Jumpy

With the migrant birds disappearing fast and just the odd bird dropping in, the local birds are always going to get more attention. A pair of Hooded Crow hang around the garden but they are still quite jumpy as a rule but this one was happy to stay put on a miserable day.

A trio of Bullfinch were seen feeding at the side of the road but the distance and dull conditions prevented any decent shots. I presume that the right hand bird will be a female as the male plumage is just starting to show on the left hand bird.

Talking of birds dropping in...a couple of Knot did hang around for a few days. They were not jumpy at all.

It seems like you can't go far without seeing an eagle over the ridge at the moment. A WT Eagle cruised along this ridge while a pair of Golden Eagle appeared to be hunting just below.

This long billed bird looked a bit like a Curlew Sandpiper from a distance but when I got a bit closer it was clearly a Dunlin. My, how it laughed!

I'm starting to see quite a few Grey Wagtails around now.

A Golden Eagle flew across the road quite low and it was interesting to see there was quite a bit of white in the tail. It was more noticeable on the top of the tail but a nice sighting all the same.

Beaver patrol

We had a trip off island to visit some friends but just before we left the island four Whooper Swans dropped in - there is a Goosander in the background too.

We just happened to be staying close to Beaver country so we had a wander round the area looking for signs of them. There was no intention of attempting to see them but it was nice to see the area and the lochs that they inhabit.

A lodge was seen but it was a bit obscured.

There was plenty of evidence of the Beavers recent activity as can be seen below.

A tree stump that had been removed with a saw showed all the classic signs of gnawing round the stump to fell the tree.

The chips of wood around felled trees were quite large and you can see how the teeth work as chisels.

Felling the trees gives the Beavers access to the high branches that they will strip off bark for food. The favoured trees are Aspen and Willow - the photos below shows part of an Aspen branch that has been stripped of bark. You could see faint teeth marks along the branch where the bark had been stripped off.

It wasn't a birding trip so very little was seen - Crossbills in the forestry, a female Bullfinch...

...and a Razorbill were the highlights.

A day of two halves.

A bit of a run out and a couple of year ticks gained - a couple of Whooper Swan on an inland loch and 2 male Bullfinch.

A small group of 10 Redwing were well scattered over a field and a pair of WT Eagle were seen having intimate relations. The weather was good so it made looking on the lochs difficult from some areas. This GN Diver was quite badly backlit but I still had a go.

A flock of nine Golden Plover have been hanging around for a few days, seven males and two females, but they have always been distant.

It had been a pleasant morning with the roads quiet, Skylarks singing, Lapwing calling in the distance, some good sightings and to top it off a Golden Eagle circling outside the house when we returned for lunch!

We headed for higher ground in the afternoon and the contrast was massive. There were no sounds of bird song at all on the higher ground but we had different targets. It wasn't too long before we saw an adult WT Eagle flying away from us over a ridge soon followed by a younger version of the same species.

This activity prompted the local pair of Golden Eagle to get in the air and do a bit of display to defend the territory and also escort the larger birds away.

Both of the WT Eagle had come away from the hill with full crops so it wasn't that surprising when a third bird put in an appearance.