Otterly Exciting......Day 4

 To satisfy Majella for the day we just spent the morning in Elgin browsing the shops and getting lunch before heading to Aberlour so we could walk to the Linn Falls.

It was only a half hour drive and it was apparently a gentle walk along the river to the Falls.Parking on the high street we soon found the 'path to the falls' sign. We were only 5 minutes up the trail when the unmistakable white bobbing bib caught my eye. One of my favourite birds, a Dipper sat bobbing and preening on a rock in the river.

 

 What a great start to the walk. It continued to get even better when we unknowingly spooked a Buzzard from it's perch and it flew off between the trees. A little further and we came across this weir.

 Less than 15 minutes later and we were stood at Linn Falls, nothing to be heard except for the sound of the rushing water.

 We just stood in silence, watching the cascading water and searching for Grey Wagtails.

 The slopes around the river were covered with Common Butterbur plants.

 We stayed for a while until another person arrived and decided to leave them to appreciate the peacefulness of this place undisturbed. Soon we were nearing the end of the trail and the path on to the high street, when suddenly I noticed movement under the opposite bank. At first I thought it could be a mink but it reappeared and we were presented with a glorious view of an Otter. She slinked out from under the bank, scent marked a large rock and then made her way downstream. We followed closely behind as she had not taken any notice of us as she slipped in and out of the water.

 We followed, enthralled by her presence for a few minutes until she dived into a deeper section of the river and vanished from sight.

 Majella and I turned to face each other, both gobsmacked and grinning like Cheshire cats.A totally unexpected and mesmerising wildlife encounter.

 We left Aberlour and headed back North towards Elgin.Instead of calling it a day we continued on up to the coast again, this time to a place we'd never been before, Lossiemouth.I had only ever seen it in photos with it's bridge crossing the river to access the dunes and beach. Unfortunately the bridge was now unstable and closed to the public while a new bridge was being built.Unable to cross to the sands we stood and marveled at the amount of bird life along the coastal river. 

 Hundreds of Gulls were joined by Oystercatchers, Wigeon, Grey Herons, Curlew and Goosanders. 

 Ps If any Gull experts want to zoom in on the photos and see if there are any rarities among them all, please do 😉

                         

 Video clip by Majella showing the gathering of birds along the water.

 Photographs of Lossiemouth.

 Finally giving in to our hunger we ended our walk and drove back to our hotel in Elgin for a meal and to reminisce about the earlier breath-taking mammal encounter.

Thanks to all who have taking the time to read through my blog and browse at the many photographs.

Tomorrow we head South to different accommodation on a farm in Glen Spean.

Photos by Stuart Pike & Majella Fox

 

 

 

Return To The Highlands....Day 2

 We left Kinross and headed North up the M90 to Perth and then onwards to the scenic town of Pitlochry. After a 2 year hiatus we were finally back in the Highlands.

 A quick return to Motorway Raptorwatch produced 2 Buzzards on the M90 and 6 Buzzards on the A9.

  Pitlochry is a place we have visited frequently, for browsing the charity shops, the woodland walk up to the Falls and of course the fish dam. As we were driving all the way up to Elgin we only had time for the high street. We parked up and on attempting to buy a parking ticket I noticed the time it gave us. The ticket lasted for only 30 minutes, a bit less than expected for the £2 fee. I then noticed that 30 minutes was free parking and then that the machine had taken the money but not registered it as payment :( After a loud argument with the ticket machine and several presses of the cancellation button, coins started to spill out like a slot machine. It had obviously kept numerous people's coins and gave them a free 30 minute ticket. We went back to the car £8.20 richer and had a quick look at a closely parked car and noticed they too had a 30 minute ticket which was already past it's time. Hopefully a warden didn't arrive and give them all a fine.

 We had a browse at the charity shops which are becoming more like antique shops by the day and too costly to get any bargains anymore so left to continue our journey, but did notice this great Stephen Moss book in The John Muir Trust shop.

   As we travelled up the A9 the snow got ever closer to the roadside. A scenic lay-by gave me the chance to jump out of the car for a photo. The wind nearly blew the door from it's hinges and the icy blast gave me the look of someone who had just returned from getting a botox injection.

 

 An hour later we were parked in Aviemore and tucking into some Smiffy's chips 👌

  After feeding ourselves we thought it would be a good idea to go feed the birds so we drove the short distance to Loch Garten Osprey centre. Still too early for the ospreys but always great to see the woodland birds close up and the chance of seeing a stunning Crested Tit.

 Majella was in her element interacting with the Coal Tits and Great Tits whose trust we always cherish.

 I couldn't let her have all the fun so I took my turn connecting with Nature.

 The woodland was alive with Great Tits, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Chaffinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Siskins, but no sighting this time of a Crested Tit.

                                                             Siskin

Relaxing on the shore of Loch Garten before leaving.

 We took another quick detour to Nethy Bridge in hope of finding the recently sighted Hawfinch but as every other time searching for this bird, no luck.

  Another day, another Travelodge, this time on the outskirts of Elgin. This would be our base to explore the Moray coast and further inland during the next 2-3 days where our real adventure begins.

Thank you again for viewing the blog. Hope it is enjoyable.

More to come.....