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

 

 

 

Tales From The Highlands

Day 6 - A Mull Ferry-Tale

  We finally made it over to the Isle Of Mull :) Our journey began at around 6am with a 40 minute drive down through Fort William to catch the Corran Ferry over Loch Linnhe which only takes about 5 minutes for the crossing.

  There was then the hours drive across Morven to reach Lochaline and our second ferry which would take us over to Fishnish on Mull.The drive through Morven was quiet where the only other road users were the wildlife lol

  Loch Sunart on Morven

  There were plenty of Stonechats on the fence posts and more Meadow Pipits than you could count.We arrived at Lochaline about half hour before the ferry but the time flew by as we had the privilege of watching an Otter fishing along the far shore.

  A guy turned up also waiting for the ferry and asked if we had seen anything.I told him about the Otter(which had since disappeared) and he mentioned that he had never seen a wild Otter in his life and went to sit back in his car.Luckily for him the Otter reappeared further along the loch so I went and tapped his window, pointed out the Otter and let him use our binoculars.He went away a happy guy.
  20 minutes or so on the ferry and we landed on Mull :) It was fantastic to be back again despite the weather not looking great.
 A few pics of the scenery as we drove around Mull.

 
  With the weather closing in more with the clouds now lower than the tops of the hills it was not looking good for Eagles.We scanned the lochs and found a trio of Red-breasted Mergansers.

 Shortly followed by a pair of Great Northern Divers, the one on the left looks to have caught a crab.

  While watching these Majella noticed a bird flying behind us, definately a Bird Of Prey but too small to be an Eagle.She gave me the binoculars and I saw straight away the ghostly silver and black wing tips of a stunning Male Hen Harrier :) It must have seen my Hen Harrier Day t-shirt and thought to reward us with a few minutes of its time.
  Further along the loch were numerous Grey Herons.

  We also saw 13 Buzzards, a Kestrel and a pair of Ravens before we got round to Tobermory.

  Derelict boats at Salen.

  It was a little before 3pm when we made it back to Fishnish, just n time for the ferry back across to Morven.

  Driving back through Morven.

  Our fourth ferry of the day, back across the loch so we can get back up to Fort William.

  So an Eagle-less day on Mull but with a Hen Harrier, Great Northern Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Stonechats, Ravens, Red Deer and of course an Otter it was still very much an excellent wildlife tour :)

  Our last day in the Fort William area tomorrow :( Come back to read where we went for our last day. :)

Thanks again.

Stuart