The Three Lochs......Day 10

 We usually spend a lot of the week driving East and back again along the A86 but this was our first journey along this road on this particular adventure. The road takes us East to Newtownmore, Kingussie and then on to the Cairngorms.

 We stopped in Newtownmore to check out the one charity shop there and while we were getting out of the car a young Red Squirrel scampered across the road. Hoping to get another sight of it we followed the path it had vanished down but to no avail. Giving up on our search we decided to head straight up to the Cairngorms car park. There was still snow about and the driving wind and rain kept us from walking to search for Grouse and Snow Buntings.

Rainbow with Loch Morlich in the background.   

 With the weather not easing up, we headed back to lower altitudes where we hoped the more sheltered areas would provide some birding. Walking through the pine forests we could see plenty of Great, Blue and Coal Tits, Siskins, Chaffinches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. We then parked at Loch Morlich to look for Goldeneye, 3 were seen on the loch. 

Loch Morlich

 There were plenty of Mallards on the shore ambushing us for food.

 After a chippy lunch break in Aviemore we continued on to Abernethy Forest aka Middle-Earth. We had noticed this tree on the way in and couldn't resist re-enacting a scene from one of my favourite movies, The Lord Of The Rings, Fellowship Of The Ring.

 Walking back to the car park Majella spotted movement on the road, it was a Toad.With cars coming up to park I thought we'd best help it get off the road quicker and so carried it to the roadside.

 Loch Garten

Down the trail to the visitor centre the usual array of birds were flittering between the trees. We were only too happy to provide them with some extra food though this Great Tit was trying to get 'ahead' of the queue. 😉

 There was constant activity on the feeders at Loch Garten Osprey Centre.

 As we left Boat Of Garten I managed to get a quick photo of this Roe Deer chilling in the field.

 The drive back took quite a bit longer than expected as the Sun setting over the mountains and the varying cloud cover kept changing the awesome light, so there were stunning views at every turn along Loch Laggan and Glen Spean.

Loch Laggan

 We arrived back at Tulloch and Robert was out in the farmyard along with Chester, so I had to get a quick selfie (with Chester not Robert 😉)

 It was finally going to be a dry night again so before we settled in for the evening I set up the trail cam once again hoping for more Scottish mammal action.

Photos by Stuart Pike & Majella Fox

Thank you again for all the views on my blogs. It is always appreciated and hopefully you get some enjoyment reading through them.

Just a couple of days of this current Scotland trip to go but still plenty more Wildlife to share with you all.

Stay safe.

 

Tales From The Highlands

Day 8 - Going Further North

  It was our last morning and time to pack the car and leave the farm :( The fun though had not quite ended as one of the mischievous Sheep that inhabit the farm decided that the grass was indeed greener on the other side and tried jumping the fence into our garden.Unfortunately she was not exactly Sheep Smith the British High jumper and didn't quite get it right.The left rear leg had caught the top wires which had wrapped themselves around her foot and trapped her hanging there.I went out to see if we could get her free.It took both Majella and myself all our strength to pull the taut wires apart and around her ankle then push her leg through.When released the wires sprung back in place cutting Majella's finger on the way.The Sheep looked at us and then just carried on eating lol
  Sheep rescue

  We sadly then left the farm but instead of turning South and going home we turned right and headed North.We were in Fort Augustus by 10am and saw Loch Ness for the first time in 2 years.

  No time for Monster hunting as we continued up to Loch Tarff where Greylags swam on the loch and a pair of Stonechats were in the heather.
  Male Stonechat

  The area of heather increased on the hills so we stopped to look to see if there were any Grouse around.If you look very closely in the photo there is a Red Grouse just the other side of the fence.(photo by Majella Fox)

  From where I was I got some better shots :)

  The next scheduled stop was at The Falls Of Foyer.There were a few steps to go down to the viewpoint but it was worth the pain lol.

  After the walk back up we got freshly baked warm scones from the cafe :) We continued up til we reached a loch we love to visit.Our last visit though was back in May 2014 when we saw a Cuckoo and Slavonian Grebes.No Cuckoos this time as we are a few weeks early but a pair of Grebes didn't disappoint.

  Also seen at the loch were Little Grebes, Teal, Long-tailed Tits, Treecreepers and this Toad.

  We finally arrived on The Black Isle to the sight of two stunning Red Kites, one which flew directly over our car.Hopefully friends, Dolphins and more birds to come over the next few days.

Thanks for reading.
Back tomorrow ;)