White-tailed Eagle Ringing...

Again it's been awhile since I posted on here. Just a combination of never having the time to update things or not having the time to actually go birding. Now the dog is getting bigger and stronger and slightly more controlled when I take him out I have a chance to keep one eye on what's actually around too.

A couple miles down the river is the River Carron. It's a fairly easy going route with a good track so it's perfect for walking the dog and a bonus is that it's actually a very nice stretch of river. Over the last couple weeks I have been seeing Common Sandpiper down there making a lot of noise standing on the rocks at the river's edge or feeding from the track itself (part of the route is the old course of the river). Managed to get a couple of shots of them.

Also saw my first Swifts of the year just last week when I was through in Conon Bridge back flying over the house and screaming down the street. Nice to see as there really isn't any out here in this area at all.

My highlight of the month though or possibly the whole year or even the biggest bird highlight for me ever happened this week. One of the perks of working for Forestry Commission Scotland over here is that you get invited along to observe this year's White-tailed Eagle chicks being ringed. I went out with the lovely Dr. Alison MacLennan (RSPB), Justin Grant and Lewis Pate to observe them ringing chicks at an undisclosed location on Skye on FCS land. Also in attendance were Sarah Stephenson (local RSPB education officer) with three lucky primary school kids from Portree and a guy filming a documentary on the wildlife of Skye! So it was quite an interesting crowd.

Upon reaching the estimated area which had been recorded by Sarah who is also the WTE surveyor we first had to find which tree this pair were nesting in. After a couple minutes the female was flying over head giving fantastic views before she moved off and we located the nest tree. It was a big hairy Sitka Spruce which was going to make lowering whatever was in the nest to the ground a bit tricky.

Lewis and Justin scaling the tree.

But after a couple hours the single chick was lowered down safely and we could all have a look. I don't know who was more excited, me or the school kids. Everyone kept quiet as the camera man got some footage of the kids standing next to the bird and then Justin and Lewis starting to measure, ring and weigh the chick.

The chick is thought to be a female from the measurements taken and was a healthy weight with a nice full crop. The primary school kids named her Rio (is there a World Cup on?) and all 3 of them were in awe of the chick (as was I). I couldn't get over the size of the feet, massive!

Justin preparing the equipment.

Biometrics...

Ringing the chick.

The bird was only the ground maybe 15 minutes and after the final weight was taken was lifted back up into the nest just as the female was back to put in an appearance. So all in all a successful morning and a great experience for me, I do love my job sometimes.

Otter (17/05/14)....

Took the dog down to the shore at North Strome for a walk this morning and not only did I see an otter not 20 metres from the shore, I also had my camera and managed to get some dodgy record shots!

Not much else to report, migrants still moving into area according to Skye Birds site but I haven't seen anything new myself lately (not much time dedicated to birding lately) but I did see a Common Sandpiper fly from the shore of Loch a'Chroisg across the road on the way to Kinlochewe.

Also out doing a bit of White-tailed Eagle monitoring on Thursday with one adult seen on Raasay and two adults plus a chick in the nest in North Skye.

Year List Addition:
71. Common Sandpiper.

WTE Monitoring (27/02/14)....

So far the new job is going well, I'm enjoying it and the guys (there are no woman at my office) I work with are a good bunch. There have been days that have been enjoyable and days that have been a bit of a slog, especially with the weather we've had recently. But today was one of the days where I absolutely love my new job.

Today's task was to check out various sites where White-tailed Eagle have previously nested on FC ground and monitor and record any activity. Of course we were headed to Skye and the morning started off quite well with a couple of Fieldfares spotted at the road side. Nearer to the first location (of which I will be divulging none I'm afraid), and there were plenty of Hoodies about and a few Ravens. We were roughly half a mile from the nesting location headed to a vantage point on higher ground. After a brief shower of hailstones we found a spot to settle down and look across the glen. After about 15 mins I spotted the first WTE coming in off the sea and landing in almost the exact spot where there was a nest last year, success. It was visible through bins but even better through the scope but soon hopped out of site and we didn't see it again. Whilst we waited awhile for a second look a flock of about 20 Crossbills landed in the trees about us giving great views.

Another location was checked afterwards but no signs there so we headed off to the third site. By now the sun was out and it was a pretty nice day. Again we parked up about half a mile from the nest site but it wasn't long before I spotted the 2nd WTE of the day flying up and over the hill to the right of us which was then followed by another which appeared to be a sub-adult going by the white tail which still had a black band along the bottom edge. I did manage to get a couple distant photos.

White-tailed Eagle

Both eagles didn't hang around long and they were off over the hill and out of sight but we decided to have some lunch and hope that they came back again. They didn't unfortunately but whilst finishing my lunch something caught my eye coming over the hill to the left. It was headed our way and once it came a bit closer it turned out to be a Golden Eagle this time. Again it appeared to be a 1st-winter / sub-adult type bird going by the white tail with the black band and the obvious white patches on the wings. We watched it as it was first mobbed by two Ravens, then two Hoodies and finally a Buzzard had a pop. By then the eagle was a bit pissed off and turned and flipped 180 degrees to have a pop back at the Buzzard above it. Did get a photo again but again it's not the best.

Golden Eagle

Year List Additions:
53. Fieldfare
54. White-tailed Eagle

Golden Eagle (13/02/14)...

Working up near Glen Brittle, Skye this afternoon produced my first sighting of Golden Eagles this year, a pair spotted flying over the Glen at the base of the Coullins covered in snow!

Year List Additions:
45. Golden Eagle

Elgol / Loch Coruisk, Skye.

A bit late in making a post about this but last weekend (26/07) my friend Luke and I decided to head over to Skye for the weekend to do some exploring and wild camping.

We headed across after work on the Friday evening arriving at around 8.30pm. The plan for the weekend was to get to Loch Coruisk but as it was late we decided to camp on the shores of Loch Slapin and get an early start the next day. The weather on Friday evening was good, fairly mild with a bit of a breeze to keep the midges off. There were some noisy Oystercatchers nearby and a handful of Gannets out on the sea loch. Plenty of sheep too.

Camping on the shore of Loch Slapin.

Woke up on the Saturday morning to the sound of a large flock of sheep moving through aswell as calling Oystercatchers, Common Sandpipers, Curlew and Ringed Plovers. I managed to get a couple of photos of the Ringed Plovers from the campsite where the midges were pretty bad as it was very still and foggy.

Adult Ringed Plover

Juvenile Ringed Plover

After some bacon and a cup of tea seasoned with midges for breakfast we made our way on down to Elgol and it didn't take long for the weather to improve, by now it was a warm and sunny morning. The original plan was to hike to Loch Coruisk and back but we decided to get the early boat into Loch Coruisk then make our way back to Elgol over the next day and a half.

The boat trip over allowed us to see some stunning landscape views and we also passed a small colony of Common Seals enjoy the sun.

The drop off point.

A pair of vocal Ravens welcomed as at the start of Loch Coruisk allowing great views down to 50 metres as they perched on the surrounding rocks. We headed up to the other end of the Loch seeing Common Gulls, Meadow Pipits and Wheatears on the way. At the top of the Loch we stopped for a cup of tea and after about 20mins a Golden Eagle came soaring over the mountain top giving great views through the binoculars. Unfortunately I was a little slow in getting the camera on it.

Loch Coruisk

Heavily cropped Golden Eagle.

We spent the rest of the day hiking back towards Elgol, taking our time whilst appreciating the views and the wildlife. Plenty more Meadow Pipits and Wheatear seen throughout the day as well as loads of butterflies and day flying moths, I just wish I was better at my butterfly ID. Butterflies are getting rarer each year it seems so it was nice just knowing that they were there.

Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata)

We continued on round to Camasunary, a impressive wide open bay where at this point it was full sunshine and 20+ degrees celcius. A short shower of rain brought out the midges again in big numbers but it soon went back to sun and we continued on our way.

Camasunary

Towards the evening and after some pretty hard going kilometres with the sun and full packs on we found a sheltered bay to camp again with fantastic views of the Cuillin Hills in the background. Whilst setting up camp I could hear more Ravens and Luke spotted a Kestrel hovering nearby. A young Wheatear also kept coming and going near to our chosen spot. There were still Gannets out at sea and Oystercatchers on the shore as well as plenty Rock Pipits.

Campsite No.2

On the Sunday morning we woke up to drizzley conditions but we only had a couple kilometres left back to Elgol. We arrived back in Elgol around early lunch time. There is a small burn / river running down into Elgol and I spotted a family of Grey Wagtails, my first of the year actually. We spent the rest of the day having a drive up to Portree and back before heading on home late afternoon.

All in all a fantastic weekend, good weather, plenty of wildlife and some truely awesome landscapes.

Year List Additions:
125. Grey Wagtail

P.S. there is one person who I know used to read this blog, they will know who they are, I hope they are still reading it from time to time.