River Walks...........Day 6

 We awoke ready for a leisurely day. I pulled the curtain back a little(a great advantage being able to do this without having to get out of the bed 😉) and peered outside. I could already tell their was a chill in the air and the sparkling ground outside confirmed it. Majella turned over and hogged the duvet once more, so I decided to leave her in peace and get dressed and go out for a walk along the River Spean which winds it's way through the farmland.

 The river was lower than I expected but more exposed rocks meant for great vantage points for foraging Dippers. I had just started walking East along the river when the flash of white and brown flew in the opposite direction.I followed the flight to it's landing point and then crept closer keeping behind boulders and vegetation as to not disturb the Dipper.

 I got as close as I dare and stayed partially hidden by a large boulder watching the Dipper. It was quickly joined by a Grey Wagtail too(on the left of the 1st photo). Staying motionless I watched gleefully for around 10 minutes. Just me, the river and the birds.

 

 Both moved further downstream out of sight and my attention was turned to the loud trilling verses of a Wren. It was rapidly followed by the the song of a Robin. The Wren sang louder, appearing to try and outdo the Robin, the Robin not to be outdone once again belted out it's flutey melody.It was like listening to the battle round on The Voice, pure Heaven(not The Voice, the birds😁).

 I continued my walk up river examining the lichen and frost covered ferns. Beauty is to be found everywhere in the Natural World if you look close enough.

 Eventually starting to feel the cold I headed back to the cabin for a coffee. Majella was up as I'd unwittingly been on my walk for 2 hours. Now that she was ready to brave the cold we went for a short drive into Fort William and to Glen Nevis.

                         

 We parked up at the glen Nevis visitor centre and crossed the bridge to walk along the River Nevis. I liked how the light changed as the clear cold water ran over the pebbles in the shallows.

 The River Nevis has been a good place to spot more Dippers and Grey Wagtails in the past but not this time, we were however amazed at how many Song Thrushes were around as we rarely see them where we live. Majella's keen eye also spotted a distant Greenfinch on the river bank.

 These sheep had obviously heard the quote 'The grass is always greener on the other side' as they led a charge up and over this stone wall to get to the adjacent field.

 We arrived back at the car and decided to continue further up the Glen to the Lower Falls.

  

 Slow-mo video clip of Lower Falls, Glen Nevis.

 Leaving the Glen we parked at Morrisons in Fort William and walked across the road to the shore of Loch Linnhe. It was low tide so one of the best times to see Otters. Despite spending some good time here scanning the Loch and islands, no Otters were spotted. There were plenty of birds though with Goldeneye, Goosanders, Grey Herons, Hooded Crows, Herring, Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls all in attendance.

 Majella enjoying the view across Loch Linnhe while searching for Otters.

 Our plan for the next day meant a long day so we went back to the cabin early and spent the late afternoon watching the garden birds.Chaffinches, Coal Tits,Great Tits, Blue Tits, Dunnocks, Robins, Blackbirds all pushing for superiority of the bird table.

Photographs by Stuart Pike & Majella Fox

Tomorrow we head for the Isle of Mull, a 2 hour drive and 2 ferries to get there.

Many thanks once again for your continued support of my blog. It's great that I am getting quite a view views each day 😊 It makes it worthwhile sharing our trip and hopefully gives someone ideas of where to visit if they travel to this glorious part of the UK.

More tomorrow from Mull.

 

 

 

Home From Home........Day 5

 It was time to leave Elgin and the Moray coast and head back South(but not too far as to get too close to the Welcome to England sign 😉). We drove down, cutting across Inverness-shire spending just a few minutes on the A9 before turning off and then South on the B851 towards Fort Augustus.

 As we were coming this way we decided we would check out RSPB Loch Ruthven just in case any Grebes had arrived earlier than expected. It is known as one of the best places in the UK to spot breeding Slavonian Grebes. Unsurprisngly there was no one else there and part of the Loch was covered in a thin layer of ice. The rest was perfectly still making it ideal for spotting movement on the water.

 As we headed up the small winding path ripples betrayed a skulking bird on the edge of the loch. We stood still as it drifted into sight. It was indeed a Slavonian Grebe, still in it's Winter plumage.

 Fantastic to see as we thought we were a bit too early. A few Tufted Ducks were also on the loch and a Robin bounced around the wooded path. On the way back to the car we spotted a pair of flighty Stonechats, our first of the year.

 Continuing our journey we scanned the skies for Raptors and saw a couple of Buzzards and the fields held several Highland Coos. This one having his afternoon nap.

The B851 runs just West of Loch Mhor so it was always worth checking out for more Waterfowl. As we approached the end of the loch we were greeted with the sight of hundreds of Pink-footed Geese.

 A few minutes later as we passed the Knockie Estate two more Raptors were flying towards our position.We pulled to the side of the road to try and get a better view. As they got closer we could clearly see the size of them and I shouted Eagles. Two White-tailed Eagles glided over us and continued East towards Loch Killin.

 Woohoo, Otters, Slavonian Grebes and White-tailed Eagles over two days and we hadn't even gotten to our main accommodation for the week yet. This is why Scotland is the best place 😉😀

 One of the reasons we come on this road is it takes you over moorland before going down to the edge of Loch Ness and Fort Augustus and so it is a good place to look for Red Grouse. We stopped at the main layby which was crowded with tourists, some of them wandering through the heather so thought it would be tricky to find any nearby. Among the dull Winter heather though the bright red eyebrows of a Red Grouse are easily spotted. A group of 6 moving alongside one of the fences.

View from the B851 layby where we watched the Red Grouse.

 It was just another 45 minutes down through Fort Augustus to Fort William to pick up some shopping and then half hour back up to Glen Spean and to the farm.

 On arrival it felt amazing to be back after 2 years, it feels more like home than being at our house in Lincolnshire.We were greeted by our wonderful hosts, Robert and Margo and the accompanying menagerie.

 It is the first time I've been back since the heart-breaking loss of Tug but this trio managed to put a smile on my face. Georgie, Shadow and Neville were happy to see us.

 I also found an instant new friend in their lodger, Chester. 

Thanks as always for spending your precious time browsing my wildlife blog 😀

I do hope you enjoyed it.

Much more to come over the next week with trips to Mull, the West coast and the Cairngorms as well as plenty of wildlife at the farm.

Til tomorrow 🙏😊