East Grinstead RSPB Trip to Northern Scotland
Black Isle Birding with Mark Finn
Five of us flew out of Gatwick for a 80 minute flight to Inverness where we joined our leader Mark Finn who was waiting with the 8 seater mini-bus to take us bird watching straight away before reaching his home at Balblair on the Black Isle where we met his wife Jo, our lovely cook for the week. Another member joined us on the Monday.
This turned out to be an epic trip covering nearly 1250 miles across the whole of Northern Scotland, visiting over 50 major sites and "clocking up" a species count of at least 140 including 8 "lifers" and 17 "year ticks"
"Lifers"
Hooded Crow (250)
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| Hooded Crow Library picture |
I lost count of the number of these lovely Corvids we saw.
Black Grouse (251)
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| Black Grouse Library picture |
One of the most memorable experiences ever. A 04.30 start to get to get to Corrimony, an RSPB site, where we were joined by the warden for a guided tour with 2 Lekks. At least 20 males were seen at close range in their full colours. Because we had a special pass we were able to view from the minibus at really close range without scaring the grouse. Normally these birds would scatter if humans came within 75 to 100 metres. What a privilege!
Red Grouse (252)
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| Red Grouse Library picture |
Golden Eagle (253)
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| Golden Eagle Library picture |
We searched for these all week with our only success being a pair, at distance, on Wednesday in the Hope Valley. At last a personal milestone has been passed.
Crested Tit (254)
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| Crested Tit library picture |
Dotterel (255)
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| Dotterel Library picture |
On the last morning just before we left for the airport we had fantastic views of 2 males and the beautifully coloured female in the snow on Cairngorm Mountain.
Ptarmigan (256)
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| Ptarmigan Library picture |
On the same mountain we quickly found several Ptarmigan in stunning breeding plumage. What a welcome!
Scottish Crossbills (257)
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| Scottish Crossbills Library picture |
2014 UK Year List Ticks
Osprey (219)
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| Osprey Library picture |
Eider (220)
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| Eider Library picture |
Having missed these in the south east of England I was relieved to find one within minutes of leaving the airport. Over the week there must have been hundreds for us to enjoy.
Wood Sandpiper (221)
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| Wood Sandpiper Library picture |
This was an unusual, but welcome surprise finding.
Twite (222) and (258 on Life List)
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| Twite Library picture |
We were lucky to spot a small flock of 5 Twite on one occasion.
Dipper (223)
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| Dipper Library picture |
As expected, we picked up a Dipper on day one and saw several during our stay.
Grasshopper Warbler (224)
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| Grasshopper Warbler Library picture |
I managed to get a best ever view of a Grasshopper Warbler early on in our stay.
Wood Warbler (225)
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| Wood Warbler Library picture |
Ring Ouzel (226)
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| Ring Ouzel Library picture |
In the car park, below the visitors centre, for the Fenicular train up Cairgorm Mountain Mark I got a fleeting glimpse of a Ring Ouzel.
Puffin (227)
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| Puffin Library picture |
We saw half a dozen or so on Handa Island.
Other Highlights
There were many highlights other than those mentioned previously and a summary follows.
Divers
We saw all three divers, none of which were new to me. However what was new was this was the first time I had ever seen them in full breeding plumage and it was stunning.
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| Red-throated Diver Library picture |
The Red-throated Diver really had a red throat and the Black-throated Divers and the Great Northern Divers really were in their "Sunday-best clothes".
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| Black-throated Diver Library picture |
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| Great-northern Diver Library picture |
Slavonian Grebe
The most handsome bird of the week just had to be the Slavonian Grebe in full breeding plumage. I had seen many of this species previously but this was my first summer sighting.
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| Slavonian Grebe Library picture |
The colour combination was awesome and was a complete transition from the black and white winter dress.
Skuas
Our trip to Handa Island was not only to see Red Grouse. Nice though that was, the principal reason was to observe the Skuas that were nesting there. Great Skuas were present in numbers (around one hundred) with the Arctic Skuas just beginning to arrive with six there at the time of our visit. This was a truly spectacular event with these huge birds nesting close by and putting on a magnificent flying display in this lovely setting on a fine day.
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| Great Skua Library picture |
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| Great Skua Library picture |
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| Arctic Skua Library picture |
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| Arctic Skua Library picture |
What a contrast to my previous sightings at sea on the south coast where the birds were clearly visible but very distant.
On the cliffs there were thousands of Razorbills, Guillemots (including at least six "bridal" Guillemots with their characteristic white spectacles) and Kittiwakes together with good numbers of Fulmar and other gulls. We saw half a dozen or more Puffins among the many birds there.
"The last field in Britain"
The furthest north we went was to Durness on the NW coast and we looked for birds in the so called "last field in Britain". Even here there were surprises with a Garganey, a Green-winged Teal and a whole host of common waders.
Other Wildlife
There was plenty of other wildlife to observe including Red Squirrels, Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Grey and Common Seals, Red and Roe Deer and the lovely Mountain Hares.
This was an epic trip, one that I shall never forget. It totally surprised me in that I was not expecting to visit the whole of northern Scotland or to see such a variety of birds and places. The scenery alone was worth the visit but the wildlife just turned it into a awe-inspiring occasion.
Our leader, Mark, was pleased with our sightings. He felt we were unlucky not to see any White-tailed Eagles. The fact that we missed out on Capercaillie did not surprise him as there are now more and more birders chasing an ever decreasing pool of these birds. He was bitterly disappointed and very surprised not to hear or see any Corncrakes at Durness where he had a previously unblemished record.
As for us, we found it exhilarating with 04.30 starts, long days and a surfeit of birding.
List of species seen:
Pink-footed Goose
Greylag Goose
Light-bellied Brent Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Shelduck
Gadwall
Wigeon
Mallard (10)
Shoveler
Garganey
Teal
Green-winged Teal
Tufted Duck
Eider
Common Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Goldeneye
Common Merganser (20)
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-legged Partridge
Grey Partridge
Pheasant
Black Grouse
Red Grouse
Red-throated Diver
Black-throated Diver
Great Northern Diver
Little Grebe (30)
Slavonian Grebe
Fulmar
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
Osprey
Red Kite
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard (40)
Golden Eagle
Kestrel
Peregine
Moorhen
Coot
Lapwing
Golden Plover
Ringed Plover
Oystercatcher
Common Sandpiper (50)
Greenshank
Wood Sandpiper
Redshank
Whimbrel
Curlew
Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Snipe
Kittiwake (60)
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Sandwich Tern
Great Skua
Arctic Skua (70)
Guillemot
Razorbill
Black Guillemot
Puffin
Rock Pigeon
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Swift
Great Spotted Woodpecker (80)
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Hooded Crow
Raven
Skylark
Sand Martin
Swallow
House Martin
Col Tit (90)
Crested Tit
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Treecreeper
Wren
Dipper
Goldcrest
Grasshopper Warbler
Sedge Warbler (100)
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Wood Warbler
Blackcap
Whitethroat
Robin
Wheatear
Redstart
Stonechat
Blackbird (110)
Redwing
Song Thrush
Mistle Thrush
Starling
Dunnock
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Tree Pipit (120)
Rock Pipit
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting
Snow Bunting
Chaffinch
Brambling
Scottish Crossbill
Greenfinch
Redpole
Siskin (130)
Goldfinch
Twite
Linnet
Bullfinch
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Ptarmigan
Dotterill
Greater ScaupRing Ouzel (140)
Species count for this trip = 140
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