Birding Ecosse Blogspot

Welcome to the Birding Ecosse blog, if it is your first visit then thank you very much for dropping in!

This blog will follow all my trips and tours, so if you have been out with me recently the chances are very high you will make an appearance! Most of the pictures on the blog are my own, however if I do use third party pictures I will have obtained their permission and will give them full credit.

It is designed to be a light hearted read to show how and where Birding Ecosse operates, so if you are thinking of booking a tour check out this Blog and my Blog Archives and then read through the Testimonials and you should get a flavour of what to expect! Great Birds, Great Scenery with Coffee and biscuits thrown in!  Please note: All  birds will have been viewed in a safe and environmentally accepted way, that is to say by using public access at all times or by the use of hides specifically erected for the observation of this species and by keeping at a safe distance and viewing through telescopes. Remember you can keep in touch via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dslaterbirdingecosse 

So sit back and enjoy the read, any feedback is appreciated.

Keep safe and keep Birding

Dave

200 done and dusted (at last!)

After a great start to the year the “handbrake” truly came on my 200 year list around September time, so finally it was a relief when I connected with Hawfinches on the Black Isle for number 199 and finally this weekend whilst heading South to Arbroath we stopped in at Scottish Wildlife Trusts Loch of the Lowes, a fantastic reserve that has been part of my Birding Life since 1977!

Today was yet another Red Letter day at the Lowes when I clapped eyes on a Nuthatch, finally number 200!  A couple of Great Crested Grebes where also nice to see (but already on my 200 year list)

Rubbish iPhone pic of number 200!! A Nuthatch

December 2024

Exciting time as we introduce our new  Birding Ecosse “PhotoArt” images.  These are all our own images that have been layered to give a more artistic flavour.  See the PhotoArt  We hope you like them! An example below “Black Winged Stilts – Southern Spain”  prices include Framing and Postage.

 

November 12 2024

And the great birds just keep on coming! Male Surf Scoter hanging out with a lovely group of Velvet Scoter in the low winter sunlight, its white forehead and nape patch gleaming like beacons! Rafts of Long Tailed Duck and Common Scoters, double figure groups of Slavonian Grebes,  Crested Tits showing very well in a local woodland, 5 individual Green Winged Teals, great views of Golden and White Tailed Eagles and just yesterday we witnessed a huge arrival of Redwings, Fieldfares and Redpolls into the local Glens and to cap it all I had a male Brambling in my garden this morning 🙂

Green winged Teal

November 05 2024

We have had some exceptional  tours at the moment, from Cattle, Little and Great White Egrets in one flock at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg, Immature Golden Eagles hunting low over the moors, White Tailed Eagles thermaling over heather clad hills, Little Gulls feeding just offshore, it is just a magical time to visit the Scottish Highlands.

One highlight was seen off Burghead and it involved young Gannets diving just off the point, the reason this was so memorable was just the amount of immature bird present a really great success story after the devastation caused by Bird Flu.

 

November 2024 Newsletter

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October 2024 Newsletter

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August 2024 Newsletter

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Friday 30 August 2024

Well that’s another month drawing to a close and August kept on theme by being dull, damp and dreich. We did have some great trips out and about though.

A trip that features a lot in April to August tours is the RSPB Troup Head boat trip, aboard the “Seacat” with Skipper Harold. It is a fantastic trip out to Scotland’s largest mainland Gannetry. a feast for the yes, ears and indeed nose!  It also gives stunning opportunities for photography, here is a small sample of my images from this years round of trips.

However it also gives some great opportunities away from our feather friends as well!

Friday 06 August 2024

It’s great when my alarm goes off at 03:00 (but gives flashbacks to working in railway!) as nowadays it means one thing….. I’m heading through to Aviemore to an Osprey Photography Hide!

Arriving at 04:45 there was a slight mist hanging over the pond, but not enough to spoil the day.  Two birds came in almost pre light, both having successful dives….. it was too dark to get any images! However when the light came up all that was to change!

June 2024

So what does a bird guide do on his day off?  He goes birding, and for a birthday treat I booked a seat in Aviemore Ospreys hides, and what a treat indeed!

June 2024 so far.

Uists 2024 take 2 – Another Highlight species for this trip are the Short Eared Owls, a real scarcity in my part of mainland Scotland (owing to the persecution on Grouse moors) it is a real treat to see so many birds thriving on the Uists.

Short Eared Owls, encountered every day on the Uists.

What better way to start a month than being on the beautiful Outer Hebrides, after an initial foul up with the room bookings (not my fault, the hotel “inadvertently”  cancelled my room and was then punted to a B&B in Lochmaddy!) we settled into the trip.

The weather did its best to conspire against us was we pushed on and managed some great sightings, the Red necked Phalaropes were back (hurrah!) but kept distant and tucked up in the reeds sheltering from the wind, they did show quite well at times and everyone in the group had good views, sadly no pictures, however what was in the vicinity turned out to be my bird of the year so far…..

Male Ruff in breeding plumage

May 2024 update

As it approaches the end of the month I’m just getting my kit ready for this years second trip to the outer Hebrides.

The first trip (a bespoke trip for Fiona and Tony) was absolutely top notch, the hotel was great, comfortable rooms and lovely food, the weather was……. lets say “changeable” (being polite) but the birds were outstanding!

Target species, and the master of hiding/voice throwing was the Corncrake, the weather I think cooled their “ardour” but over the weekend we still managed to hear five calling males, and with patience we managed to get great views of this bird.

What a month May 2024 has been, from the shores of the Mediterranean to the silver beaches of the Outer Hebrides it had been birdtastic!

Based just outside Malaga, almost on the flightpath of Malaga airport sits the Guadalhorce reserve, originally a stone and gravel quarry it then became basically a rubble dump for Malaga as the bulldozed old building to make way for modern houses and hotels, it is a haven wedged between Malaga and Torremolinos.

I found the reserve a few years back as I researched the rare White Headed Duck (the species that ended the existence of its near relative the North American Ruddy Duck in the UK and Europe) and I’m please to say they are still present today.

White Headed Duck

The other sought after species for me was the flamboyant Greater Flamingos, and we were so pleased that they were present throughout our visits.

Greater Flamingos

A bird that made me think “what on earth are you” was this Black Headed Weaver female, I have seen the species before, but as a distant speck, this bird sat up and showed well.

Nightingales were singing all over the reserve, double numbers heard each day, sadly no pictures where obtained, however another ever present songster were the Zitting Cistacolas, great little birds that look like the have been washed and tumbled dried for too long, scruffy wee things 🙂

On the lagoons there was plenty going on, the Black Winged Stilts were everywhere, pairing up and mating, Avocets squabbled with stilts, Ringed and Kentish Plover scurried along the shoreline picking up tasty morsels.

Kentish Plover (male above – female below)

April 2024 Catch up

Greeting from the far North, welcome to the April 2024 Catch up.

Spring is in the air although we still have strong winds bringing the temperature down to sub zero a lot of the time, the first summer migrants have started to trickle in, the Ospreys were back mega early, something like 11 days earlier than last year, Sand Martins are flitting across the local lochs and Sandwich Terns are ” kreearrr kreearrring” along the coastline, they must be wondering why they made the effort!

Tours have been absolutely max chat with fantastic victims taking part, birds have been outstanding as well with the likes of Green Winged Teal, White Billed Divers, Osprey, Crested Tits, summer plumaged Black Tailed Godwits, Golden Plover, Slavonian Grebes, 4 White Tailed Eagles tussling with each other and practicing food drop and regular views of Crossbills, it has been a great time to be in the Highlands!

 

March 2024 – So far!

Well spring you would think had indeed sprung, however as I type this on a Sunny Sunday afternoon I have just heard a “ping” on my phone and was delighted to read about a heavy fall of snow due with us Tomorrow evening in Tuesday morning, luckily I don’t have any trips out until Friday.

The rich spell of birds and birding continues, I’m now sitting at 134 for my 200 year and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival in the summer migrants, Sand Martin, Chiffchaff and Osprey are all being reported back in the area so here is hoping for next weekend.

On the birding front we were graced with a Kingfisher on our local river, usually these birds are chased relentlessly, however this bird took up residence in a little pond and showed extremely well, and on the occasions I was there or passing it looked like everyone was putting the birds needs first and not flushing it. A really good sign.

A sure sign that spring is on the way is when you see the Goldeye displaying, sitting a local hide we got some really beautiful views of the male:

After a period of strong gales and heavy rain it was lovely to feel the warmth of the sun on our faces, and we were not the only ones, this Corn Bunting was giving it “laldie” from wires and fence posts.  A species that seems to be making a resurgence up here at the moment with one flock reportedly numbering 32!

 

February 2024 – So far……..

We are having a real purple patch for sightings up here in Highlands and the moment, and the best way to demonstrate this is by showing some pictures!

One of the top birds in the area have been the Waxwings, after a slow start to the season a second influx of birds early on in February brought some fantastic photo opportunities.

A real draw to the area is the charismatic wee Crested Tit, usually the winter season is the prime time for this little belter, however all the usual locations have been very quiet, never fear Birding Ecosse have a very reliable place, regular birds and great photo ops!

 

Another speciality in the area is a lovely male Smew, found be little old me way back in December, it is now almost now in full plumage, but always remains quite a distance from the hide, these are the best I could get.

The recent bad weather continued until nearly mid month, this however did bring the beautiful Long Tailed Ducks and Common Eiders into the local harbours, and kept them there.

January 2024 – Round-up

So what will January 2024 be remembered for, the great victims that took part in our trips and tours?  well yes that goes without saying. The great birds birds that we saw? Yes definitely. How about the beautiful locations we visited? Yes of course that is a given. But what will January really be remembered for, the awful weather that’s what! -15 degrees, absolutely treacherous black ice, snow, rain and gales, just horrible, but it did turn up some stunning birds!