Arriving on Tuesday afternoon settle into your room in the Stunning Grant Arms Hotel, Grantown on Spey, Home of the BWWC,  before enjoying your exquisite evening meal in the beautiful dining room prior to perhaps a few nightcaps in the Hotels “Capercaillie” bar.

Be sure to get a good night’s sleep though as the tour starts early tomorrow morning!

Friday

The Moray Coast

 

The Moray coast, a beautiful and varied area with long sandy beached, rocky shore, Estuary and River, secluded harbours and scrubby dunes and foreshore, ideal for all manner of seabirds and passerines.

This area can host an amazing 25000 Long Tailed Ducks, Rafts of Common Scoter with their scarcer cousins the Velvet Scoter sometimes being seen in double figure numbers. Red, Black and Great Northern Divers are all relatively common and White Billed Divers are becoming more and more regular.

Waders are another draw to this stunning coastline, Purple Sandpipers are seen on nearly every winter trip, Turnstones, Sanderlings, Redshanks and Knot are all common.

Purple Sandpiper shaking off the seawater spray

Now the Moray coast is not all Sandy and Rocky Beaches, oh no! It has amazing estuarine habitats, freshwater Lochs and plenty of Farmland, woods and scrub to keep us fully occupied on this full day Birdwatching Tour, and it can produce some great passerines as well. 2017 saw the arrival of a Shorelark, a species not at all common up here in the North and in 2022 we were graced with a Grey Phalarope (or Red Phalarope to give it its correct name) all in all a great place to visit and with an expected 60+ species list for the day it is a brilliant way to bring on your bird identification skills along with rounding out your year list.

Accessibility: No accessibility issues on this tour.

 Pick up 0900 – Drop off 1600  

                         

Saturday

Highland Birds

This is a “must do” trip when you visit the Highland of Scotland!  The day starts off with a visit to a traditional Black Grouse Lek, and at the same time the “Go Back Go Back Go Back” calls of its Red Cousin fill the air.

The Highlight at this time of year for many people are the fantastic views we get of Crested Tit.  In extreme cold they have even been known to come down and feed off your hand! It is not uncommon to have three or four individuals hopping around your feet, whilst the more common Coal Tits have no such reservations and will fight and clamour all over you to get to the seed, it is a magical experience, and no matter how many times I do this it always gives me a buzz!

Snow Buntings are another sought after speciality bird.  And the high tops and car parks are the perfect place to pick up these wee beauties, present throughout the winter they also come readily to seed, and standing with a nice hot coffee in a winter wonderland watching them go about their daily lives is something quite special.

We finish the day in a what has to be one of the most beautiful valleys in Scotland, and it is here we will search for two of the “Big Ones” they are White Tailed and Golden Eagles.  This area is probably one of the most productive sites in this part of Scotland to see these iconic birds, and the reason they are here? Herds of Red Deer roam the hillside, Britain largest land mammal is very common as is its smaller relative the Roe Deer, we may even stumble across the secretive Sika deer.  Mountain Hare just changing into their winter coats, Brown Hare, Feral Goats and Red squirrel are also often encountered and provide lots of food for the above raptors.

Great Birds, great Scenery and fantastic experiences it really is a day not to be missed.

Accessibility: No accessibility issues on this tour.

Pick up 0900 – Drop off 1600

Sunday

Red Castle and the Black Isle

A stunning Red Kite.

After breakfast we head North over the Kessock bridge, and work our way along a beautiful stretch of hedge and tree lined coastal roads in search of Wintering Thrush and Finch Flocks and Wildfowl on the estuarine marsh edges, this location has turned up some early Brambling for the last three years, as we have our coffee stop at a lovely little sheltered car park we will scan the shallow bays for Pintail and lingering Greenshanks. Then it is on to the mystical Black Isle with target birds such as Divers, Grebes, Ducks (in particular Scaups by the hundred’s) and Waders. We then visit one of the best hides in the area to watch skeins of Geese flight in for their evening roost. A lovely day out in a truly beautiful part of Scotland.

Target birds for the day: Slavonian Grebe, Scaup, Divers and Red Kites

Pick up 0900 – Drop Off 1600

A Frosty Fieldfare

Accessibility: No accessibility issues on this tour.

Monday

Give yourself a treat!  Enjoy a long lie before you head down for your last breakfast at the Grant Arms. Sit back and enjoy the memories of the past two full days birding in the glorious Scottish Highlands, and start planning your next trip North!

**All this for only £795 per person!**

***Winter Warmer Offer***

Now only £755  per person!