20/01/2017 Travelling up to Scotland

Saturday 21/01/2017
Barr Loch
RSPB Lochwinnoch

• Set off from Workington with Brian at 07.00.  We decided to make a detour near Glasgow to twitch the Hooded Merganser at RSPB Lochwinnoch.

RSPB Lochwinnoch.

• This turned out to be a very good decision and we got to see a really beautiful bird in all its glory. Thanks to a helpful local birder who we met in the car park, we were directed to Barr Loch and to the Ranger, Zul, who pointed us to the correct area on the opposite side of the Loch.

• The merganser had temporarily disappeared down a channel.  It soon re-appeared and gave us some superb views as it moved around, before going onto the bank for a nap.

What a great start - a lifer on day 1!

Loch Garten

Arrived at Mount View our hotel for the duration and, after dropping off our bags, we then made our way to Loch Garten for the last hour of daylight.

• We had close views of 3-4 Crested Tits as they came to the table for food along with the Coal Tits.

Incredibly there was only 4 of us in total to witness this spectacular event.

Roll on tomorrow when our trip starts proper!