Speyside

We had a quick trip across to Speyside to catch up with the specialities over there. On the way across most of the Black Guillemots were looking good...

...but there was still the odd one looking very mottled.

A trip into the woods in Speyside will always produce a few good sightings - Long-tailed Tit...

...and Crested Tit.

The weather was just fantastic - blue skies and very little wind. We had tried a couple of spots for Capercaillie and found nothing so it was nice to come across this handsome chap at our third attempt.

After he had shown us who was boss he settled down to feed next to the track before heading back into the forest - awesome!!

A trip up Cairngorm next. With the weather so good the car parks were absolutely rammed but not too many people in the area we were heading for. It took a wee while to find the Ptarmigan but what a fantastic bird to see. The male birds look like bandits...

...while the female birds just blend in.

The Red Grouse just stand out out like sore thumbs!

A cracking weekend away but it's good to be back.

Different

An impromptu tour made up for a bit of a different day. The target was to find an Otter to photograph and then any species of fauna in front of the camera. We started off with a nice Common Seal...

...just before we bagged a couple of Otters.

We managed to stumble across a Spotted Flycatchers nest with four chicks - luckily we had already got photographs of one of the adults so we left pretty quickly.

A Black Guillemot was watched as we had a cuppa.

Next on the hit list was a Peregrine chasing a Rock Dove that wasn't captured on the camera but the falcon put on a good display.

 A couple of WT Eagle were seen, Whinchat and a newly fledged group of Swallows.

 A Red Deer hind didn't want to wander off so it had to be photographed.

A Yellowhammer gave us the run around but it made for some interesting flight shots.

We couldn't find an Adder but this Common Lizard was abit of a performer.

 We waited over an hour for a Golden Eagle to take to the air but it never obliged so we headed off to the Tawny Owl site instead - a great day out with a few different things seen.

Squat

Here's a one for ya - Sunny day, 8C not a sign of a snake anywhere. Sunny day, 3C and there is an Adder! Only a fortnight late but it was nice to see a sign of spring instead of being wet.

The rain was back the following day but you can't let that stop you. If you don't go out you will see squat and even going out I got squat - Squat Lobster, caught and eaten by this Otter.

A Black Guillemot was still in winter plumage...

...while the Otter decided to come a bit closer - quality!

Another couple of Otters were seen after this but with the tide out it's better to find a place to have lunch. Found a spot but there was also a WT Eagle sitting there so no lunch.

A couple of Golden Eagle were briefly seen, a young WT Eagle was watched as it checked out a nest site while the owners were away and the runt Otter has definitely gone as the mum and single cub were seen. The Mistle Thrush will sing in the rain so they can cheer up a dull day but it's even better if you can get close to them - stunning bird.

Back to the old favourites after that - goose or heron? The Grey Heron is just looking tremendous at the moment so it wins hands down.

Divers

I had a quick look for the Glaucous Gull but there was no sign - it must be about somewhere. The Turnstones were hiding amongst the seaweed while the tide was in.

A few RB Merg were making their way up a river so I waited behind some cover and managed to get a few shots despite the stiff breeze.

You can see the wind was quite strong by the stance of this Grey Heron.

The Turnstones were still present when I returned so I had another go at them.

A single Common Gull was loafing just offshore...

...and a Greenshank was activly feeding along the strand line.

Another run out to look for a couple of wing-tagged WT Eagle was a fruitless search but I did get good views of a female Hen Harrier. A Black Guillemot was on the patch but just too far out for the camera.

A Shag and a GN Diver were fishing in the same spot in a choppy sea. I wasn't sure what I was seeing as they surfaced alternately and then disappeared in the chop but eventually they appeared together.

There were plenty of Oystercatchers on the beach...

...and a bigger group of GN Divers were seen at the days end. There are 10 birds in this group, one behind the flapping bird.

On a post.

The weather was going to deteriorate through the day so we decided to mix things up a bit to get the best out of the day. We started off with the Adder while the first band of rain came through and managed to hit lucky and just as we were about to leave a Golden Eagle put in an appearance - result.

As we drove along we got a brief view of Spotted Flycatcher on a post, Wheatear on a post, a Snipe on a post and two Golden Plover that were not on a post.

We had  a round up of flowers along the way but while we were viewing some Pale Butterwort I picked up a couple of Otters that were fishing. We watched them head to land with a meal and managed to get decent views of them in the rain.

A view of the WT Eagle was nice and when we headed back down the road we found the two Otters a bit closer.

A Black Guillemot was well watched as it struggled to get it's catch down the hatch.

Despite the weather we still managed to get a view of the Wood Warbler and we finished the day with nice views of Twite.

Recovery.

There have been plenty of Turnstone passing through on their way north but a single bird that I took photos of was sporting some fancy leg wear. I sent the details in and received this response...

We ringed 225 Turnstones at Mauretania this winter and this is the first sighting.

EUP was ringed on 10-12-2012 at Iouik, Mauretania and has not been seen since.

I wonder if the Turnstone thought about catching a ferry...

...because Black Guillemots seem to have that sorted already. A bit of seaweed makes it seem like home...

...and there may even be scope for a nest site.

It seems to be an uphill struggle...

...a ferry ramp is probably not the best place to set up home.

It looks like somewhere a bit more permanent is required!

Getting a buzz.

When the tide comes in the waders are a little bit closer and they don't seem to mind you approaching them...up to a point, of course. There is no cover so the bold approach is the only one to use. A flock of 25 Turnstone were buzzing about but there was one bird that wasn't joining in.

The shallow water is good for reflections and I nearly managed to get one of this Ringed Plover.

The Otter family were out fishing and when mum caught a fish she was more interested in thrashing it about than eating it!

Another buzz was getting this Buzzard on the telegraph pole. If you have tried this you'll know that most of the time the bird will fly off but this one stayed put while I took some shots. I actually got out of the motor and it still didn't fly!

There are quite a few Black Guillemots around but I noticed that on the open sea they are all in summer plumage but on the sea lochs they are just starting to turn - they are paired up too.