Day 4

The weather was a lot better today - no rain, no sun. We visited RSPB Loch Ruthven and Chanonry Point.

Highlights:
Slavonian Grebe
Red-Breasted Merganser
Red-Legged Partridge
Little Grebe
Red Kite
Willow Warbler
Dipper
Bottlenose Dolphin

Total number of species of bird seen or heard after day 4: 71

 Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

  Film of two Bottlenose Dolphins

 Dipper at RSPB Fairy Glen

 Slavonian Grebe

 Juvenile Swallow

Siskin

Day 3

Despite heavy rain falling throughout the day we managed to visit Anagach Woods and Loch Garten.

Highlights:

Treecreeper

Coal Tit

Osprey

Wigeon

Red Squirrel

Total number of species of bird seen or heard after day 3: 63



Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

Ospreys at Loch Garten

Treecreeper

Treecreeper Video

Juvenile Siskin

Day 2

First few photos taken on the journey up, but the Meadow Pipit, Swallow and Dipper were all taken where we are staying (Tomnavoulin).

Highlights:

Curlew

Wheatear

Ring Ouzel

Meadow Pipit

Siskin

Dipper

Spotted Flycatcher

Hare

Total number of species of bird seen or heard after day 2: 57

Ring Ouzel

We stopped for lunch mid-way through our journey through Scotland and immediately found a Ring Ouzel. We had great views and were all delighted as it was a "lifer" (first ever viewing of the bird) for all of us. Very similar to a blackbird, just the large white patch on it's chest is different.

Ring Ouzel with it's lunch

The view we had whilst eating lunch













Wheatear

Not a great photo as it was quite distant but another great find as I had only seen the bird once before. There seemed to be a family flitting about.

 Swallow













Meadow Pipit

Juvenile Dipper

Day 1

We spent 6 hours on the Farne Islands and were very lucky to have great weather, despite the forecast predicting "Thundery Showers" throughout the week!

Highlights:

Puffin

Guillemot

Razorbill

Fulmar

Eider Duck

Gannet

Arctic Tern

Sandwich Tern

Rock Pipit

Ringed Plover

Bullfinch

Atlantic Grey Seal

Total number of species of bird seen or heard after day 1: 37

Puffin with a mouth-full of snad eels

Puffin

Juvenile Shag

Juvenile Kittiwake

Razorbill

Kittiwake

Puffin

Puffin

Adult and Juvenile Oystercatcher

Adult Guillemot with Juveniles

Arctic Tern

Puffin

Puffins

Puffins

Puffin

Puffin

Puffin

Juvenile Shags

Puffins

Adult and Juvenile Sandwich Terns

Arctic Tern with sand eel

Juvenile Puffin

Baby Birds

Juvenile Robin, at least a few weeks old now as it's red plumige is beginning to show.

Juvenile Bullfinch, still being seen with the audlt male and female.

Juvenile Bullfinch and Juvenile Goldfinch

Mayday Farm - Thetford Forest

We heard the wonderful sound and got good views of a few Nightjars late in the fading light (I got nothing more than a record shot as it was too dark to get a good photo of the bird in flight) and got this photo of a Glow Worm in complete darkness during the walk back.

NWT Weeting Heath

We saw the Stone Curlews, as well as a distant Barn Owl

Stone Curlew

RSPB Lakenheath

These four photos were taken at RSPB Lakenheath. We saw Cuckoo, Marsh Harrier, Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler (many), Bearded Tit, Curlew and Oystercatcher. We also saw a few butterflies including Green-Veined White and Meadow Brown.

Reed Bunting

Cuckoo

Black-tailed Skimmer

Scarce Chaser