A Short Visit to the Cairngorms - Part 2 of 2 Everywhere Else!

 So for the other day we visited RSPB Loch Garten, Findhorn Valley & RSPB Loch Ruthven.

We started at Loch Garten as it was so close to our digs, we usually visit in the winter and weren't used to so many people being there. Our real objective was to see the Crested Tits, so with so many people there we decided our chances were slim, so we took a scenic drive up to Findhorn Valley instead and planned to pop into Garten on our way back in the late afternoon.

On the way we stopped a few minutes for a coffee in a lay by next to the River Dulnain. We were pleasantly surprised to see some Goosander and a Grey Wagtail:

As we approached the way in to the valley off the A9, a raptor flew off to our left, so we stopped to check it out, in Eagle country you have to check everything!

Through the bins and in murky light it was difficult to identify, but with the wonders of modern technology, I brightened the photo up and pulled it in, it was quite a way away and it turned out to be a strange tailed Red Kite.

Down in the valley it was very quiet, although we did manage to see a pair of Dippers, our first for the year, we pulled over on the single track road, to try and get a good view, but a local in a hurry forced us to move, don't want to upset the locals, and we lost sight of them. Apart from that we saw Pheasant, 

more Grey Wagtail, Swallows and as we turned of to cross the moors over to Ruthven some Red-legged Partridge.

We had hoped to see some Grouse or Wheatear up on the high moors, but we didn't see a thing!

We eventually dropped down off the moors and made or way to Loch Ruthven, where we saw a first for us, this time in the shape of a butterfly, there were a few Scotch Argus about, but only this rather raggedy one stopped still long enough for a photo:

The star of the show at Loch Ruthven if you are lucky are Slavonian Grebe, and that is the first thing we saw as we walked from the car park towards the hide. There was at least one pair with two grebelets, (I don't know if that's a real word!) Of course they never came close, preferring the far side of the loch, so it was a good job we had the scope. I did take some photos, but again it was very dull day, so I apologise for the very poor quality.

The only other birds on the Loch were a pair of Little Grebe and some Mallard, however as a bonus an Osprey paid a visit a couple of times, but only flew around a couple of minutes each time.

From Ruthven we headed back and as I said earlier dropped into Loch Garten, it was now very quiet, only a couple of camper vans in the car park and nobody up by the visitor centre (now closed for the day) We made a cup of tea and decided to wait for something to turn up, however after a few minutes we were besieged by Midges. We stuck it out for about 15 minutes, but with our midge nets safely in the loft back home, we fled! So no Cresties, just a Chaffinch, Woodpigeon and a Great Tit for our efforts.

Next day saw us drive home via the Lecht and a visit to some old friends, with whom we have become reacquainted, who now live in Kirkmichael. We stopped in the Lecht Ski Centre car park for a short while in case there was anything about, but again being August there was nothing, apart from some Swallows, however as we drove away from the Lecht Tina spotted a couple of raptors to the left, so we pulled over to check them out, but it was just a couple of Tourist Eagles (Buzzards! 😂 ) But just as I was about to drive off I spotted another to the right over a ridge. This time we struck gold! Or more precisely a Golden Eagle. Result! Too far for a photo though.

From there we had a lovely afternoon at our friends and even saw a Red Squirrel from their garden. So all in all a lovely couple of days.

Kinver Canal

 We have been very busy with one thing and another the last few weeks so haven't had time to post anything, so I am starting a bit of a catch up. Back in mid September, we popped over to Kinver and one of our favourite walks. It takes you between the canal and the River Stour. From a birding point of view it was very quiet, the highlight being the Grey Wagtails:

Otherwise not much to add just some bits and bobs:

The full bird list:

A Week in Somerset - Pastures Old

A week down in Somerset wouldn't be the same without visiting Ham Wall (twice) and Shapwick Heath, plus a more touristic jaunt to Cheddar Gorge.

So some highlights from Ham Wall:

Another Grass Snake,

A Wren having a dust bath, never seen a Wren do that before.

A Bittern in a distant (and somewhat blurry!) fly by.

Female Blackcap,

a nice if somewhat hot walk.

There is a Water Rail hidden in there, honest!

Great Crested Grebe,

Great White Egret

and a Little Grebe.

Shapwick was very quiet, as it was hot and the hides were still closed, we sat on a bench for a while having a coffee, watching the activity on and around the lagoon by the tower hide.

First up was a bit of Royal Navy action, I'm guessing from RNAS Yeovilton, a Westland Lynx, this was followed a bit later by a Navy Merlin. Sadly not of the feathered variety 😏

On the left hand side of the water an Egret roost developed, with a Grey Heron being the King of the Castle and a Cormorant being left out on a limb.

It was nice to see a Great Crested Grebe still on a nest, this must be a second brood as I would have expected to see some cute Grebe humbugs at least.

Finally on the walk back after spotting a Hobby perched on a distant bare tree, this Jay posed for a moment.

So what about Cheddar Gorge? The main purpose of the visit was to see if there were on signs of Water Vole in the ponds, we have seen them before but the last time was in 2012, so we don't know if they are still there. No sign of them this time, but we did pick a new bird for the trip, a Grey Wagtail:

We also guess the Peregrines no longer nest in the Gorge, just some goats

and people.

We took a big step in Cheddar, we actually bought a coffee and sat outside on a terrace enjoying the view! Then we had the audacity to buy an ice cream no less! We drove out of Cheddar up the gorge and just took random turns, finding another spot to pull in and have another coffee (not bought!) in the Mendips. We parked adjacent Ubley Warren NR, a Somerset Wildlife Trust reserve, there was quite a bit of distant birding activity

So that's it apart from a few more pics from the garden of our cottage:

Back to Normal? - A visit to Kinver Canal and the River Stour

We decided on the 25 minute drive to Kinver for a walk on Monday and kept our fingers crossed for a Kingfisher or anything else for that matter.

The weather was better than expected and the canal looked lovely:

Just a few yards to the right is the River Stour, so the canal path makes it's way between the two, although the river does diverge away in places as rivers do.
After about 15 minutes we were due for a coffee and sat on the first convenient bench overlooking the canal, up to this point we had already seen a female Blackcap and Goldfinch, plus some more common birds. As we sat Tina noticed some movement just 4 or 5 feet from us and spotted this female Mallard in the narrow strip between the path and the waters edge sitting on eggs!

 Further down the canal where Horse Bridge Lane comes down to the canal, there are always some Helmeted Guinea Fowl (domesticated of course), in the gardens of the large house next to the bridge usually along with plenty of Mallard. The ducks aren't daft, they know there's going to be plenty of food put out for the Guinea Fowl.

 Further on at Whittington Lock we came across our first Grey Wagtail of the year, although on close inspection you can see it's in a sorry state, but still collecting food for its young.

 We normally see Goldcrest around here but not today. Although we did see a very busy pair of Nuthatch from the bridge over the river.

Further on there were a couple of Canada Geese families on the opposite side of the canal.

 Plus one of the two or three Buzzards of the day being attacked by a crow.

There were a number of butterflies about but only this Tortoiseshell let me take a photo.

At our usual turning point at the Staffordshire/Worcestershire border, where there's a convenient bench in the shade no less, for another coffee of course, we watched another Nuthatch. Last year we saw Treecreepers here tending a nest, but not this time sadly.

On the return, the some of the distant sheep had come down to the river for a drink

 and one of the many Chiffchaff that we had heard but not seen put in an a brief appearance.

It was a lovely few hours strolling gently in the sunshine, 23 species of bird were seen, adding a pair of Jays near the end of the walk. I will go into a bit of a rant now about cyclists; there were many more on the towpath then we are used to seeing and obviously a lot of them don't normally do this and have no consideration for people on foot, so if walking along canals beware idiots cycling way too fast and giving you no warning! So tempted to knock them into the canal!!

Kinver Canal

We took the opportunity to go for a walk from Kinver (The Vine) for an amble along the canal, with the canal on our left and the River Stour on our right, there are plenty of benches along the route, so we made use of these for our obligatory coffee stops and open air hides.

Probably due to the mornings murky weather it was very quiet, birding wise, but there was some decent afternoon sunshine making it a very pleasant walk,

with the promise of a really good Beef & Horseradish Baguette and a pint of Enville Ale (and a fruit based drink for the lady, to borrow a catch phrase from a certain comedian) at the Vine on our return.

This time I had charged the battery for my camera, however due to the lack of birds, photo opportunities were few and far between. I did manage a couple of shots:
Long-tailed Tit,

 a well camouflaged Grey Wagtail

 and a young Heron.

There were plenty of Jays about today, but none stayed still long enough for a photo. The area were we usually see Treecreeper and Nuthatch were empty, so really apart from the above it was only common birds including a very distant sighting of a Buzzard.

Even the sewage works was quiet, with just a Robin and Blue Tits about. We did manage 19 species in all, plus the baguette was excellent!