Scotland Trip Day 4 : The Moray Coast : 29th May 2014

Scotland Trip Day 4 : The Moray Coast : 29th May 2014

We started our last day of guided birding with yet another attempt to see Crested Tits. After that we were to go off to the Moray coast to visit all the small bays and harbours up there including Spey Bay, Lossiemouth, Burghead and Roseisle. We were to finish all this off with a quick visit to Loch Allen to see if we could catch the Red-throated Divers again.

Anagach Forest Grantown [mapref 27]

The search for Crested Tits meant that we started the day with another walk in the Anagach Forest, this time in the part that is near the hotel. The woods were full of bird song and one of the best sightings of the day resulted from following bird song. We could hear the singing of a Tree Pipit as we walked through the woods but it was not until we reached the far side of our circular walk that we located the bird concerned. When we did we had a fantastic view of it rising from its perch at the top of a pine tree flying around whilst singing and then parachuting back down to the same point from which it had departed.

There were plenty of other birds in the woods including Treecreeper. Wren, Goldcrest, Song Thrush, Coal Tit and Willow Warbler included but still no sign of a Crested Tit. Our fellow birders were getting desperate as this was the target bird of their holiday. Naturally Red Squirrels were fairly common.

We continued by driving up to Spey Bay on the Moray coast. En route we saw Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow.

Spey Bay [mapref 38]

On the road up to SPey Bay  the fields were full of Oystercatchers and Lapwing. Jackdaws and Crows were also plentiful and on the odd post we saw Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer. When we got to Spey Bay it was a gloriously warm day and the fantastic location was understandably busy for in good weather the dunes and ponds and sea here are spectacular. On the water were Mute Swans, surprisingly uncommon up here, and Shelduck aplenty. Most of all there was a huge flock of Goosander, forty or more.

Perhaps the most interesting was a mixed flock of waders that John told us were northern birds, on their way up to the arctic tundra which only now starts to thaw. This flock was made up of visibly larger Ringed Plovers in full breeding plumage. Mixed in were similar numbers of Dunlin, again in full breeding plumage. Best of all was a single bird that John first identified as a Sanderling but on closer examination it proved to be a northern Little Stint – again in full breeding plumage !. This was a lifer for us and what an example ! We spent a long time looking at this little flock as they tried to get some well-needed rest. Unfortunately there were dog walkers and such around so they were frequently flushed. Common and Arctic Terns swooped around and a small flock or Curlew were roosting on one of the small tidal sandbars. Tree Sparrows were in nearby gardens and at one marshy spot a small stand of reeds held a singing Sedge Warbler. A Whitethroat finished of a nice collection of birds.

We stopped off at another small lochan that was heavy with midges but apart from a nice Little Grebe family the other birds were the usual suspects. Actually one of the usual suspects was actually a relatively uncommon bird up here – a Common Coot ! The Coot like the Moorhen is actually hard to come across and, indeed, we did not find a Moorhen in the highlands.

Hopeman Bay and Burghead [mapref 34]

We drove along the coast to Burghead and Hopeman Bay where we got some sea birds in the form of Gannet and Fulmar. Also on the water were Common Eider but no Long-tailed Duck so a little disappointing. We decided not to hang around so we had a bite to use and availed ourselves of the facilities there before heading off for Roseisle.

Roseisle Forest and Dunes [mapref 33]

We parked the minibus near the loos in the forest and started looking for Crested Tits – again with no luck. We headed across the dunes to the sea and there we set our scopes up for a bit of sea watching. Out at sea we could see Gannets flying past and on the water small groups of Common Scoter still lingered. There were parties of Eider Ducks and a couple of Grey Seals popped up from time to time. Amusingly we were all glued to our scopes or bins when suddenly a small boy on the beach called out Osprey !! and he was right an Osprey had been fishing in the sea and we saw it just in time to watch it circle around before vanishing over the top of the dunes. It was too close for bins never mind scopes and was a good example of us not being able to see the wood for the trees.

We returned to the woods and had one last go at phishing for Crested Tits. Much to our amazement one finally flew quickly into a tree in front of us to check out what the noise was about before quickly moving to another tree and then vanishing. Was it really a Crestie ? Well, yes it was because amazingly one of our group actually managed to get a photo of it in the brief seconds it was with us. Not only that but it was one of the couple who had had this as their main target bird. At the eleventh hour and after three days looking we had at last landed it !

Mission accomplished and the afternoon getting on we decided we should head off on the longish journey back home stopping off briefly for a look at Loch Allan to see if we could get any divers as they reputedly like this little loch.

Loch Allan

Our last visit of the day was to Loch Allen near Lochindorb. We drove slowly down the small road that runs along the loch which can be a bit tricky because there is a certain amount of traffic and it is a very narrow road. However we managed to stop for a bit when we saw a pair of Red-throated Divers. Unfortunately the light was bright and a bit harsh and this threw the birds into a bit of a silhouette and made it hard to see their wonderful plumage. However it was till worth watching for twenty minutes until we reckoned that it was a little dangerous to stay parked for so long. Of course you cannot get out of the vehicle because they will immediately be flushed. With a free day tomorrow we figured that we would be able to try again then.

We returned to the hotel and after getting cleaned up we had dinner and then met with John to summarise our three days of birding. In total we had managed to see ninety-nine species over the three days. We had hoped to be able to get to 100 birds over the 3 days and perhaps there would yet be a chance because although we had a free day tomorrow, we had booked onto a Woodcock walk with John for the next evening. Would we get to 100 ??

Bird Sightings : Anagach Forest at Grantown

Bird Sightings : Spey Bay and Environs

Bird Sightings : Burghead

Bird Sightings : Roseisle Forest and Dunes

Bird Sightings :Loch Allan

Route for 29th May 2014