Wading Through the Swamps of Scotland!

Wading Through the Swamps of Scotland!

We set off at around 12.30am with high hopes of seeing a few rare Scottish specialties. We arrived at our first bog in the Abernethy Forest at around 8:30am after dipping Slavonian Grebes earlier in the morning. Our two targets at this bog were White-faced Darters and Northern Emeralds. After around twenty minutes of waiting in the sun, we saw neither! However, I did manage to spot lots of Round-leaved Sundews in amongst the Sphagnum Mosses, which I was quite pleased with as they were one of my favourite plants. Not yet down trodden, we headed off to RSPB Loch Garten to try and find Ospreys and Crested Tits. 

As soon as we arrived at the car park, I noticed a few bumblebees nectaring on a Marsh Thistle. It had a yellow head and a red tail, so I took a picture and it was later identified as a male Early Bumblebee, a new species for me! We also spotted a Large Red Damselfly and a few Coal Tits. We then made our way to the visitor centre, where we were told that one of the rangers saw a Crested Tit along the Two Lochs Trail earlier this morning. We were also told that the Ospreys had sadly failed breeding this year due to another male breaking the eggs.

We walked a short way along the Two Lochs Trail, when we heard a song, which one of the wardens at Loch Garten had played for us. It was a Crested Tit. After a bit of searching, we were sadly unsuccessful. However, I did find a rare orchid, which was new for me, the Creeping Lady's-Tresses.

We then arrived at a nearby pond, which we had been recommended for Northern Damselflies. As soon as we arrived, it was windy, yet sunny. At first, we noticed a few Large Red Damselflies and Emerald Damselflies. I then spotted a blue damselfly in amongst the sedges. After photographing it, I looked on the tiny screen at the back of my camera and at the time thought it was a Common Blue Damselfly. However, while editing my photos I noticed that it had thin antehumeral stripes and (although the photo quality is poor) I could faintly make out a coenagrion spur, which would mean this is more likely to be a Northern Damselfly! However, at the time I was oblivious to that, so I frantically searched for about two more hours, yet to no avail. We then left, gutted, and set off to try and find a raptor which has eluded me for a while.

We arrived at an undisclosed site at around 12:30am to try and find eagles. We were told to go up a short, yet steep hill to get more panoramic views. I then climbed up the steep hill, carrying a heavy tripod on my shoulder. As soon as we reached the top of the hill, we got a message from a birder named Dan who said he had just seen Northern Damselflies at the site we were just at. In a hurry, I raced back down to the car and we set off to go see them. Once we had arrived, we followed his directions and found ourselves in a much wetter area of the same pond. We waited for around half an hour, spotting a few more Large Red Damselflies and a Four-spotted Chaser. Just as we were losing hope, the sun came out and I spotted two blue damselflies. One of them flew overhead and behind me, while another one landed right in front of me. In a panic, I quickly grabbed my camera and got a record shot. In this image, you could clearly make out the coenagrion spur, confirming this as our target damselfly. I was ecstatic.

It then landed right next to us, so I gently coaxed my finger under it and managed to handle this rare and delicate damselfly.

While we were watching the damselflies, I spotted this Raft Spider crawling right beneath us. This was a rare, water-loving spider, and one that I had wanted to see for a while. 

We also managed to handle a Large Red Damselfly by gently moving our finger underneath it. Since it wasn't that hot, a lot of the damselflies were "frozen", allowing us to carefully handle them.

On our way back to the car, we spotted two yellow moths fly into a patch of vegetation. I managed to catch one and let it settle on my finger, before getting a photo. It was later identified by an expert as a Northern Spinach moth, a new moth for me! Dan then messaged us again saying he was watching a Northern Emerald just down the road from where we were. Excited, we made our way to where he was.

We arrived at an undisclosed location at around 3:00pm. Dan had given us a pin of where he was, and said that there were no paths, and to just walk to him. We then made our way through the boggy terrain to get to him (thankfully with wellingtons). Along the way, I managed to spot a few Round-leaved Sundews. Once there, Dan said it was just sitting on the heather in front of him and had only just flew off. He also said that it was likely going to return once the sun came back. We waited for around ten minutes, when suddenly the sun arrived. On cue, a dark green dragonfly started flying around us. It was the Northern Emerald. We watched it for a bit, as it flew around us, before it landed in a nearby pine tree. We slowly creeped up towards it and I manged to get close enough to get a record shot.

Dan then told us he had also seen many Large Heath butterflies near the small boardwalk. This was a butterfly I had wanted to see since last year, but had never had the chance to. We made our way to the boardwalk, trudging through the wet bog again. Halfway through the bog, we noticed a Common Lizard scuttling around us. We managed to catch it and handle it, careful so as to not grab it by its tail. At first, it was just crawling on my hands. However, it soon started climbing up my arm and around my neck!

Once at the boardwalk, we spotted an Emerald Damselfly, as well as few Crossbills which flew past us, calling. We then waited for the sun to emerge, once again, and as soon as it did, so did the Large Heaths. We spotted many of them flying around the bog, however they wouldn't let me get close enough for a photo. Thankfully, one landed on a Cross-leaved Heath (their foodplant) just long enough for me to snap an out of focus record shot of it. When I tried to get closer to it, it flew off. Just as quickly as it appeared, the sun disappeared, and with it, so did the Large Heaths. Dan then found a site in the Abernethy Forest where a few Black Darters had been reported recently. 

Once we had arrived at the site, we met back up with Dan who straight away pointed out a Black Darter right besides the path. He also pointed out a few Crossbills as they flew over, calling.

Dan had also managed to find a huge Raft Spider sat on a web right besides the path, with a brood of young above it. 

We then decided to wade along the edge of the pond to try and find a few more Black Darters. We began trudging through the midge infested water, spotting at least two more Black Darters. I waded so far in that the water eventually went over my wellingtons, so I made my way out of the large, boggy pond.

Once back on the path, I spotted another Black Darter besides the path. Since it was too cold for them to be flying, I gently coaxed my finger underneath it and managed to handle it. We then made our way back to the car, when we were stopped in our tracks by a huge tit flock. There were c150 Long-tailed Tits (mainly juveniles) all feeding on a clump of pine trees. Mixed in with them were many Great Tits and Coal Tits. We also managed to spot a Treecreeper and two Chiffchaffs. Suddenly, Dab pointed out that a Crested Tit was calling right above us. However, after scanning the tit flock for around 20 minutes, we couldn't see them. Dan then told us he had seen the Slavonian Grebes earlier today at the same site that we had dipped them at. Hopeful of seeing beautiful bird, we said our thanks to Dan and made our way back there.

As soon as we arrived at the loch, we started to scan. However, as soon as I put my bins down, a small bird popped up right in front of me. It was the Slavonian Grebe! It then dived back down, before popping back up again.

It then started to drift away, facing away from us and preening. However, it did briefly show side-on, allowing me to get a decent record shot of this gorgeous grebe. This was the second time I had seen this bird in summer plumage (after seeing one earlier in the year in Staffs). However, these were by far the best views I had ever had of this bird! We then tried a site for Pine Marten, but were unsuccessful, so we called it a day and headed home (getting back to our house at 6:30am)!

Overall, a great day with a few new dragonflies as well as some good birds (Slavonian Grebe, Crossbill) and a new butterfly (Large Heath).