Day 2 - Part 1 - 9/7/2017 - wooodlands and OSPREYS

The holiday didn't get off to the best start. We went to a scots pine plantation at Inverlaiden to look for CAPERCAILLIE. It was the usual plantation and not the ideal haabitat  for the CAPERS and also it was the worst time of year and the worst weather to see them, a light drizzle. We cruised around in our minibuses so as not to disturb the birds, but alas no birds were found. In the muddy road one of the minibuses got caught in mud, and no amount of pushing could get it loose. So the CAPER watch was called off, and I was wondering if this holiday was going to be a mistake.
So we pushed onto another site, this time on the other side of Aviemore, a place called Craigellachie, a birch wooded national nature reserve. Things started off well, with a TREE PIPIT family, the adults feeding young, now a rare sight down south.
There were also several SPOTTED FLYCTCHERS about as well. This COMMON SANDPIPER was found by a small lochan near the entrance.

 

In this woodland were several of the supporting cast of birds that we would see again and again as we passed through further woodland. This included TREECREEPER, BULLFINCH, SISKEN, LESSER REDPOLL GOLCRESTS and COAL TITS. These birds were the type we would see throughout the holiday, most days and in most types of woodland, from now on expect them when I write about other wooded places.

So now with several species in the bag, we went and had lunch by Loch Insh, I think to look for DIVERS. Nothing much here, just a few GOLDENEYE. That species of duck would be fairly ubiquitous, found commonly on the low ground lochs, the only duck apart from MALLARDS.

After lunch we went to thee other side of Loch Insh to see an OSPREY nest by a kirk. There were two birds in the nest, with an adult preched on a tree nearby. I had news the famous pair at Loch Garten had failed to raise any young this year

 

 

So that's how the first part of the day  panned out. The holiday would work on a similar principle, of pin pointing places to catch certain species.