Scotland - Specialities Weekend

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Andy Carroll is one of Scotland's most likeable birdwatchers and his extensive knowledge of these coastal & highland areas is second to none due to weeks spent surveying these special places. Early Spring is an interesting time to visit Scotland with some of the wintering species still around and also a good mix of migrants. The three main counties he will concentrate on during the long weekend will be Moray, Highland, and Speyside looking for the rare White billed Diver plus Great Northern,  Black & Red throated Divers (on the same day!), Slavonian & Red necked Grebes, White tailed & Golden Eagles, Red Kite, Black Grouse, Capercaillie, Crested Tit and Parrot Crossbill, along with mammal excursions for Bottle nosed Dolphins, Pine Marten, Badger, Otter, Red Squirrel, Red & Roe Deer. All this and a back-drop of wonderful scenery making for the complete weekend.

Day 1 :- Our meeting point will be Inverness Airport (now with links from most UK Airports) or the city centre, and once everyone had gathered we will head to various birdwatching sites around the Morayshire coast. We be keeping a look-out for seabirds such as Red necked Grebes, Guillemot, Razorbill, Long tailed Duck, Velvet & Common Scoters with an outside chance of the nearctic Surf Scoter, and also hope to find an Otter playing or fishing off-shore. We will aim to spend some time at Chandlery Point hoping to get views of it's resident population of Bottle nosed Dolphins along with more seabirds. The Black Isle- north of Inverness is a fantastic place to observe one of Scotland's resident populations of the beautiful Red Kite and some time will be spent looking for this tremendously acrobatic raptor.  Late afternoon we will cross over to the West Coast passing through some of the most scenic Highland areas searching en-route for Golden Eagle, before reaching the quaint seaport of Ullapool, We will check into our hotel and for those who are interested we will head out again looking for Glaucous & Iceland Gulls amongst their commoner cousins loafing about in the harbour. Night in Ullapool.

Day 2 :- Today we will spend around the fantastically scenic area of Gairloch a place very well known for producing good views of the impressive double of White tailed & Golden Eagles. However our main focus for the day will be on trying to connect with all four diver species in a day, including the much sought-after White billed Diver, all of which could be in their exotic summer plumage. The finding and recording of  White billed Diver around Gairloch, (still a major British rarity) is something Andy has personally been involved with over the past few years and consequently knows their favourite haunts. The remainder of the day will be spent searching the Melvaig Peninsula were we will look for breeding waders such as Oystercatcher, Curlew and Golden Plover with a chance of Merlin, Hen Harrier, Short eared Owl, Hooded Crow and one of the UK's most special finches - Twite.  Later in the afternoon we will say goodbye to this special area and head back over the mountains to Speyside, which really does not need any introduction. Night in Speyside.

Day 3 :- Our first of our early starts will see us on a pre-breakfast excursion for Black Grouse, which should be lekking at this time of year. After breakfast we shall search this vast area of ancient Caledonian Forest for breeding Black throated Diver plus Osprey, Goosander, Common Sandpiper, Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Common & Parrot Crossbills, Common Redstart, Crested & Coal Tits, with a good chance of finding the enigmatic Red Squirrel. Late in the afternoon we shall eventually make our way to the local fish farm where as the evening draws in we shall (hopefully) watch Ospreys coming in to fish - this is an incredible sight. Night in Speyside.

Day 4 :- Leaving the best til last is a cliché but this is what we have done as another pre-breakfast excursion sees us visiting the famous RSPB Loch Garten Reserve for Capercaillie, where you can watch them come out into the open to lek or feed at first light. This could be one of the highlights of this short break watching these huge game birds as they 'strut their stuff', and of course we should see what the reserve is famous for - Ospreys at their nest. Once we are satisfied we shall return to the hotel for a good wholesome Scottish breakfast before we venture out again, this time to the lower reaches of the Cairngorm Mountains for possibly Ring Ouzel, Mistle Thrush, Stonechat, Red Grouse, Common Buzzard and also try to obtain good views of the Red Deer, which roam these heather-clad hillsides. A walk around Loch an Eileen will give us the opportunity to catch up with Wood Warbler, Tree Pipit and Common Redstart.  After the evening meal we will make a special visit to a carefully positioned hide in the hope of seeing one of our most secretive British mammals, Pine Martin, with chances of Badger and Roe Deer.  What a superb way to complete our final full day of the trip. Night in Speyside.

Day 5 :- After another good breakfast we load up the mini-bus for the final time and head south on the A9 looking for more raptors such as Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier, Peregrine and Merlin. We will also call in at RSPB Loch Ruthven where we hope to see the rare breeding colony of beautiful Slavonian Grebes and a chance of more Black Grouse on the adjacent hillside. Around noon we will head back towards Inverness to allow people to get their afternoon transport back home, if time allows we will stop on route and check a final place for breeding wildfowl and waders.

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