📖 Cairngorms ~ Invercauld Estate ☀️ 24C ~ Wind ↗SW@ 2mph ~ 31/05/21

The last day of meteorological spring and it's finally starting to feel something like, with temperatures actually reaching the magical 20C and beyond. However, there's still a fly in the ointment if I was to travel the short distance to the coast! Haar or sea fret is a cold sea fog. The phenomenon occurs most often on the east coast between April and September, when warm air passes over the cold North Sea and can last for days or even weeks. Aberdeenshire is renowned for it and currently along the coastline temperatures are struggling to reach double-figures.

The view across towards Craig Leek

The good news is that today Dazza and I had planned to go inland to the Cairngorms and spent an enjoyable late morning and afternoon walking part of the Invercauld Estate. Thankfully our whole visit was in the beautiful wall to wall sunshine with a temperature of 24C.

A good emergence of Four-spotted Chasers

Although we've walked the area several times before, today we decided to take in the boggy valley around Felagie in the hope of some early Dragonflies and Butterflies. The walk also offers excellent views of the cliff face of Craig Leek. 

Whitethroat

The walk along the straight track down to Felagie adjacent to the woodland produced plenty of Siskin and Redpoll in the treetops, plus the odd flyby Crossbill and at one point a Whitethroat gave an opportunity for a quick snap. 

Green Tiger Beetle ~ Plentiful today in the warm sunshine

Plenty of boggy pools to investigate and at one particular pool over twenty Four-spotted Chaser and an equal amount of Large Red Damselfly. Another feature was the sheer amount of Green Tiger Beetles, with one literally taking flight off the path after every ten paces or so!

Small Common Gull colony at Felagie

Within the central part of the bog is a large pool and here a small colony of Common Gulls were nesting. Quite surreal seeing nesting gulls in the heart of the Cairngorms but since moving here we've noticed that you can't go far within the mountains without seeing one.

A Pearl-bordered Fritillary takes a rest on some Carpet Bugle

Butterfly numbers were a little disappointing today, perhaps a reflection of the poor spring we've encountered this year, plus a little early in the season for some of our target species like Large Heath but we did manage a small number of Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

The above Green Hairstreak was one of three noted today, along with various small numbers of Orange Tip, Speckled Wood and Green-veined White. Unfortunately, the only raptors of the day were Buzzard but Redstart and Wheatear were other notables along with Curlew. Let us hope that this excellent start to the meteorological summer continues in earnest.

📖 Staycation Part 3 ~ Scotlands West Coast

Thursday, May 20th: After our trip to Mull yesterday a little lay in this morning and a late breakfast at Lochgilphead. The weather had indeed deteriorated overnight with heavy rain for most of the morning and with a break in the weather in the afternoon, we decided on a walk around the nearby Beaver Project at Knapdale.

Red Squirrel ~ One of Scotlands iconic sights

Little chance of seeing Beavers during the daytime but it was a pleasant enough walk. The birding was particularly slow in the dreich conditions but the Red Squirrels entertained. On route back to the cottage an early evening drive around Loch Gilp in the strengthening wind and more rain produced of note a few Swifts, Common Terns and a single Manx Shearwater. 

Spotted flycatcher from the living room window.

One of the highlights of our stay in the cottage has been watching a pair of nesting Spotted Flycatchers from the comfort of our living room. Each morning and most evening we were visited by at least one of the parents perching on the wires directly in front of the window. By the way, the wires were for keeping the cows and sheep from eating the garden!

Chequered Skipper ~ Finally connect, a lifer for Dazza and I

Friday, May 21st: Our final day before heading home tomorrow was spent around Loch Creran just north of Oban across from the Connel Bridge, an extensive outwash fan of gravel, sand and boulders. At the head of the loch is Glasdrum Wood NNR which is renowned for its diverse flora and fauna, including sessile oak and ash trees, mosses, liverworts and rare invertebrates, like the Chequered Skipper Butterfly. Unfortunately and although there had been sightings earlier in the week we failed to find any in the overcast, breezy conditions. 

Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Glasdrum NNR

Saturday, May 22nd: However, waking to sunshine on Saturday morning we made a last-ditch attempt to connect with this nationally rare butterfly before heading back home. After a good hour, we finally found two specimens, along with a few Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, a brilliant end to a fantastic week and a 'lifer' butterfly for us both! 

A Few Final Images..

One of our resident Spotted Flycatcher

Chequered Skipper

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

One of the many Wheaterars seen throughout our stay.

  

NEW Scottish Life-List Since Relocating Permanently to Aberdeenshire in October 2020

📖 Staycation Part 2 ~ Scotlands West Coast

The Isle of Mull leaving Oban

Wednesday, May 19th: Today was the highlight of our week on the West Coast with a day trip to Mull. As luck would have it this was forecast to be the last good weather day before things changed. Unfortunately, as per usual, the weather forecast wasn't quite as expected and although we did enjoy some sunny periods we also encountered even longer periods of heavy rain.

Gannet 

The sailing takes around 45-minutes and offers the chance of a short spell of 'pelagic birding'. With the sea particularly calm today the birding, in general, was quiet during both crossings with just a single Manx Shearwater and the usual selection of sea birds Gannet, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Common Tern and of course Black Guillemots around the harbour. However, we noted several pods of Common Dolphin and a possible sighting of Minke Whale, which was just too far out for a positive ID but appeared much larger than any Dolphin!

White-tailed Eagle ~ photographed in heavy rain

On arrival, we took a clockwise route around Mull with our first stops on the southern end of the Island overlooking Loch Scridain and Loch Beg. Notable sightings here were several Great Northern Divers, a male Hen Harrier, Peregrine and our first sighting of White-tailed Eagle, which Dazza spotted from the car as it passed overhead during a heavy rain shower.

Otter ~ Dazza's spot of the day!

Of course as well as Eagles, Dazza was also permanently on the lookout for her favourite Otters and as per usual came up trumps as we skirted our way northwards. A wonderful dog Otter who we spent a good while with, at one time watching him demolish a large lobster!

Always at a distance another Great Northern Diver

At Loch na Keal and Loch Ba a number of summer plumage Great Northern Divers along with a few waders Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover and the ever-present Oystercatchers.

White-tailed Eagle at Ballygown

A few further sightings of White-tailed Eagle, including the above specimen along the shoreline at Ballygown. Golden Eagle was a little more difficult to pin down today with a few distant sightings but our best view was literally a few miles from the ferry terminal at Graigmure when one soared close by across the treeline, once again in the pouring rain.

Tobermoray

Despite the weather, It was an excellent day with plenty of stops to enjoy the stunning scenery and wildlife and naturally included fish & chips at Tobermory. Other species of note today included: Raven, Whinchat, Stonechat, Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Red-throated Diver.

A Few More Images of the Day..

Wheatear

Ringed Plover

Another view of White-tailed Eagle

Otter

Brute force Raven

📖 Staycation Part 1 ~ Scotlands West Coast

West Coast Part 1...

I'm just back from an excellent 'staycation' week on the west coast with Dazza, staying at a working farm cottage near the village of Ford, around 45 minutes south of Oban. Really comfortable accommodation, if not a little rustic, with stunning views, lots of woodlands to explore all alongside Lochs Awe and Ederline.

The weather for the early part of the week was mainly sunny with occasional showers, which thankfully we managed to avoid on most days, but with a chilly northerly airflow. However, from Thursday the weather deteriorated somewhat, becoming wet & windy with temperatures struggling to reach double figures.

Wood Warbler ~ Scarce for Aberdeenshire but several seen and heard during our week in the west.

My early morning walks were a delight with Wood Warbler, Garden Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Blackcap and Nuthatch forming just a small part of the dawn chorus, the latter apparently no so common this far north, even scarcer in Aberdeenshire!

Black Guillemots ~ Always a treat to find then around Oban Harbour.

Sunday, May 16th: Our first full day was spent visiting Oban shopping and sightseeing, thankfully managing to avoid some hefty showers. The harbour here is always a great place to find Black Guillemots and at this time of year they can be found nesting around the harbour walls, so we spent some time watching them come and go.

The 'Atlantic' or Clachan Bridge linking Seil Island to the mainland.

Monday, May 17th: A day visiting two of the 'slate Islands' Seil & Luing. Seil is linked to the mainland by the Atlantic Bridge. An interesting looking bridge 72ft wide and is steeply humped to provide clearance above high water of 28ft to avoid obstructing the passage of small vessels. 

A nice find was this nesting Whinchat on Seil Island 

Luing Island on the other hand is accessed by a small ferry and takes less than 10 minutes to cross, the ferry has room for 3/4 cars.

One of several Wheatears around the Islands ~ This one at the old quarry

Early Purple Orchid on the Isle of Luing

An enjoyable day with Cuckoo's calling and showing occasionally, during most of our stops. Wheatears too were plentiful and a stop off at the old slate quarry found a number of Early Purple Orchids. The whole area is awash with Bluebells and during the odd sunny period a number of Orange Tip Butterflies were noted.

Tuesday, May 18th: Our plans today included a stop off a Moine Mhor, one of Britains last remaining raised bogs, a visit to the Crinan Canal, always a pleasure to reminisce about canals and a visit to Taynish NNR. Sadly, Moine Mhor was a complete right-off, with idiot dogwalkers and I'm not even going to waste time writing about this increasingly worrying disregard for wildlife and their habitat by a growing minority of dog owners, sufficed to say they got a good piece of my mind!

Spotted Flycatcher ~ Crinan Woods

At Crinan we enjoyed a long walk along the canal and took the steep climb up around the local woods. The canal, which opened in 1801, takes its name from the village of Crinan at its western end.

Crinan Canal

Approximately nine miles (14 km) long, the canal connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Clyde and the Inner Hebrides.

The recent emergence of Four-spotted Chaser

From Crinan a short drive to Taynish NNR an ancient oak woodland, with marsh, meadows and a freshwater loch. Our visit here was more about the Odanata & Butterflies than the birding, which was particularly quiet. Plenty of Four-spotted Chaser and Large Red Damselflies were on the wing, along with a few Speckled Wood and Peacock Butterflies. 

Wood Sorrel

A wonderful array of plants too with Wood Sorrel, Bogbean, Greater Stitchwort and Hare's Tail Cotton Grass.

Pictorial..

Small Heath ~ A surprise find at Crinan Oakwood.

Another Wheatear ~ This one on Luing Island

Bogbean ~ A first for me.

Our first Large Red Damselflies of the year!

📖 Ne'er clast a clout till May be out! 14/05/21

Ne'er clast a clout till May be out could well turn out to be true this year! Instead of enjoying some early signs of summer, the weather across Scotland and indeed the rest of the UK is currently more reminiscent of a typical April. It seems that the jet stream, coupled with a stubborn area of high pressure over Greenland and Iceland which is forcing areas of low pressure over Europe is to blame. 

An area of high pressure is blocking the movement of the jet stream northwards

The jetstream is currently positioned well below the UK and is preventing any warmer and more settled conditions from heading our way. Until the high pressure is displaced allowing the jet stream to move north, these conditions will unfortunately persist. The good news is that things could be changing with a lot of forecasts predicting the jet stream will move north late next week!

Garden Warbler

We did actually enjoy a brief period of southerly winds in the early part of this week but they already seem a distant memory as once again we find ourselves back to the more familiar north, northeasterly. Anyway, I'm thankful for small mercies as that brief period seems to have allowed for an increased arrival of warblers, thus far thin on the ground. My first Garden Warbler at Dalmadilly Ponds on Wednesday, along with larger numbers of Blackcap, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. Swallows are now far more prominent and the first Swift at the pond was noted during today's morning visit.

Pochard ~ An increasingly scarce visitor.

On Wednesday an addition to my waterfowl list with two Pochard on the pool when I arrived.

Pied Flycatcher ~ A record snap of this scarce visitor to the north-east

One particular species, the Pied Flycatcher, that I'd mentioned in my previous post as being an uncommon passage migrant to the north-east, with just ten records according to the 2019 North-East Scotland Bird Report suddenly popped up on Birdguides. A male in 'The Plantation' at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg. This is actually a remote part of the reserve on the northern side of the loch but once I discovered where to park I found it to be a pleasant walk out to the wood, although the low cloud and occasional mizzle didn't help. 

Corn Bunting happily singing in the gloom on route to the plantation

Wheatear, Corn Bunting, and Whimbrel all noted before I reached the plantation and almost immediately the Pied Flycatcher showed for long enough to obtain a quick snap. A bonus while here were my first Spotted Flycatchers of the year.

Let us hope the weather is a little warmer in the west of Scotland next week, here we come!

  

NEW Scottish Life-List Since Relocating Permanently to Aberdeenshire in October 2020