Tuesday:
The day started with me running an early morning solo. The drive to Cairn gorm produced another Osprey sighting sitting out on a tree by the road side waiting to start his day too. The sun was up early so I decided to walk to the top of the mountain and bumped into three Ring Ouzel feeding on the foot path grit as I walked up. I had heard several Ptarmigan on the way up but at the top there were at least a dozen birds calling and flying around with more courtship going on and little scraps for territory. Meadow Pipit, Red Grouse and Wheatear were the only other birds at the top apart from a fly over Buzzard and Raven. Dotterel had been reported but I couldn't find any.
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| Osprey |
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| Ring Ouzel at Cairn Gorm |
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| Ptarmigan at Cairn Gorm |
Following this I headed to a tip off location for Scottish Crossbill in the Glenmore area and found the birds feeding a short walk from the car park listening for the difference in call which I have to say I find very difficult to hear but the tip off was reliable so the short detour was rewarding.
The afternoon was spend chilling in the Findhorn valley where we are staying. A Sea Eagle flew over and a Peregrine kept us entertained while we waited for other Eagles to appear. A couple of distant Goldies were reported but they were too distant for me to confirm. As we headed back out of the valley we saw a large raptor climb and after pulling over to scope it we finally managed to firmly ID a young Golden Eagle as it flew low across the ridge giving much better views that the usual.
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| Sea Eagle in the Findhorn Valley |
Another stunning day with the weather on our side the scenery here is just amazing.
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| The Findhorn Valley |
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