Highland Birding Holiday Day 2 : 9th October 2013
Our second day was characterised by high winds and some heavy showers. John had Scheduled us to to drive up to the Black Isle and we started off by taking the A95 south-west out of Grantown-on-Spey and then turning on to the A938 – the “Carr Road” before returning to the A9 just past Carrbridge again and then up to the coast. As we passed the fields each side of the “Carr Road” we had good views of a mixed flock of Redwing and Mistle thrush as well as Starlings. At one point we saw one of these flocks scatter and suddenly flying fast and low a Merlin swooped. It went round the back of us and came around in front of us again taking another swoop at the mixed flock of thrushes. As we drove we also saw Buzzards and Red Grouse and small skeins of Greylag Geese and Whooper Swans.
We stopped at a wooden bridge where we had very nice views of a Dipper and then it was off to the coast via the Kessock Bridge. Just as we crossed the bridge we took a left turn and followed Old Craigton Road and then Point Road parking up just outside the RNLI station looking back over the Beauly Firth in the general direction of Inverness. On the sand bars there were Curlew, Oystercatchers, Cormorants and Redshanks
We left the lifeboat station and drove along the edge of the Beauly Firth and John had timed the tides nicely. We got views of Wigeon, Grey Heron, Redshank, Mallards, Oystercatchers and Curlew. We also had Goldfinch, Robin, Swallows and Greenfinch. We drove all the way along the small road between the fields and the Beauly Firth and then turned up towards the Black Isle and Munlochy Bay. En route we saw Teal, Pink-footed Geese, Red Kite and Hooded Crow. At Munlochy Bay there were thousands of Pink-footed Geese and Wigeon and Teal in their hundreds. There were some Shelduck and some Skylarks and Linnets
From Munlochy Bay we moved on to Udale Bay where we could walk onto the salt marsh of the Cromarty Firth Here there were q couple of Black-tailed Godwit and many more Bar-tailed Godwits, There were hundreds of Wigeon and Teal and Redshanks. There were substantial numbers of Knot and Curlew and a few Whooper Swans and a Hooded Crow. We also saw a couple of Dunlin.
From there we drove back down keeping as close to the coast as possible heading for Chanonry point. En route we saw large numbers of Scaup and also a couple of hundred Golden Plover. When we reached Chanonry Point we took the small path between the houses on Ness Road getting nearer to the water. We saw Shag and Cormorant and a few Gannets, Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Seals. Driving back down to North Kessock we stopped for a while and watched half a dozen Red Kites.
From North Kessock we drove back along the A9 to Grantown-on-Spey. The weather all day had been windy and wet and we were well and truly ready for a bath and dinner before having an early bed.