Saturday 1 February 2014

Birds & Pine Marten On Scotland Trip- Day 1

It was a lovely journey on the ferry although cold and we had to travel across to the other side of Scotland to Grantown on Spey, however we broke out journey by having a few stops to look for birds.  This view below is coming up the Lough into Cairnryan harbour.


It was amazing with 11 pairs of eyes just how many birds we saw while travelling.  We saw Starling, Magpie, Wood and Feral Pigeon, Buzzard, Pheasant, great views of a Kestrel hovering just left of the minibus, Jackdaw, Rook, Raven, Sparrow hawk, Curlew, Lapwing, Pied Wagtail. Great Black backed Gull, quite a number of fields with flocks of Pink footed Geese as well as Greylag and many pheasant.


We stopped at this small lake were we saw Tufted ducks. Mallard, Goldeneye, Wigeon, Goosander, Mute Swan and Canada Geese.







 We stopped for lunch at a small wooded area where they had put up a lot of feeders where we saw Blue, Coal and Great Tits, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Siskin.  There were quite a number of blackbirds and Robins feeding on the ground.  




 As we were coming out of the wooded area, we briefly saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker and also a nest box for an Owl.


We arrived at our hotel around 3.00pm having seen Collared Dove, Carrion Crow and 2 Red Grouse on the way with a total of 53 bird  species that day.  We had just time to book in, get unpacked and we were off again as we had booked a RSPB hide to try and see Pine Martens.  Now I am very disappointed with these photographs however I will show you them anyway.  We waited nearly 2 hours before one turned up and we had to remain very quietly and not stand ourselves too near the windows.


This was the table that the Pine Martens come to and there was afresh egg on it.  The first time he came, he immediately took it away to eat it. Apparently he never eats it at the bird table.


After a short time, he was back again and this time he spent more time eating peanuts, and honey.

Were I was sitting, I could see home coming along the trail before he climbed onto the bird table.




This photograph was kindly given to me by Martin McClenaghan, one of the group and as you can see, he is just about to take the egg away to eat.


Then 3 deer tentatively approached the area.  I was very excited to see these wonderful animals so close however they were very skittish and I found them hard to photograph.




I know this photograph is not great however I loved the way the Red Deer was standing and this was the last view we had of them.

We retired to our hotel for a well-deserved dinner and then to bed!!!
I hope you enjoyed hearing about my first day in Scotland even through the photos are not great however they, for me, my memories.


Thank you for visiting and also to those who left comments on any of my blogs.

I am linking this post to Saturday Critters

32 comments:

  1. That little Pine Martin is fabulous..your background shows him and his table up brilliantly. I thought of you yesterday when on our walk we heard at least 4 different birds singing and wished we could identify them. Super post (as always).

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    1. Hi Lynn So glad you enjoyed this post and many thanks for your generous comments. Is there no one locally that you know who knows about your birds?

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  2. What a great day. The lake is beautiful. And I love the feeder birds. The Pine Martin is a neat looking critter. Great photos. Have a happy weekend!

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    1. HI Eileen Glad you enjoyed the post and many thanks for your comments. Hope you have a great weekend.

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  3. Even if you're not pleased with the photos, just think of the spectacular memories you made that day - to cherish forever.

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    1. HI CM Yes you are right, I will cherish these moments in time through my photos. A lot of the group I was with had camera lens as long as your arm and entered competitions so I felt like the poor relation!!

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  4. the pine martin is awesome! the siskins look a lot like our american goldfinches. :)

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    1. HI Tex Glad you liked the Pine Martin. Yes the American Goldfinch is a bit like a cross between our female Chaffinch and our Sisken but not your male American Goldfinch which is a beautiful yellow colour.

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  5. Great post Margaret with stunning Scottish landscapes and wonderful wildlife, especially those Pine Martins.

    PS. It is great to see you blogging again and I hope you are well :-)

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    1. HI David You are so kind with your comments and I am glad your enjoyed the post. Yes it is good to be back although I am trying to streamline how much work I now put into blogging as it was (and still is to a certain extent) taking TOO much of my time. I am very well and hope you are also.

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  6. What a great set of photos of the Pine Martin, your so lucky.

    peter

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  7. HI Peter thank you for your kind comment. I am hoping that some of the people with long lens's will let me share some of their shots are they would be brilliant. Have a great weekend.

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  8. Fascinating photos, Margaret. What an awesome experience for you.

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  9. HI BL Many thanks for comment and indeed i will remember it for ever.

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  10. Nature is beautiful wherever you are ... I think your photos are great and I love the Pine Martin ... what a handsome little character. I love the deer as well and yes they are timid (probably for good reason). You were lucky to get so close. This is a lot for a first day. I am amazed at the number of birds you were able to see and identify ... You could go home now and have had more sightings than I have in a weeks, maybe even a months time. Looking forward to your next days ...

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  11. Hi Andrea I am so glad you enjoyed this post and very many thanks for your kind comments. Yes I have quite a bot more to share.

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  12. I think you did remarkably well with your low-light shots of the pine martin and the deer. Fun to see them, as well as all the birds. Wish there'd been an owl on the nest box. :)

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  13. HI Linda Many thanks for your kind comments. How an Owl would have been good to see.

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  14. Margaret, Thank you for linking up with Saturday's Critters. I am glad it was easy for you too.
    Have a happy weekend!

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  15. A splendid collection here Margaret, and that Pine Martin, I would have been thrilled to see him, not ever having seen one before. Thank you so much for sharing all these lovely photos.

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  16. I like riding on a ferry, sounds like a fun day, with lots of beautiful views and birdies!! Have a happy Sunday!!

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  17. Lovely countryside. Interesting to see Canada Geese in Scotland!

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  18. Sounds like you had a lovely day. Beautiful views and the pine martin is gorgeous.

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  19. Great experience to see the pine marten.
    Beautiful pictures Margaret.
    Enjoy your Sunday, Greetings Irma

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  20. Loved this post Margaret.
    Of course, I would love the bird photos, I love viewing all the birds of the world....but that pine martin on its feeding table was a once in a lifetime experience...glad you shared this!!

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  21. you do have a lot of night time creatures. so fun!! hi there - hopped over from "Saturday's Critters". nice to meet ya. hope you are having a good weekend!! ( :

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  22. HI Beth Glad you popped by and many thanks for your comment.

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  23. Margaret, all of these images are lovely. I love those landscapes bathed in the golden sunlight of the setting sun. Looking forward to more!

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  24. Scotland is a great place as we can see here. Hope your trip will be hat godo all days.

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  25. Wow :) A pine martin - wonderful :) I've never seen one. Lovely images of the wildlife you saw :)

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  26. Always wanted to see a Pine Marten.......

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  27. Wow- such fun! I am trying to catch up on your blog- my feed thingy is just about worthless! I would love to visit Scotland..my husband's ancestors are from there, so it would be fun for genealogy purposes too.

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