Scotland Journey Pt 5 - American Coot or Death Of A Hermit Crab

I couldn't decide on a title for this post so put 2 lol.I've waited for over an hour for the photos to upload and now its 12.50am...yawn
Also I have got through half a bottle of Pale Cream & 3 glasses of whisky so if this post makes no sense you know why;)

We were up early as we had a planned 2 hour drive up to Loch Flemington, but as always with Scotland you can get easily distracted by the scenery and other wildlife.
This was the view 5 minutes from our cabin in Glen Spean at 7.30am

Whilst taking the above photo I noticed birds in a nearby tree which turned out to be a flock of 6 Crossbills.

We arrived at Loch Flemington with hope to see my first ever American Coot and within 5 minutes it was there swimming in full view and diving for weeds.

There were also a few Mute Swans on the loch which didn't take too kindly to our presence on the bank so came to sort us out with the odd hiss and peck on the boots.

While we were there we were also happy to see a flock of 6 Whooper Swans land on the loch.

An hour was spent with my first ever American Coot before heading into Inverness to do some shopping and get lunch.
From Inverness we braved the traffic on the Kessock Bridge and headed onto the Black Isle and towards Chanonry Point, famed for its views of Bottlenose Dolphins.
I knew due to the tide that we had no hope of seeing dolphins but we did see 3 Harbour Seals and were entertained by the presence of a pair of Herring Gulls.
This one decided it was bathtime.

The water at Chanonry was totally calm and so aided the Gulls in their quest for lunch with crabs high on the menu.
The calm waters of the Moray Firth.(photo by Majella Fox)

The calm waters meant the Herring Gulls created some stunning reflections.

One of the Herring Gulls soon got what it wanted and flew to shore with a Hermit Crab in its bill.

It proceeded to tear apart the Hermit Crab on the beach in front of us.

Not soon after the 2nd Herring Gull also caught its lunch in the form of another Hermit Crab.

After the Gull had finished its lunch we headed over to see what had been left, just the shell and one claw.(Photo by Majella Fox)

 Starlings that roosted on the Chanonry Point lighthouse were out drying after bathing in the puddles from the recent rainstorm.

It reached the middle of the afternoon so with a 2 hour drive ahead of us we decided to call it a day and head back south to Fort William.Instead of going straight down the A9 though we went west onto the A851 to Fort Augustus.
A lot of roadworks for the widening of this road slowed us down but it enabled us to spot 4 Red Kites over the nearby fields.

This was quickly followed by the sightings of 4 Stonechats amongst the heather and a lonesome Red Grouse that was too quick for my camera.

Whilst taking the above photo I never noticed the much larger mammals, 6 Roe Deer until they ran past me showing me their white behinds.

Red Deer also occupied the heather laden hills.

An hour later and we were back in view of the magnificent Nevis range, covered with last nights snowfall.

A gorgeous day in the Scottish Highlands produced some stunning wildlife.
Total Bird List for trip -
52.Hooded Crow(New for 2014) 53.Crossbill(New for 2014) 54.Red Legged Partridge 55.American Coot(1st ever sighting) 56.Red Grouse(New For Year) 57.Stonechat(New For Year)

Definately our busiest day yet and with new sightings for the year and a "lifer" it turned into a fantastic day in the Highlands.

Thanks for reading and ploughing through the endless photos of todays blogpost;)

Tomorrow may give us another new sighting in the form of a Kumlien's Gull in Mallaig:)

Scotland Journey Pt4 - Down A Glen & Up A Mountain

Another night and morning of heavy rain so I had a lazy morning and had my breakfast watching the cattle have theirs in the rain.

The white cow though continued to be more interested in watching me than enjoying its food.

After lunch it was time to risk the rain and head off down Glen Nevis.The road down Glen Nevis.

 We went almost to the bottom of the glen but stopped at Lower Falls.

Both above photos taken by Majella Fox.

As well as a pair of Buzzards circling the tree line there were also plenty of Hooded Crows.

More Highland cattle were free to roam the Nevis Estate.

I guess the horns are useful for the bad itch.

After an hour or two down the glen we decided to go to higher altitudes and took a trip up Aonach Mor.
There was a lot of snow at the top which had enticed numerous skiers and snowboarders to the mountain.

 Errmmm...not a skier or snowboarder ;)

The view over the snow down into Fort William and nearby Caol.

Lower down on the snow free slopes were a pair of Red Deer stags.

Finally a "selfie" of myself and my fiancee Majella up Aonach Mor as I keep stealing her photos for my blog so you should see who she is lol

Tomorrow we are heading further north to Inverness-shire and to find an American Coot which has made Loch Flemington its home for the last few weeks.

Many thanks again for reading though my blog:)


Take care.

Scotland Journey Pt 3 - Kinross to Fort William

This will be another short blogpost as we just travelled from Kinross up to Fort William where we will stay just north off for the rest of the week.
Another miserably wet morning to set off to Fort William in.The first stop was going to be Loch Tay so after an hour up the A9 and through Aberfeldy we arrived in Kenmore.
The rain had eased off a little and there was still snow on the hills.
The river into Loch Tay was still flooded but had gone down in recent days.

A handy pocket of seeds helped get the attention of the local mallards & hybrids.

With the rain constant it was not a great day for birding but I counted 11 Common Buzzards on our trip north.This one was seen near Ben Lawers.

We arrived next in Killin hoping to pop into the converted watermill that now opens as a thrift shop.Unfortunately though it was now closed at weekends so I took a couple of photos of The Falls Of Dochart that runs directly through the centre of the village.

The rains continued as we headed west through Crianlarich, stopping at Tyndrum for lunch before taking the road towards Glencoe.
Not long past Bridge Of Orchy I spotted a group of 6 Red Deer amongst the trees in the glen.This was the only one I managed to get a clear shot of.

As we approached Glencoe the snow became ever closer.

 In the famous Glencoe.

A waterfall in Glencoe.

The rain finally stopped as we arrived at Fort William where we fought with the locals for our shopping for the week.
30 minutes from Fort William we arrived at our cabin on a farm near Roybridge.The locals in the field next to our garden were there to greet us:)

The ducks on the pond outside our garden.

The farm also houses a pair of pygmy goats, chickens, 2 horses including a gorgeous Clydesdale & 3 dogs all of whom are mental;)
You will probably get photos of more of these during the week.

So not a lot of excitement from today but the real holiday starts tomorrow:) and even though nothing is planned for Sunday we could end up down a glen or up a mountain.

Thanks for following:)