My Scottish Adventure (Part 5)

Crested Tit

It was a 2 hour drive to Loch Garten on day 5 of my Scottish holiday. Dad decided to take us there for some reason, to a place we visited on numeral occasions when we were last in Scotland 5 years ago. When we arrived for our latest visit, it was lunch time. So we ended up having a picnic in the car park beside a tree with a bird feeder hanging from it. This feeder attracted several coal tits, a great tit and... a crested tit! Crested tits are only found in Scotland in the UK and are normally fairly shy of people, but here at this RSPB reserve, feeders are everywhere and are regularly topped up and prove too much for a hungry crested tit to resist, making them a lot easier to see than anywhere else.

Coal Tit

Loch Garten

As soon as the crested tit had it's fill and flew away deeper into the forest, the rain that was following us during our long journey here had finally caught up with us. From then on, the rain was pouring on and off for the rest of the day. This was the worst day weather wise of the holiday. We walked to the osprey observation hide looking slightly wet. Inside the hide, we watched bird after bird visiting the feeders at close range. Siskins, chaffinches, coal tits, blue tits, great tits, all of them swarmed over the feeders and the ground below them and they were joined by a few bank voles and a family of great spotted woodpeckers. We also learned that the reserve's famous breeding ospreys, Odin and EJ, had a terrible year this year with all three of their chicks failing to fledge. They all sadly died.

Fly Agaric



Not sure what kind of fungi this is

Siskin

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Adult Great Spotted Woodpecker

Bank Vole

The funicular railway at Cairn Gorm mountain 

When leaving Loch Garten, Mum wanted Dad to take us to go up Cairn Gorm mountain via the funicular railway. We did this 5 years ago too, but back then the mountain was covered in snow and there were lots of skiers and snow borders making the most of it. This time around, the snow is long gone and was instead covered in rain. There was a short break in the miserable weather to enjoy the scenic surroundings from the viewing platforms of the Ptarmigan Café at the top of the mountain for a few minutes though. Last time we were up here, we saw a couple of ptarmigans, but this time we were unable to spot one of these masterfully camouflaged grouse or any mountain hares either that are more than likely hiding out there amongst the rocks somewhere.

Views from the viewing platform

Reindeer

So no ptarmigan or hares, but there was a herd of reindeer roaming the slopes surrounding the café. Yes, you read correctly, reindeer! And before your wondering if Santa is enjoying a cuppa with us and left them outside, the answer is no. A herd of reindeer have been in this part of Scotland since 1952. It is the only free-roaming herd in the UK and are apparently very friendly and approachable. Still, I rather stay in the comfort of the café than out in the rain to see if that was true.

My Scottish Adventure (Part 4)

Kessock Bridge over the Moray Firth

Day 4 of my holiday in Scotland and we travelled east, past Loch Ness and Inverness and over the Moray Firth onto the Black Isle. Another long drive, which has been a bit of a theme of this vacation. We stopped at Chanonry Point for lunch and in the hope of seeing dolphins. Five years ago, during our last visit to Scotland, we were lucky enough to see a pod of bottlenose dolphins travelling along this part of the Moray Firth from the shore. This time, however, we had no luck spotting any dolphins, only a grey seal bobbing it's head above the waves and a jellyfish washed up on the beach.

View from Chanonry Point



Grey Seal

Jellyfish

Udale Bay

Next, we visited the RSPB hide overlooking Udale Bay. When we got there, the pleasant sunshine that we were experiencing had suddenly been replaced by a dark cloud and it started to rain. At least there were plenty to look at while we were inside the hide. This sheltered corner of the bay was teeming with birds. A large flock of gulls, mainly common and herring, covered the water's surface like a blanket of white and grey bodies. On an island at the opposite end of the bay, a sea of black and white filled a large area of it as oystercatchers pack together in a big gathering. A large gaggle of Canada geese were also swimming around in front of the mass of gulls and there were a few lapwings, wigeon and other waders and wildfowl to complete this bird-scape.

An oil rig at Udale Bay

Common Gull

Herring Gull with two Common Gulls

Greylag

Canada Goose

Oystercatchers and gulls

Linnet



Fairy Glen

Leaving the hide, the rain had finally stopped. This was good, but it meant our next stop at Fairy Glen was going to be a muddy hike than expected. It was a challenge to avoid the worst of the mud along this stretch of fast-flowing river, but despite the muddy conditions, we were still lucky enough to see a couple of grey wagtails and a dipper before reaching a couple of wonderful waterfalls. It was a challenging walk, but it was worth the effort in the end.



Dipper

The first set of waterfalls

The second set of waterfalls