Highlights of the Highlands!

Highlights of the Highlands!

We set off from home at 12am with the intention of arriving to the Capercaillie site at first light. We parked up at 6.50am and started walking along the tracks. We scanned the trees and heather looking for them. We then went on a track that a male had been previously seen on. We turned a corner and saw a big shape in the trees. At first, we thought it was some litter, but when we looked through our binoculars, we saw that it was a male Capercaillie! It sat in the tree for a bit, before flying off. We were shocked at how well the bird showed and managed to get a record shot of it! We then walked further ahead when another male Capercaillie (probably the same one from earlier) flew straight past us deep in the forest. We then continued walking and got good views of Roe Deer but didn't see any more of the target elusive birds.

We then travelled to a site, known for Scottish Crossbills, seeing some Red Squirrels for the first time along the way. We parked in a layby and were immediately greeted with a flock of vocal Crested Tits. There were at least six feeding in the trees. They kept flitting about, making it hard to get a record shot of them. 

We then went to where the Scottish Crossbills were previously seen and waited for a bit. We got good view of a flock of Bullfinches while we waited. We then saw a bird at the top of the tree. It was a Scottish Crossbill! We got good views of them and managed to get a record shot of one, as well as hear them call as one fly right overhead.

We then set off to a site for Ptarmigan as we were alerted that the weather tomorrow would make it harder to see them. Along the way to our destination, I spotted my first Hooded Crow!

We arrived at a site for Ptarmigan and met a man who showed me a stuffed Ptarmigan as a size comparison. We then walked up a steep track, which left me exhausted. We scanned the rocks where the Ptarmigan were meant to be, but to no avail. However, we did see some beautiful Mountain Hares for the first time, as well as a few vocal Red Grouse. With none of the ski lifts working, we made the decision to climb up the mountain from the side. We climbed halfway up the mountain, scanning the rocks and gave up when the light was against us. 

We then ended the day by driving to our camping pod, seeing a massive herd of Red Deer in the hills along the way.

The next day, we set off at 6.15am and arrived at a site for White-tailed Eagles. It was a stunning location, but no birds of prey were seen. We got into the car and tried to drive off, but the car was stuck in the mud! We tried multiple options, like pushing it, calling for help, waving down a car. But none of those options were working as there was no reception to call anyone, no cars to wave down and we didn't have the strength to push the car. We began to panic a bit. We then tried digging the mud around the car, which fortunately worked!

We tried back at the Ptarmigan site and arrived at around 8:00am. I  at started scanning the boulders from the car park. It was a difficult looking for the white grouse in amongst the rocks covered with snow. We kept scanning but to no avail. We then made a bold decision to climb up the side of the mountain. We walked up the steep mountain, taking breaks along the way. When we finally reached the top, it was covered in snow. We walked to where the Ptarmigan pairs were last seen and scanned the boulder field. We kept scanning but to no avail. The trek up to the top was tiring and left me exhausted and in pain. I have never put as much effort in seeing a bird as I did this Ptarmigan. We were however accompanied by Red Grouse and Mountain Hare along our trek. As light was once again fading we then descended from the mountain and did one last scan from the car park before calling it a day.

Overall, a brilliant weekend with 4 new birds (Capercaillie, Crested Tit, Scottish Crossbill & Hooded Crow) and 2 new mammals (Red Squirrel & Mountain Hare)!