Capercaillie & Ptarmigan on Scotland trip.

My grandson Michael kindly gives us a lift to Stanstead airport, picking us up at 5am for the early flight to Glasgow.for a four day birding trip with Brian & Jimmy.
By 10 o'clock we are in the hire car heading up the side of Loch Lomand, last year we drove up to Roy Bridge on the East coast, this time we cut across & head for Oban Harbour as our first port of call.

Black Guillemot

Within a few minutes we pick up the first year tick with five Black Guillemot, also the first of many Hooded Crow. We have all seen one back home so no tick with this bird, but a nice time was had just watching them go about their business.

Hooded Crow

Sitting high up above the town is the great sight of McCaigs tower a gift to the town by a man who made all his money here.

McCaig's Tower

Off up the A9  just past Roy Bridge at Lochaber we stop & Jimmy gets a tick with a Common Sandpiper, we both get Tree Pipit here as well so two year ticks so far.Further up the A9 at Druim an Aird we stop to look over a really pretty water fall & see a nice Grey Wagtail.
We now head on up to Duffin near Keith.to the chalet style holiday home,it's a very nice place to stay very happy with the choice Brian has made to stay here,  so it's been a long day & we will be up very early in the morning so a bite to eat then to bed.



The cabin we stayed in for the trip.



On day two we set out for Loch Garten to try for Capercaillie, we missed this last year by a few minutes, so it's the number one target for this trip.we drive all around the area without any luck, so we park up & wait for the Osprey centre to open at 10 o'clock, to pass the time we watch a few Red Squirrel running up & down the trees.

On the feeders we see Coal Tit, Siskin then we hear a Crested Tit & watch it fly on to the feeder, this is tick number ( 3.) the centre is open now so a quick look at the Osprey on the nest, while we watch the eggs start to hatch, we watch the t v screen looking in on the nest to see this happen..Tick number four for the trip. Now it's off to Tulloch Moor & we see the first of many Red Grouse tick( 5 ), but no sign of any Black ones so far.Now we head to the Cairngorm Mountain range, we decide to walk half way up the Mountain looking for a Dotterel, Jimmy thinks he's got one but it moves before we can confirm it. The climb is killing us so we head back down to cheat & take the train to the summit, it costs £10. 30p & takes 8 minutes. once we get to the top we step out onto the platform, we get lucky as a Ranger already has a female Ptarmigan in his scope, he lets us get a view of it & we get our scopes onto it for a nice long look at the bird, it's another lifer for all of us. Tick number ( 6 ) We now head to the cafe that is at the top of the mountain  . Smoked Haddock in batter with chips looked good but it was not to my taste. We now head for Lochindorb a really lovely place with a castle in the middle of the loch, we see Black throated Diver here, also four Osprey fly very close to us across the loch.

Red Grouse

On the way back we pop back to Tulloch Moor to try for Black Grouse, we find the wicker viewing screen & meet up with a couple that had been here for a couple of hours & seen nothing of the Grouse, luck is with us when the bird starts to display also we get to hear it calling, it's just the one bird but that will do for now,   ( Tick 7 ).

On day 3 the plan is to go to Findhorn Valley for the Golden Eagles, on the way we stop at parking bay 151 on the A9 to look for a Ring Ouzel, we see a pair within five minutes of pulling up here, Jimmy & myself have dipped a couple of times in England looking for an Ouzel, so nice to add this to the year tick at long last, tick 8 ). On now & a quick stop at Findhorn Bridge to pick out a couple of Dippers as soon as we get out of the car, not needed for a tick, but always nice to watch these little birds.
A long drive down a one track road for 11 miles to reach the valley, we park up & walk down the track for a short way, then just wait for something to happen Eagle wise.

After a couple of hours a single Eagle comes into view, this was a welcome sight as we had only seen about seven Buzzards up to that point. Funny how it happens we wait a long time to see an Ouzel then we get another one here, We give it at least another hour then the luck goes our way as two more Golden Eagles fly over the top of the ridge & into view for us to get the scope on them for a nice clear view of them, tick ( 9 )
Also two Peregrines are spotted in the valley
Before we leave a minibus group turn up, we have bumped into them at other places over the last few days,
they take great pleasure in showing us the photo of the Capercaillie that they had all seen in the morning at 10 o'clock would you believe it..so we have to give it another go on the way back, but no sign of it.
A nice consolation comes when we get very good views of Crested Tits along one of the trail paths.

Crested Tit

So to the last day of the break, up at 4 o'clock to give it one more go for the Caper. when we arrive we drive around the Abernethy Forest area very slowly but nothing doing. So we park up behind a car at the side of the road, we start to talk to a couple of people that were there looking for it as well, then the fellow sitting in his car calls out that the Caper has just come into view in the forest not to far away from us, BINGO, we all grab a view in case it runs off into the forest, but as it turns out it hangs about for over three hours just pecking away & taking no notice of us at all.tick number( 10 )

The fellow that spotted the target was Mike Doughty who is in the 500 club, we spend a long time talking to him. Just before we go Lee Evans turns up to see the Caper, as we stand with him a flock of Scottish Crossbill fly over us calling, Lee & his group picked up the Crossbill  for us, so another tick  (11 )

We must go now as we have to get near to the airport for the flight home, as we get nearer to the airport we stop at the Falls of Falloch & pick out a Spotted Flycatcher for another tick (12 ), we walk up to see the falls while we are here, the water was raging over the falls a great sight & sound to end a really wonderful trip. Also seen on the trip at Loch Ruthven some Slavonian Grebe in full summer plumage really nice to see them like this. All sorts of Deer, mountain goats, mountain Hares were all nice to see.as well.

2 Lifers inside 4 days , Montagu's & Dusky Thrush. (1 Mega)

While on a break in Norfolk with Jean I popped into Tichwell for a couple of hours, It's the first time my wife has been here so nearly all the birds were new to her, the favourite being the Avocets .
It's nice to be able to walk the dog on a lead through the middle of the reserve, while here a Spoonbill had been seen by some of the birders, but I missed it.
But to make up for it I see my first ever Montagu's Harrier, I got lucky as a couple of chaps had it in their scope's, they kindly let me have a look through their scope so as not to miss it, as it turned out the bird hangs about for some time.
This was not a birding break so getting the Monties was a big bonus for me.While in the hide I get a year tick with a couple of Common Sandpiper, plus a good Ruff in breeding plumage.

Avocet Jeans favourite of the day

R uff just before the collar ruff comes up that I missed  on camera

Back home & ready to get out with the boy's on Saturday for a trip to Reculver, a Monties has been reported there as well & Jimmy needs to see one for a lifer.
We meet up early with Brian & he tells us the plan has been changed as a mega bird had been reported very late last night, the bird a Dusky Thrush had not been seen here for 54 years.
We arrive at Margate cemetery at 7 o'clock to find hundreds of birders already there, we see many faces that we know and we get to see the target bird right away.
It stays mainly at the top of the tall trees but visible to all, with so many people here to see it the chance of it dropping to the ground are remote. A great lifer for us all, the only down side was I think people should respect that the graves are somebodies loved ones .

Dusky Thrush as near as I got to it.

Off now to find the Monties for Jimmy at Reculver.
We get lucky as soon as we get there, some local birders have it in sight, so we get onto it right away.
It's a long way off so we head off  for a long walk to get a lot nearer to it.
This we do & we get at least an hour of the bird flying around to give us a grand display.
While watching the Harrier a Short-eared Owl pops up for a grand show.
The Red-backed Shrike has shown up a lot farther down the track, so as you do we set off to find it, we walk what must have been 2 miles or more, & it turns out to be in vain so a long walk back that feels like twice the distance.
On the way home the pager goes off to tell of a Cattle Egret near Gravsend, it's not to much of a division to make, so we try for it. When we find the right place it turns out to be a very long walk down a track to get a quick year tick, that makes up for missing out a couple of weeks ago at Grove ferry.
All off us were feeling the strain in the legs, but we are only 43 miles from home now so another great day spent with the boys

Wales weekend birding.

Jimmy & myself set off to Pembroke Dock for our yearly trip to do Dinas & either the Deer park or Skomer Island plus to meet up with Brian at Strumble head on Saturday for the day as he is here on a weeks holiday with Sue.
On the way we stop off at a new reserve to us called Newport wetland centre as Brian had phoned to say he had seen there was 2 Black-winged Stilts  reported.

This was a very nice place,with nice people in the visitor centre, but this was not the day to look here for birds, the mudflats never had anything on them, & as we walked round all we got out of the visit was to hear a Grasshopper Warbler, we both needed one for a year tick, so not a complete waste of time.
With no sign of the Stilt we head on to Pembroke.
We are staying in a travel lodge in the Dock area that we stayed in last year, basic but nice enough for a couple of nights.


Stonechat

                 
     

Dinas

Rocky Dinas                
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Up early to meet up with Brian as he had phoned to say he wanted to go to the Deer park that over looks Skomer Island.
If we see all we want to from here such as the Puffin & Chough, we will not go over to the Island today.
It turns out alright for us as we see many Puffin's plus loads of Razorbill, Shag, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Gannets, filling the water.
On Deer park we see a few Chough, but not in the numbers of last year, Puffin & Chough give us two more year ticks.
Also seen Wheatear & Stonechat, plus Fulmar.

So with us not going over to the Island it's off to look for the glossy Ibis that we saw last year at Marloes Mere & it has made it's home there, after looking for some time we can't find it today,  we now head up to Brian's holiday house at Strumble Head, we say hello to Sue & have a cuppa before heading up to the head to do some sea watching.

This gives us another year tick in the form of a Manx  Shearwater, many of them are seen going through.

Once again plenty of Gannets & Shag fly past. A few Porpoise pop up to say hello to us.

We have had our feel of birding for the day, so we get some fish & chips & go back to eat with Brian & Sue.

While there I see a Raven fly around the fields at the back of the house, it's a year tick for me, this is great for me as I missed the one that Jimmy had got earlier at the Deer park.

A really nice day with a few year ticks for us.

A 5am start on Sunday, we decide to have another try for the Ibis that we missed yesterday, it's 14 miles out of our way but that's close enough to tempt us to try again.

After only being there for  5 minutes the Ibis shows itself , so well worth the trip to get another tick for the year.

Off now to call into Dinas RSPB  this is one of  the reasons that we come back every year to this area, right up there with our favourite place's to visit.

Just Jimmy & myself now as this is a stop off on the way back to Essex.

We pick up the first Pied Flycatcher of the morning as soon as we get out of the car,( tick ) next up a Garden Warbler, ( tick) then Willow Warbler shows. A pair of Redstarts are just sitting on the fence in front of us.

Then we hear & then see a nice Wood Warbler, another year tick for us both. we walk the whole way round, first along side the river with all the rushing water raging over the rocks, but no Dippers seen yet.

Then a nice walk back in the forest, no Spotted Fly are seen on the walk back which was a shame as we thought that we would see at least one today. A few Nuthatch show.

Jimmy picks up a single Dipper as it flies past, it's a gloomy day so we give in. It's a long drive back to home

over 270 miles, so we say goodbye to Wales for another year & off we go, it's been a good trip for us both made all the better for meeting up with Brian & Sue.

From the Deer park

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This time Red-footed Falcon at Lakenheath.

Not expecting to get out birding today, I get an early call to say Brian is now going to look once again for the Falcon that we dipped on Saturday.
So not to miss out I join up with both the boy's & head off this time to Lakenheath for another go at locating the bird.
It's a beautiful morning so the walk down to Joist hide was very pleasant with birds singing all the way, we first off all hear a Cuckoo & then get a good view of it in a tree.The Whooper Swan was still on the river so I take the chance to grab a photo of it.

Whooper Swan

Brian thinks he See's a Crane way over the back by the tree's, I never saw it myself. so we sit ourselves down & spend the next 2 hour's just watching for the Falcon to show.
A few Hobbies show first, then we get onto the Red-footed Falcon, it's a fair way off so no photo's but really good views in the scope, it flies around for a long time with many people getting a sight of it.
While we where waiting for the Falcon to show Jimmy picks out a nice Whinchat for another year tick that was 200 up for me this year, the Falcon made it 201 ticks. The Bittern was booming well, but we never saw one today.
Some fellow tells us that the Purple Heron had just dropped into the reeds back up the track at New Fen, so it's off to look for it.

Grass Snake

While we are looking for it we see a Grass Snake swim across in front of us,a really nice thing to see.
The Heron never shows for us, shame that but it never put a dampener on the day, it was great to sit in the sunshine for a chance, off home now before I forget what my wife look's like.

Bonaparte's Gull at Elmley.

Jimmy & I head off to Rainham for a quick look for a Ring Ouzel reported last night on the Serin mound.
After looking around for about an hour it's a no show again, plenty of Linnet's show also Whitethroat, a single Wheatear was picked out by Jimmy.
A single Scoter is seen on the Thames, we give up on seeing the Ouzel & head off to Elmley for the Bonaparte's Gull that has been around for a while, it takes about an hour to get there.
The drive down the track to the car park is very busy with birds Yellow Wagtail every where also Redshank. plus over 40 Whimbrel walking about with the cow's.Red Bunting, Sedge Warbler, wherever you
look.
We walk down to Wellmarsh hide & within 5 minutes of looking a call goes up that the Bonaparte is flying in front of us, I get a really good look at it as the bird flies around the hide & then back into view again, once we picked it out it's easy to distinguish from the Black-headed Gull.This is a lifer as well as a year tick for both of us.
Loads of Avocets fill the island's on the lake,3 Hobbies fly into view for another year tick for us both.

Yellow Wagtail

Skylark

Getting stupid now still no Ouzel. but Stone Curlew seen.

An early start to go to Holme as 2 Dotterel have been seen there. we are not to sure of the place to see them, but we try the area around the back of the woods, that looks like the place that they would most likely to be seen.
We scan all the places, but we give up after a couple of hours as no reports come onto bird guides we think it's time to get going to Ouse washes to try for the Red-footed Falcon.
As we set off to walk to the hide down by the railway Brian tells me it's about 3miles away, I think he's joking, but it turns out he's not.
On the way we don't see much in the way of bird life, or any human life until we get near the target hide, one birder has just come out of the hide, so we ask if he's seen the bird, the answer it no.
Two hours later & still no bird, we do see 3 Garganey, plus a single Golden Plover & not much else.
On the walk back it comes on the pager that it has been seen heading west away from where we are so it's give up time.
A quick call into the Brecks to pick out a Stone Curlew for the first tick for the day.
Off home now, but on the way the pager tells us a Ring Ouzel has been seen at Fairlop Waters, that's on our door step so it's rude not to try for it. but once again after a good scan we still need a Ring Ouzel for a year tick.