Up in the Highlands 2

On day three we returned for some more eagle spotting.  By now the weather, which had gradually become cooler was distinctly chilly and we spent an hour snoozing in the car when it got heavy.

The cool turn had a decided effect on the chances of seeing butterflies and during the whole trip all we saw was half a dozen ambient whites and a single orange tip.

From the point of view of eagles, it was pretty much business as day one i.e. occasional distant and often uncertain sightings.  Overall we managed around half a dozen firm sightings over the two days and did not manage to convince ourselves that any of them were white-tailed rather than golden eagles.

However there was good compensation in the form of a variety of other species.  There was already some action on the way along the valley when I spotted a chaffinch-coloured bird flying over the road.  Rather baffled by its definite white rump, I eventually worked out it was probably a juvenile bullfinch.  More puzzling was what appeared to be a blackbird with pronounced white flashes on both upper wings and I haven't worked that one out at all.  Another flypast was a female redstart - a pleasant surprise as their distribution in the area is somewhat sparse.

On arrival at the parking area, Vicki spotted a golden plover with chicks by the nearby woods, so I took a wander back to see if I could find them.  I spotted a swallow on the telegraph wires, at which point a female mallard emerged from the roadside undergrowth and scuttled off at pace through the woods towards a nearby stream.

I noticed some movement by the water and decided to investigate.  As I approached two ducks fled downstream, each followed by a number of chicks.  I assumed they were mallards but having seen the photograph I managed to get, I'm not so sure about the second group.  In fact I wouldn't like to say what they are. Possible candidates might be gadwall (not common in Highlands) or female and young goldeneye.

Duck with chicks

As you can just see, they were also accompanied by a sand martin, one of a large number of hirondelles flying over the water at speed.

Back on the eagle spot, there was what looked like a merlin perched on the craggy rocks high behind us. Photos taken weren't entirely convincing but the fast, direct flight when it moved off persuaded me it wasn't a kestrel.  

The presence of swallows was confirmed when a couple perched on a nearby bridge for several minutes.  It's not often they are near enough long enough to see the red face and neck.

Swallow

Less conspicuously, a grey wagtail turned up several times during the day.

Grey Wagtail

Vicki took a little walk upstream towards an area of trees where ring ouzels are said to appear.  I had tried the same area on day one without success but, staying nearer the river, she managed to snap a tree pipit right on the edge of the riverbank.

We also saw red deer on several occasions and I got a glimpse of a mountain hare, but no mountain goats.

In spite of a late change of location to an area where white eagles can occur, we did not manage anything as spectacular as this photo Vicki took she and Alex visited in April:

Golden Eagles

Friday 24th August

The last week  has been dominated by social events but what I have seen was interesting.

Last week I ended up cycling back from Gateshead along the Tanfield Railway path and took a rather ill-advised shortcut.  This took me along a rough bridle path through farmers' fields but I did get a quick view of a couple of bright male linnets on the hedgerow.

The same day I followed some recent advice and took a look at the viaducts on the cycle track near Rowlands Gill to check them out as possible places to see purple hairstreaks.  The idea is that the height gives a good view into the crowns of some oak trees and two of the three do indeed have oak trees growing right next to them.

The weather was already rather mixed and I did not see any hairstreaks.  A bit like in May with the green hairstreaks, I got the vital information just a bit too late and will need to store it until next year.  What I did see however, somewhat to my surprise, was the back end of a red deer disappearing into the bushes, no more than a mile or so a way from the town.

There has been a drop in temperature over the last couple of days and it has coincided with the sudden reappearance of long-tailed tits on the garden feeders - as many as four or five at the time.  I hadn't seen them all summer so it was a bit of a surprise.  However it does sort of coincide with my memory that you tend to see them more in colder weather.

Long-tailed tits and blue tits

I think some of them look like young birds.

Sunday 28th January

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." or so I thought on deciding to head back to Ken Dee Marshes to get a few snaps of the greenland white-fronted geese mentioned in my last post.

In fact it wasn't as simple as that.  On arrival at the RSPB car park, a returning couple reported that they had seen neither the geese in question, nor any willow tits - just lots of the usual tits, a woodpecker and some nuthatch.

Their evidence was proved partly correct when my first ever visit to the goose viewing platform revealed nothing but a couple of crows and some unidentifiable ducks in very distant flight.

There was a sign that prospects could be better when a small group of fieldfares took up station in a large tree near the main path.  However at the first hide I saw exactly what they saw, with the bonus that, while Mr Woodpecker was attached to one feeder, Mrs Woodpecker arrived on the other.

On regaining the main path, I saw a young red deer turn tail and make into the undergrowth.  Continuing bright, low sun and the first sight of this year's snowdrops made it a pleasurable stroll along through the trees to the furthest hide, where I settled down to eat, observing the feeder right next to the side windows.

It was only five minutes before a single willow tit turned up and made several nervous raids on the peanuts whiel evading the attentions of the other birds.  This continued for a good twenty minutes or so.

Willow Tit and Blue Tit

I went to take a bit of a look out of the main windows to see nothing at all.  On returning to the feeder I sat it out again for ten minutes, but tit willow did not reappear.  I must have hit lucky.

After another fruitless visit to the goose viewing platform, I was asked by a couple of new arrivals if I knew the best place to look for the elusive Greenland white-fronted geese.  I told them what I knew - but added that it must be their day off.

Then, taking a last look down the loch, there they were, a group of about thirty just visible in a fold in the landscape about four hundred yards away.  I was simply pleased to get a good enough photo to be able to identify them for certain.

Greeland White-fronted Geese

There was another skein of geese feeding on the road back to Glenlochar, but they proved to be barnacles.

Saturday 30th July

On Monday I again took advantage of a sunnier day to try a walk round Mark Hill at Rockcliffe.  Initial signs in the garden were promising as teo or three red admirals were showing on the buddleia.

I somehow took it into my head that there might be a chance of a purple hairstreak but, although there were a few oak trees on the way back down, there was no sign of anything much at all apart from some whites. Afterwards I did a detour to the Mote of Mark, where there was a nice flower meadow and some more red admirals plus a few meadow browns.

One of them seemed to be behaving slightly different way to the others, flattering way down in the grass, so I took a few photographs in case it was a grayling.  But it wasn't.

In fact the most interesting nature moment was when a couple of red deer crossed over the path early on my way up the hill. This reminds me that I didn't do full justice to the walk around Mabie I did last week.  On the way up the narrow road to Troston, a couple of cars had pulled up.  I couldn't understand why and drove on slowly to discover a lady shepherding a baby red deer that was in the roadside undergrowth to safety.

I also forgot to report that there were a good number of dragonflies around, as there were on Mark Hill.  I think this one is a golden-ringed dragonfly.

Gold-ringed dragonfly

On reflection, I reckon I did the wrong walk today.  More interesting might have been to walk along the coast to walk along the coast towards Point Warren, looking for holly blues.  That may be my next venture.

Wednesday 24th May

Lesser Redpoll

Last Wednesday I had a lovely short run coming back over Troston from Beeswing.  On the way up the hill in the brief period of reasonable sunshine, there were green-veined whites and orange tips everywhere and on the top I reckoned I'd seen a couple of birds with a bit of white on their tails that I didn't readily recognise.  They flew into some young conifers and started to feed so I hung around and they turned out to be lesser redpolls - the first time I've seen one for four years.

I stopped a bit later to forage for willow warblers but instead there were three cuckoos singing simultaenously from different directions - not something I've ever heard before.

I was so pleased with that run I decided to repeat that part of the route again today.  This time I headed to Beeswing via Kirkconnel Flow and encountered a minor mystery.  Just past Mabie, I glimpsed what looked like a meadow brown over the grasses to my left. There were cars behind me just after a bend so stopping would have been unsafe and I couldn't investigate.  Annoyingly there were a couple of other brief flashes of brown between New Abbey and Beeswing but totally unidentifiable.

The problem about this is that the meadow brown isn't on the wing yet, and neither are the other species that it could possibly be mistaken for.  It wasn't a wall butterfly and too big for a small heath, so I have to record an open verdict.

Then there was a young red deer past Kirkconnel Flow that took a look at me before sprinting 300 yards across the pasture to get away.

The run back over Troston was unluckily during an overcast spell so today only one butterfly on the whole of the run to Whinneyhill. There was a bullfinch and a couple of willow warblers.  But my main hope was to see a cuckoo and, during a brief stop where a walking route crosses the road, I heard one that I managed to trace to a somewhat distant treetop.  So I finally managed to get a photo of a male cuckoo, albeit at a considerable distance.  Lesser redpoll however did not make a reappearance.

Distant cuckoo

Meanwhile I got a pleasant surprise while labouring away in the garden last Thursday, when I heard the first swifts chasing each other around the estate.  It may be my imagination but it struck me that it was early for them to be around - to be precise 18th May.  I must check this out.

Saturday 20th December

After reporting that trips out were drying up, a break in the weather made a run out possible.  I decided on a rather ambitious uphill bike ride from Lochmaben to Eskdalemuir, hoping perhaps to see one or two interesting things in the forests and moors.  In the end I turned back just a mile or two after passing Castle O'er Forest.

In fact all was very quiet up on the moors apart from one red deer crossing the road, but I did spot one or two things on lower ground.  While driving to Lochmaben, there was a fluffy looking young buzzard perched very low on a beech hedge, so that I wondered if it was in some distress.

Just past Sibbaldbie, there was a sheep with a magpie on its back and I was just thinking of attempting a photo when a cyclist came from the other direction and scared the magpie away.  It turned out my camera battery was completely flat anyway!

On the way back beside the Dryfe Water, bullfinches were about on three occasions and I was pleased to identify the white rump of the first one, which was a rather undersize female.

Right at the end of the trip between Fishbeck and Millhousebridge, a flock of birds flew from the trees and made for the field and as suspected turned out to be the first fieldfares I have seen this winter, though they have been about for several weeks.  I soured the field carefully for redwing but could not see any.

There were more just north of Lochmaben an hour before dusk plus one bird that must have been a redwing, though it had so much red and brown around the area of its upper body and head, it looked more like a snipe without the beak or even an out-of season nightjar - but I think we have to put it down to a trick of the light.

Monday 26th August

I haven't been able to maintain this diary over the past five weeks due to various personal matters, so this is by way of a summary entry to catch up.

Bike rides to Palnackie and Kirdubright on 24th and 31st July showed that there are still red admirals around, plus a large number of whites on pussy willow on 24th while hot weather still predominated.
Early in August experimented with swimfeedered prawn in the spawning swim on Bruce's Acre, which worked well for seven carp up to 4.5lb and a couple of bream, plus three snap-offs to good fish.  Unfortunately, same approach did not work on the Canal left end on 15th, when I got nuisance bites all day and just four small fish after a promising run.  I think this indicates a stronger population of larger fish in Bruce's Acre with resulting competition for food, as they all came to strong runs and small fish bites were eliminated - although possibly not visible as there was a fair wind moving the quiver tip.

A walk at Lochdougan Forest on 18th was very pleasant but overcast weather meant few dragonflies and just one red admiral. One large red deer did not see me until I got quite close, indicating that not many people go there - as did the length of undergrowth on one of the tracks.  Looked quite a good area for willow tits. Saw two sexton beetles trying to bury a shrew on the road as I returned to the car.

A bike ride around Loch Ken area on the 21st showed up a lot of red kites looking for road kill near Crocketford.  On the road from RSPB car park to Laurieston found myself pursuing a host of baby pheasants along the road.  Eventually they panicked and tried to fly off one by one but kept crashing clumsily into trees and bushes.  Also saw swallows feeding  immature birds on the telegraph wires, which I've never witnessed before.

Meanwhile in the garden, another first was a willow warbler visiting the buddleia bush, which is now in bloom.  Again this year, peacock butterflies have predominated, with red admirals back in about equal numbers with small tortoiseshells.  Years ago there would always have been more red admirals than peacocks.  Not many painted ladies however - just two separate sightings on buddleia and next door's lilac.  Also absent for about a week or so have been the swifts. They must have returned to Africa earlier than last year.

Wednesday 3rd July

Large Heath  butterfly

After my holiday and several bike rides with no major sightings plus some bad weather today's trip was to Kirkconnell Flow in pursuit of Large Heath butterfly.  Hard going as track onto raised bog covered in scrub but several large heath sighted as per photo. Not bad as this was only the second attempt.

Other sightings on the day were; a couple of small heath away from raised bog - they are mainly on the wing in August - red deer, meadow pipit, skylark, little white moths, several dragonflies and well-concealed dragonfly spotter, ringlet butterfly.

Tuesday 31st July

Following tip re green woodpecker location, took walk along road from Mossdale to Lock Ken old viaduct and back via route of paddy line.

Very pleasant and various contrasting sightings, although no green woodpecker.  One bird constantly

Red Deer

screeching near loch was most likely a jay.

Red kite (inevitably) and extremely tranquil herd or red deer including male with antlers that were presumably part of venison farm.  Many chaffinch, meadow pipit on farm wall, greenfinches in garden and nuthatch on feeder.  Walking into woods large number of juvenile coal tits mainly that went into trees right above my head.  I could have reached them with a cricket bat and have never seen birds unwittingly approach so near.  Willow warblers, treecreeper and long-tailed tit in trees on train line.

On the way back stopped off at Knowetop Lochs and saw one ringlet and one scotch argus, plus signs of fish life in lower loch again - tempting to try fishing for them as no 'no fishing sign'.

Wednesday 20th June

Holiday in Mayrhofen, Austria

Arrived around lunchtime after overnight stay in Kufstein.  Decided to go for walk to Brandberg as weather good.  Not a lot seen apart from a black redstart, a butterfly like a grayling and a red deer.

21st June

Very long (too long!) walk on and down Penkenberg.  Saw an obscure warbler singing single note like tsit from pine trees.  Looked most like arctic warbler and not bonelli's - maybe greenish warbler? Did not behave or sing like willow warbler.

Almost immediately after got a clear sighting of two nutcrackers including characteristic tail feathers before they made off.  Have been hoping to see one in Germany since 2004, so well-pleased.  On getting up to restart walk at Penkenjoch a black bird landed directly infront of me on the grass. Although it had its back turned you could see the white band on its chest so clearly a ring ouzel.  Sat down to try to minimise disturbance but immediately it flew off leaving me feeling disappointed at such a fleeting encounter with one of my main targets and certainly the top-listed one for this holiday. Kept a careful eye open on the way down but all suspects proved to be blackbirds.

Also saw a profusion of flowers and butterflies, many of which are hard to identify as they are local species not known in the UK.  Those identifed were (or were similar to) small tortoiseshell, speckled wood, painted lady, small pearl bordered fritillary, brown argos, alpine blue, dingy skipper, plus some strong-flying yellows that never settled - suspect brimstone, clouded yellow plus one that had a slight swallow tail.

Monday 21st November

Brief trip to Clatteringshaws yesterday to check reports of crossbills by the visitors' centre.  I think I may have seen a couple but hard to confirm when peering directly upwards in misty conditions.

Castle O'er Forest walk.  After the trip to Clatteringshaws yesterday a forest walk seemed like a good idea.  Planned an extended route on the main forest roadways as it was wet.  Quickly saw a flock of bullfinches on the edge of the first conifers. Heard but did not see pipit on the moor by the iron age settlement.  Walking north behind the settlement, a lot of small birds high overhead (siskins?), then a few goldcrests in a lone deciduous tree (long time, no see) and two pairs of red deer as the sun came out.  Strange to see bullfinch and goldcrest ahead of chaffinch and blue tit, but these appeared on the NE corner of the route, along with other tits and a single woodpecker at the very top of a pine tree.

Thought this would be the day of no long-tailed tits, but hey presto, they turned up in the last half mile within sight of the car park.  More goldcrests where bullfinches had been.

Pleasantly eerie atmosphere throughout the walk.  No wind, totally silent and so warm the midges were out.  Plenty of mature trees with cones, but no crossbills.

Sunday 13th November

Longer than planned bike ride.  The plan was to continue along the Cairn valley past the Dunscore turn off, following the road (not a recognised cycle route) up into the moors to check for birds and see how steep it got, then turn back with a view to doing a circular next summer via Drumhumphry, Crocketford and Milton and home via the Military Road.

I knew it was only 10 miles to Corsock from the Dunscore turn off, and when the uphill proved to be a fairly gentle affair, it was just too tempting not to attempt the whole lot - so I ended up missing Drumhumphry and doing near on 30 miles while hurrying it a bit to make sure I was back in town before dusk.

Once again there were long-tailed tits all over the place.  As soon as the Cairn sidled up to the road, they were around but also again spotted a linnet (getting good at linnets!) in the top branches of a tree. Shortly after there were a couple of jays.

After that there was nothing extraordinary all the way to the Dunscore turn  apart from long-tailed tits and a young red deer I startled near the estate past the Shawhead turn off, which ran parallel to the road for a hundred yards before making an escape over the pheasant wiring.  I checked for dippers in the shallower bits of the Cairn but didn't see anything more than a heron startled by a farmworker crossing a bridge.  And of course a volley of long-tailed tits in the scruffy hedgerow past one of the farmhouses.

By now the road was in the middle of farmland that looked like it would offer more traces of pesticides than wildlife.  Once I topped the rise into the moorland proper, it was a brilliant downhill ride and looked superb - except that it was stunningly silent all the way to the T junction for the Corsock turn.

I may have sighted a couple of meadow pipits on the way into Corsock (where have all the meadow pipits gone?) but otherwise that was it!  What would it have been like in summer?

However the Law of Irregular Returns was again proved on the road to Crocketford, when I first saw a buzzard and then two pairs of red kites circling the area near Mawhirn Cottages.  This is the furthest I've seen them from their release point on the other side of Loch Ken.  Then just five minutes later, I saw my first fieldfares of the winter, a little group of six on a farmer's field.

Even the unpromising stretch along the military road had a couple of surprises with a lttle series of junior buzzards, and, just East of Lochfoot, another lonesome kestrel patrolling the young trees that have started to grow there, rather as if they were part of some conservation project.

17th June

By today the weather was really closing in so the result was a short morning walk in Dunwich Forest before heading home.  I might have heard a green woodpecker, but once again, the woodland birds were simply not coming out to play, apart from the several magpies that are everywhere.  A brief dartford warbler suspect moved on too quickly to be verified through binoculars.  But I did see three male red deer cross my path, already showing impressive antlers.  On a last circuit looking for a mystery bird hide shown on the displayed map, a volley of tits passed my way including at least one marsh/willow tit - the habitat would suggest marsh tit but I can't tell the difference with any confidence.

So the woodland exotics - green woodpecker, tree pipit and nightingale will need to be left for another day and only the first two will be possible locally.  In a way it's good to know there's still something to aim for near where I live, which is why not seeing sedge warbler or egret didn't concern me much. But I really wanted that woodpecker...