Update (11/06/2013)...

Just a quick update, saw my first Common Whitethroat of the year today whilst out on site visit for work just South of Inverness. The bird was singing from some windblown pine trees at the forest edge. On the same site there were also plenty of Orange-tip butterflies which was nice to see and on returning to the car a Weasel ran across the road in front of me. Enjoying the good weather we have had the past week but it looks set to go downhill this weekend.

Year List Additions:
117. Common Whitethroat

Update (28/03/13)

Still haven't had much snow here, feels like a different world from some of the pictures around the country. Not too much to report, pretty bogged down with coursework and no car at the moment means it's mostly garden bird watching lately.

Heard a Skylark singing for the first time across the road yesterday, hopefully Spring is on it's way.

The Yellowhammer is still visiting daily since it first arrived a couple of weeks ago.

I have tried to tempt some passing Waxwings into the garden after being inspired by Wendy Anderson over at the Highland & Moray Facebook group. Consists of half apples on an upturned leaf rake to created an "apple tree". Would be nice to catch a few as they move back North. I haven't seen any around my immediate area all Winter so it really is a long shot but you never know...

This morning I watched as the local hybrid carrion / hooded crow broke twigs off the tree outside the garden for nesting material, fascinating to watch, Corvids definately one of my favourite groups of birds.

Today I had a brand new bird for the garden! A Tree Sparrow. It fed on the ground alongside the Chaffinches and the Yellowhammer which was coming and going. Seen plenty of Tree Sparrow over in Dingwall but never in Conon Bridge, nevermind in the garden. Got a couple of poor quality record shots.

For those of you thinking "what's the difference from the Sparrows I normally see?" Well the give away is the chesnut brown cap and the white cheeks with black spots. The male House Sparrow (the one you are more likely to see in houses and urban areas) Has a grey cap and grey cheeks. There are other differences of course but those are the most obvious.

This evening I attended an illustrated presentation by Ian Collier, Woodland Officer for Forestry Commission Scotland at Fraser Park Bowling Club in Inverness for the RSPB Highland group. It focused on forest management for Red Squirrels and the knock on effects for woodland birds, it was definately worth attending.

So yeah won't be doing much birdy stuff for at least a couple weeks now but a few exciting things lined up that will hopefully work out and of course a 2 week study tour to Poland for the second half of April.

Have a good Easter weekend.

Weekend Break...

Just back from a weekend away with my girlfriend in the Cannich area. Our accommodation was just a few miles South of Drumnadrochit at Torcroft Lodges and I highly recommend them if you are planning a stay in the area. The lodges were spacious and clean and had more than everything you need for a great trip. The lodge is also ideally located to explore the fantastic surrounding environment including the Loch Ness area, Glen Affric, Glen Strathfarrar and Glen Cannich.

It wasn't a birding weekend but of course I am always on the lookout. Around the lodge there were plenty of Blackbird, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Greenfinch around with most of them in song. A heron and a Buzzard was seen flying over and a Tawny Owl calling nearby at night.

We got extremely lucky with the weather. On Saturday it was a bit cloudy but stayed dry and the weather on Sunday and Monday was superb almost feeling like Summer at times it was so warm. We visited Plodda Falls, Corrimony Cairn, Glen Affric and Craigmonie Wood. There weren't really many birding highlights but I did make up for missing thrushes with 3 Mistle Thrush seen on the way to Dog Falls in Glen Affric and a Song Thrush seen in the forest itself. Spent plenting of time searching for a sight of Golden Eagle but no luck.

View down Glen Affric

On Monday morning after vacating the lodge we went for a walk through Craigmonie Wood at the back of Drumnadrochit. Some really lovely Oakwoods and the weather made it feel like it should be much later in the year and packed full of birds. My girlfriend did, however, hear a Jay calling and after a bit of searching I came across 3 of them.

All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Year List Additions:
74. Mistle Thrush
75. Song Thrush
76. Jay

Unexpected Saturday...

Weather this weekend has been pretty miserable, overcast and wet. Wasn't expecting to do much birding or to see much but I ended with a few interesting encounters throughout the day.

The first encounter happened around 10am. I went out of the backdoor of the house and something caught my eye not 2 metres away on the outside wall of the house. It was a Treecreeper. It was working it's way up the wall of the house just like it would on a tree trunk and after it had crawled up a few feet I expected it to fly off but it flew down to the bottom again and a couple feet over this time started over again. I went and got the camera and stuck my head back out and the bird still remained.

It was then off to Chanonry Point near Fortrose to meet my girlfriend and take her dog for a walk. On the way a Sparrowhawk flew across the road near to Munlochy, my first of the year. Unfortunately the tide was right in when I arrived but as it turned out I still managed to see a few things, including plenty of seals and 2 dolphin whilst waiting for my girlfriend to arrive.

One of the dolphins off Chanonry

From my car I could see plenty of Oystercatcher on the stoney shore who were then joined by 16 Ringed Plover and a handful of Turnstone. Walking along the beach towards Rosemarkie I didn't see much but the way back was more productive. 2 Red Breasted Merganser were floating off shore and a Shag flew by in close. There was also a couple of Long-tailed Ducks including one that was standing on the shore right at the point. I have never actually seen a Long-tailed Duck out of the water before.

Shag

Long-tailed Duck

A single Linnet was sitting on the lighthouse wall and at the same spot where I saw the Ringed Plover was now a group of 18 Knot which finished off the walk nicely.

We then headed back to Inverness and I had a small mission planned. The last couple days I had been talking with a women on the Highland and Moray Birds Facebook page with regards to some Waxwings. There had been a small but regular flock visiting the same area for most of the week and I thought it was my best bet to actually see on in the UK in daylight. After obtaining directions to the location I headed there to have a look and as I pulled up I could see them flying around already, superb! I got out of the car and walked up the road a hundred metres or so for a closer look. I counted 34 birds in total. Unfortunately the light was terrible for photos but a handful did come down to some bushes at the road side for some crappy record shots. I saw thousands of these birds in Finland but there is something special about seeing them here in the UK. Thanks again Wendy!

To finish off a pretty good day, whilst at my girlfriends house a flock of birds caught my eye out the window as they flew over and landed in a nearby tree. With the amount of small flocks of Waxwing being reported around Inverness lately that was my first thought but a nice surprise to find out it was 12 Redwing. So in the end some nice birds for the year list.

Year List Additions:
65. Sparrowhawk
66. Turnstone
67. Ringed Plover
68. Red-breasted Merganser
69. Shag
70. Knot
71. Redwing

Every little helps...

One of the highlights when I was in Finland was not only seeing Waxwings for the first time but the sheer number of them in and around the city. But, there is still something about seeing one at home in the UK, which until now I have not been able to do. There has been reports of small flocks hanging around the Insh junction in Inveress and between the two Tescos so I thought I would have a look on Sunday morning after staying at my girlfriends the night before. On the Saturday night we went out for dinner then went to the cinema after (Jack Reacher actually not a bad film). We got out of the cinema about a quater past midnight and my girlfriends Dad had asked us to get some chocolate and lucky that he did!

We drove around to the big Tescos which is 24 hour and my girlfriend went inside whilst I stayed in the car. My girlfriend on returned to the car opens the door and says "there is loads of Waxwings up there" to which I replied "WHAAAT". I hurried out of the car to the sound of the unmistakable trilling to see c200 Waxwing roosting up in the Tesco Extra sign right about the entrance!

Now we all need some help when looking for birds but in this case every little does help!

46. Waxwing

Quiet...

Just a quiet one this weekend. I managed to see my second Iceland Gull ever and it was a stunning adult as I was driving towards the A9 through the Black Isle just past Alcaig and there it was on it's own in the corner of a field not 10 metres away. I was able to pull over without disturbing it, the light was perfect and I didn't have my bloody camera on me, quite gutted to be honest. I did go back later in the day to see if I could re-locate it but no such luck.

Today (11th), a short walk around Merkinch Local Nature Reserve in Inverness produced my first Moorhens of the year plus plenty of gulls and other common species. The Black-headed gulls starting to look pretty smart now with their chocolate brown hoods.

Have a good week everyone.

Ups and downs...

The last few days have been very interesting with a mix of frustration, disappointment and surprise thrown in. Let's start with the frustration...

Last Saturday (11th) I managed to get out with the Highland Ringing Group. I have been interested in ringing for quite some time and had been trying to get out with the group for awhile but weather made it not possible until last Saturday. I had been put in contact with Brian Etheridge via the BTO ringing page who is a member of the group.

The group was making a special visit out to the Lossiemouth area as part of a long-term study on Purple Sandpipers. The idea was to target some already sussed out roost sites in hope of capturing and ringing individuals and also fitting geo-locators on some of them. I met Brian and a few other members at the big Tesco carpark in Inverness. Introductions were made as we headed towards Lossiemouth. The first potential area was at Lossiemouth harbour but unfortunately there was not enough signs of use so we moved on. There was however a pod of dolphins spotted off shore. We headed further along the coast to Buckie. The first site at Buckie was also deemed not worth it but at the second it was decided it was worth a go. The canon net was setup and whilst we waited for high tide we ate lunch and checked a few other spots. Brian, Ron and I headed back to the harbour at Portgordon. There were a small group of Redshank, Wigeon and Turnstone about. With Cormorants, shags and most of the common Gull species. The day carried on and the target site was checked periodically as the tide came in further but it wasn't looking good. Eventually a small group of c.30 Purple Sandpiper were spotted but refused to land in the right place for the net. Other notable birds were more Turnstone, Long-tailed Ducks, Cormorants (2 that were already ringed), Shags and Eiders. It was getting close to 15:00 now and the Purple Sandpipers or "Purps" were sitting on a rock not 10 metres from where we wanted them. A few last ditch attempts didn't bring us anymore luck and by now the weather was miserable. We packed up the nets and headed home whilst the Purps remained where they were, frustrating! But it was interesting to learn some more about what's involved in ringing and met some nice people.

Now to disappointing. On Monday 13th a trip had been planned to the Tollie Red Kite visitor centre a few miles up the road from my house. My girlfriend and her parents were also coming through from Inverness to visit the site and we were all looking forward to it. We arrived before feeding time and Red Kite numbers were starting to build with 6-7 seen at the same time although distant. A couple buzzards were also flying around. After hanging around for about an hour it was clear no-one was going to turn up to feed them so we decided to head home very disappointed. Good views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker made up for it a bit, my first of the year. Later on I contacted RSPB North Highland about what happened and they explained that the volunteer coming to feed the Red Kites that day had called in sick at the last minute, so we were just really unlucky.

Distant Red Kite

Male Chaffinch @ Tollie feeders

Last but not least, surprise. On Tuesday (14th) we headed to Landmark in Carrbridge for our Forest Recreation class at college. I had been there many times before when I was very young and it;s not quite so exciting when you are in your mid twenties and half of the attractions aren't even running. We strolled around whilst the lecturer pointed out "interesting" features. Towards the end of the morning we made our way up the old fire tower which allows you to look across above the canopy of the Scots Pine woodland and out to the surrounding landscape. My girlfriend spotted a Goldcrest flitting about my first of the year and I turned and said to her "You know, this would be perfect for spotting some Crossbills, being up above trees". We walked over to the otherside of the platform and I noticed a group of 6 birds and would you believe it they were Crossbills, a life tick for me. A unexpected nice surprise but also frustrating that I didn't have bins or camera with me as one of the males in particular was posing quite nicely. I tried to take a photo with my phone but, well, you can see how well that came out below.

Male Crossbill...honestly.

So quite an interesting few days of birding. During this I also found out that my application for residential volunteering for the RSPB was also accepted. I will be spending two weeks in August at Forsinard, can't wait!

Loadsa ducks...

Woke up to a beautiful sunny frosty morning today (26th) so I decided to do a bit of birding in Inverness before college in the afternoon. I headed to the Longman Hide at the Outfall first. The layby was very full with a burger van and 3 customers that had stopped so I didnt stay long. There were small numbers of Teal, Wigeon and Goldeneye on the very calm water. There was also small groups of Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatcher with a handful of Great Black-backed, Black-headed and Herring Gulls. Four Cormorants were sat out on one of the markers.

I then made my way around to the small bay opposite the football ground carpark. Again some Wigeon were present on the far side with some Mallard and some Redshank also. Then a dark looking duck caught my eye over in a shaded corner. I watched closely and then noticed there was 2! I watched them for about 20 minutes getting decent views, they slowly drifted towards me and I was confident now, Scaup! A life tick for me, brilliant.

I now headed round the corner to Milton of Culloden where c50 Shelduck were just off the shore. There were again good numbers of Wigeon and Teal a bit further out. Plenty of Mallard and group of 20 Goldeneye were also present. As I walked along the shore and rounded a small corner I saw Scaup everywhere, 46 in total. It was getting close to leaving time now and I wanted to check further around nearer the point before college so I headed back. Whilst heading back to the car a distant Great Crested Grebe, my first of the year, was seen.

Scaup - Aythya marila

I moved around to Arturlie Point to have a quick check which produced similar species that had been seen so far but with the added bonus of 4 Rock Pipits that landed on the shore just as I was leaving.

Rock Pipit

The end is nigh...

Well it's nearing the end of 2011 and what a year it has been for me. I would call this my first "proper" year of birding, looking more closely at what it is I am seeing in the wider countryside and making records instead of sticking to garden birds and a casual interest elsewhere.

The majority of the year from January to August was spent in Northern Ireland on a mid year industrial work placement from college with the Northern Ireland Forest Service. I was based in Castlewellan which allowed me to get out and see some wonderful areas whilst working and on my days off with Dundrum Bay / Murlough NNR being my "local patch". Whilst over there I had a week's holiday in County Kerry in the Republic which meant some stunning scenery and visits to places such as the Dingle Peninsula, Killarney National Park and the Skellig Islands. The rest of the year was spent back at home in Conon Bridge with two trips down to the Northumberland coast, based in the Alnwick area, within that time which is a wonderful stretch of coastline for birding and it really struck a chord with me.

Murlough NNR with Slieve Donard in background.

So as I sit here on the last day of 2011 my year list stands at a modest total of 119 species putting my life list up to 124. A lot of the birds I had seen before but this was the first time I had actually started making records. A fairly low number compared to other more experienced birders but a list that contains some very special memories and moments. I'm sure I probably saw a lot of things that went under the radar of my level of ID skills but I enjoyed every minute of it and I can see myself slowly getting better.

So let's talk about some highlights. The year started off with the coldest winter on record in NI as in other parts of the UK with lots of snow that drove fantastic numbers of birds into our garden. My favourite being the Lesser Redpolls. 6 regulars in total which kept visiting all the way up to when we left in August. I was also lucky to see Red Kites regularly from the house as we were inside the re-introduction area for this species which reminded me of home on the Black Isle another re-introduction area from the 80's where they are also regularly seen.

Cold Winter - N.Ireland

Lesser Redpoll - Carduelis cabaret

I will also never forget those Spring days spent down at Dundrum Bay with many Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps and the difficulties of getting a grasp on how to ID the two former species. A pair of non-breeding Whooper Swans were also reported and seen regularly in the bay throughout late Spring / early Summer, another species I hadn't seen before and definately didnt expect to see at that time of year. Another species that will forever remind me of my time in NI is the Pale-bellied Brent Goose which seemed to be everywhere along South East coast.

Whooper Swans - Cygnus cygnus

I have to admit one of my favourite groups of birds is the Corvids and I was quite pleased to be able to see all 8 UK and Ireland breeding species this year. Jays and Magpies are very rare in this area and according to the guides their ranges do not extend this far North however in N. Ireland they were a regular occurence. A major highlight, maybe even the highlight of the year was on the trip to County Kerry in South West Republic of Ireland that allowed me to see my first Choughs and their aerial acrobatics, superb to say the least!

Chough - Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

The Jackdaw roost at Castlewellan Forest Park was also always special to see and it had a beautiful but deafening feel about it.

Jackdaws coming in to roost - Castlewellan

The trip to Country Kerry in the Summer not only had the Chough and many other highlights but also the ultimate seabird experience from a boat trip to the Skellig Islands. This allowed me to have some brilliant close up views of thousands of Gannets, Fulmars, Razorbills, Common Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Gulls, Manx Shearwaters, Shags and the charismatic Puffins.

Fulmar - Fulmarus glacialis

Puffin - Fratercula arctica

Razorbill - Alca torda

The Black Guillemots were also a common sight at Newcastle Harbour, a few miles down the road from the house which was always nice to see.

Black Guillemot - Somateria mollissima at Newcastle Harbour

Come August and my Northern Ireland birding had come to an end and it was time to move back North, my eyes now opened to the addictive hobby and what can actually be out there in areas I wasn't aware of.

Come Autumn and I was lucky enough to visit Northumberland for a week to visit my dad at his new hotel not far from Alnwick (www.cottageinnhotel.co.uk). Such a beautiful stretch of coastline, a birders paradise and my girlfriend and I visited many different areas. There were plenty of Eider ducks about (which is probably why it is on the NTBC's logo) with the adult males looking stunning. My first Sanderling on Low Newton beach and my very first Short-Eared owl spotted on the road just outside Seahouses made the trip very memorable and I can't wait to get back there.

Eider - Somateria mollissima

Towards the end of the year and I decided to start this blog and I am enjoying it so far and a handful more ticks which have been mentioned in previous posts including Long-Tailed Ducks, Yellowhammers and Crested Tits had rounded everything off nicely. I could go on forever about what I have seen this year but this post is already long enough! Big thanks to my girlfriend for putting up with me all year as I bombard her with everything bird (I think she enjoys a bit of birdwatching really) and creating some special memories from around the country.

Looking towards next year and it will be a busy time with college but I definately will continue this addictive hobby of birding and maybe even add a few more birds to the life list whilst enjoying all of the others too. I wonder if that Greater Yellowlegs is still at Loch Fleet? (Never been on a twitch before). I am looking into getting involved in ringing birds and with some local bird groups and conservation projects. So much to do, so little time!

Anyway thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read this, it has been quite a journey this year in birding terms and on a personal level and I hope you had a good christmas and all the best for 2012.

Inverness Area (Sat 17th)...

The last weekend before Christmas and that means heading into the city to buy all those last bits and pieces for the following weekend. It was decided that I would meet my girlfriend in Inverness (where she lives herself) at 11:00 so that left me with a few hours before the nightmare of christmas shopping to get in some birdwatching, which involved leaving the house at 7:45 in the dark with a very heavy frost on the ground instead of snow that seemed to have fallen nearly everywhere else in the country (which is now falling very heavily whilst I write this).

After thumbing through Gordon Hamlett's excellent book Best Birdwatching Sites in the Scottish Highlands and the RSPB Highland Group's - The Top 52 birdwatching sites in the Highlands a couple nights before I decided to check out a couple areas just outside the main city. The first stop would be Milton of Culloden. This spot is an area of shore East of the Kessock Bridge just off the A96 to Nairn. There is a small layby to park at just after the railway bridge (NH 70545 46745) and you can then walk back towards Inverness either along the shoreline itself or along the the old shore road which is now closed off.

Looking back towards the city and the Kessock Bridge

The best time to be there is a couple hours either side of high tide and unfortunately I did not have that luxury due to plans later on and the tide was right out, but I decided to stroll along the beach and try my best. Upon exiting the car there were plenty of Herring and Black-headed Gulls and Carrion Crows flying around and feeding on the shore. It was obvious there were many birds at the tide line but they were just out of range for my level of ID skills. A mile long walk along the shore produced numbers of Curlew, Redshank, Oyster Catcher, Mallard, Wigeon, Lapwing and 48 Shelduck. I decided to walk the old shore road back which goes through some broadleaved woodland adjacent to farmland. This produced 30 Starling, 6 Blackbird, 2 Rook, Blue Tits, Chaffinches, a single Song Thrush, more Carrion Crows and 3 lovely plump looking Fieldfares in a neighbouring field. The highlight of the walk had to be a cracking view of 2 Treecreepers who were very obliging, allowing me within a couple metres to take some photos (see below).

Treecreeper  - Certhia familiaris

I returned to the car and drove about a mile further East along the road headed to Alturlie Point another spot described in the books mentioned earlier. Alturlie forms part of the Longman and Alturlie Point Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is part of the Inner Moray Firth Special Protection Area (SPA). By now it was 10:15 which didn't leave me long but I stopped at a couple of the laybys dotted along the road and scanned the area which produced similar species as earlier as well as 2 Rock Pipits and a close view of a Curlew at one stop. At the top of the road where it gets very close to the water's edge a good view of a male and female Red-Breasted Merganser rounded the morning off nicely.

Quick turnaround and back into the City to meet my girlfriend and the shopping wasn't too bad in the end!

Curlew - Numenius arquata