Scotland Day Four

We started our final full day of the trip very early once more, again heading to the Capercaillie. This time there was no sign of any at all during our two-and-a-half hour stay, though once again the Ospreys were awesome to watch.

Osprey at Loch Garten. After going from a common breeding bird in Britain to extinction in 1916, Loch Garten was the site of the first returning individuals in 1954. Since then, they have come back strongly, with possibly as many as 250 pairs nowadays. Shockingly, the tree in which these Ospreys nest was destroyed by vandals in the 1980's and had to be reconstructed using telegraph poles. As a result, it's a bit of a mess now, but the Ospreys don't seem to mind.

The Ospreys seem to be very busy right now!

We then headed back to the Findhorn Valley, where we hoped to get improved views of Golden Eagles, and possibly even the White-tailed Eagle that has been seen there recently. Sadly, it wasn't to be, as we saw just one bird of prey- a Sparrowhawk. There were a few distant Red Deer, which was brilliant to see, as well as these very confiding Hares:

European Hare, Findhorn Valley. Sadly we didn't find any Mountain Hares during our stay, but the European Hare was very common in most areas.

I finally managed to photograph a Dipper in the Findhorn Valley as well.

Findhorn Valley

We had planned to spend several hours here, but with very little of any promise about, we decided on a drastic change in how the day would be spent. With news of the Harlequin Duck's continued presence in Aberdeen, we undertook the long journey there. On the way we saw two Swallows and several more large skeins of Pink-footed Geese.

Eventually we arrived in Aberdeen, somewhat doubting whether the journey would prove to be worth it. We started by checking Papermill Drive, off which the Duck had been seen the day before. There was no sign of it here, though several Goosanders and Goldeneye were present- pretty cool birds to have so common right in the middle of a large city! Our view from here was largely obscured by ongoing building works, so we feared that the bird may not be visible. We decided to head to Seaton, from where the bird has been seen regularly in previous weeks. Almost immediately, I found the bird, just off the disused loo block. This is one of the birds I have wanted to see all my life, so I was overjoyed. It showed fantastically well and it really was a pleasure to watch.

Harlequin Duck, Seaton Park, Aberdeen. This species is an extremely rare vagrant to Britain, with just 18 previous records in the country. It is found parts of Arctic Canada, Alaska and Russia, as well as Japan and Iceland, the most likely origin of this bird. What an awesome bird!

Checking the bird news, I noticed that a King Eider had been found on the north Aberdeenshire coast. We headed there immediately and found a birder there watching it. This was another one of the birds I have always wanted to see and we had fantastic views of this pristine-plumaged male through the scope. Finding it with my camera was a bit more difficult to say the least, but I was pleased that I had managed!

King Eider, St Comb's, Aberdeenshire. What an absolute beast! It is the bird third from the right in both photos.

With this and the Harlequin seen today, I had enjoyed two of my favourite birds I have seen in one afternoon. I was pretty happy.

Also offshore at St Comb's were approximately 100 Common Eiders, four Black-throated Divers and a single Red-throated Divers.

We then hurried to Lochindorb for one final attempt at finding the Rough-legged Buzzard. As we approached it, I caught sight of a raptor next to the car. Inevitably it was another Common Buzzard. An hour-long search at the Loch resulted in two more Buzzards and a Kestrel, as well as a fantastic Goshawk. Sadly our main target didn't appear, so we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way, we spotted three unusual birds near the shore of the lake. Stopping the car, we quickly realised that they were breeding-plumaged Black-throated Divers!

 WOW!!!! I can't think of any more extraordinary-looking birds that I have seen in Britain. It was absolutely fantastic and about the best way possible to end our trip to Scotland.

As we finally had to leave, we spotted a three more Divers a little further out. These were Red-throated Divers, also in breeding plumage. What a day!!!

Red-throated Diver, Lochindorb. Interestingly, the Divers we saw off the coast were in full winter plumage, but all the birds on Lochindorb were in breeding plumage.

It was another early start the next day as we headed back up to Inverness for our flight back to London. On the way we saw a roadside Barn Owl, a very nice final bird of what had been a great trip.