​Mary and Dave Galloway were our hosts for this most enjoyable and unusual outing on their land above the village of Fortrose.   It was suggested that we bring a picnic supper, folding chairs and dress for the weather.
 
Upon arrival Mary lead ten SOC members through her mixed woodland which was extensively planted with native trees in the late 80’s and obviously a magnet for nesting birds.  A very vocal Willow Warbler kept us company during our circular walk and we were lucky that it kept fine throughout the evening.  We then chatted and munched our picnics beside the old converted barn on Mary’s spacious piece of land. There were glorious cowslips all around the barn thanks to Dave scattering a packet of cowslip seed around the barn some years ago.  I only wish our seeds had taken to our ground as theirs have!
 
Initially, I imagine that these 50 or so acres were pretty open to the sky, but extensive and mixed native tree planting on the flatter areas has produced a most attractive secluded woodland for native birds. In one area Mary has attracted Treecreepers to nest behind a nattily positioned large piece of bark attached to the trunk of one of the trees! And at one point we spotted a large excavated burrow, fox or badger??
 
There are steep gullies across parts of the land where recent plantings of white hawthorn were in full flower as were some cherries too.  Some years ago I saw my first Redpoll here so I was interested to see what else was attracted to the seed, nut and fatballs – tits, Siskin, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Blackbird were seen.  A thrush had used a stone to smash many snails.
 
Beyond the woodland area are well-worn paths through lush grass and woodrush eventually leading to a seat over-looking one of the very steep-sided ‘dens’.  Not a term I was familiar with but an interesting geological feature first described by Hugh Miller, local geologist and writer in the early 1800’s.  These curious steep-sided gullies are full of vegetation (gorse, broom, saplings etc) and must be perfect for nesting birds, and support badgers, foxes, pine marten, roe deer and red squirrel. Apparently there is always an area of eroding earth pillars in these dens, very curious.
 
A well-positioned seat looks over the dens towards The Fairy Glen RSPB reserve, a wonderful viewpoint and well-pecked fatballs in evidence! We finally returned to the barn and our cars with a red sunset in evidence to the west.
 
Very many thanks to Mary and Dave for a very enjoyable evening. Number of species spotted:  26


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(Mary Galloway)

​Our group of six arrived at Charleston Harbour at 10am where we met up with our local leaders for the day -Tracy McLachlan from Poolewe and Peter Cunningham from Gairloch who kindly agreed to share their local knowledge.  As conditions were excellent for sea-watching – calm blue seas, blue skies and sun behind - our first stop was at the Gairloch Bay overlook.  There were good numbers of distant auks, gulls, Gannets, a few divers, Common and Arctic terns, Bonxie and Arctic Skuas.  Peter said that he had never such numbers of these seabirds at one time which pointed towards a large amount of small fish. With the feeding birds there were good numbers of porpoise all making the most of this bonanza.   We proceeded slowly along the coast road towards Rubha Reidh lighthouse with several stops  getting closer views of the seabirds, plus a nuclear submarine and very close-in Black-throated Diver.  The small patch of woodland near Sands Campsite gave us good views of a singing Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush with food, Willow Warbler and a passing Cuckoo.  A Sedge Warbler sang from the hidden stream.  Passing on to a patch of old oaks we had excellent views of Redpoll, a Stonechat pair with food, and two male Whinchatsw and one female.  Tracy had arranged for us to drive right to Rubha Reidh lighthouse – we felt very privileged and thanked Susan, the owner, for her invitation.   As we parked, Peter said he had seen a distant whale – a minke – which was finally seen by most of the party as it surfaced with its fin glinting in the sunshine.   Close-in a fully summer plumaged Great Northern Diver was spotted.  In the carpark at least 35 Twites were feeding on nyger seed, flying up to the nearby rocks and perching on the wires where we all had good views.  Our late sunny lunch was taken by the old lighthouse slipway with Kittiwake, Rock Doves and Cormorants flying past.

​Time was marching on so we hastened to Poolewe river for a short walk and an informative talk from Peter (a biologist with Wester Ross Fisheries Trust) on the different life cycles of salmon and seatrout which use the river to and from Loch Maree.  Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Sand Martin,Red-breasted Merganser and Greenfinch were added to our list.  Finally we parked at Inverewe Gardens carpark for a walk to the hide – Ringed Plover, Mallard and Grey Heron – before doing the circular pinewood walk.   Blackcap, Coal and Great Tit, Siskin, Wren, Goldfinch rounded up the day with a total of 65 species.  It was nearly 6pm by the time we headed homewards and we all agreed it had been a memorable outing made extra special with the local knowledge and information from Tracy and particularly Peter.   Our sincere thanks go to them for sparing their time.

Nine enthusiastic Highland birders met Alex Joss, our leader for the day, only to be told by him that we won’t see much, probably only gulls and crows! Undaunted, we set off in 3 cars for the Loch District above Inverness to the south. The weather was fine at the start, but blustery showers were forecast.
Up to Essich and on to Bunachton for a short walk along the road. Curlews were back on breeding sites on the grassy moor and Goldcrests could only just be heard above the sound of the bitter wind. Distant Buzzards were spotted along with a pair of Magpies and a Red Kite.
Down to Dunlichity Church, a sheltered spot where we saw and heard 2 Treecreepers, Blue, and Great Tits, Pied Wagtails, Goldfinch, 4 Buzzards in territorial dispute and a pair of Mandarin Ducks skulking in undergrowth by the river. We hoped to spot a returning Osprey over the fish-stocked ponds near here, but we were out of luck. Lesser Redpolls were heard, along with Crossbill and 2 Mistle Thrushes.

Lochan na Curra (Sue Seright)

Down to Dunlichity Church, a sheltered spot where we saw and heard 2 Treecreepers, Blue, and Great Tits, Pied Wagtails, Goldfinch, 4 Buzzards in territorial dispute and a pair of Mandarin Ducks skulking in undergrowth by the river. We hoped to spot a returning Osprey over the fish-stocked ponds near here, but we were out of luck. Lesser Redpolla were heard, along with Crossbill and 2 Mistle Thrushes.
Unfortunately the weather deteriorated when we got to the north shore of Loch Duntelchaig, but we managed to see a large flock of Pinkfooted Geese and a Brown Hare, before retreating to cars for lunch.
Loch Ashie was home to several pairs of Goosanders, along with a Slavonian Grebe in winter plumage, Common Gulls and Cormorants. A walk to Lochan na Curra revealed several Teals, a Little Grebe and a distant Kestrel. On to near Torness to look out for raptors, but the weather was against us.
A last hopeful look for early returned Wheatear was fruitless, but we did see about 30 Oystercatchers on the SW shore of Loch Ruthven along with Tufted Ducks, Common Gulls and Cormorants.
Despite the unhelpful weather, we managed to see 53 species on a very enjoyable, rainbow-filled, day out birding with friends – a bit more than “just gulls and crows.”
it.

Loch Ashie (Carol Miller)