estate most notably the afforestation in the Flow Country.

The final talk of the morning session was from Jamie Evans who is currently a land agent for Smiths Gore with 15 years experience in rural land management. His focus was on the holdings of the Crown Estate and talked about different land uses on Glen Livet Estate

After the final talk lunch was had and a small amount of time was available before the afternoon workshops commenced and a few of us sat outside in sun which was incredibly warm for the end of March!

In the afternoon session we sat down in our groups to come up with a management plan for Kinveachy Estate using what we saw and heard on the site visit the previous day and the talks given earlier. Each group was to come up with a plan for integrated land use and was given a primary objective to focus on, for example our group's primary objective was agriculture. After much discussion and a land use map drawn up each group gave a short presentation on their plan.

Overall it was a very informative and eye opening couple of days for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and it was nice to get a chance to mix with students from other environment related courses as most of the time we are at separate campus' widely spread across the Highlands. A big thanks to the UHI, RSPB and Cairngorms National Park Authority for organising the event.