Winter Ptarmigan

More Ptarmigan from today's efforts:

Snow Bunting on Cairngorm

The rapid rise in temperature in recent days was illustrated by reports that Snow Bunting were present in the Cairngorm car park a few days ago, but I only came across these birds much higher up the mountain at around the same altitude as the Ptarmigan (see previous post). Three birds were feeding in the small areas of exposed grass near the lochan at the base of the Coire. They allowed a close approach, and on the way back down I realised that the pictures would have been better had I had the presence of mind to wipe increasing amounts of rain from the lens. Always nice birds to see, but particularly in the snow!

Cairngorm challenge

En route from Stirling to Speyside, a detour to Loch Laggan produced a female Black Grouse perched in a birch tree this morning. My main target for today was, however, another grouse - Ptarmigan, still in winter plumage at this time of year. I approached Cairngorm near midday to find the upper car park full - after the indignity of sharing a shuttle bus with a colourful army of skiiers, I began the arduous 90 minute climb to Coire an Lochan where the birds are usually present. The weather was breezy but clear on setting off, and despite stepping through rapidly melting snow into streams beneath on one or two occasions, it remained so for the rest of the climb. When I heard the croaking call of male Ptarmigan nearby I knew that only mist and rain could get in the way now. Unfortunately, both turned up, driven by increasingly strong gusts of wind, just as I caught sight of two male birds and a female on the coire walls. The next couple of hours were spent happily, but damply, getting close enough to huddle under rocks for shelter and hope the birds would come closer. Eventually a pair did - close enough even to hear the female's soft clucking calls. Had the light been better I might have got some excellent photos but given the deteriorating conditions, I was happy enough with these. My third grouse species of the day was seen on the return journey when three male Red Grouse and a female flushed from beside the path.

Every Tit but Willow

Ken Dee Marshes was my second new RSPB reserve of the day, and I was hopeful of photographing Willow Tit as this is reportedly the best site in Scotland for the species. Not this afternoon though - Great, Blue, Coal and Long-tailed Tit all came to feeders, but the closest I came to Willow was reading about its regular appearance at the same feeders in the hide log. Still, Brambling, Nutchatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Red Kite around the reserve made for a worthwhile visit. Shooting at ISO1600 in dark and damp conditions stretched the camera to its limits, but it seemed to cope reasonably well.

Mersehead welcoming committee

I could hear Tree Sparrows as soon as I arrived at Mersehead this morning and on returning to the small visitor centre after a walk around the reserve there were good numbers attending the feeding station there. Yellowhammer and Greenfinch added colourful photo opportunities, albeit through the windows of the centre.

Barnacles at Mersehead

A week off provided the opportunity to head to Scotland for a birding trip and a chance to catch up with my brother in Stirling. My own family were staying with friends in Kent so after dropping them off on Sunday I started the long journey north on Monday morning. North of the Thames that is, to Rainham Marshes in the hope of seeing the Slaty-backed Gull which had been present for several weeks and for much of the previous day. It's a miracle it's lasted that long considering the stuff the gulls eat from the local landfill site - very stinky birding. Many Herring, Lesser and Greater Black-backed Gulls were present but no Slaty-backed. A female Hen Harrier and half a dozen Corn Bunting brightened up an otherwise dull day, and though picking through the gulls was educational, staring at a landfill site all day doesn't do much for the spirits.

After getting disappointing views of the Rufous Turtle Dove recently, and now no views of this, I was pretty raritied-out and ready for some proper birding. A dozen Waxwing on the hard shoulder of the M11 as I sat in a traffic jam heading north last night cheered me up, and Mersehead RSPB this morning provided further tonic. Barnacle Geese from the Svalbard population were fewer in number than nearby Caerlaverock, but whereas at the latter they are often quite distant, here the small flocks gave close views from the various tracks around the reserve. A Kingfisher and good numbers of Pintail were present along with more common waterbirds.

Not quite the Orient

Work and other commitments prevented a mid-week visit to Oxfordshire to see the orientalis Rufous Turtle Dove, leaving little choice but to queue up with the masses on the Saturday morning. Heavy rain did a good job of dampening the spirits of 250 would be dove twitchers, but the bird flew into a tree which could be seen from the road allowing most people to get a satisfactory view. At this point the crowd collectively exhaled, some enterprising brownies set up a cake stall, and all seemed well with the wet and windy world. The bird relocated to some nearby trees where telescope views were reasonable. Photography was almost a non-starter - this picture was the best I could manage - the rufous tones of the upperparts can just about be made out. I stuck around for a few more hours but could not improve on the earlier views. An American Wigeon on the way home was not far from the cemetery where my in-laws are buried so having twitched that, I stopped by to put some flowers on the grave in the hope of improving my standing with them - and their very tolerant daughter.