Speyside and East Yorkshire Trip Report
(29/08/99 to 3/09/99)
Peter Jones
Introduction
I arrived at a rain-soaked Loch Garten only to be told "The last of the Ospreys left the reserve 3 days ago, and Capercaillie are virtually impossible to see this time of year" by the RSPB Warden. Hardly an ideal start to my short holiday in the Speyside region of Scotland!
Although I have travelled throughout Europe in search of wildlife, I had never visited this wildlife-rich area of Scotland and was hoping to find many of the area’s specialities including Ptarmigan and Capercaillie.
The 3 days spent here did, however, turn out to be very successful. The majority of the regions wildlife (including Capercaillie) were found, but photographic opportunities were very limited.
This trip report will highlight the potential of the area, even in this less than ideal time of year to visit the area (the majority of birdwatching visits tends to be in the spring).
Itinerary
29/8/99 Afternoon spent in the Abernethy Forest at Loch Garten.
29/8/99 Evening spent in Forests at Grantown on Spey.
30/8/99 Most of day spent on Carn Ban Mor.
30/8/99 Evening spent at Loch An Eilean.
31/8/99 Morning in Abernethy Forest around Forest Lodge
31/8/99 Evening at Loch Tulloch
1/9/99 Morning at Insh Marshes
1/9/99 Midday at Vane Farm
1/9/99 Afternoon travelling to Yorkshire
2/9/99 Morning at Flamborough, East Yorkshire
2/9/99 Afternoon at Filey Brigg
3/9/99 Morning at Filey Country Park and Filey Dams
3/9/99 Afternoon return home to Milton Keynes
Part 1: Birds seen at each location (Highlights only):
29/8/99 Abernethy Forest, Loch Garten:
This was a fairly dull start to the holiday. The weather was poor, and the forest was very quiet but a good sized flock of Tits was eventually found with Crested Tit and Spotted Flycath among the large number of Coal Tits.
29/8/99 Grantown on Spey Forest.
This area is famous for Capercaillie, but this eveniing visit was very poor with nothing noteworthy found.
30/8/99 Carn Ban Mor
Being a Bank Holiday Monday, I was reluctant to visit the Cairngorm area for fear of being caught up with the large crowds of walkers. Instead I opted for Carn Ban Mor. This mountain is very remote, and access is via a long drive through B roads to Achlean.
The lower moorland was mainly uneventful with Meadow Pipits and Red Grouse being the only birds found, and a Roe Deer seen in the distance. The top of the mountain though was superb: The weather at the peak was atrocious, I was literally in a cloud with rain and wind beating against me, but though the mist I had silhouetted views of Dotterel, Ptarmigan, and a fleeting glimpse of Ring Ouzel. The weather eventually cleared and I was rewarded with excellent views of these mountain species, and a superb view of the surrounding countryside.
The return walk was just like the climb: No birds seen between the top to the very bottom of the mountain.
I would strongly recommend this walk to the more athletic types.. This was a bank holiday and the area suffered very little disturbance. Only a dozen or so walkers were seen throughout the day!
30/8/99 Loch An Eilean
An evening visit to this reserve was largely unproductive with nothing on the Loch, and only a few species in the surrounding woodland.
31/8/99 Forest Lodge
This turned out to be an excellent walk through a very quiet area of the Caledonian Forest south of Forest Lodge. Again, there was a very quiet spell of about 2 miles with absolutely nothing seen except for the odd Coal Tit. Then, at the furthest point from the Forest Lodge, the holiday was made complete with superb but brief views of Male Black Grouse, a Female Scottish Crossbill, and a Male Capercaillie within a mile of each other.
I found all these birds by walking silently along the tracks, stopping frequently to listen for activity.
Other highlights:
Red squirrels were seen on two occasions in the Abernethy Forest, and a superb pair of Golden Eagles were found hunting in the Speyside area. One of these birds in particular was superbly marked with his golden head shining in the sunshine.
East Yorkshire Highlights:
The second part of my trip was spent in East Yorkshire at the coastal hot-spots of Filey and Flamborough. Unfortunately, the weather was far to good for migrant birds to wind up in the area, and seawatching was limited with the wind blowing from the west.
Over the 2 days, I only managed to find a single Whinchat, but the time was spent enjoying the resident sea birds, and I was fortunate to find an Arctic Skua hunting off the coast.
There were plenty of Butterflies along the coast, the majority being Small Tortoiseshells and smaller numbers of Red Admiral, Peacock, and Painted Ladies.
Both Grey and Common Seal were seen, and a Harbour Porpoise was seen off shore.
A final stop off at Filey Dams provided great views of a Black-tailed Godwit and Common Sandpiper at this excellent little reserve.
Part 2: Systematic list:
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) 2 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) c.6 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) c.6 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
8 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
4 at Filey Country Park on 03/09/1999.
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
c.10 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
6 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Greylag Goose (Anser anser)
11 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)
1 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Common Teal (Anas crecca crecca)
c.6 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
c.10 at Filey Dams on 03/09/1999.
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)
c.8 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
5 at Loch Garten on 29/08/1999.
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
2 at Tulloch Mor on 31/08/1999.
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
2 in Speyside Area.
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
1 at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.
Merlin (Falco columbarius) PROBABLE
1 at Tulloch Mor on 31/08/1999.
Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus)
2 at Carn Ban Mor on 30/08/1999.
Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)
8 adult summer at Carn Ban Mor on 30/08/1999.
Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix)
1 male at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
Eurasian Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
1 male at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
1 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
3 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Eurasian Dotterel (Eudromias morinellus)
2 at Carn Ban Mor on 30/08/1999.
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)
1 at Filey Dams on 03/09/1999.
Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)
c.30 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)
2 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
1 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
1 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Common Sandpiper (Tringa hypoleucos)
1 at Filey Dams on 03/09/1999.
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
c.5 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)
2 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)
1 at Flamborough Head (North) on 02/09/1999.
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
1 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
2 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
4 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
1 at Filey Dams on 03/09/1999.
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
3 at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.
Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)
c.200 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
1 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
4 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Common Guillemot (Uria aalge)
c.6 at Filey Brigg on 02/09/1999.
Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
2 at Filey Dams on 03/09/1999.
Common Swift (Apus apus)
c.20 at Insh Marshes on 01/09/1999.
Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
1 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
c.6 at Insh Marshes on 01/09/1999.
c.6 at Flamborough Head (North) on 02/09/1999.
House Martin (Delichon urbica)
c.10 at Flamborough Head (North) on 02/09/1999.
Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
c.30 at Carn Ban Mor on 30/08/1999.
c.20 at Tulloch Mor on 31/08/1999.
c.10 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
2 at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
Winter Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Recorded at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
2 at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Recorded at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
1 at Flamborough Head (North) on 02/09/1999.
Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus)
3 at Carn Ban Mor on 30/08/1999.
Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Recorded at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
3 at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
1 at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
1 at Loch Garten on 29/08/1999.
Coal Tit (Parus ater)
c.5 at Loch Garten on 29/08/1999.
8 at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.
6 at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
Crested Tit (Parus cristatus)
3 at Loch Garten on 29/08/1999.
4 at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.
5 at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
Great Tit (Parus major)
2 at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.
Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
3 at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
Eurasian Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)
1 at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
2 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
1 at Vane Farm RSPB on 01/09/1999.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)
3 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
c.10 at Loch Garten on 29/08/1999.
Recorded at Grantown on Spey Forest on 29/08/1999.
6 at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
6 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
c.50 at Flamborough Head (North) on 02/09/1999.
c.20 at Filey Country Park on 03/09/1999.
Eurasian Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)
c.10 at Flamborough South Landing on 02/09/1999.
c.100 at Flamborough Head (North) on 02/09/1999.
Scottish Crossbill (Loxia scotica [curvirostra])
1 at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
8 Crossbill Sp. at Forest Lodge on 31/08/1999.
1 Crossbill Sp. at Loch An Eilean on 30/08/1999.