The Cairngorm Area

Unusual but very nice inside.

We arrived in Kingusie on 4th September & settled into our little cabin. It is tiny but well appointed & it has a fire which makes the nights cosy. 

Loch Ruthven

There are some lovely silver birch woodland here.

On the 5th September we drove to Loch Ruthven, one of the more reliable places to see Slavonian Grebe. We were a little worried that they might have left their breeding loch, but after a bit of searching we found an adult bird, but it was quite a distance away. It just had a few yellow tinges to its tufts left, otherwise it was in full winter plumage. We also had an Osprey complete with fish in its talons. It is a lovely area & it would have been nice to spend a little longer walking the birch woods.

Common Buzzard

Meadow Pipit

We then drove into the Findhorn Valley via the Farr Road. An interesting journey but we didn't see much apart from 3 Red Grouse exploding away on the moor & lower down 7 Common Crossbills flew over.

Spent the next couple of hours at the raptor viewpoint in the valley. It is quite a nice spot & we saw 2 Golden Eagle; 1 Red Kite; 8 Common Buzzard; 1 Peregrine & 5 Raven. Most birds were distant though.

Male Chaffinch

Female

Coal Tit

Adult Scottish Crossbill

Young bird with poorly developed bill.

We found ourselves at Loch Garten on 6th September, but everything was closed! We didn't see many birds but four Scottish Crossbills were very welcome, although they were high in the pines. It is a lovely area though but this time no sign of Red Squirrels.

Birding here does have

 its drawbacks!

River Spey.

European Robin

Signs of autumn.

We then moved on to the Abernethy Forest & walked along the track to Forest Lodge. Birding was quiet although we did find a few Crested Tits, although I didn't get any photos. It was a really nice walk & we enjoyed good weather.

Looking over Loch Morlich

Drove to the Cairngorm Car Park on the way home. Distant Golden Eagle spotted.

View from the lookout over the Insh Marshes.

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Young bird.

Red Admiral

Rook

We visited The RSPB Reserve of Insh Marshes on 8th September. The scenery is quite lovely as was the sunny weather. We went up to the lookout & then walked along one of the trails. The most surprising thing was the lack of birds, best being 3 Common Buzzards!

Part of a flock of 300 Barnacle Geese

that flew down the valley.

European Wolf.

Thinking about a re-introduction scheme in Scotland.

Forest Reindeer

Have already been introduced to the Cairngorms.

Visited the Highland Wildlife Park on 9th September & what a great place it is! Animals have lots of space, sometimes in very large enclosures. 

Our final day in this superb area was on the 10th September when we explored the woodlands around Glen Feshie. It was a cool & overcast day, birds were at a premium, but we did manage to see a male Capercaille. This species has really declined in this area & we were lucky to see one.