Window to Wildlife

 We normally visit local heathlands to search for nightjars in June, but with other family commitments and holidays, time had drifted by. Now we felt we really ought to be getting on with the job, or we would miss our opportunity. The family, who had never heard churring Nightjars, were keen to come along, and we invited our ‘bird magnet’ Bernie, to join us and share his expertise. We chose to visit Lavington Common, a reliable site for Nightjars, meeting at 8.30PM. We started with a short walk on the common, where we found Stonechat and a somewhat distant but distinctive family of Dartford Warblers, with long tail clearly evident as they moved through the bushes. A new bird for the family, who were delighted! A yaffling Green Woodpecker was heard but not seen. Next we crossed the road to the Plantation, taking a track down the slope to the bottom of the common. We quickly heard churring Nightjars, with sound coming from different directions indicating more than one bird. Suddenly ...

 We made our annual pilgrimage to Oare Marshes today, accompanied by Sue, Steve and Bernie. Our primary target was the Bonaparte’s Gull, returning for at least its fourteenth year. We started at it’s preferred location, east of the slipway on the Swale, and with the help of a fellow birder soon located the bird, although a strong, gusty wind and bright, early morning sun glinting on the silvery mud made viewing difficult. Progressing along the track, and seeking shelter behind a bush, Bernie relocated the bird, and this time we had much better views, with its full hood, black beak, short stature, darker grey back and pink-red legs clearly visible. An accompanying cast of regular waders included Curlew, Oystercatcher, Redshank and a single Avocet. Bonaparte’s Gull We continued on to the hide on the edge of the estuary, where a family of Shelduck were feeding on the exposed mud and a single Little Tern hunted along the shoreline, yellow, daggered bill pointing sharply downwards as it...

 We had a brilliant start to the day with a magical and exhilarating experience with a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in the field behind our hotel. It sang from atop a small birch for a full five minutes, turning its head from side to side as it poured out its continuous, monotone song. We were able to note the attractive markings on the back, the black patterning beneath the tail, yellow gape and a small black gorget as we watched it through the scope. It was a truly special and joyful encounter with this not easily seen species, and probably my highlight of the trip. After breakfast we all wandered down to Loch Shiel where the ubiquitous Common Sandpiper peeped from a post and a distant female Teal and Red-breasted Merganser were on the water. A Willow Warbler acrobatically twisted and turned as it searched for insects along the fenceline.  Common Sandpiper Next we headed to Mull, getting off to a cracking start with an immature White-tailed Eagle which soared across the water...

 We started our morning with a short walk along the road to Loch Shiel, waters still as a millpond. There were four Tufted Duck here together with a few Mallard, but none very close. A Common Sandpiper posed beautifully on a nearby post as it bobbed its tail and gave its soft piping call - typically photogenic on the one occasion when Tim had not brought his camera out! In the shrubs nearby a Reed Bunting was quietly singing, while nearby a Siskin perched up boldly, its green tones and golden wing flash beautifully enhanced by the early morning sun. A Grasshopper Warbler was heard at some distance, but we couldn’t locate it. Today’s outing was another boat ride and we headed out to the islands of Eigg and Muck. We got off to a cracking start with a huge White-tailed Eagle sat majestically on a rock as we left the harbour. The sea was very calm, and we spotted a number of  Black Gillies floating on the water. We took a short walk on Eigg, exploring a bay adjacent to the harbour...

We had a leisurely day today, driving through wonderful scenery, and pausing at lochs to scan for birds. We picked up our first Common Terns of the trip, although somewhat distant, scanned from the shore of Loch Sunart. We stopped for a brew and a walk at RSPB Glenborrodale, where we clambered up the footpath through a typical western rainforest landscape, trees dripping with lichen and the woodland floor clothed in moss and bilberry, reminiscent of Dartmoor woodland. It was pretty quiet, apart from several families of Great Tit and Blue Tit flitting noisily amongst the branches, a silent Willow Warbler foraging in the leafy canopy and a Treecreeper spiralling up the trunk of a dead tree.  After a drive through stunning, green landscapes, with boulder-strewn high hills silvery lochs and tumbling rivers, we took the ferry across the water, where we were treated to an impressively close fly past from an immature White-tailed Eagle, a huge and powerful bird,  before arriving at t...

 Departing from Mallaig, we positioned ourselves strategically for some onboard seawatching, aiming  to be sheltered from the wind and on the right side of the boat, where the light conditions would be most helpful. We had several hours on the boat, and had a steady enough trickle of species to keep us interested. Guillemots were scattered randomly across the sea, with a few Razorbills about too. A few Kittiwakes flew past, then as we approached Rum, a few Arctic Terns came into view. We pulled into the harbour for others to board or disembark, and here found a Common Sandpiper on the rocks, together with a noisy pair of Oystercatchers. Two Grey Herons were on the shoreline, and in the harbour a group of Eiders, moulting out of breeding plumage, loafed offshore and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers drifted lazily,  before taking off and heading out to sea. But the star attraction was a summer-plumaged Red-throated Diver which Tim managed to get in the scope. Continuing on...

 It was a damp morning when we woke, so we abandoned the idea of a pre-breakfast walk, but enjoyed watching screaming Swifts and House Martins disappearing into the eaves of our hotel. Our first stop of the day was at Broomhill Bridge, where a large colony of Sand Martins filled the skies, skimming over the river chasing insects, and busily back and forth to nest holes in the sandy bank. A Dipper with a mouthful of food sat bobbing on a small boulder, and a Common Sandpiper peeped across and settled on a large rock. A pair of Curlew called then flew overhead and a couple of Oystercatchers were in the field.  We continued on to Garbole in the Findhorn Valley, stopping beside a stand of larches overlooking a shallow, rocky brook, with green fields and hills fading to the distance. We were now acclimatising to the sightings of Oystercatchers away from the coast, and Curlew were again found here. Around twenty Lapwings wheeled above a field of sheep and a Redshank posed atop a pos...