Garden Butterflies...

Serious lack of butterflies around this year, not usually that many in the garden but we usually get Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks which I haven't seen any. Also one of the white ones, not sure which. But this morning basking on the stones was a slightly tatty looking Speckled Wood.

One thing I have maintained this year is water for the birds using just an old plastic tray. Probably to do with all the warm dry weather we have been having but it has been used by all sorts of birds for bathing and drinking. This morning there was 2 young Blackbirds, 4 House Sparrows and a Siskin all drinking from it at the same time until one of the Blackbirds decided to dive right in and have a wash.

Quick update (02/08)....

Last week I was at a work lunch at the Storehouse of Foulis which allowed me a chance to see the Common Terns out on the raft.

The only other observation of note was this morning (02/08) a sound caught my attention up in the sky and when I looked up I saw a Raven "gronking" as it flew over the house, the first I have seen in this area.

Year List Additions:
126. Common Tern

Osprey...

Great views of an Osprey that flew over at tree height across the road between Monadh Mor turn off and Tore roundabout yesterday.

Year List Additions:
121. Osprey

Bogbuie Wood (01/06/13)...

The blog has been very quiet of late. The last month or so has been one of the hardest I have experienced in many years. After returning from Poland, I have been finishing off my degree which is now very close to complete, had extensive problems to do with my car (don't ask!), seeking employment, had an operation that has put me out action for the last week or so and recently some difficult personal stuff going. So when it came to getting out there I just haven't had the time, the transport, the motivation or all of the above and I have that feeling of missing most of the Spring action although the season has been late this year and it's not too late to see some stuff going on.

My birding consisted mostly of things seen around the house which has included up to 9 Swifts screaming around the housing estate and the first young of the year in the garden which has consisted of Blackbirds and Blue Tits. Not overly exciting but still a welcome sight nonetheless.

Today (01/06) I decided to go for a walk to try and clear my head. The weather was dry and mild and I was headed to Bogbuie Wood on the Black Isle to see if I could see a bird that would be a first for me if successful.

I parked up at the entrance to the forest not far from the aerial mast at Mount Eagle and headed West along the main forest road. Shortly after exiting the car near to the first clearfelled area there was plenty to see. 2 young Bullfinches, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Chaffinch and Blackbird. Ten minutes walk up the very long, straight road and I started to hear Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff and shortly after I saw a Willow Warbler in funnily enough a mature Willow tree.

I was now starting to get closer to the area which I wanted to check out based on information kindly provided by Kevin over at the Highland & Moray Bird forum. As I walked further a long the road and seeing a handful of Roe Deer a clearfell appeared on my right hand side. I stopped a couple times and scanned the area. Something caught my eye over the far side of the clearfell. It took off from a tree and flew low to the ground and seemed to land just out of view. My first thought was Sparrowhawk. But this was not a predator, it was a parasite, confirmed when it was chased off by two smaller birds. It was of course a Cuckoo, the second I have seen this year having never seen one before that. It landed on top of a tall tree called a couple times and headed off away from me into the forest. Great to see but not what I had come for.

I carried on a couple hundred metres before coming to a gate to my right and a track leading off from the main forest road. I then headed down this track to the far corner of the clearfell where a group of tall, skinny Scots Pine still remained. When I got to this area it was time to slow down and keep my eyes and ears open. I didn't have much hope because I never seem to have much luck when I come to somewhere for a specific bird.

It didn't take long before I saw a flash of fiery orange fly across the track in front of me and up into the tall pines. I stopped and tried to locate the bird hoping it was not another Robin (although they are also nice to see). I picked up a bit of movement up in one of the Pines, locked my binoculars onto it and there it was, my first ever Common Redstart and a stunning male to boot. It was particularly nice to see such a bird relatively close to my home too. The bird was favouring the Pines and was fairly mobile but seemed fairly happy to stick around so I did too. I quickly found a comfortable tree stump and for the next half an hour enjoyed great views of this impressive bird. I did manage to get a couple record shots which can be seen below. It's amazing how getting out there into the forest, walking in the sun and seeing a few birds can do to improve your mood even if it makes you slightly happier for an hour or so.

Year List Additions:

113. Common Redstart (Lifer)

Male Common Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus)

Update (18/05/2013)...

First Swift of the year flying above the house this evening. Just one so far but hopefully numbers will start to build now. Nice to know they are coming back again.

Year List Additions:
112. Swift

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.

More Snow (11/03/13)...

Awoke today to a wintry scene as everything was covered in snow. One of the reasons I love the winter so much is that it drives birds into the garden in search of food and every now and again you get something unusual. In the fairly harsh winter of 2009 I remember seeing an unusual bird in the garden which turned out to be a male Brambling. I think this encounter is what really kicked started my interest in birds outwith the garden.

Almost every year we get quite a large flock of Chaffinches that visits the garden each Winter and since that encounter in 2009 I always take a few minutes to scan in hope that a Brambling will turn up again. Well today I finally got lucky....again. Opening the curtains around 7.40 this morning and there was already roughly 40 Chaffinches feeding on the extra seed I had scattered on the ground for them knowing that cold weather was on it's way. I took some time to scan through them all and to my surprise I found a nice little female Brambling. It stayed for a few minutes then flew off up into the trees with all the rest of the flock where I lost it. I kept checking throughout the day but I didn't see it again unfortunately but there was the now regular Yellowhammer, Siskin and a handful of Greenfinch mixed in with the Chaffinches to keep me entertained. I didn't manage to get a photo so here is someone elses for a change!

Year List Additions:
88. Brambling

By Arnstein Rønning (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Cromarty (27/02)...

Bit of a late post but last Wednesday (27/02) the weather was superb (as it was most of the week) so I decided to head out for a good long walk near to Cromarty. I set off early in the morning and I stopped off at Udale Bay. This is the first time I have been here since they built the new hide and it really is fantastic. Unfortunately all the viewing windows were covered in condensation but it was ok because it was the wrong time of the day to visit with high tide around 1pm so I planned to pop in again on my way back. I still had a look at the bay and there were plenty of the usual suspects, geese, teal, wigeon, mallard, lapwing, redshank and a handful of Bar-tailed Godwits on the banks of the burn.

I headed on to Cromarty to begin my walk. I parked near to the fishing habour and straight away I could see Long-Tailed Ducks off the small pier. All of a sudden a tour bus parked behind me and I was surrounded by 50 or so tourists so I didn't hang around for long and made my way towards Cromarty beach. The walk I had chosen would take me up and over the South Sutor and around the headland to the South shore then cut back across the farmland into Cromarty.

Route map.

From Cromarty beach I could see more Long-Tailed Ducks offshore and small rafts of Eiders on the flat calm water. Plenty of Shag were also fishing just off the beach. On the beach itself there were up to 4 Rock Pipits and small numbers of Redshank.

View from the beach

Towards the end of the beach the route starts going uphill through mixed coastal woodland. Plenty of Chaffinch, Blackbird and Robin singing. Plenty of Tits flitting about in the canopy too. The path is quite steep in places but it's well worth it when you get to the top of the South Sutor. The views are spectacular especially on a clear day like I had. Near the top is a carpark with a viewpoint and a bonus was a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling from the top of a Spruce tree.

View from the top.

Looking across to the North Sutor

The route then took me farmland and rough grazing. I could plenty of Skylarks singing and it was hard to remember it was only late February. It was so warm though that it felt like Summer at times. In the corner of one of the fields close to the cliff tops was a small area of open woodland. This small patch held Song Thrush, singing Yellowhammers, Wrens, Tit species, Dunnocks and a handful of Meadow Pipits I flushed from the long grass.

Carrying on along the muddy route I was able to get great views of the South side of the Black Isle and the Moray Firth. As I moved from one field to the next I finally saw some of the Skylarks that I had been hearing.Something also caught my eye jumping around in the bracken which at first I thought was a deer but on closer look it was actually a fox.

The route now started to gradually descend towards the South shore. I was heading for a spot called McFarquhar's Bed. Eventually the route came to a steep descent into this little cove. There was no-one else there so I had the place and the views to myself. A great point to stop for lunch. There is also a pretty impressive cave here shaped by the waves.

I sat down to lunch looked across the water to see if I could spot anything. Some more distant Eiders, fly by Cormorants and plenty of gulls. Then a smaller bird closer to shore caught my eye which turned out to be a Guillemot. I was then treated to several fly-bys from a couple of Fulmars 

After lunch I retraced my steps for a short distance and then headed across the ridge of headland directly back towards Cromarty. On the way down to Cromarty I was rewarded with more fantastic views, this time towards Ben Wyvis.

Ben Wyvis in the distance through the heat haze.

Looking across towards Nigg yard.

Nothing else of note seen on the way back to the car but a very enjoyable walk. It was now time to get back to Udale Bay but as I came up to the carpark at the side of the road it was jammed packed with people and cars and in true Anti-Social Birder style I decided not to bother. Although for anyone heading there soon I did see a record of 12 Smew there just last week which I myself had been hoping to see!

Year List Additions:
77. Bar-Tailed Godwit
78. Eider
79. Rock Pipit
80. Great Spotted Woodpecker
81. Meadow Pipit
82. Skylark
83. Guillemot
84. Fulmar

Another unusual visitor (26/02)...

Weather today again today was fantastic, clear and sunny. The recent group of Siskins are still present and it was nice to also see a couple of Greenfinch too which seem a bit scare lately. The Song Thrush was back again, this time feeding on the ground and at the bird table but I failed to get any half decent pictures. But it was later on in the morning that there was an unusual vistor to the garden, feeding from the table but mostly on the spilled seed on the ground, a male Yellowhammer. I have seen Yellowhammer in the garden before, once. It was for a split second early one morning, but this male came and went for most of the day staying for around 10 mins at a time. I took to the bird-hide shed to see if I could manage to get a photo, see below for results.

Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella)

Bird Hide Shed (24/02)...

There has been plenty of Siskins in the garden over the last 3 days. Up to 16 at any one time in the garden which is much more than I have ever seen before which is usually at most about 5-6. I really wanted to try and get some photos of them that weren't from the upstairs window or through the downstairs window which always turn out rubbish. Then an idea struck me, which I am really surprised I hadn't thought of before, to use the shed as as my own bird hide. It is right next to the feeders and even has a window on the side facing it. I had the idea last night and decided to try it this morning and it was fairly productive.

The birds were a bit nervous to start with which I expected but the Siskins soon settled down and were not bothered at all and I managed to get some pictures. It wasn't the best light and at points it starting snowing but oh well it was fun to try and just to see them so close whilst sitting in relative comfort.

I was even rewarded with a guest that has been fairly regular the last few days but in general is not so commonly seen on bird feeders, the Treecreeper. There has been one (and I am assuming it's the same bird) that seems to turn up when the majority of the Siskins arrive and switches between creeping up the walls of the house and feeding on the peanuts and suet cakes. Was really nice to see this bird so close.

There were plenty different birds coming and going althought the Blue, Great and Coal Tits I kept finding difficult to get a decent picture of but finally managed some of the Blue Tit unfortunately not clear enough to read the ring on it's leg.

The Siskins are a feisty bunch, regularly arguing amongst themselves but also seeing off the larger Goldfinches whenever the come close although this once managed to land and grab a mouthful before being chased off.

Ground feeders proved difficult to get a photo of. In the case of the Blackbirds and Starlings they were just too nervous I think although they did seem to slowly relax a bit but never in the right position! Did manage a picture or two of Robin and Dunnock but with the camera pointing down and the busy background of the grass and seed the photos aren't great. Maybe I could set up some kind of strategically placed perch? It was fun though and I might try it again.

From the house (13/02/13) ...

Today (13/02) I awoke to a fairly wintery scene with everything covered in the white stuff and it was still falling. It didn't last for long however and turned to rain and sleet on and off which lasted for the rest of the day. One good thing about this kind of weather is that it drives many birds into the garden for food. I went outside and put out extra food and sat back to see what would take advantage. I think I had the whole range of birds I usually see in the garden show up at least once over the next hour.

I am very lucky where I live as althought I only have a small garden and live in a housing estate it backs on to some good countryside for birds. Half a mile away is the Conon River with it's riparian woodland and not a mile East is the start of the Cromarty Firth mixed in with plenty of farmland, scrub and scattered woodland which allows me to see a range of birds from my window.

Some of the highlights over the next hour included 2 sightings of a Sparrowhawk, one in a mid air battle with a Carrion Crow and one (not sure if it was the same bird) during a failed attack on the birds in the garden. I also saw Red Kite flying over several times and a Buzzard feeding on something in the field across the road. I also enjoyed up to 12 Goldfinch and 5 Siskin at a time enjoying the niger seed in two different feeders. A flock of 14 Long-tailed Tits also came and went several times. There were hundreds of Wood and Feral Pigeons in a far away field and also a large flock of small birds that were too far away to identify. The highlight of the hour was a flock of c30 Fieldfare which landed close enough in a tree across the road for me to identify. They flew from a Northerly direction stayed for around 5 minutes and departed heading East into the heart of the Black Isle. It was also a new species for the year. Towards the end of the hour the male Pheasant was back. He hung around outside the garden for awhile before hopping over the fence to feed on the mixed seed and this time I managed to get a coupel of pictures through the window.

For the rest of the day I kept an eye on the garden now and again and it's great to watch even on a miserable day and I managed 26 species without leaving the house!

Year List Additions:
72. Fieldfare
73. Feral Pigeon

Species Seen:
Robin
Dunnock
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Siskin
Long-Tailed Tit
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Great Tit
Common Gull
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Collared Dove
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Starling
Pheasant
Buzzard
Red Kite
Sparrowhawk
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Fieldfare

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

Quick update..

Just a quick update whilst I take a short break from coursework. Heard my first Willow Warblers from my back doorstep in the middle of last week then a couple days I managed to spot one in the trees just outside my garden.

At the weekend I did a bit of bee friendly planting, replacing one the borders in the garden with a mix of British Wildflower seed. Not sure how successful they will be but fingers crossed. I obtained two free packets of seed from Friends of the Earth's Bee Cause website, in which they managed to hand out all 10,000 packets that were available. The good news is the Co-operative are now doing a similar thing for those who want some called Plan Bee.

Today (3rd) I was at Drummondreach Oak wood this morning for a college module. A really stunning woodland with plenty more Willow Warblers singing, 3 Swallows spotted on the way there at Alcaig and an Osprey was seen perched just offshore of the Urquhart Cemetery, my 6th Osprey in the space of two weeks, not bad considering I had only seen one before once at Loch Garten Osprey centre.

That's all from me back to work, such a shame that I have to miss all this lovely weather.

Small but it's a start.

Back to snow...

After temperatures of around 20C recorded here for the last week and a bit, it finally ended and today at midday it was heavy rain and 6C. Since 8 o'clock this evening it has gotten even colder and is currently snowing quite heavily some of it even starting to settle.

Birds of note in the last couple days were 2 Oystercatchers flying over the house towards the Cromarty Firth yesterday and today I spotted a pair of Shelduck in the field across the road with good views of a Sparrowhawk flying over the house towards the farm at Corntown.

Great Tits have been checking out the nestbox over the gate more regularly and I finally spotted Blue Tits checking out the other box in the garden a few times.

Unfortunately the trip to Nortumberland has been delayed due to my girlfriend having an accident but she is ok and soldiering on and I hope she gets better soon! (She is my no1 follower of the blog). With this weather it might have been a blessing in disguise but we still might be able to make the trip next week.

Leap year birding...

Today started quite early at 5.00am when I was woken up by a bird singing very loudly outside. I got up to check it out and it was a Song Thrush sitting in the tree just outside the garden singing his heart out. I never heard bird song so loud and clear before. I spent a good 40 minutes standing in the dark with the window open listening. It was also quite worrying because it was only my first of the year.

Later on the afternoon I headed out for a couple hours. First stop was Ferry point in Dingwall. It was about an hour before high tide and there were plenty of birds about. Good numbers of Redshank with Dunlin mixed in and c30 Oystercatcher. Plenty of Wigeon with some Teal. Lot's of Common, Black-headed and Herring gulls. I headed along the path beside the old canal and there were the usual treecreepers flitting about from trunk to trunk on the broadleaves lining the footpath. Further round were a couple of Curlew, 16 Shelduck and 2 Mute Swans out on the open water. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere a few thousand geese descended on the bay. So many it was hard to count but I estimate 500 Greylag and 2000 Pink-footed. It was quite a spectacle. I tried for almost an hour to find some White-fronted or Bean Geese but they were either absent or I just didn't pick them up. I did see a Greylag with a red neck collar but it was too far away to read it. On the way back to the car I managed by second Song Thrush of the day (and year).

Pink-foots and Greylags

Treecreeper

Teal

Wigeon

Second stop was the Dingwall business park to check up on the "white-winger" situation. I located the 1st-winter Glaucous but there was no sign of the Iceland gull unfortunately. A couple of interesting crows came close.

Carrion / Hooded hybrid? Comments welcome.

Last stop of the day was Recastle over on the South side of the Black Isle. Plenty of Mallard and Teal in the bay aswell as a pair of Shelduck. Large group of Common and Herring gulls on the water. But the highlight was a group of 6 Pintails including 3 impressive looking drakes. A new species for me and a nice end to the afternoon. Unfortunately I was losing light and they were too far away for any decent pictures. Just as i was leaving 4 Whooper Swans flew over the bay headed towards Beauly.