The Nairn Birder

Looking Back Over the Year - a Few Photos

2012-01-26T20:56:00.004Z

I thought I'd share of few of my photos - just for fun!

(By the way - we are making progress with the Caper - more in my next blog)

The first photo is of a Red Kite soaring overhead at the RSPB Red Kite Centre at Tollie, by Dingwall and Strathpether. It is on the road to Ullapool off the Dingwall roundabout. It's well worth a visit to get some spectacular views of the kites fromThe Black Isle and beyond (and you may well bump into Kate and myself!). The RSPB has done a tremendous job re-introducing these fantastic birds to our skies: a great success story; so share in tit and pop over to visit the Centre.

You can also get close up views of all the birds feeding on the nearby feeders, like these Great Tits.

This time of the year is good to see Red Breasted Merganser venturing up river. this pair were taken last year on the RiverNairn, and an new pair have returned this year - the same pair?

The Pinkfoot will be returning north in their thousands soon; here are a couple of images from last year's migration. The sky will be filled with sights like the two below.

As we are now on the right side of winter, I thought we could look at what pleasure we have to come. Here is a Willow Warbler singing its heart out to welcome in spring.

This Coal Tit was feeding its young in Strath Conon.

Whilst this Blue Tit was keeping busy in a garden in Nairn

In early summer you can hardly fail to see the white rump of a Wheatear flash past your windscreen as you drive down our county roads. Here a parent watches over a juvenile.

And of course you can always keep watch for River Nairn's very own Heron and Dippers - ever present.

Here is a Dipper from Inverness feeding on the River Ness, next to Eden Court.

And finally, don't forget to keep an eye out for the Tree Creepers all over the woods around here. The first was along the River Nairn and the second one from Old Bar Wood (in Kingsteps Quarry).

By the way - some of you may have noticed I have cheated a wee bit on this post - quite a few of these photos have appeared before - I just thought it was nice to see them all together!

Seamus

Sea Watch

2012-01-24T19:36:00.000Z

Before I talk about the sea watch today, a little update on the Caper. It's still roaming around the gardens of East Nairn, eating pine needles and fruit. It nearly came a cropper on the A96 by Sainsbury's, but thanks to a caring driver an an observant bus driver it manged to walk across un-hurt!

Here it is on a garden wall!!

The Brent Geese are back! Now, I know lots of you have already seen them - but I haven't, until today. Friends have told me they have seen around 30 of them foraging along the rocky beach by the golf course (their usual haunt), but I still haven't seen them there. I was over at Whitness and saw them feeding among a large flock of Oyster Catchers on the inlet next to the flooded waters. I suspect they have been much scarcer this year due to a shortage in their main food source.

Here they were last year down by the golf course.

With the high tide this lunch-time I was able to get great views of a flock of Long-Tailed Ducks, as well as well as the ever-present Eiders; all a bit too far to get a respectable photo, but below is a pic of an Eider at Burghead Harbour that I took a few weeks ago (I know it's cheating a little - but the quality is much better when they are this close!).

The Goldeneye have been here all winter, and today I saw 14 Shellduck; these are very elegant ducks. Not great quality photos, but you get the picture!

Cheers

Vulnerable Caper

2012-01-20T11:43:00.001Z

I notice on The Gurn that some are suggesting that the Caper might be a Black Grouse. It is quite easy to mix the two, but I can confirm that this is definitely a Caper. Size and colour of wings - and particularly the large bill are the main give away.

As for it's well-being: it is lost and vulnerable in a town centre and people are right to be concerned. There are precious few of these iconic birds surviving in The Highlands and we need to treat this situation very sensitively to prevent a premature demise.

A number of expert authorities in the conservation field are aware of this ongoing situation and I will keep you updated. Please let me know of any more sightings.

Caper Update

2012-01-18T22:16:00.001Z

I have sought advice and it appears that this might be a rogue, lost and lonely caper, that may well be the last survivor of its species in our area as the decline in the species has been massive in recent years. These lost capers have been known to venture close to humans and appear fairly tame, but remember it is a wild bird and should not be approached.

It is at risk to the dangers of living so close to town and probably will not survive. I am seeking further advice about the best way to 'help'. I'll keep you updated.

By the way - on my way home in the increasing gloomy light, I spotted these on a Long-Tailed Tits on a feeder - lovely!

Seamus

Capercaillie - Have You Seen it Yet?

2012-01-18T16:48:00.001Z

After days of wandering around the streets off Lochloy Road with our binoculars and camera, peeping over people's garden fences and hedges, we managed to see it at last! Thanks to the local residents for putting up with us both (and not reporting us to the police!) and those who contacted us to say it's in their garden! Particular thanks to the gentleman that called us over to his back garden to take these pictures.

Here are a few photos from this afternoon.

The Merryton Crescent Capercaillie! Have you seen it?

2012-01-12T20:22:00.003Z

There have been a number of reports of a Capercaillie wandering around the gardens of Merryton Crescent, and over by Bridgmill! (And I've just been told of a sighting in Lochloy Crescent.) Thanks to those of you who have contacted me with the news. I suspect it might be an escaped bird, or maybe unwell; but it would be good to see it.

Has anyone managed to get a photo and would you be willing to post it on this blog?

This is what they look like - and it's not my photo!

I'll be out and about on Friday and the weekend; camera and binoculars in-hand, hoping to grab a look; so if you see a man sneaking around looking over people's garden's with binoculars - it's me and I apologise!

Seamus

Winter visitors

2011-12-27T20:58:00.002Z

How long has it been since I posted?! So much has happened in the four months that have passed. One of the most notable features has been the geese and the delay for the Pinkfoot to head south. As always, some stay around here for the winter, but the length of time the thousands of migrating Pinkfoot stayed around Nairn was really unusual. I can only imagine it was down to the milder weather we had in November.

Talking of Geese: I am still to see the Brent Geese this year on their annual visitor to us. I know of one person to have seen them back in October; that was down at the harbour. They are usually to be seen on the rocky parts of the beach near the pool and golf course, but not yet; for me anyway. So, if anyone sees them, please let me know!

Don't forget to keep your eyes open for the Waxwing and Brambling that will be about Nairn this time of year. The Brambling will invariably be amongst flocks of finches, and could easily be ignored as inexperienced eyes might consider them to be a Chaffinch. This is not the greatest photo, but it'll do!

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a pic of a Waxwing yet, but I am always on the look-out! They are similar size to a large finch and will be clearly distinguishable by their beautiful colouring and wonderful crest, and they will usually be seen in large flocks at the top of trees.

The Waxwing eat the same red and yellow berries as the Redwing and Fieldfare. These thrushes migrate to us for winter, and are far more abundant than the Waxwing or Brambling.

As ever, keep looking out into the firth for plenty of wintering sea birds and wildfowl. More on them later - if I remember to post!

Seamus

Are the Wintering Geese Back Already? (No, but the Turnstones are!)

2011-08-14T19:58:00.003+01:00

You could hardly have failed to miss the skeins of geese over Nairn over the passed few weeks, with many people asking the question, are the wintering geese were returning already? Well, the short answer is no. I believe the geese we are seeing now are the local population of Greylags that have been breeding around here over the summer. You may remember a post from June where I talked about families of Greylag on Lochindorb. Well it is probably these same birds that are now flying overhead and roosting off the Old Bar. Some of them might be part of the local resident Greylags, whilst others will be building up strength for the journey south in the next month or so.

From what I can tell, the wintering Pinkfoot Geese will be starting to arrive here on 20th September, and a couple of weeks later we should start seeing the migratory Greylags and Brent, along with a spattering of other species.

As for the Turnstones: we were down at the harbour today (with hoards of other people lapping up the sunshine and warmth) and we heard flocks of Redshanks and Turnstones calling from the harbour wall - the area where they can always be seen in the winter whilst they wait for the tide to turn so they can go for a feed. We do have a few Redshanks that stay here over the summer, but these numbers grow along with the Turnstones returning in the winter, as they congregate around the harbour and give me something to observe in the cold!
This is a phot from earlier in the year down on the River.

The Turnstones plumage changes radically over the summer, and the birds currently here now are still showing some of the breeding plummage; I will try to capture a photo in the next few days and post it here to show you the differences.

Cheers.

Terns and Gannets

2011-08-01T11:29:00.000+01:00

It's great to see the return of these elegant birds just off our beaches. They are the sleek white sea birds gliding above the waves and dramatically changing direction to dive head first into the water to catch their prey. The Tern are the smaller, sharp winged birds that have a fantastic 'lollopping' wing beat and the Gannet are the larger birds with long, thin wings that are very black wing at the tips, and they have a glorious long yellow neck and head; unmistakable when the sun catches them as they glide in the distance.

Both birds tuck their wings into their bodies to form an arrow shape just as they dive deep under the water in search of their food. At this time of year there are lots of juveniles learning the ropes. A few days ago I watched a Common Tern catch a fish and lead its young to a sand bar to feed it; unfortunately my camera is being repaired so I missed a great opportunity to catch it on film. But as Kate always says, it's in the memory where it really matters!

The presence of the Terns was brought to my attention by a friend who is lucky enough to take regular trips along our coast line to the Old Bar. He asked about the easiest way to distinguish between Common and Sandwich Terns. I really struggle with this when out on the shore front; size, colour of bill and markings on the head are the things to look for, but with the birds invariably in the air and darting around so quickly, it is hard to identify the key distinguishing features. It is also very difficult with so many indistinguishable young around! If you happen to be near the roost or the nesting areas (beware, they are very protective of their young!) to see them at rest, look out for the colour of bill: red bill with black tip on Common and black bill with yellow tip on Sandwich. As for size: very hard to compare unless two species are side by side.

I have a couple of pictures (not taken by me) below to help (Common in first picture and Sandwich in the second one):

There is also the Arctic Tern that can be seen around here, but not too often. All three were spotted at Lossie this weekend.

I never commit to the correct identity of a bird unless absolutely sure; so when asked to help identify a bird diving off the beach, I always play safe and say Terns! The Gannets are much easier as there is just the one type and they can be identified simply by their flight pattern and size, and the shining white and black bodies.

When you stop to look at these birds, watch how some of them hang around observing their mates doing the hard work and then attack them, forcing them to drop their catch so that they can collect the prize! Last year I was sitting on the pier and was lucky enough to catch sight of a Skua bully its way into a group of terns and grab their catch.

So keep your eyes open and happy birding!

Seamus

Feeding the Family

2011-06-17T21:45:00.002+01:00

It’s been a while since my last blog; as ever I have been pretty busy - with binoculars and camera not far away though! But I haven’t been as busy as the birds of Nairn as gardens all over town have been full of families foraging and juveniles mouths wide open, demanding food from the over worked parents. I am hoping to capture some pics of a family of Yellowhammers feeding near my home and when I do I will post them here.

But it's not just the garden birds that have been busy: here are some pictures from the past few weeks

The family of Mallards below are regulars on the river.

And then there's this little beauty: every garden should have one! How hard do these Blue Tits work every spring!

It was a great surprise to me was when I saw hundreds of Greylag Geese all peacefully relaxing on a local loch, happily mixing adults and juveniles. I wonder how they know which is which?

On another note; I'm pleased to say that the Willow Warblers are still happily singing their beautiful song. As I’ve said before, they are the first real sound of Spring and are usually the first to stop singing (around about now), so it’s great to still hear them. And I was really pleased to identify the song of the Whitethroat at the weekend. I really struggle to match this sound to the right migrant at this time of year, always forgetting the bird it belongs to. But this year it came to me as soon as I heard it, despite my brain being an extra year older! I have tried to capture a photo of the ones down around Minsters Pool, but I have failed miserably!

Whilst doing it though I did notice a dog own sending his dog into the pool and the surrounding reed beds for ‘fun’. This does no end of damage to the ground breeding birds. I wish these people would be more aware of the sensitivities of these delicate habitats, especially at this time of year.

Ramble and rant over! Any finally....

As ever our very own pair of Swans have been busy. I don’t need to post many pictures of these as Joe thrills us with the great pictures on his blog; but here are a few of my own taken at the harbour (no more Joe, I promise to leave this family to you!).

And a close up to finish with.

The Sounds of Spring

2011-05-21T19:33:00.000+01:00

Where does the time go? I signed off my previous post by saying ‘more on Willow Warblers shortly’ – and it’s already nearing the end of May!

I always used to think that the rambling sound of the Skylark high overhead was the most dominant sound of spring. But as the Skylark sings for most of the year and not just in spring, you get used to it always in the background (if you’re lucky enough to be away from the noise of traffic). It hovers high above your head, difficult to see against the bright sky, until it parachutes back down to the field and out of sight.

For me though, the sound of the Willow Warbler signifies the real start of spring. I heard my first one of the year singing in the third week of April, and because the blossom was still in its infancy, I was lucky enough to get good enough views to take the picture above. The cascading lament of this warbler dominates the gardens and woodlands around Nairn from spring into early summer. It announces its arrival with gusto; sitting high on a tree and singing its heart out as it competes with other males for the best ground and the best female!

Once you hear the Willow Warbler it is very closely followed by the rich, resonant sound of the Blackcap: a beautiful bubbling sound, akin to water running over rocks. These birds often show themselves well just after arrival, but as the blossom takes over the trees it is difficult to pick them out. Two pairs have made their homes in the woodland across the road from my house, and they can be heard on every visit – but not seen! So I sit with my camera in hand, just in case!

The blossom and leaves on the trees can make birdwatching at this time of year quite frustrating. That’s why I have tried very hard to attune my hearing to the sounds the birds make. So when you hear the omnipresent cascading warble in the air at this time of year and you can’t see where it is coming from, it is likely to be the Willow Warbler.

However, as always, it’s not that easy! Our skies, trees and fields are full of migrants now, and it is nearly impossible to hold onto the recognition of their songs. The Willow Warbler song is very distinct, and once you identify it you will probably remember it forever, but I do not have the skills of the more dedicated birders when it comes to the multitude of sounds created by the migrants. Those lucky few, who started to indulge themselves in this game as children, have the advantage of youth when the sounds stick in the memory a lot easier.

With the benefit of repetition, I can remember the sounds of the resident birds (Blackbird, Thrush, Robin Wren etc.). When the migrants arrive though, I know I have heard a song before, but just can’t place it. For instance, in early spring I always confuse the sounds of the Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Whitethroat. I need to catch sight of the bird in song, so that as spring turns to summer, and the songs have been repeated every day, they start to lodge themselves in my memory; for a short while anyway!

And then we have the sights and sounds of the Martins, Swallows and Swifts: now there’s another story, and hopefully I will talk about that in a later post (but not so long next time!).

Seamus

Dippers by The River

2011-04-27T23:24:00.001+01:00

Is it really nearly a month since my last posting?! There has been so much to look at in April that I have not had time to sit in front of the laptop; so over the next week or so I will post some of the pictures and stories of the month.

I spent a few hours in the glorious sunshine on Tuesday down at the riverside, taking in the beauty and wonder of the River Nairn Dippers. I have friends that would travel hundreds of miles to see what we have on our doorstep; and Dippers would be very near the top of their lists! We have had them around our river for years.

The pictures above shows a parent looking for its young to feed. Below is a picture of the juvenile. Look at the markings: much paler on the juv.

Notice in the other pics how the parent flies in, food in mouth, and how the young one hunkers down when it feels under pressure: the last few pictures tells you why!

The Heron that seems to spend the whole day on the River Nairn approaches, and the parents dash off to distract it. The penultimate photo shows the juvenile hunkered down and motionless, and the final photo shows just how close the Heron was, but it did not see the snack on the bank.

As ever, a great day birdwatching, and listening to Willow Warblers (more about them in the next post) and Blackcaps singing their hearts out all around me. And, as I've always said, keep your eyes open for little treats: see the Tree Creeper on the branch next to me!

A Job Well Done

2011-04-01T18:34:00.002+01:00

A small but happy group of willing volunteers strolled along the River Nairn, enjoying the balmy warmth of the spring sunshine - collecting bags and bags of rubbish left by folk that forgot the countryside idiom of 'only leave your footprints behind!'.

The group, led by Therese, tries to cover the stretch of river from the Jubilee Bridge to the Merryton Bridge at least once a year; and this year collecting much less than last year; so hopefully a sign that people are dropping less litter. In fact they met several peopl who said they collect litter on a daily basis as they walk their dog.

As always on a walk like this it is worth keeping an eye and ear out for the birds, and at this time of year the resident birds are making themselves known before the migrants come to nest. There were Wrens bellowing out their warbling song (how can such a small bird make such a loud and powerful noise!) and a Song Thrush high up on top of one of the trees chirping its repetitive, but musically beautiful and resonant song. Then a flock Goldfinches surrounded us, making a scratchy, twittering racket above our heads; beautiful birds though, and the song is quite nice really! There were Chaffinches everywhere, competing for ground by singing their hearts out and, Blackbirds alarming as they fly close to our heads and into the bushes.

And it's always a treat when you hear the Long Tail Tits overhead - and this one was closely followed by a Blue Tit, clinging on sideways!

One bird flummoxed me though! It was singing clearly and close by, but I just couldn't see it! I can identify most of the more common residents by song or call; but this one was not stored in my memory banks! I'm going back down tomorrow to see if it returns; and this time hopefully in full view!

There was no sign of the Dippers today, but plenty of really good views of the pair of Goosanders as they slowly paddled up and down the river, diving occasionally for a snack. In the picture alongside they were on a small embankment, giving a different view than usual. They also flew up river giving Kate some great views of their plumage.

On the final leg of the walk a Heron was spotted among the trees on the embankment. It looked a bit bedraggled, so had probably just finished fishing.

A really worthwhile excercise, enhanced by the beautiful weather and the wildlife. And a special thanks to Sarah who is visiting from Switzerland and heading down south next week - good luck and we hope to see you back soon.

Seamus

Sandbar

2011-03-13T18:07:00.000Z

Isn't it fascinating just how much the sandbar near the harbour wall of The West Beach has changed over the past few years? Today's stormy waves made it look even higher, leaving a pool of water unable to get back out to sea. And then there's the peaty brown pool where the river enters the firth, which seems to retain its size and scale irrespective of the amount of rain and snow melt coming down river.

Anyway, in amongst the whitehorses of the firth, Kate spotted a solitary Goldeneye that had just come down river to go out to sea, but when she tried to have a look at what else was braving the elements, she was nearly blown away (not metaphorically!) - so ran back to the car!

Our friends were visiting from down south for a few days to benefit from the lovely weather we've been having recently (how's that for timing, ha ha!). They've been very impressed with the snow, wind, rain, hail, cold, damp and mist we've had all weekend! They have enjoyed the geese though and the fantastic Darnaway ancient tree.

A Rare Pinkfoot

2011-03-03T20:36:00.001Z

As the Pinkfoot come back to Nairn in their thousands, it was really interesting to spot the odd one out yesterday.

I was driving past a field just south of Broadley Farm when anything up to 3,000 geese were circling and landing in one of the fields on the west side Cawdor Road. I pulled over to take a closer look and try to get a few photos.

On closer inspection I was surprised to see a much paler goose among the throng of grey Pinkfoots. My instinct was that it was a Snow Goose (which can be seen among large flocks at this time of year), but I started to doubt this because of the other shades of grey and other 'Pinkfoot features'. When Kate saw the picture, she suggested it was an Albino Pinkfoot.

As you can see in the photo above, the bird looks like a standard Pinkfoot: same neck, head and bill shape; it's just whiter and paler. I sent the picture to a couple of very experienced and much more expert birders, and they both confirmed that this is a 'Leucistic' Pinkfoot! A number have been spotted locally over the years.

Leucism is a condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment (mainly melanin) from being properly dispersed on a bird's feathers. It differs from the Albino genetic condition, which effects all pigments on feathers, skin and eyes of the birds, resulting in no colour at all (only white) for the affected birds.

So there you go; you can learn something new everyday, especially when you know who to ask!

Seamus

A Goosander or a Merganser?

2011-03-02T17:55:00.001Z

Don’t ask me! I was happily photographing a pair diving ducks feeding on the River Nairn near the footbridge in town and telling people they were a pair of Goosander! I even said that we are more likely to see them out at sea and mainly in the summer! I am so used to seeing Goosander here in the winter that I didn’t question my assumptions (always a dangerous trait; in any aspect of life!).

The easiest way to tell the difference is the bill: the Goosander drops at the end, a bit like a hook at the tip, whilst the Merganser slightly tends upwards toward the tip. Otherwise, it is really tricky to tell the difference, the female particularly. With her you have to check the neck; she has a clear border between the brown and whitish grey.

The male Goosander has more white plumage on the breast and stomach (see photo below). The Merganser head is smaller and the crest more obvious (see the crest in the photos above).

Whatever mistakes I make in identifying them, it was great watching them dive. The photo below captures the moment the male stretches its head out prior to diving under water.

Pinkfoot Return and Bramblings remain.

2011-02-26T18:16:00.001Z

The Pinkfoot Geese have ben returning in small numbers over the past few weeks; but today I saw a report that a flock of 10,000 over at Cloves (just south of Alves) this afternoon. We saw two very large skeins on the east side of Nairn around 4:30pm today. It looked like a spectacular dark cloud on the horizon: probably the same flock, so expect to see the skies and fields around Nairn full of Geese very soon!

It's also worth noting that Brambling are still around: two (male and female) amongst a large flock of about 90 Chaffinch on the roadside behind Brodie Castle, and one on a garden feeder in Cawdor.

When the weather is as good as it has been lately, the flocks of Chaffinches can be very colourful. Just sit quietly as they settle around you and always keep an eye out for Brambling in flocks of Chaffinches at this time of year; they can be spotted by the brilliant white stomach, bellow the lovely orange tinted breast (as shown in the not very good picture above!).

A walk alongside the beach

2011-02-21T20:11:00.003Z

We had a lovely walk out passed the Nairn Golf Club on Sunday in the mild, late winter sunshine. Plenty of birds on show on the high-tide, headlined by the pair of Red Breasted Merganser feeding and looking like they have already paired up ready for the breeding season. And a male and female Goldeneye were not that far away.

Also on show were a large number of Oyster Catchers, the usual group of Eider and hundreds of gulls (mainly Black-Headed).

The Rook below showed me how much more tolerant they are to humans than their cousins,t he Carrion Crow. The one photographed below stood on the rock and exercised its wing and legs as I sat pointing my camera at it!

I think these are fantastic birds! The next time you pass one in the field or on the street, I urge you to take some time and observe their behaviour: they are facinating to watch.
We walked back along the sea wall toward the swimming pool and really enjoyed the sight and sound of the waves lapping against the wall and dragging the pebbles back out to sea. There was a real feeling of spring in the air as people walked passed with smiles on their faces; and a number of visitors to the area too, which gives hope that the tourist season may be a good one.

Snow Buntings: Winter is Complete (but not over!)

2011-02-08T21:28:00.000Z

I’ve been on the lookout for our annual visitors from the far north all winter and was thrilled when we spotted three of them on The East Beach on Sunday. They usually arrive late November, but neither of us has seen them, (but that doesn’t mean they weren’t here earlier of course!). They can normally be seen flitting among the long grasses alongside the path on the West Beach or in the grasses among the sand dunes on The East Beach.

I couldn’t capture them on film and have been back a few times, camera in-hand, but no more shows from them. If I manage to get a picture, I’ll publish it here. They can be spotted all year round on Cairngorm, and very easily from the car park at The Funicular Railway.

So that’s it for migrating birds visiting us for the winter; but it is not the end of winter. That’s if the Tufted Ducks are any judges. I spotted two of them on The River Nairn today; I thought they had all gone back to sea to get ready for spring; I hope they are not predicting another cold spell. I have noticed the Goldeneye very close to shore, but not on the river (not for a few weeks anyway). I have also failed to see the Goosander for a while; they normally leave much later than February: signs that spring is heading this way, slowly.

Keep an eye on the blog for pictures of Snow Buntings - if I get them.

Garden Bird Watching

2011-01-18T10:47:00.005Z

There is no easier place to observe birds than in your own garden. Even if you do not have a garden, you can still attract birds to the area around your home. I have written about the birds we get in our garden a number of times; but I admit to be envious of friends that have more mature gardens and are rewarded with a greater range of birds.

A couple of friends have designed their back garden specifically to attract the birds; and as I’ve said before, backing on to a lovely wooded quarry helps too! Over 50 species of bird have been recorded in this area; I think the majority of them have visited their garden: Bramblings top the list, but the beautiful colours of the Goldfinch take some beating! Here they are on their Niger Seed feeder.

I talked them into letting me hide in the corner of the garden to try to capture some photos of their visitors. The snow was beginning to thaw, but the temperatures were still very low, and I sat freezing, binoculars and camera to hand, awaiting some action. As is always the way with bird watching, they never appear when you are ready for them!

Eventually, the local Sparrowhawk (which has been a regular in this area for at least two years) graced the garden. He seems to have taken up residence in the garden, knowing that there is a good chance of a snack on one of the smaller visitors. You will always know when a Sparrowhawk is about: all the other birds run for cover, creating a crescendo of alarm calls. But on this occasion he just sneaked up and landed on the fence with no other birds around.

Once the hawk left, many birds came to feed: among them were Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Blue and Great Tits, Linnets and what can only have been Red Polls. This Songthrush made a feast out of the berries on the Alder and, in the distance a Carrion Crow fed on some bread from another garden.

I spent much longer than expected in their company and I was in danger of over staying my welcome! But I was welcomed into the warmth of the sun lounge to join Kate and enjoy the tiffin and a cup of tea. So, thanks for a lovely few hours enjoying your birds; and I encourage everyone to put a few feeders up and think about the wildlife when you are planting your garden for the spring: you will not regret it!

Goldeneye and Tufted Duck visit The Harbour

2011-01-16T10:08:00.000Z

It was good to see a picture on The Gurn of a Goldeneye proudly showing off his colours last weekend (http://www.gurnnurn.com/). There have been a number of male and female birds just off shore and heading down river toward the footbridge (see the picture below). Some even hunted in The Harbour.

Add to this the numerous sightings of Tufted Duck, makes the first few weeks of 2011 pretty special! A well known protector of the swans has told me that he has seen 18 Tufted Duck (an even male / femal split) on the river, which is great.

The Tufted Ducks are black and white, but very convieniently have a wee tuft on the head, which gives it away. The male pictured above was resting on the river just passed the harbour. The tuft was showing well, as was the clear black and white markings.

The females are more plainly coloured (the bird on the left in the picture below); they are browner where the male is white, but they too have the give away tuft.

Keep an eye out for these ducks on the river, they are quite distinct and worth a second look.

The Brent Geese Return

2011-01-01T12:31:00.001Z

I was pleased to see the Brent Geese back in their usual winter spot on the rock pools on the West Beach. A small group of these birds return to Nairn every winter; to exactly the same spot, alongside the Nairn Golf Course.

From what I can tell this is the only spot on the Moray Firth that the Brent feed over the winter; so what is it that attracts them back year after year? The group is always a small one; the most I have seen is around 60. On Friday I counted 35. They find plenty to keep them occupied along the coastline and are far enough away from the dog walkers to be too bothered.

It may be a bit sad and anoraky of me, but I was really excited when I saw them yesterday! I thought they decided to ignore Nairn this winter! So keep your eye out for them as you walk along the shoreline, particularly at low tide. They are one of the easier geese to identify, although with their black and white features, they could be confused with Canada Geese. These birds are smaller than Canada Geese and have a very tell-tale white spot on their neck to really give them away.

On the subject of identification of geese: I find that grey geese are very difficult to get to grip with. Pinkfoot or Greylag? Well, the 1,000 or so geese in the field near the airport are Greylag. The best way to tell is the size and colour of the head and neck; but if you do not have a telescope to hand to help spot the difference, just listen to the call. The Greylag honks like a farm goose! The Pinkfoot has a more delicate ‘wink wink’ sound.

By the way, I notice that a small flock of Dunlin (or are they Knot?!) are resting on the sandbar at the harbour along with the Redshank. They make for a great display when they all set off at the same time; flashing grey and white as they twist and turn in low flight.

Here's to a health 2011 and plenty of happy bird watching!

Seamus

Getting out to see the birds.

2010-12-27T16:20:00.000Z

Bad weather is often the best time to see the birds, as they get braver and come closer to humans in their search for food; but bad weather often means less opportunity to get out to see them! So being able to get along the river path and down to the harbour over Christmas was a treat; and the birds on view made it extra special! Centre place goes to the beautiful male Goosander resting in the middle of the river; its chest puffed up against the cold. The colours were spectacular. I usually see a small group of females and juveniles, and only rarely catch a glimpse of the male. (Having said that, there was no sign of the others.)

The next day, we saw a female Tufted Duck going with the flow and rushing out to sea. This encouraged us to scan further for males, and Kate spotted four of them at the harbour entrance. Still on the duck front, five Goldeneye sat at the mouth of the river; apparently they have been around for a few days. I noticed a couple of Moorhen on the river too (the second time I’ve seen them). This is quite rare (for me), the usual place I see them is at Loch Flemington. So here’s hoping they like what they see and hang around.

Also on the river on Sunday we spotted the resident Dipper darting from bank to bank and taking the odd dive under the cold, fast flowing water. A few Feildfare flew overhead and a Mistle Thrush sat quietly in the long grass on the raised land by the Seaman’s Hall. Down at the west wall of the mouth of the river, a Meadow Pipit foraged among the rocks.

The one place that the weather doesn’t stop you getting the binoculars out is from the warmth and comfort of your own home. The garden fills with the usual garden birds and these are supplemented by field birds which are forced into the garden looking for a free snack. Our feeders have been full of Starlings, Sparrows and Chaffinches, with the Robin on the table and the Blackbirds running about the ground looking for scraps. We are very low on Blue Tits and have seen none of the other tits. We did have a Pied Wagtail regularly on our doorstep in the first few weeks of the snow; but it hasn’t reappeared for the past two weeks.

A couple of friends near us have revelled in views of Long Tailed Tits coming to their feeders, as well as Great and the odd Coal Tit. They have been spoilt by Bramblings regularly visiting for a snack. It shows that planting for wildlife can go a long way to attracting the birds into the garden – and backing on to a lovely wooded quarry helps too! One point on Long Tailed Tits: they often announce their presence with a high pitched squeak; and when you see one, look around as they normally travel in flocks and can take over your trees! Another friend’s garden has been inundated with Goldfinches; another bird we do not see very often in our garden, despite the specially prepared feeder for them (Niger Seed). We will be planting Teasel for next year to see if this attracts them in.

I’m hoping to take a few pictures of the birds I see over the next few weeks with my Christmas present! Hopefully I will be able to work out how to post any interesting pics on the blog.

Séamus

Where have all the geese gone?!

2010-12-12T20:14:00.001Z

A solitary Ringed Plover foraged among the rocks on the West Beach near The Nairn Golf Course early this afternoon. I don't see too many of these around Nairn: if any more are out there please let me know.

As usual there was a small flock of Eider Ducks on the waves just off shore, among the Cormorants and Gulls.

Where do all the geese go when the snow comes? The Pinkfoot have made their way from Iceland and Greenland to avoid the cold and snow, only to struggle to find grazing lands around Nairn after our early onset of winter. Many pass through Nairn on their way down to the central belt and lowlands; some moving on to East Anglia in England. But with the whole of the East Coast of England swathed on snow, where do they go? Unfortunately I don't have the answer! Are they still grazing on the farmlands around here? If anyone knows, please let us all know.

One last point: I'm on the look out for Snow Buntings and Purple Sandpipers - both showing themselves around this time. The former are sparrow sized buntings, with lots of white; abundant on the Cairngorms - many to be seen in the car park. Last year they were all over gorse around the beach, and on the harbour wall. The Purple Sandpipers are normally seen on the rocky shores of the West Beach. These are small upstanding and dark birds, about half the size of a Redshank. Again, please let me know when you see them.

Seamus

Feeding the Birds: A Hard Winter

2010-12-05T22:21:00.001Z

It only seems like yesterday that the hard winter from earlier in the year had cleared away, and now look outside the window!

It can be difficult to go out to do a bit of bird watching in these conditions; particularly with the hard frost making the conditions underfoot so dangerous; and controlling a pair of binoculars can be painfully cold! But as always when the weather is bad and we can't get out to see the birds, they come to us!

Our garden is swarming with all the usual suspects: plus an array of finches and tits, with the odd thrush and loads of Blackbird and swarms of Starlings. The Starlings seem to take over for five minutes and then the Pied Wagtail that has taken up residence since the snows came chases them all away! And of, the garden wouldn't be the same without our very own Robin. Friends have reported Bramblings on their feeders, which is fantastic. Many a flock of winter thrushes pass by on the look out for food; particularly berried trees; which do seem few and far between this year.

For me it's proof that we should feeding the birds at this time of the year is the right thing to do. They are forced by the hard frost and snow, to forage closer to humanity as their usual sources of food become increasingly inaccessible. Us making life a little easier for them is surely no bad thing. Some suggest to me that we are making them too reliant on humans: but we have done so much to finish them off, that a small helping hand is the least we can do.

Two points to note on this: 1. As soon as the weather picks up they'll be off back to the fields and woods to feed in the wild and 2. Many people gain great pleasure from seeing the less frequent visitors come into the garden. This can only do good, by raising awareness and making people care about our wildlife - to the benefit of them and us!

Anyway, enough of me ranting! Enjoy the visitors to your gardens, especially those of us lucky enough to have our gardens close to fields and woodland, as this weather will take them all in for a snack!

Birdwatching at the Cemetery.

2010-11-16T12:13:00.000Z

It was great to see that the Waxwings are hanging about. Kate spotted 91 of them in a tree in Nairn Cemetery as we were walking on the footpath outside. Their behaviour is very similar to that of the Starling at this time of year. They group into large flocks and fly in formation, but not as fast or as spectacularly as the fantastic Starling displays. When they fly their wing beat is a bit faster, but when gliding into to land they could easily be mistaken for Starlings as they make the shape of a diamond with their wings. Only a slight curve into the body at the base of the wing differentiates them from the Starling.

The Waxwings attracted us into the cemetery for more! What was noticeable in there was the large number of Blackbirds. We have seen very few this year, probably as a result of the hard winter last year, but today there were at least 15 of them darting from grave to grave; screaming their familiar flight call as they passed low in front of us. I look forward to getting them back in the garden this winter.

The cemetery is a lovely and peaceful place to do some bird watching, and a fascinating place to get a feel for the history of Nairn. So the next time you are out for a wander, pop into the cemetery - and don't forget your binoculars!

I was visiting a local farm at the weekend and enjoyed watching the Redwings resting in the trees. I was confused by what I thought was sound of Fieldfares, so I trained my binoculars on the trees that the rattling Fieldfare noise was coming from, but all I could see was Redwings. Then I spotted a solitary Mistle Thrush at the rear of the tree. This is a much bigger bird that the Redwing and slightly larger than the Fieldfare. It has a similar call to the Fieldfare: a jangling, rattling warble. You would likely to see this bird, with a companion, foraging for food on the ground, often standing upright to observe their surroundings and then marching onwards uncovering their food.

One final point to note: the Whooper Swans have found the fields at the back of Auldearn again; I remember they wintered here last year. 34 of them so far and no doubt more to come.

Whooper Swan

2010-11-11T19:06:00.002Z

The wonderfully named Whooper Swan has arrived at Loch Flemington for another winter; and the noise they make sounds like they are trumpeting their name to the world! These are very elegant birds, similar to our own Mute Swans, but they hold their necks straighter and their bills are yellow rather than orange.

Loch Flemington is a really good spot for to do a little bird watching from a distance. There is always something going on, particularly the Moorhens and Coots fighting over territory. Today there was nearly 100 Widgeon, feeding along side the swans on the loch. Now their call is really evocative; prompting images of misty lochs at dusk. They seem to whistle; in fact Kate compared the sound to the final phrase of the ‘wolf whistle’, so we’ve named it the ‘Widgeon Whistle’. If you are walking around some water, be it low tide on the firth or a loch, and you hear a very familiar whistle: it’s a widgeon!

Waxwings and Minx!

2010-11-09T15:43:00.000Z

We’ve been keeping an eye out in the trees and bushes around Nairn for Waxwings over the past few weeks, slowly losing hope of seeing them this year. Then 145 of them in appear in two trees in The Dunbar Golf Course along side the Lochloy Road this afternoon! All of them humming a contented little ditty; sounding like a purring cat lazing in front of the fire. These are absolutely beautiful birds: their light flesh coloured crests sprouting proudly from their buff, orangey foreheads, against the smooth, creamy breasts and a fantastically golden yellow tip of the tail. They could easily be mistaken for a flock of Starlings, chattering at the top of a tree, but when you get closer there is no mistaking them at all – wonderfull little things! That’ll be the end of any berries in trees in the near vicinity for this year!

The Waxwing could be thought of as a regular visitor around this time of year, although only for a fleeting period. The Brambling (also due in the winter) are likely to be here a bit longer; so keep an eye out for them.

As for our regulars: the two Dippers are now at home on our river, the male singing his heart out. This is very early to be singing, so maybe it was setting out his territory? Watching them both flying low over the water (head held high and wings so fast that you can’t see them!) and then diving head first into the fast flowing water, is fantastic!

The 150 or so Redshank and 30 Turnstone are still at the harbour, as are the nine or so Goosanders. I’m told that two Red Breasted Mergansers have also been spotted near-bye. I’m still looking out for the ‘000’s of Dunlin (or are they Knot?!) that flock on the small sand bar by the harbour wall. Has a seen them yet? Also keep watch for the Snow Bunting at the beach.

Talking of territory: we saw two Mink on the river; one swimming across the mouth of the river at the harbour wall and the other climbing up the wall near the footbridge! At first both Kate and I were hoping it was an Otter, until it started to climb that is! I do worry about the indigenous species living and breeding in our river: the Mink can ravage anything in its path.

Finally – what about those skeins of geese! We counted over 700 in one flock over the house last week!

Spot the Stonechat at the beach

2010-10-23T09:27:00.000+01:00

Walking along the links path I noticed a small bird balancing on the top of the long grasses, holding on with all it had to fight against the northerly wind. Instinct told me immediately that this was a Stonechat because this is what they do! They show themselves to all passers bye by balancing on the side of the grass and jumping up and flitting down to the next perch in the grass. So when you see a bird the size of a Robin with a dark (to black) head with a white collar and reddish breast, that it is flitting among the long grass in full view, you’ll know what it is even without binoculars. It’s that easy; strange then that this was my first Stonechat of 2010!

The geese are well and truly back in business in Nairn. The regular trip to and from the old bar is a great spectacle, even for the most seasoned birders. I’ve also seen flocks of Fieldfares readying themselves for the cold winter. I’ve not been at the harbour often in the past few weeks so don’t know if the large flocks of Knot and Dunlin are back on the sand bar near the harbour entrance. Any sightings? The usual 100 or so Redshanks and 30 Turnstones are around and about the harbour though.

Every time I cross the river on the footbridge our two resident Dippers fishing in the fast flowing river. This is a sign of a healthy river; I could spend all day watching them!

And then there were eight - or is it nine?!

2010-09-28T09:52:00.000+01:00

The Goosanders really are back in larger numbers (relatively, for here anyway). Eight of them have grouped around the Island near the head of the river. I saw a lone one out at sea near the golf course: it was well into its eclipse stage and looked very scraggy. So is this nine I wonder?

Also at sea yesterday was a brilliantly coloured Eider Duck; its yellow throat very prominent. A cormorant fished close to a Great Black Back Gull as a Dolphin sauntered by, to the excitement of a couple standing lose to me, wondering what I was looking at.

As usual, the harbour wall at high tide was full of Redshanks and Turnstones. Up to 150 of the former and about 10 Turnstones. It is odd how big they look when standing around in a group. When I observe them feeding on the waters edge along with other waders they look much smaller. It must be the combination of light and shade, and the proximity of larger waders to tower over them.

By the way, I said that the Martins have been blown away last week: well I saw two more over my house on Sunday (26th September). So they haven’t given up just yet. I also said how quiet the Great Tits have been; the Robins are making up for it though! They are all over town, singing there hearts out with their sad lament. We have one that uses our next door neighbours roof as a singing perch; and what a noise! First thing in the morning through to last thing at night, well into the dark, he sings and sings, and sings, and sings……!

The Island on The River Nairn

2010-09-24T22:16:00.000+01:00

So much for me saying that the Swallows had gone. I was walking along the river at lunchtime (Friday) and two brave soles were battling with the icy wind! I suspect that was their final farewell though.

I had a good look at the island in the middle of the river as I was passing; it was full of life! Birds all avoiding the wrath of the extra large swell sweeping up river as the tide poured in. There were five juvenile and female Goosander preening alongside plenty of Mallard. A Dipper, one of two that have been around, was dipping (not surprisingly) on the shore and a Siskin huddled in the reeds. Two Grey Wagtails fluttered around the island.

The island is a real haven for wildlife, and provides a wonderful natural habitat to give the wildlife a welcome helping hand: so well done Joe!

They’ve been blown away!

2010-09-24T08:21:00.000+01:00

The skies and electricity wires above Nairn are suddenly bereft of House Martins and Swallows; they’ve all been blown south by the horrendous autumnal wind and rain we’ve been experiencing. It’s always sad to see them go and take with them whatever hope we had of an Indian summer. But the Northerly winds are now assisting the geese on their journey to us for winter and they are fantastic visitors as they amass into great flocks of thousands, to fill the early morning and evening sky, and flood the fields around the town. And what about the noise! It really does help me cope with the winter blues!

In the next couple of weeks we should also be seeing the winter thrushes invading our fields and gardens. Keep your eye on the berries on the bushes and trees; they rely on these to keep them going over winter. And keep your ears open at night as the Redwings rush overhead with a whooshing sound and a distinctive call in the dark. Let me know when you hear them.

One final point: I haven’t heard the customary sound of Great Tits singing in September. Usually they reappear in the garden and in the dawn chorus around about early September; but nothing this year. The extreme winter last year seems to have taken its toll.

Pink Footed Geese are back already!

2010-09-20T21:16:00.001+01:00

About 2,000 Pink Foot were spotted by the A96 at The Enterprise Park at Forres. Someone reported this to me earlier today, so I can’t verify the sighting just yet. I will hopefully get over there sometime in the week. Once the geese start to arrive, our fields will be full of them; as will our skies. Let me know if you see them first?

Preparing for the long journey

2010-09-17T09:07:00.001+01:00

Have you noticed just how busy the skies overhead have been recently with flocks of chattering House Martins and Swallows? The telegraph wires alongside the country roads are also lined with Swallows.

These birds have very long journeys ahead of them and have to take every opportunity to feed before they head off over the coming month.. You may have noticed the distinct lack of Swifts? The Swifts are the last of the familiar four summer visiting species to arrive, and the first to leave. Their fantastic screeching sound as they dive through the air acrobatically above our house and the older properties in the town; especially the church towers, is already being missed, although some may be pleased with the silence!

I was out near Loch Laggan on the road to Spean Bridge last weekend and was amazed to find a pair of Swallows still feeding young in a nest under the roof of a barn at Creag Meaghidh; in the second week of September! I thought a pair of House Martins I spotted feeding young in a nest under the eaves of a house in the Lochloy area two weeks ago were leaving it late! What hope have the young got at this late stage I wonder? They need to fledge and learn their independence whilst fattening up for the adventure ahead of them, all within less than four weeks.

The fourth of these visitors that help make summer such a great time to observe the birds is the Sand Martin. We’ve had a good few breeding on the river bank in town again this year. Have they gone yet?

It’s always sad to see the summer visitors making their farewell for another year. It signals the beginning of the end of summer (for what it’s been worth this year!). But their replacements are fantastic to watch. The winter thrushes (Fieldfare and Redwing) from Scandinavia, the geese from even farther afield, will soon be here. So while we benefit from what just about passes for a (very) limited version of an Indian summer, at least our skies (and fields) will be full of thrushes and geese to keep us guessing at trying to identify them during the darker months!

Song filling the air

2010-09-14T23:16:00.001+01:00

It never fails to thrill me when the resident song birds start singing around this time of year. Is it that they can now be heard as the visitors are starting to think about heading home or, as I suspect, all the birds are coming out of hiding from their late summer moult (late July through August), and while the migrants head home or prepare for the journey, the residents start to anticipate the hard months ahead with a wee song? Of course, not all the Robins, Blackbirds and Tits that you can now hear are necessarily going to reside here over winter: some will head south and be replaced by the same species moving down from further north.

Either way, it’s great to hear them in full voice in the September sunshine (or the squally showers we've been having!). And it’ll soon be easier to see them as the trees lose their leaves (at least that’s one positive aspect of the cold creeping in!)

Nairn to The Solway Firth

2010-09-13T23:27:00.004+01:00

Goosanders are back. We had up to eight Goosanders winter in and around the mouth of The River Nairn last winter, but all went further afield for the summer. I seem to recall that a couple stayed in the summer of 2009, but I have not seen any this summer. So, to see a female feeding under the footbridge in town was great news for me. I find it difficult to get out to the remoter areas around Nairn, including off shore, so it’s great when the birds come in to see me!

A friend was telling me how, when he was out in his boat last week, he watched a Skua being harassed by Terns off the Old Bar. This reminded me of a really exciting sighting last year from the car park down at the harbour. I was having a great time watching large flocks of Terns and Gannets diving for food just to the west of the harbour wall, when an Arctic Skua appeared out of the sun to the west and darted aggressively among them. It gave a fantastic display of its flying abilities as it chased the Terns and Gannets, forcing them to drop their catch so it could grab it and fly away to feed. These are very strong and ruthless birds, and they make a great spectacle to watch.

So much goes on just off our shores that is the envy of birders from all over the country. But then, everywhere in Scotland has its special places. We were down a few miles south of Dumfries at the weekend on the mouth of the Nith, on The Solway Firth. What a fantastic spot this is for waders and ducks! We observed hundreds of Redshanks and Lapwings moving up river as the tide was coming in. There were Shelducks sitting on the water and Curlew and Godwits feeding in the mudflats. In the distance (too far away to accurately identify), hundreds of smaller waders; likely to be Sandpipers and / or Dunlins (with I suspect even more exciting rarities among them), were standing on the shoreline, whilst small flocks of dabbling ducks were flying around in circles (as ever at this time of year they were very hard to identify!). They were all feeding on what they could, in the knowledge that the numbers would soon run into thousands as the tide turns and leaves behind its bounty for them all to feast on.

This is a spot I will probably go back to in the a few months as it is famous for the multiple thousands of Barnacle Geese that winter in and around the Merse, at the mouth of The Nith. The weekend gave me a real buzz for visiting all the usual spots around The Moray Firth Coast line to catch sight of our own wintering birds finding solace from the hard winters further north. Here’s to many more happy days of frustratingly trying to identify what I am spotting!

They're still feeding!

2010-08-11T13:01:00.001+01:00

Just a quickie to note just how many birds are still feeding their young so far into August. My garden is full of House Sparrow and Pied Wagtail parents feeding their demanding chicks, flitting all over the garden. I noticed a family of Hooded Crows doing the same by the River Nairn. Really surprising is the Sand Martins still taking food to their nests, which implies their chicks are still to fledge. Even though this summer has been a relatively short one, I suspect that these are all be second broods. August is usually a month where the adults hide themselves away to moult and replace their hard working feathers ready for either their migration or for a hard winter.

From Bald Eagles and Bears, to Mink.

2010-07-29T15:44:00.004+01:00

This blog has been quiet for a while – we’ve been away enjoying the Bald Eagles (they were all over the place, including two juveniles gallivanting on the beach in the middle of Vancouver!) Why can they survive there when our beautiful Golden Eagles need to be in the middle of the wilderness? Anyway, by the end of the holiday we hardly gave them a glance as they flew overhead! Add to his the Whales and Bears along with the multitude of squirrels and the Racoons, your camera and binoculars are kept very busy.

But getting home to our own wildlife is a real comfort. The sound of the Oyster Catcher overhead and the twitter of the Goldfinches welcomed us home. We were really pleased to see a juvenile Dipper on a rock under the footbridge in Inverness, and an excited Dutch tourist contorting her camera to get a good view, despite the bouncing bridge underfoot! I have noticed the lack of Yellowhammer song that filled the air before we left, but the Swifts have arrived in abundance. The Sand Martins are still all over the river in town and a couple of Grey Wagtails have taken up home near the footbridge.

On my first visit to the river I noticed a dark furry animal running along the shore near the bridge, hoping that it was an Otter. I bumped into Joe the swan man and he tells me that he has seen a number of Mink over time in this same area, which isn’t good news for the Swans trying to rear families each year.

August is bound to be a quiet month for birds as they patch themselves up after their hard summer activity, But September and beyond will be great for the birder as always, so it’s great to be back!

Séamus

Life on the River Nairn

2010-06-18T10:11:00.001+01:00

Where has time gone? It’s been ages since I’ve written on this blog; so much going on! The birds are well into their second broods; the head of the river is full of Mallard ducklings and the Nairn Swan brood, as well as plenty of Sparrows and Finches chicks bathing in puddles on the embankments. Tens of Sand Martin skimmed the top of the water catching flies for their young, born in the side walls of the river.

Talking of the river, I walked up river yesterday as far as I could go without too much difficulty; this place full of life! A real array of sounds, and when foliage allowed, great sights too. I was hoping to see the Dipper family from a few weeks ago, but they’ve fledged and have gone further afield. And I am still to see the paid of Goosander this spring despite the fact that at least six were here late winter. The Swan mannie tells me he has seen them; but I don’t know where they are when I’m looking for them!

There are so many places to walk around Nairn that I am spoilt for choice, and so this was my first walk up river this spring, and judging by the activity yesterday it won’t be my last! It was a humid, still day as I made my way along the path (dodging all the dog poo!). Every now and then I encountered walkers enjoying the setting and chatting as we passed. The peat brown water of the river rushed past in places and strolled in others sections. Mt attention was taken by the sound of a family of Blue Tits feeding in the branches above my head. My first instinct on hearing the high pitched calls of the young Blue Tits is to look up expecting to see a passing group of Long Railed Tits. A really distinctive sound and unique to Long Tailed Tits at all other times of the year, except now! There must have been about six Blue Titsl chasing their parents demanding their food.

A bit further up river a caught a glimpse of a bird heading to the bottom of a tree. Every time I am in a wooded area and see a bird flying diagonally downwards toward a tree trunk I suspect a Tree Creeper. They flydown to the bottom of the trunk and then walk up and around the tree trunk looking for grubs for as far as they can go, then fly down to the bottom of the next tree! A really consistent behaviour which lets you know what they are without the need to inspect through the binoculars; although it is well worth doing as you’ll see their articulately patterned back and lovely little down turned bill, specially designed to dig into the bark.

A bird with a very similar action to th Tree Creeper is the Nuthatch, which would be an extremely rare sight in The Highlands; well, north of Hadrian’s Wall actually. The Nuthatch runs around the trunk of trees feeding on grubs in the bark, but where the Tree Creeper runs up the trunk, the Nuthatch runs down the trunk, without fail! It’s flight path is diagonally upward!

Anyway, what else was around yesterday? I spotted 26 different species in about a two hour walk. Along with the Gulls, crows and Pigeons there was loads of Song Thrushes singing high up in the trees and Chaffinches making a racquet in pretty much every tree! I heard what I hoped was a Whitethroat, but was probably a Dunnock (I’m easily confused!). I did hear the beautiful resonant song of a Blackcap though and then followed the moving branches and leaves to find him flitting among the leaves. A similar ‘jiz’ to this, I spotted a Willow Warbler, strangely silent, but flitting among the leaves to find food. The song of the Willow Warblers still fill the air at this time of year, but it won’t be long until they are all silent, like the one I spotted yesterday. This is the most exciting sound in April as it signals the start of the influx of Warblers for Spring, but it is also an early bird to go silent.

Talking of signs of summer, a solitary cuckoo sang from beyond the river yesterday. A few weeks ago their song was everywhere, now just a few. Further down river a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew through the trees and bounded to the other side (a very distinctive bounding, up and down in a shallow ‘U-shape’ flight path). On my way back toward town (but not a circular walk as the Firhall Bridge is a barrier), I heard the call of a Yellowhammer and then spotted him at the top of a fir tree! I heard many of them singing in the farmers fields too. Then I heard a fracas above my head and looked up to see a jackdaw harrassign a low flying Heron as they twisted their way through the tops of the trees.

I could go on and on (I won’t!), but the river area is alive with wildlife and a must for everyone who can get down there to open your ears and eyes to the wonders around us.

Séamus

The Fight for Life.

2010-05-24T17:20:00.001+01:00

I can’t get over just how many Yellowhammers can be heard every time I step outside my door. They’re singing all over the place! Add to this the omnipresent cascading warble from the Willow Warbler, the rambling natter from the Skylark and the chattering Swallows and House Martins overhead and you’ve got the cacophony of summer in your own back garden! And that’s us on a street full of houses; what’s it like for those whose houses are in the fields and woodland surrounding Nairn!

On another subject, anyone walking along the River Nairn surely can’t fail to be impressed by the elegance of the Grey Heron stalking its prey. There are currently two Heron on the river most days, standing motionless on the shore, eye’s piercing the water and waiting to pounce. You can see its long, thin neck with the crest twitching in the wind. I love watching it move serenely across the rocks, treading carefully so as not to disturb the river bed and betraying its presence to the life below.

A few days ago I observed the other side of this beautiful bird; a demonstration of how live in the wild is tough and how the birds do not always live up to the delicate picture we create. The Heron was stalking its prey and then with a sudden and deadly thrust of its beak, its head darted into the water and came up with its trophy; this time an eel. Job done? Not quite. On this occasion the eel wrapped itself around the Heron’s long bill in a desperate fight for survival. The bird swung its head violently from side to side trying to reposition the eel. Struggling to do so, it threw the eel against the rocks and started to prod it with its bill. It then picked off the seaweed from the eel and picked it up again, only for the eel to quickly wrap itself around the bill again! Now the Heron managed to untangle a porting of the eel and it banged it against the rock. But still it fought for its life and clung on to the bill. Eventually it had to give up; and it was gone!

Not long afterwards the Nairn Swans approached the Heron; seeing it as a threat to their brood; which of course it is! Not long ago a TV crew were filming a Grey Heron and regaling the beauty of the bird, only to catch on film the moment that Heron decided to change its target from the fish under the water to the Moorhen chick on it – and in one fail swoop grabbed and swallowed the chick. Not quite the image the film crew were hoping to portray! But that’s nature. It doesn’t always live up to our human sensibilities; and long may that continue.

The Nairn Birder

The Swans

2010-05-20T17:14:00.000+01:00

I’ve just got back from my first chance to do some spotting for a week or so; even though I am always on the look out! What a humid day it is too! I'm already struggling!

Pretty much the same as last time really; the birds must be busy at the nest because it was so quiet again. Plenty of Swallows and House Martins (no Sand /Martins this time) and a number of Swifts at last. Out on the firth, three Eiders slept and a Cormorant fished. No sign of the Goosanders either.

On the river a pair of Herons fished, with one really struggling to deal with an eel it had unearthed. There were a two Mallards shepherding 12 chicks (yes, 12!). I suspect they were from more than one pair and that there was some baby sitting going on! As for chicks, I saw the pair of ‘Nairn Swans’ chase off the Heron; I suspect it is a real threat to the Swans brood.

Talking of which; I noted five chicks with them today, but did notice the pair of them back on the nest on my way home. More to come? Well, according to ‘Simply Superb Swans’ blog at http://simplysuperbswans.blogspot.com/ eight were laid, six hatched and one cygnet was taken by a Hoodie. Two eggs remain un hatched and the Pen is busily trying to hatch it. The protector of the Nairn Swans suggests that he may remove the final two eggs to prevent the Pen from being distracted form other duties. I suppose he knows what he is doing. This is a really good blog and keeps tab s on what is happening on our river. IT talks of Sand Martins nesting; I did spot them nesting some weeks ago, but no sign of them today.

Lots of noise from the song birds: Willow Warbler; Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Wren, Robin, Song Thrush, all as I walked down Lochloy Road and down to the harbour. I am always thrilled to hear the Skylark form my back door, but the space is running out and they will be moved on soon as the houses keep going up. Our garden is becoming a bit more interesting for the birds, as Sparrows and Starlings and the odd paid off Hoodies are becoming much more frequent visitors.

Séamus

Looking Eastward

2010-05-14T12:14:00.000+01:00

There’s me thinking how quite it’s been around Nairn over the past few days; and assuming that all the birds are sticking to their nests waiting for the rush. Then I get a couple of emails from around Elgin way detailing great sightings! It looks like these people are more energetic than me!

So, to let you know what is about from two people on the same day! (And here’s hoping that they are willing to come over our way!):

40 Crossbils seen in pine wood just outside Elgin, Ring Ouzel at Ardcanny Farm by Rothes, two male Blackcaps singing there hearts out down by the Spey near Rothes
And then, at Tugnet at mouth of the Spey, 64 Goosanders (half males and females), 50 Common Scoter on the sea and one Little Tern flying upriver,5 Shellduck,1 Corn Bunting

And add to this a pure white Pheasant!

So thanks to my contacts in the east for the info, and guess where I’ll be over the next few days!

Séamus

Lochindorb

2010-05-10T12:45:00.002+01:00

On Sunday we travelled down to Lochindorb for a picnic. The sunshine and showers that we left behind in Nairn turned into persistent rain on Dava, but this did not detract from a fantastic days bird watching. Approaching the loch we did a quick scan of the northern end in the hope of seeing some rarity. What we did see was an old friend from here, the Common Sandpiper, and a pair of Redshanks. The Sandpiper can always be seen on the northern and eastern shore of Lochindorb. It flies low over the water and perches on the rocks with a dipping motion not dissimilar from a Dipper or a Wagtail. It has a distinctive high pitched call which signals its arrival. Whilst there, two Greylags flew over head and we caught sight of an Osprey high over the southern end of the loch. Little did we know what a surprise we would get from this bird later in the day!

As we drove south along the shore we were fooled by very close up views of a female Goldeneye. We took ages to identify it, often getting excited that it just might be some rarity, but sensibly, we settled on the more likely candidate. We also saw a pair of Red Breasted Merganser; two more stunners!

After reaching the bridge at the end of the loch we turned back to take another look over the loch. We stopped just to the north of the trees so that Kate could look back at the sheltered shoreline. I was trying to look north through the pouring rain when suddenly a large splash into the water directly in front of the car approximately, 10 metres away. I shouted to Kate and we both watched as an Osprey, complete with trout in its talons, rise from the water! It flew to about 10 feet above the water and shook itself down and adjusted writhing trout into a more suitable aerodynamic position and flew off to enjoy the feast! In the many years we have been watching Ospreys fishing in the Highlands, over the Moray Firth and beyond, we have never been so close to the spectacular and explosive action. We had been looking for it over the loch as we ambled our way around, but felt sure that it had took cover form the rain; until out of nowhere it splashed down right in front of us!

It was time to go home as nothing would beat that and so off we went. On the way we past a further 10 Greylag and a Buzzard.

Séamus

Ullapool

2010-05-10T12:37:00.001+01:00

We’ve been out and about again over the past few days and ventured over to Ullapool. The views as we drove over never fail to delight and then add the beautiful sunny weather that graced us on Saturday, what better way to spend your time! And when out of the wind it was great to feel the heat on your back. The bird life was made up of Chaffinches and Sparrows as well as the usual gulls all over the chip shop! But as we were enjoying ourselves walking along one of the streets behind the main street when we heard our first Cuckoo of the season calling from the hills. A great addition to the sunny surroundings.

On our way home we had fantastic views of a pair of Slavonian Grebes resting in a small loch. It doesn’t look like they are breeding yet, but I suspect this will come soon. On the same loch we saw a pair of Mallards with their chicks and a Little Grebe alarming at a pair of Moorhens nearby. This was the first time we had heard a Little Grebe ‘whinnying’ and what an aptly descriptive word that is! The loch also had a Coot and a Mute Swan.

One bird that was noticeably low in numbers was the Buzzard. We only saw one on the journey, where as only a few weeks ago there would be a soaring Buzzard around every corner!

Some good news from our garden; at last we have life! A couple of House Sparrows are visiting us. In the winter we had numerous callers, but spring has been very quiet as the fields have been plentiful bounty for them.

Séamus

The Warblers are here

2010-05-04T18:10:00.000+01:00

The planned Sunday walk started with us all happed up in coat and scarf and ended in T-Shirts! A lovely sunny end to a great walk from Kingsteps via the RSPB car park along the sand dunes, through the caravan park and down to the harbour (east) and across to The Links Tea Room for a well earned cuppa. We ventured East from The Ministers Pool to see just how far we could make it. The sand has certainly moved and it looks like we will be able to make it much further than usual. We will hopefully try this later in the week.

Back toward town and chatting to the few people that we passed; that’s another great thing about living here, there are so many places to walk around here that you are rarely overwhelmed by other humans when on a quiet walk! Whilst talking to one local I noticed a glorious Osprey gliding above us on its way to some fishing. I let her use my binoculars to get the best view. It really does make for exiting viewing at this time of the year. Just a bit further on we heard our first Whitethroat of the year. If you are familiar to The Dunnock making a racquet in your garden, then add to this just a little bit of subtle tune and some ‘scratchy’ sounds in the middle, and you’ve got a Whitethroat. A beautiful bird, olive brown in colour with….you guessed it, a white throat! This bird usually flies around in a, taking the high ground and marking out his territory as he looks for a mate.

Yet another sound of summer is the beautiful Blackcap (yep, the one with a black cap on its head!). His song has shorter phrases and a bit of a ramble; but more melodic and a fluid; a watery ‘brambling brook’ sound.

Séamus

Litter Pick

2010-05-04T17:59:00.002+01:00

My first ‘blogging’ is from last Friday when I went out to help clean up the banks of the river Nairn and the paths near Jubilee Bridge. What an incredible amount of rubbish was found including car batteries, car seats and scores of broken alcohol bottles. Although it was satisfying to leave the place cleaner and tidier it is disappointing that there is a need to do this.

The weather was beautiful and we all soon discarded layers as we worked. The birds did their best to distract me, these included a heron which flew past close enough to touch before landing a couple of metres away to continue it’s hunt for food, and a dipper was obviously aware of our work as it kept flying round us then landing to do it’s ‘dip’ giving us great views. This is the closest I have been to one for a long time and it is unusual to get such lengthy views of one. There was also a grey wagtail under the railway bridge ‘wagging and pipping’ beautifully. The common birds I saw included Blue tits, chaffinches and blackbirds. There was also blackcaps heard by another litter picker but I was too busy to catch it at the time.

Another spectacle for the day was the amount of wild garlic. It is very aromatic and looks very attractive too.

So my recommendations are to slow down when out by the river to enjoy the smells, sounds a sights. And maybe take a bag to collect any rubbish which has gathered – this offers some exercise as you enjoy the area.

Kate

We're back - and so is the Osprey!

2010-04-25T18:26:00.000+01:00

Well, how things have changed! I’ve been away for 10 days and come back to an Osprey, a Willow Warbler and a beach full of Swallows and Martins!

Before I left I was getting all excited about my first sighting of a Swallow and hearing a Chiff-Chaff. Whilst down south I heard (and then saw) a Willow Warbler with its lovely cascading warble, and wondered if they had made it home yet. Well, this afternoon one was singing proudly in the small wooded area on the south side of Lochloy Road near the disused quarry. And then, with numerous Skylarks singing overhead, we caught our first sight of an Osprey. What a fantastic and majestic bird this is. It was gliding south, probably after an afternoon fishing on The Black Isle, and it gave us great views of the power of its wings and its striking white body. A little earlier we had seen a Buzzard, Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk; that makes four birds of prey in one afternoon on a small walk on the east side of Nairn. I told you this is a great place to live!

The day started with a quick pop to the golf course car park and I was rearly surprised by the number of Swallows and Martins (both Sand and House), flying low over the rocks. Very hard to count them as they were swirling all over the place; probably up to a hundred.

And then, just as I was marvelling at the changes in such a short period of time, I noticed 10 Brent Geese on the same beech! Add to this a field full of Pinkfoot near Golanfield earlier in the day! I was sure they would have headed north by now; but deep down I’m pleased they are still here as they make a great sight!

Here’s to a great spring and summer! See you soon.

Séamus

My First Chiff-chaff

2010-04-11T21:44:00.002+01:00

What a beautiful day! 19 degrees at one point, and when in the shelter from the breeze, absolutely lovely, made even better by my first Chiff-chaff of the year. I heard it first (as always) and luckily the trees are still bare enough to be able to see it as well, flitting about a Silver Birch in Lakenbuie Wood. All the regular residents were singing their hearts out as well. I saw my second Swallow. too; Soon the skies will be full of them.

I went out to see the geese at Gollanfield – far, far too many to count this time, well into the thousands; but no Snow Goose for me I’m afraid. While there I popped into the wee loch on the southside of the A96 near the airport (not loch Flemington) to see 10 Tufted Ducks and two beautiful Buzzards sitting on fence posts overlooking the loch.

Séamus

First Swallow and have the geese really gone this time?

2010-04-10T13:47:00.003+01:00

I meant to say that we saw our first Swallow of the year; flying over the sand dunes just west of The Harbour on Thursday. Soon the sky will be full of them!

In the early hours of this morning we were awoken by calling geese flying over the house. This sounds like they really are on the way north. It’s a shame as they have given some great spectacles this spring. Finally, I heard some linnets making a racket over our neighbours house and looked up to see them harrying a Sparrowhawk. Always listen out for unusual sounds above you as groups of birds get together and make loud alarm calls as they fly at the hawks to ‘scare’ them off.

As I’m writing this I can hear a really unusual call from across the road. It has a Chaffinch’s ‘tone of voice’, but I have never heard a Chaffinch making that call before. I have just scanned the area and it is a Chaffinch! That’s a new one for me.

Séamus

Snow Goose

2010-04-09T17:19:00.004+01:00

Keep your eye out for Snow Goose; three of them have been spotted in a field near Golanfield. Confusingly, two of them are the 'Blue Goose' variety! The Blue version has a brownie body and a white neck and head. The white version is just that; white. At first sight you could assume it was the farmhouse plain white goose. It's not; it's either a rare vagrant from NE Siberia, or some escapees from captivity.

As for our Pinkfoot; there still here. We saw 3,000 of them feeding in a field near Househill. It was probably them flying over last evening, so I'm heading back to Househill now just in case!

Séamus

PS - lots of Long Tailed Ducks close in by the Golf Course car park.

The sky full of Geese. On their way home?

2010-04-08T19:58:00.001+01:00

If any of you were lucky enough to have had your windows open or were outside at 7:30pm this evening you would have heard, then seen, the sky completely fill with geese heading north east toward the firth. Skeins of thousands of geese heading home? Who knows, but they’ve provided a great spectacle since the autumn and they will be welcome back by one person at least later this year - me!

Just to note the usual suspects busy in the harbour earlier today; Redshanks and Turnstones. Even earlier I was over at Loch Flemington and there were 44 Widgeon along with 13 Tufted Duck, two Mute Swans and a good selection of both Coot and Moorhen. I know I’ve said this before, but I do not see many Coot or Moorhen in The Highlands, and Loch Flemington seems to be the exception around here. Buzzards galore on the back road out to Loch Flemington too.

Séamus

A Martin, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Geese in ½ an hour in town.

2010-04-08T11:52:00.000+01:00

No sooner said than done, well not quite. I was in The High Street this morning looking skyward to find the Buzzard that was calling when a Martin (not quite a Swallow, but it signals the same arrivals) darted behind the Bank of Scotland building. I didn’t get the chance to distinguish if it was a Sand Martin or a House Martin, but I suspect the former as they have been around for a week or so already. These are fantastic little birds. They travel hundreds of miles back to the place they were born, and in the case of some of the House Martins, back to the actual nest they used last year!

And just to show what delights can be had by keeping your eyes and ears tuned to the birds, I wa sitting in the car park of the West End Garage and a Sparrowhawk stooped from high down into a garden behind the workshop! Back at home and getting out of the car, a skein of Pinkfoot flew directly over the house, honking a fantastic noise to drown out the racket from the builder’s radio! All this in ½ an hours normal daily business. Add to this the cc. 1,500 Pinkfoot in a field by Golanfield last night that I saw from the train window as I headed into Inverness.

Keep your eyes, ears and senses tuned into the wildlife and you’ll never be disappointed.

Séamus

Swallows have arrived

2010-04-07T13:38:00.000+01:00

One Swallow doesn’t make a summer; how about three? Three were spotted over Elgin, so keep your eyes out over Nairn. Last year I first spotted them flying up the River Nairn in late March.

As for other birds, there were six Purple Sandpipers, eight Turnstone, one Redshank, a Pipit….and then 14 Brent Geese (I thought they had gone!) waddled into view on the shore just to the west of the golf club car park. A really good spot this, irrespective of the height of the tide, there is always something going on.

For those of you driving along the A96, you may spot little birds in the wee loch on the southside of the road just before the airport roundabout (heading west). These are usually Widgeon, but there can be some Teal among them. It looks like a couple of Mute Swans are thinking about setting up home there too. In the winter, Whooper Swans could often been this at this spot.

Séamus

And now there are five (well, six actually!). And an Osprey?

2010-04-06T14:04:00.005+01:00

There used to be one Goosander on the River Nairn over the past few years. This winter I have regularly seen four, but yesterday I spotted five. Four females fighting over the one male, up river beyond the A96 road bridge. Last week I saw two females and two males together, so that makes at least six Goosander gracing the river. I hope they plan to stay.

Good to here the news that the first Osprey has arrived at Loch Garten. So keep your eyes out for our regulars around our lochs and coastline. Fantastic to watch these birds in action, so please let me know when you spot one.

Séamus

A trip to Lossie

2010-04-05T16:41:00.002+01:00

A trip a wee bit further east took us to Lossiemouth. The Lossie estuary is normally a really good spot for waders, but today was full of walkers and their dogs so only a few groups of Redshanks braved the situation, and flew from shore to shore as the dogs approached.

We moved on to a local loch and settled in with the telescope set well. Two Buzzards circled overhead as a Great Spotted Wookpecker drummed in the wood behind. The loch was very busy; Two Mute Swans flew in to join 14 others already feeding. Many Goldeneye and Tufted Duck (quite similar in shape and colouring, the Tufted having a tuft on top of the head and less white on the sides) as well as about 10 Coot. Now I really have struggled to see Coot around here, whereas they are numerous further south. Black Headed Gull screeched overhead and two Herons stood motionless on the edge of the loch.

Just as we were moving away from the loch a great flock of Teal flew overhead and dived down to land in the middle of the loch. At least 200 of them. What a great noise they made as they signalled their arrival! Whilst looking at these I spotted a solitary Little Grebe in the distance.

In the wood on the way back to the car we heard Robins and Wrens singing in the distance and spotted two Siskin, a Blue Tit, and numerous Chaffinches, as always, showing very easily. Finally, Kate spotted three Reed Buntings near the reed bed.

We set off and decided to pop into Burghead; not the most picturesque of places, but there are two great spots to do some sea watching. The best of them today was on the east side of the peninsular where 41 Eider were very close in. Two Long Tailed Ducks were further out and eight Common Scoter were just a bit further up the coast, but again very close and giving great views.

Driving west toward Nairn were more Reed Buntings, some Yellowhammers and lots of Buzzards. A good day!

Séamus

More Long Tailed Duck - and our 'local Redshanks'

2010-04-05T16:31:00.001+01:00

A lovely sunny day enticed us down to the east side of the harbour to observe a calm sea. Many folk were out enjoying the weather and a coupe of yachts made their way out to the firth. 20 Long Tailed Ducks sat fairly close in to give good views, as did the local Eider Ducks. Strangely quiet on the waters today, with the odd Shag and Cormorant flying by. The Gannets were nowhere to be seen. The very local Redshanks and Turnstones never fail to give us something to talk about, and we shared our observations with a holiday maker standing on the other side of the harbour. There were 102 Redshank and 32 Turnstones huddled together in he central wall of the harbour. They seem to use this spot to rest while the tide is high; this seems to be a safe haven for them as it is surrounded by water on three sides and fenced off on the forth, so no folk or their dogs can disturb them.

Séamus

Delnies Wood (and attitude!)

2010-04-02T21:38:00.002+01:00

A beautiful sunny day (and warm when out of the wind) encouraged us to venture out to new ground today. We walked around Delnies Wood off Moss-side Road, hoping to get down to he beach. We’ve been in and around Nairn for many years and I’m ashamed to say that we had never walked here before; this just shows how many great places there are around here! This little gem was made even better by; no cars, no people and no dogs! Fantastic! The natives were singing well – mainly Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Robins, Wrens and Dunnocks. The archetypical sound of woodland (used in every film ever made in this country) is that of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Unfortunately it is not as common as the film industry makes out, but it was alive and kicking in Delnies Wood today! A loud echo-ey drumming in the distance (a longer drumming rhythm than the Lesser Spotted version) signalled its presence to us and kept us company for a few moments.

We ventured over the increasingly rough terrain going down a number of steep paths over large humps of grass and soil and protruding tree routes, knowing all the time that each hill was a point of no return, and so we were praying that we could get out at the other end! Before we reached the end of the public footpath on the Southside of the A96 section of the walk, we were confronted by ‘a hill too far’. We could see that we could get to the bottom of the hill from within the Caravan Park, where we could continue. Kate calmly made her way along the top of the slop looking for an alternative route to continue.. She found a way out of the wood via a farmers track and beckoned me over. Very grateful that we weren’t fenced in, we made our way onto the road leading to the entrance to the Caravan Park and into the Park in the hope to of picking up the public footpath at the bottom of the hill. We entered the park and sadly we were greeted by an over zealous park manager shouting to us that this is private land and ‘you can’t come in’! We tried to explain we were looking for an accessible way back to the public footpath, but all she was interested in was getting us out of the path and onto the A96!

Eventually we managed to convey that we were not planning to break into the caravans (actually there were none on site; sadly, last week’s snow putting off any potential visitors). She allowed us access to the bottom of the hill where the footpath continued around the perimeter of the park. By now we were pretty fed up with her attitude and just wanted to get out, but it was useful to see where we could pick the path up for future reference. I understand the security issues, but there has to be a less threatening and rude way of dealing with visitor, rather than assuming everyone without a caravan is a thief!

Anyway, we headed for the car via the country roads on the southside of the wood, taking in the views of the Geese in the fields and the Yellowhammers in the stubble in the fields and in the trees on the perimeters of the fields. Loads of them! At leas 70 I’d say. Into the car and some refreshing sustenance!

Séamus

Windy days, songs and courting Goosander!

2010-04-01T19:58:00.000+01:00

The last few days have seen some spectacular waves along the beach walk from The Harbour to The Golf Club. It has washed up a load of debris washed onto the paths and road. The path by the tea rooms is nearly impassable! Rough weather like this on the one hand makes it very difficult to identify the birds as they bob up and down on the rough sea, or in the blowing trees, as well as providing the inherent difficulties in keeping the binoculars steady! But on the other hand, it often blows in interesting birds.

Over the past few days I have been about town, along the beach and down the A96, (where the flocks of Pinkfoot (and some Greylag) have been vast). On the rocks by the Golf Club, a flock of Turnstones swooped in and I was pleased to see a group of five Purple Sandpipers among them. In the distance a lone Bar Tailed Godwit on the sand and a number of Curlews beyond it and two Shelducks on the rocks.

In town today, walking through the park around The Museum, I heard all the resident song birds singing their hearts out; they ranged from Wren, Robin, Dunnock, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin and one Goldfinch! I actually didn’t see any of them! The wind and increasing Spring growth results in the need to listen that bit harder. Some of them are migrants from further afield, but I can’t tell the difference between a resident and a migrant Robin I’m afraid!

Having said this, it won’t be long until these birds are joined by the obvious migrants that fill the air with sounds of summer: the Chiff-Chaff’s easily distinguishable ‘chiff-chaff-chiff-chiff-chaff’. (I wish all birds sang their name like this!) The Willow Warbler should follow with it’s cascading watery song. This is a really exciting sound and makes you feel really summery. They seem to go quiet by the end of May – which is good really because it can be a bit annoying! Listen also for the Blackcap – or is it the Garden Warbler. Another one I always get confused with is the Whitethroat – it takes a few sighting of it singing before I can confidently claim the Whitethroat without having to strain my binoculars through the blossom of the tree to see it More on bird song when the visitors arrive.

Once through the park I headed for the pool and along the wall to the golf club. Very, very windy – head on! The Goosanders were active; I’m wondering if all four are going to remain this year. There was obvious courting activity as the males competed with each other for the attention of the two females; ‘standing’ high in the water, stretching their necks skywards, showing their colours well. Later on in the walk all four were up river by the foot bridge. It was very hard to make anything out on the waves, so I headed back and over to the harbour.

The debris strewn path was proving difficult, but I made it. I had a quick chat with a couple of men enjoying the bracing breeze and discussing the Goosander. The chap from Nairn agreed with me that we normally have one that remains all year, but maybe this year… The other chap was a visitor from the central belt who was forced to stay in the region one more day as the rail track south was blocked. He was pleased as it gave him to opportunity to experience the wonderfull views from the harbour wall. As we talked, about 40 Redshanks swarmed about us and settled on the opposite wall. I suppose these are the same birds that rest up on the central harbour wall. As usual the Turnstones were not far away.

On the way home I met up with Kate and we walked up river to the footbridge and we saw our first Grey Wagtails of spring. Three in total – I guess another one wasn’t far away. These are beautiful birds – and their flight call is really distinctive which always make them easy to spot. The yellow and grey really make this striking bird; always found bobbing up and down on the rocks close to, or in the river. Welcome back.

Séamus

Razorbills and Guillemots

2010-04-01T19:57:00.001+01:00

I’ve been advised that the auk like birds were probably Razorbills. On the Saturday two similar birds were much closer in and I could clearly identify them as Guillemots. Hence my calling them ‘auk like’ – I knew it would be one or the other!

Gannets and Terns

2010-03-26T13:25:00.001Z

I’m sitting in my conservatory, the door open and the sound of the Skylark resounding in the air: a real signal to what is to come. Yesterday I had reports of Sand Martins over toward Elgin and so I was prepared for the other Spring visitors will be making their way here.

That said I have just got back from the car park at the Nairn Golf Course where I spotted my first Gannets and Terns of the spring. Now, this may sound sad to some people, but I was really excited! I was admiring two enormous Greater Black Back Gulls sitting preening on the beach when I noticed a solitary Gannet in the distance. Aiming my binoculars toward it I then saw a long trail of Gannets heading East to West low over the water. Probably 40 in total. As if this wasn’t enough, two Terns flew through my vision and dived deep in search of food. They were pretty quick and I needed to grab my scope and find them again to try to identify which species of Tern: but to no avail. All I can say is they were small, had black bills and a short tail. I’d love to say they were something really exotic, but I assume they are the regulars returning.

With my excitement levels heightened I scanned the sea for other interesting beings and found 13 Long Tailed Ducks very close to shore (not uncommon here, and fairly regular over winter) and just next to the resident Eiders (15 of them). Then much further out were 20 auk like birds, black upper parts (including head) and white underneath. I did not have my scope on the tripod, so really struggled to pick them – so I have emailed friends for help!

The beach had our old friends the Oyster Catchers, Turnstones and Carrions / Hooded Crows, who can always be relied on to give the resident bird watcher at least something to get excited about. But today they paled slightly into the background as I followed the Gannets and Terns and clumsily turned pages of my books to try to identify the other rarer visitors.

More tomorrow!

Séamus

Geese and Farmers

2010-03-24T21:15:00.002Z

A very quiet few days have passed with little to report. It’s not the birds of course - just me not getting out enough to enjoy all that is going on. Having said that, from the house the skies are getting nosier with skeins of Geese early and late in the day. They are mainly Pinkfoot. It is worth noting the thousands of Geese still occupying the fields by the Gollanfield. I wonder what the farmers think of their fields being overrun by geese at this time of year. Does anyone know if they are reluctant to have these wonderful visitors? I also wonder about the danger of bird strike with all the military activity as well as domestic flights coming into Inverness. Probably not the best time of year to pan a flight!

Kate was out earlier today and heard the regular early spring songs from the Blue and Great Tits, as well as Robin, Dunnock and Song Thrush. She saw a Woodpecker fly overhead and watched a Buzzard soaring over the house.

I am planning more trips around Nairn in the next few days and will update the blog over the weekend.

Séamus

Edinburgh and the Garden

2010-03-18T11:29:00.000Z

We’ve been away from the area over the past few days and so have little to report locally. Having said that, we did notice that hundreds of Geese are still using the fields along the A96 toward Inverness. Unfortunately they’ve chosen a place where it is too dangerous to slow down or stop, so I can only hazard a guess that they are the Pinkfoot we spotted a few weeks ago.

We had spent a few days at the rugby in Edinburgh over the weekend. (How did Scotland fail to beat them?!). On the Monday, I dropped Kate off at an event in Cramond so I took the opportunity to do some birdwatching down at Cramond Island. What a great spot this is; in all the years that I’ve visited Edinburgh I have never found this place! It’s quite popular with the locals, but still quiet enough to observe the various waders. I was counting my way through the hundreds of Redshanks (I gave up counting!) when I spotted a solitary Greenshank. It remained nearly motionless for at least 15 minutes, ignoring all the other activity going on around it.

Other species included 105 Curlews, thousands of Dunlin; or were they Knot? As ever, very hard to distinguish between them at this time of year, particularly when the light is difficult. None of them had the beginnings of the summer plumage (a distinctive dark underbelly), which would be the give away, but they were smaller than Knots, so I settled on Dunlin. There were also nine Shelduck and two Teal, but I suspect there were many more around the corner as they usually come in great numbers.

Heading back north we noticed the numbers of Buzzards increasing, a sure sign we were approaching home. Talking of home, five Lapwings flew over the house yesterday. We have noticed a real decline in the numbers of Lapwing. Not many years ago you were likely to see great flying displays of these birds in flocks of hundreds flashing black and white as they dived down to the fields and up again. Fantastic birds to watch; but where have they all gone?

Also at home we’ve been lucky enough to have two regular visitors in the garden that we have christened ‘the odd couple’. One is a full plumage Hooded Crow and the other a Carrion Crow. I suspect the latter is a cross, but there are no signs of the grey plumage. They visit together often during the day, with the Carrion dominating the partnership, always getting first stab at the food, and when it leaves, the Hooded follows. A great couple to observe as they go about their daily chores. Less welcome visitors are two Wood Pigeons that have just discovered our feeding station. These birds can dominate the garden. When we lived down south they were everywhere, and so I am not enamoured by their presence at all, which sounds a bit hypocritical I suppose, but hey ho!

Séamus

Look what can be spotted when you're not bird watching!

2010-03-12T16:31:00.002Z

This is a short post to show what can be observed even when you are not ‘bird watching’ when you are in the great countryside that surrounds Nairn.

We were driving back from Brodie on the back roads to Nairn when we spotted two Rooks displaying in a field. Proof that spring is here as we sat watching them do the business and making us feel slightly voyeuristic, so we left them to it. We drove on, only to be distracted by 10 Herons standing together in the next field looking for something to do! There necks were tucked into their chests and they resembled grey standing stones. Two Mallards swam near the car in a small flood as 19 Oyster Catchers pecked around the rim of the flood.

We were now late for an appointment at home, but had to stop again alongside the next field because 60 Curlew were feeding with 26 Oyster Catchers.

And all this in a 10 minute ‘rush home’!

Séamus

Brent Geese are still here!

2010-03-11T15:30:00.003Z

I was wrong! In a previous blog I'd commented on not seeing the Brents for some time and assumed they had headed off. Well today, 23 of them were feeding on beach west of the golf club. It was good to see them!

Further east toward the harbour wall, 14 Widgeon resting among about one hundred of Black Headed Gulls and Herrings and Commons. There was a real mêlée further out at sea with undreds of gulls sitting or diving into a very small section fo the water, no doubt feeding on a bountiful quarry. There were smaller sea birds too, but my telescope is not powerful enough to identify, and the sea was very rough which makes it even tougher. Our regulars are always about though – the Eiders, Turnstones and Oyster Catchers.

Talking of a mêlée out at sea. A few days ago Charlie reported a similar sight off Burghead – and ‘the largest number of dolphins he had seen in the area’. So it’s worth keeping your eye out for both dolphins and Minke Whales.

Further afield. Yesterday we went up toward the foot hills of Ben Wyvvis around Loch Ussie. Lots of activity here with trees full of Fieldfare patrolling their area in groups. Flying from tree to tree and then onto the field to feed. Lots of smaller passerines, mainly finches and Tits. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker bounded across the open field to the safety of the nearby trees.

I will be talking more about this area over the ext few months as we plan to visit there regularly.

Séamus

Strath Nairn

2010-03-09T18:33:00.000Z

We took a wee trip down Strath Nairn today to enjoy the snow fields and views of the mountains from the comfort (and sunny warmth) of the car. We rushed along the A96 to get to Inverness and drove down to Dores for a lovely lunch and a Real Ale (so Kate took over the driving!). On the way we spotted circa 2,000 Pinkfoot in a field at Golanfield, no doubt gathering for the long trek ahead.

After lunch we headed toward Loch Ruthven taking in the scenery and the very few sightings of birds. Thankfully there were lots of Buzzards again – and we saw a real cross section of them, from very dark to very light phases. The lightest of all was being harassed by Crows for ages - at one stage, one of the Carrion seemed to mount the back of the Buzzard!

As we were passing Loch Duntelchaig a pair of Goldeneye were courting on the water – the female chasing the male from the loch’s eastside to west and back again! Approaching Loch Ruthven it was clear that it was still completely frozen! We stopped in the car park for a cuppa with not a single bird raising its head, or voice while we were there!

On the B851 along Stath Nairn we watched a Sparrowhawk hunting low over the fields. Further up the road was a lone Fieldfare and a Yellowhammer in a tree nearby.

As ever, Mallards and Chaffinches filled the gaps on the way home. Yet another sunny day in and around Nairnshire (and a wee bit beyond)!

Séamus

The first Tortoiseshell - spring really has sprung!

2010-03-08T15:59:00.003Z

A very welcome visitor to the garden this afternoon - a beautiful Tortoiseshell feeding on the Crocus.

This inspired a quick walk up The River Nairn where a Goldcrest was doing that thing Goldcrests always do – flitting from branch to branch high up in a conifer. I was walking bye and heard its high pitched call to me to look up, and there it was. Fantastic! A Greenfinch wheezed in the next tree and a group of Linnets made their distinctive jabbering noise from a bush on the other side of the path. Just a quick walk to enjoy the ever increasing warmth in the sunshine; and a chance to get into the mood for spring.

Séamus

Spring is springing!

2010-03-07T17:16:00.002Z

We had a lovely walk along a very calm sea front, with binoculars in hand, but no telescope, enjoying the warm sun on our backs and giving us hope that spring in around the corner. The sun attracted people from all over the area to walk the beach with their families and their dogs (yes - more dogs! We actually observed someone clear up after their mutt, so well done them). But, where were the birds?

The sand bar to the west of the harbour wall was full of gulls – all three of the more numerous ones (Black Headed, Herring and Common); but on closer inspection we spotted 23 Widgeon foraging among them. Of course we had our friendly Oyster Catchers with their distinct call but even they were small in numbers.

We did see the local Turnstones feeding on the mud flats in the harbour – 19 of them in total. And a couple of Heron struggled in to get some height, possibly full after an ice free lunch at last!

On the way home and up The River Nairn we saw a number of Carrion Crows and a solitary Goosander bathing as a local fed the squabbling Mallards, who were soon swamped by the Herring Gulls swooping to the food ahead of them. One other point of note; 73 Wood Pidgeon fed in a field further down river, just south of the town

In the past week the skies have been full of skeins of geese – mostly Pink Foot, but the Brent seem to have left the beach for another year.

More later. Seamus.

Strath Conon, snow and Teal

2010-03-02T11:05:00.003Z

On Monday we wanted to make the most of the sunshine so we drove out along one of the single track roads along Strath Conon, north east of Inverness. We were not disappointed. The sun was shining and the snow was glistening on the mountains and roadside – but remarkably the road was perfectly clear!

At least 10 Red Kites were soaring in the thermals along the A862 toward Ullapool, and two more were spotted way out at the furthest east end of the road, which shows they are spreading their wings far afield. Many, many Buzzards were also enjoying the warmth in the air, and they could also be seen on telegraph poles, trees and fence posts.

In the River Conon, near Marybank, in one of the few spots where the river flowed unobstructed by the ice, we spotted four Golden Eye (2M and 2F) and in the field alongside there were three fieldfare and 70 chaffinches darting between the field and the trees. I was also surprised to see 15 Mallard all together in the river; I normally see them in smaller groups.

When we reached Beauly we were treated to a field full of Greylag Geese (approx 150) and 80 Whooper Swans, as well as 12 Pink Footed Geese, just south of the visitors centre.

As we approached Inverness the firth was full of waders: at least 40 Bar Tailed Godwits, 30 Curlew, 12 Widgeon, 5 Redshanks, loads of Heron – and three Lapwing (of which we have seen very few this year) and our first Teal – 80 of them!

All these birds, great views – and a picnic to boot! A lovely day in the hills of this beautiful country.

Séamus

Redpoll and Goosanders

2010-03-01T19:18:00.002Z

Well, the weather is with us and we went for a lovely walk down to Kingsteps and behind the sand dunes to the Park Dean Holiday Park and down to the east harbour wall.

The excitement started with a view of a Lesser Redpoll in the wooded area on the north side of Old Bar Road. He was sitting high on a garden feeder as 10’s of finches hurried around it getting their fill. (It’s great to see so many garden feeders these days – I just hope the people living in the gardens are OK with me and my binoculars!). On from there to the Ministers Pool where loads of Black Headed Gulls – some with fully coloured heads already – were wading. On the beech were the usual Redshanks and Turnstones and they were accompanied by a small number of Bar Tailed Godwits.

Not a great number of sightings really, but on the way up the River Nairn path toward the A96, four Goosanders were diving. We usually only see two here – so it looks like another couple have discovered what a good site it is!

A lovely day – and signs of spring in the air at last!

Goosander

2010-02-27T19:20:00.003Z

The weather has subsided and we ventured out for quick walk down river from the A96 road bridge to the Firth. Four Goosander were very evident in the river and as ever, close attention to the stone covered shoreline will uncover a few Turnstones - you've got it, turning the stones! What a great little bird this is, its presence given away by the gentle noise of stones knocking against each other. A number of Redshanks were huddled behind the rescue vehicle parked in the central harbour wall. This is a favoured spot for Redshanks.

We also spotted a solitary Moorhen on the river - I don't recall seeing many here. By the way, just in case you’re interested, the Nairn Cygnets have fledged at last! They left the parents last week, nine months to the day after they were hatched, and we spotted the two parents enjoying a well deserved snooze near the footbridge over the Nairn!

Over the past few weeks we have noticed a lot of Buzzard activity overhead and on the fence posts around Nairn - no doubt getting preparing for a busy spring. Here's hoping.....

Scaup

2010-02-22T20:46:00.004Z

I had a very quick scan over the firth today from the golf course car park where I saw 23 Brent Geese on the beach and a Goldeneye out at sea. I had a chat with an experienced bird watcher of many years, a Mr Campbell I believe, who very kindly pointed me toward aprox. 40 Scuap further toward the ast beach. I took a look and saw a smaller flock not far from the golf course, but unfortunately did not have the time to venture further for the rest. I did see another Goldeneye though.

Thanks to Mr Campbell, whom I notice spotting very regularly around Nairn.

Dipper on The River Nairn

2010-02-20T16:18:00.002Z

On the way home from a lunch at The Broadley Green Garden Centre (which was as good as ever!) we drove south and over the Nairn at Howford on the back road to Househill. Always prepared, Kate spotted a movement up river as we crossed the river and asked me to stop the car. Binoculars in hand she declared it a Dipper feeding from the stones. What a beautiful bird this is - and its fantastic rustic red / brown underbelly and white breast showed brilliantly in my new binoculars - justifying the outlay (or so I keep insisting!). We sat for a while as the Dipper puffed out its feathers to protect itself from the cold, giving us great views.

That’s it for now, we’re rushing off to the Cinema Nairn showing of Cinema Paradiso. The first of the monthly programme of films we are bringing to The Nairn Community and Arts Centre. Everyone is welcome!

Séamus

West of Nairn

2010-02-17T21:33:00.002Z

It's been a while since I had the chance to do some spotted, but I was in Inverness for a meeting and on the way home I stopped at the sewage works near Alturlie Point. There were 118 Widgeon relaxing near the shore (with many of them calling their distinctive calls). In the distance toward Inverness there were a number of Tufted and other Ducks, but the sun on the water made it difficult to identify clearly.

Nearer home I stopped by Loch Flemmington to see yet more Widgeon, but smaller numbers. Two Tufted Duck and lots of Mallards too. A treat for me was 11 Whopper Swans behind some rushes with two of them trying to walk on the ice (yes, it’s still frozen in parts!). Great to see them in the same vision as Mute Swans to compare and contrast!

There were two other smaller ducks which I struggled to identify due to my position. One may have been a Little Grebe (nearly sure), but the other? Larger than the Grebe (?), small head, large forehead leading to a tiny bill. Darkish brown head with yellowish eye, distinct separation of dark neck from greying breast, with a white underbelly and light smattering of white on the wing. Any ideas?

10 Moorhens hurried around the grass near the houses in the lochside village.

A beautifully sunny day with still water on the firth, compared to the wonderfull waves at Nairn Beech!

Séamus

Low Tide

2010-02-11T16:47:00.004Z

A walk out to the end of the harbour wall when the tide's out can be a treat for anyone - but for bird watchers, it's a guaranteed delight! A lone Greylag goose preening itself right up against the wall, seemed unusually undisturbed by a couple of young lads walking bye. And pottering around the goose was a sole Turnstone noisily clattering pebbles over and over as it hunted its prey. Not too far away was 30 (ish) Redshanks rushing around the shoreline and three Bar Tailed Godwits slightly more onto the beech. A dog owner ushered his dog into the waders to watch them flee. They all flew as one toward the harbour and settled down again to carry on their feeding. Many, many gulls (Common, Herring and Black Headed) were feeding at the edge of the waves and the Eiders flew past looking for a resting place further out to sea.

Just before I headed back to the warmth of the town centre, 12 Widgeon flew in to join the Mallards and gulls on the edge of the tide to see what’s available for them and on the way back to town I loved observing the hoards of Oyster Catchers feeding on the Links. All in all, a great way to spend an hour in Nairn - at the harbour!

Yellowhammers

2010-02-08T15:45:00.000Z

Just back from a weekend in Edinburgh for the rugby (don't mention the result!) and great to get back out around Nairn with my binoculars. I was greeted by the 32 Brent geese again on the beach just before the golf course. I was surprised that it was exactly 32 - are they the same 32 as last week I wonder?! There were five Tufted Ducks next to a small group of Scaup, on what was quite a rough sea near the shore.

I drove around the narrow roads Nairn side of Ardesier and spotted a tree full of Yellowhammers next to one of the Fort George Army ranges. 91 Yellowhammers in total - all in one tree, with a couple of Chaffinches and a few Goldfinches among them. Now, 91 might not be a large flock, but I've never seen so many Yellowhammers in one place, all happily enjoying the sunshine.

More sightings tomorrow I hope.

Seamus

2010-02-04T21:05:00.002Z

A much calmer day today encouraged a wee stroll along the front by the golf club. I had great views of three Long Tailed Ducks - one male really showing the whiteness of his head beautifully. 32 Scaup were close to the shore and 23 Brent Geese came into land on the beach. As always there were plenty of Eider Ducks to be seen, many flying from East to West to find a better spot!

Further afield

2010-02-03T16:43:00.003Z

Thanks again to Charlie for the tip off, we called into Burghead to get a look at the King Eider. The sea was rough and the views quite distant - but it was good to see Charlie there and he got us looking in the right direction! There were great close up views of a Long Tailed Duck as well.

Brent Geese

2010-01-28T15:18:00.003Z

It's always useful to carry your scope everywhere you go! I was just driving from the Royal Golf Course and spotted 42 Brent Geese waddling along the sand on the West Beech toward the swimming pool. Great views as they relaxed, some preening. Unfortunately I spotted the dreaded dog walker letting his dog off the lead and the birds prepared to flee - so good timing on my part!

Long Tailed Duck

2010-01-26T21:15:00.005Z

A quick picnic by the West Beach uncovered 10 Goldeneye a small distance away from the 40 Scaup. We spotted a Long Tailed Duck in the same vicinity, closer in to shore. No sign of the Red Necked Grebe.

The thaw is well and truly underway as the temperature rises, but the wind certainly knows where it is going! The Bramblings are still feeding in the trees along the Dunbar golf Course.

Red Necked Grebe

2010-01-24T16:47:00.002Z

We've had very little opportunity to do much bird watching this week. We have just got back from a chilly walk in town and saw 40 Scaup off the sea front at The West Beech along with a pair of Goosanders. Charlie has reported a Red Necked Grebe and a Great Crested Grebe in a similar position.

Kate spotted a pair of Bullfinches in a tree in Seabank Road and a Brambling in a tree on the Dunbar Golf Course.

After the freeze

2010-01-18T17:05:00.003Z

Thanks to Charlie, a regular and very well informed birder from the Elgin area, for a number of sightings from the West Beach near the golf course. These included 43 Scaup close in; 46 Pale Bellied Geese on the foreshore; Scoters and Long Tailed Ducks at sea as well as a Great Crested Grebe. There was also a Purple Sandpiper on the harbour wall.

We rushed out on receiving the latest email and spotted 33 of the Scaup as well as four Golden Eye to the side of the Scaup and the regular numerous Eider. There was also four Curlew flying overhead.

Interestingly, there was a pair of Red Breasted Merganser fishing near the Golden Eye. This was a first for us in the Nairn area, where we are very used to seeing a pair of Goosander near the shore and at the head of the River Nairn.

The Frozen Beach

2010-01-07T16:49:00.002Z

Today's short expedition (but it felt like a large one!) was to Nairn's beautiful East Beach. My first time on it as the soft sand was frozen to enable access to the firmer sand. Temperatures dropped to minus 4 degrees centigrade at 2:15pm and 3" of ice on the pavements and road.

There were very busy mixed flocks braving the cold and the footsteps of walkers, as they brave the close proximity of the disturbances and continue their feeding in the tall grasses (the only grass available)on the edge of the sand.

The flocks included: up to 30 Yellowhammers (a few of them jumping up and down on the ice covered grass!); a few Linnet and one Twite that I could pick out. Fieldfare and Redwing rushed around the grasses too and a Song Thrush sat huddled under a bush. One Snipe flew overhead.

Plenty of Knot on the sandbar east of the harbour wall. One solitary Rook trying to break through the ice.

An enjoyable jaunt - but very, very cold with a biting and cutting wind that really knew where it was going! But, the cold does bring the birds out to view, but they really are struggling to cope.

Tree Sparrow

2010-01-06T18:30:00.001Z

There were two Tree Sparrows among a large flock of Reed Buntings feeding in a farmers field near Delnies Wood, Nairn on 28th Dec 09.

Snow Buntings, Bramblings and Siskins.

2010-01-06T17:44:00.005Z

Just a quickie to let anyone who is interested know that the Snow Buntings arrived in early December and are showing well on both Nairn beaches. The Siskins and Bramblings are showing very well too, foraging for any food they could get in amongst the flocks of Chaffinches in the trees bordering The Dunbar Golf Course and Lochloy Road.