Black Grouse

A week in the Cairngorm National Park and on the Moray and Nairn Coast gave us some excellent birding, with a couple of life ticks for me, but with very few photographs for the blog. The problem was the weather, it was just too good, warm sunny days, calm seas and virtually no wind. The sea ducks, that we had hoped to find sheltering in the coastal harbours, were long gone or were far out to sea and the geese also seemed to be starting their migration early.

We did manage to see one hundred and sixteen different species over the week. That included  White-billed Diver, Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Twite, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Ptarmigan, Iceland Gull, and Surf Scoter. However most were a long way off and the scopes got more use than the cameras. 

The notable missing bird for the week was the Snow Bunting, which is normally present either on the coastal sand dunes or around the car park at the Cairngorm ski lifts. We could not find them anywhere although there was one reported the day after we left.

Fortunately we had stopped off at Seahouses Harbour before we crossed into Scotland and the Eider we found there proved to be the only close encounter we had with sea ducks all week.

Eider

Female Eider

The harbour also had a few Great Black-backed Gulls, this one with the remains of a crab.

Great Black-backed Gull and crab

First stop in Scotland was at Musselburgh. Lots of birds including Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Ducks, Goldeneye, and Bar-tailed Godwits but no Surf Scoter that we could see and no opportunities for photographs. So it was onwards to our base for the week at the Grant Arms Hotel at Grantown on Spey.



It was nice to find the Black Grouse. This is a bird I used to see regularly when I was out walking on the hills, but it seems to be a lot rarer these days. This is  actually the first I have seen since I started keeping records four years ago. The pictures are poor but this is not a bird that is easy to approach when out in the open. We did not want to spook them so we took our pictures at a distance, hence the massive crop, and left them in peace.

By contrast the Red Grouse is a much easier bird to photograph. These shots were taken at Lochindorb where the birds were close by the road.

The last of our target birds in the Grouse family was the Ptarmigan. Dismissing the soft option of the Cairngorm Funicular we trudged up the route to the northern corries. Last year we had seen a number of birds around there but this year, with the snow line higher, we found only one. Dave heard it calling and after a search he found it, distant, on the other side of a deep snowfield. Last year the birds came close but this one was staying put, happily feeding on the heather shoots.

Ptarmigan

They are a great bird to find, the walk may have been hard work but the celebratory beer that evening tasted all the better for it.

We had two visits and spent about a day and a half looking for Eagles in the Findhorn Valley. Slim pickings is probably the best description for the birds found. On the first visit we had one decent flyby from a juvenile Golden Eagle from which I failed to get any decent pictures. My best efforts are shown below.

There were a couple of other distant views of Golden Eagles and one possible sighting of a White-tailed Eagle but it was to far off to be able to confirm the identification.

The shot below shows the closest we got on the second visit.

It's taken using a 500mm lens and 1.4 extender with the birds at least a mile away. Blown up a bit bigger you can identify the lower bird as a juvenile Golden Eagle. The upper bird, Dave identified using his scope, as a peregrine which was one of a pair harassing the eagle.

There were Dippers in the river but they did not show for a picture so to keep me occupied I ended up photographing a Mistle Thrush and a Pied Wagtail that kept us company on our vigil and a couple of the local Buzzards.

Not quiet as tuneful as a Song Thrush but better than nothing

Pied Wagtail

 

Buzzard

Buzzard

More to follow in part two of the blog headed as Crested Tits.

Ptarmigan

Friday 13th March

The road up to the Cairngorm car park had been closed for the previous three days due to the strong winds and the threat of snow. Friday dawned sunny and with no wind. This would be our only chance to get above the snow line and find the Ptarmigan so we made an early start and were in the car park by eight o'clock.

The earliest running of the funicular looked like being at ten thirty so we were facing a long wait or a long walk to get to the top. Fortunately we checked with the local ranger and he pointed us in the direction of an easier walk up to the Northern Corries where he said we would find the Ptarmigan.

Local knowledge is always useful and with an hours steady walking we were above the snowline. At first all we could pick up was the sound of the Red Grouse calling but Dave soon got onto the "screwdriver" sound of a couple of the Ptarmigan and we had distant views.

Female Red Grouse

We were having difficulty getting close enough for a picture and decided to split up to cover more ground. I could hear one calling so went higher to see if I could find it. It was then that I realised that it was sitting out on a rock about ten feet away from a group of climbers that had just gone past me. It clearly did not like people in its territory and was giving them a server scolding. They all had their phones out taking pictures and must have thought me an odd sight trying to run through the snow to catch up with them before the bird disappeared.

Dave was a couple of hundred yards away and had even further to travel. He managed to get a few shots but I think his arrival must have been too much for the bird. It probably felt out numbered and made a strategic withdrawal.

We found a few more of the Ptarmigan and got some good pictures but none were as close as the first one.

This male is in full breeding finery

Back down to the car park by midday we decided to give the Crested Tits another go. Much to our surprise we found David Gardiner standing in "our" spot. Still it was nice to see someone from home and we spent a pleasant afternoon and evening discussing the birding opportunities.

The Cresties put in some good appearances and there was also  a Siskin in the area, a rare sight this year.

Siskin - this one seems to have a deformed bill and its feet look a bit of a mess as well

Crested Tit - Posing nicely for a picture

You need to see the bigger picture - a large dollop of peanut butter helps to keep its attention

Ptarmigan and Crested Tits in the same day. Birding back in Sussex is going to seem a little boring.

Crested Tits

Tuesday 10th March

The target for Tuesday was to get a good picture of a Crested Tit but I hadn't realised just how difficult it would be. We were out on site at Loch Garten by just gone seven thirty and by midday I hadn't got a single shot. In fact I had only had five sightings of the Crested Tits and none of those had been for longer than a few seconds.

With the wind chill factor it was sub zero temperatures, my feet were like blocks of ice, and my fingers were so cold I was having difficulty pressing the shutter button. I had pictures of other birds but the Cresties were just to fast for me and were flying off before the camera had focussed.

Coal Tit

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Tree Creeper

We decided to have a break and go and look at some Whooper Swans that were nearby at Boat of Garten then on to Lochindorb for the Red Grouse.

Whooper Swan

Red Grouse

The Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) is a subspecies of the Willow Ptarmigan         (Lagopus  lagopus). It differs in that it does not adopt a winter plumage of white.

Nearly too close for the camera

Great fun but then it was time to go back for another go at the Cresties and fortunately they seemed to have slowed down a bit. I assume that whilst we were watching in the morning they were taking and caching food but in the afternoon they seemed to be staying longer and feeding on the food offered.

Crested Tit

A good start but I think I need to go back and try again.

Scotland

I have just returned from a walking trip to the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland with a group of friends. Fortunately they are all Munro baggers and so under the pretext of not wanting to slow them down I was able to opt out of the longer walks and do a bit of bird watching.

The journey up there stopping off at Martin Mere and Leighton Moss was a little disappointing. There were plenty of birds around but nothing very interesting and all too distant for a decent photograph. The highlights were a Little Ringed Plover and a Ruff that was showing the start of its summer plumage.

The first days walking was also a bit of a failure. I had done my research and set off through Glen Muick in search of  Capercaillie and Black Grouse. It was a nice walk but by the end of the day I had seen a Jay, Common Sandpiper, Common Gulls, Willow Warbler,  Wheatear, and a couple of Chaffinches. A disappointing day even if I was birding from home. To add insult to injury that evening my friends were happy to tell me all about the birds they had seen on their way over Lochnagar. I think we eventually decided these had been Red Grouse and Red-legged Partridge.

Stung into action I was out by four thirty the next morning and off along the Tomintoul Road to check out a possible Black Grouse Lek site. No luck again but I did at least close the gap on them by finding Red-legged Partridge and Red Grouse.

Red Grouse

Superb camouflage - you only see them when they come out to take a look at you.

Red-legged Partridge

The three pictures above demonstrate the vagaries of using high ISO speeds in low light. It was a dull wet morning with dawn just breaking and these pictures are hand held on the car window using a 700mm lens, ISO 1600, F8, and low shutter speeds. The first picture is at 1/80sec and has come out well, the second also at 1/80sec is just about acceptable, and the third at 1/320 sec has an unacceptable level of noise even after working on it in Photoshop. It would be nice to know what really works but like most people I end up taking as many combinations as possible and hoping that I get at least one good picture out of it.

I had another day searching Glen Tanar for the Capercaillie and Black Grouse but even with a tip off from a local birder I came away empty handed. I knew this was also a good area for Dipper but was not having any luck with those either, until one of the group, Alan, who is a bit of a closet birder, said he had seen them at a location I had already searched four times.

A quick trip the next morning and I had some superb views.

Dipper

Must have a nest nearby

With my friends returning home I headed off to Fowlsheugh, a seabird colony just south of Stonehaven on the Aberdeenshire coast. 

Where there had been a shortage of birds up in the Cairngorms there were plenty to see at Fowlsheugh. The cliffs had Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmar, Rock Pipits, and Rock Doves. Out to sea there were Eider and Gannets and on the cliff tops hirundines, Yellowhammers and Meadow Pipits.

Guillimot - including one bridled variety

Kittiwakes

Razorbills

Meadow Pipit

Yellow Hammer

Next stop was an overnight at Musselburgh and a look around the estuary and lagoons. The lagoons have been filled with ash from the nearby Cockenezie Power Station and the remaining shallow pools attract large numbers of roosting waders, terns, and gulls - or so my research had told me. In fact the lagoons had now been completely filled with ash and the site was left with what looked like a series of slag heaps. There were still a few scrapes but these only held a couple of Shelduck. Fortunately the estuary was more interesting with both Velvet Scoter and Eider Duck present and with a number of waders moving around.

Female Eider

Eider

Velvet Scoter

Again the views are a bit distant but as this was the first time I have seen either of these in the wild they were worth including.

The journey home then crossed the border into England but read the second part which will be in the next blog and covers Bempton Cliffs, Flamborough Head, and Paxton pits.