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The birds of
South
Gloucestershire
2018
2017
2015
2014
Wildlife in the Forest of Dean
Scotland -
Jay
Red Deer [Hind]
Scotland -
Robin
Red -
Goosander [Female]
Osprey [Female] with chicks
Yellowhammer [Male]
Great Spotted Woodpecker [Male]
Great Spotted Woodpecker [Juvenile]
Siskin [Juvenile]
Common Toad
Goldeneye [Female]
Common Tern [Summer]
Red Deer [Stags]
Redstart [Male]
Redstart [Female]
Dipper [Juvenile]
Oystercatcher [Family]
Leighton Moss 12th June
We got to Leighton Moss RSPB later in the day after we stopped in one of the services on the M6. We started looking on the feeders but annoyingly missed the Great Spotted Woodpecker. We saw a Male Bullfinch feeding on the seeds. We started to walk down to the Grizedale Hide and on the way we saw Great, Blue, Coal & Marsh Tits feeding on the log with Chaffinches & Blackbirds. At the Grizedale Hide parts of the lake had dried up. There was a family of Greylag Geese walking past in front of the hide and a Red Deer was grazing at the edge of the reed bed. After a while the hind walked out into the open and had a scratch on the tree. A second Hind emerged from the reed bed and walked up alongside.
We briefly looked in the Tim Jackson Hide but not much from there. On the way back to Lillian’s Hide we stopped by the log and saw Great Tits, Blackbirds, Chaffinches & Blue Tits. After Mum & Dad continued to Lillian’s Hide, I was watching a Jay feeding on the log and on the ground. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen briefly on top of the log. At Lillian’s Hide we saw a Female Marsh Harrier quartering the marsh. We also had an unexpected bonus of seeing a couple of Otters diving along the edge of the reeds. One of the Otters was being mobbed by some Black -
Loch Leven & Loch of the Lowes 13th June
The next leg of our journey was into Scotland over the Forth Road bridge. We made a brief stop at RSPB Loch Leven which was formerly called Vane Farm for a cup of tea. On the feeders were Starlings, Robins, Greenfinch, Goldfinch & the unexpected appearance of Tree Sparrows. We then continued to the Scottish Wildlife Reserve at Loch of the Lowes near Dunkeld. The new Female was called Lassie who spent most of her time on the nest with 3 chicks. Lady, the old Osprey who had been there for about 20 years, didn’t come back this year. We saw the Male bring a fish back to the nest & some nesting material. He accepted the new female eventually & at least the nest was successful this year. I’ll always remember ‘Lady of the Loch’ though. Other wildlife around the loch were Swallows, Great Crested Grebes, Reed Bunting & a Female Goosander. The feeders were not so busy with birds, perhaps some of them were still breeding. However we did see Siskin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Greenfinch & Robins. Sadly no Red Squirrels on this occasion but hopefully we’ll see some at Nethybridge. At the chalet, while looking out for Pine Marten, Mum was surprised to see a Hedgehog snuffling around under the feeders. First time we had seen one there.
Strathdearn 14th June 2015
At our chalet in Nethybridge, we saw a few birds feeding on the feeders including Blackbirds, Robins, Siskins, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Blue, Great & Coal Tits, Chaffinches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. We also had a brief first view of the delightful Red Squirrel. Our first port of call was to Abernethy Forest to search for Crossbills, but they just flew over. We saw our first Crested Tit of the year flitting around the top of a Scots Pine. We went to Loch Garten RSPB to have a look at the Ospreys, EJ & Odin, as we were passing through. Sadly the eggs were kicked out of the nest in early May by another Male Osprey and so there were no Chicks this year. However by the entrance we saw a Common Toad and another Crested Tit feeding on the feeders. As there wasn’t any Chicks on the nest, the Ospreys weren’t in view, until just as we were about to leave when Odin returned to the camera tree. Mum bought some Hedgehog food and a bowl in the RSPB shop so she could feed the Hedgehog at the chalet. Meanwhile Dad went down to the loch and was watching a family of Goldeneye. I also saw a Bank Vole briefly below the feeders.
We headed down the Findhorn Valley along Strathdearn and saw quite a lot of Mistle Thrushes. A Common Sandpiper and a family of Dippers were feeding on the river. We saw a Common Tern flying up the river which we hadn’t seen in the valley before. We parked in a lay-
We then headed to RSPB Loch Ruthven along the Farr Road and saw a few Red Grouse with Chicks on route. I also spotted a Mountain Hare in one of the ditches on the moor and it sat there for a while before running up the hill. At Strath Nairn was a Wheatear, Brown Hare & a Meadow Pipit feeding a Juvenile. We arrived at RSPB Loch Ruthven to see the Slavonian Grebe which were in the middle of the loch. Also there were 2 Reed Buntings, Willow Warbler & 2 Little Grebes. In the nearby field were Red -
Mountain Hare [Summer]
Red Grouse [Chick]
Red Grouse [Female]
Meadow Pipit [Juvenile]
Brown Hare
Lapwing [Female]
Lapwing [Chick]
Red -
Goldeneye [Female] with duckling
Ythan Estuary 15th June 2015
Another morning at Nethybridge and we were woken by a brief visit from a local Red Squirrel. We went to Ythan Estuary at Newbourgh in Aberdeenshire to look for the Male King Eider which had been present there a while. There were loads of Seals, Sandwich, Arctic, Common & Little Terns in the area. We scanned through all the Eiders a couple of times and Dad eventually spotted it fast asleep on the bank. It spent all day resting on the bank and I managed to see it once on the water before it went back onto the bank. A few Dunlin & Ringed Plovers were feeding on the beach. Also saw some Eiders with chicks. A pair of Linnets were perched on the gorse bush. Sadly the King Eider didn’t put in much activity on the day we were there. Still, at least we saw it and a new tick for all of us! On the route back to Nethybridge we spotted a Short -
Red Squirrel
Common Seal
Sandwich Tern [Summer]
Common Tern [Summer]
Sandwich Tern [Summer]
Arctic Tern [Summer]
Ringed Plover
Dunlin [Summer]
Common Eider [Male]
Common Eider [Female] with ducklings
King & Common Eider [Males]
King Eider [Male]
Common & Grey Seals
Common Eider [Family]
Pine Martens
Lochindorb 16th June 2015
In Nethybridge this morning we were greeted by 2 Crested Tits in the garden and one of them was perched in the hedge briefly. The Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding on peanuts.We spent a bit of time waiting for the Crested Tits which kept coming back and forth. A Young Roe Deer was feeding on a gorse bush behind the garden. Outside the chalet we saw the Crested Tit perched on top the roof. We travelled over to Lochindorb and our first sighting was a flock of Common Gulls. We saw several more Red Grouse on the moor with Chicks. Down by the loch was a Meadow Pipit and pair of Common Sandpipers flew pass. However the best highlight of the day was a sighting of a Black -
Crested Tit
Black -
Siskin [Male]
Common Gull [Summer]
Red Grouse [Male]
Red Grouse [Chick]
Red Grouse [Female]
Black -
Goosander [Chick]
Goosander [Female] with chick
Meadow Pipit [Adult]
Roe Deer
Strathdearn 18th June 2015
We were woken up this morning at 5.00am by the family of Pine Martens as they chased each other about on the feeders. The weather was rather dull and there were lots of midges so we decided to go to Chanory Point for a chance of Bottle -
Tomintoul & Glenshee 17th June 2015
The Crested Tit was back on the feeder again this morning. We had a drive to Tomintoul where we saw a few Red Grouse on the way. We were hoping to see some Black Grouse around on the Lecht road but sadly no sign. At Glenshee we decided not to walk up as it was windy. We only saw a Red Grouse from the car park however just the round the corner I spotted a Male Ring Ouzel feeding by the road. We pulled into a lay-
Ring Ouzel [Male]
Roe Deer [Doe with 2 calves]
Pine Marten
Pine Marten
Red Deer [Stag]
Common Sandpiper
Brown Hare
Lapwing
Common Tern [Summer]
Swallow
Red -
Red -
Slavonian Grebe [Summer]
Pine Marten
Loch Morlich & Cairngorm 19th June 2015
We stayed local today and saw a pair of Short -
Red -
Ring Ouzels
Nethybridge 20th June 2015
Our last day in Speyside was a visit from a Male Bullfinch at one feeders in the garden with other regulars. The Red Squirrel also made a few brief appearances. We then headed south to Oban via Loch Insh. We only saw one Osprey perched in the tree. We arrived at Oban in plenty of time to catch the 18:00 ferry to Craignure. On the way to Mull saw Kittiwakes & Gannets on the sea. After arrival on Mull we headed straight to the cottage at Pennyghael.
Red Squirrel
Coal Tit [Juvenile]
Bullfinch [Male]
Loch Morlich with the Cairngorm Mountains in the background
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