Places To Go, Birds To See

Just got back from a whirlwind tour of Scotland - from Stirling up past Cairngorms National Park and around Loch Ness on the way to Skye, then finally back through the Trossachs area on the way to Edinburgh. Added a grand total of 21 new species to my life list while I was there... very common species, but they were all new to me. Sadly, no really great photos of any of them - I only brought my little (waterproof) point-and-shoot camera, not my bigger one with the extra zoom.

One one hand, it was frustrating being right back at square one, hearing things singing in the brush and not having even the beginnings of a clue on how to identify them. But on the other hand, every bird was a brand new bird - it was like seeing a Cardinal again for the first time.  With a little application of basic principles (size, colour, behaviour, etc) and a little help from the locals, I think I managed to muddle through.

Spotted throughout the trip were Common Wood-Pigeon, Rook, and European Robin. The Eurasian Magpies I saw were mainly around cities (Stirling and Edinburgh).


Magpie taking in the sights at Stirling Castle


Wood-Pigeon

I did two short trail walks with the specific intention of birding, on a section of the Great Glen Way near Drumnadrochit and at the David Marshall Lodge/Queen Elizabeth Forest Park (lovely place, A++ would go again). On those two outings, I got:

- Mew Gull
- Hooded Crow
- Common House-Martin
- Great Tit
- Eurasian Blue Tit
- Eurasian Wren
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Carrion Crow (pretty sure - smaller than a Raven, but with a stouter, less pointed bill than an immature Rook)
- Coal Tit
- Common Chaffinch

With a bonus Eurasian Jackdaw in nearby Aberfoyle, which posed very nicely while I got a good look at its stubby little beak and paler grey nape.


Chaffinches

Our B&B on Skye was right near the coast, which meant that I could see Northern Gannets, Great Cormorants, Common Buzzards, and even a pair of White-tailed Eagles from my bedroom window. More eagles were found on a short boat cruise out of Portree. White Wagtails were all along the roadsides - adorable little things, they certainly live up to their name.


White Wagtail


They were there, I promise

And last but not least, Manx Shearwaters on the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig. I admit to resorting to eBird records for that area to help me narrow down the species on this one; I was taking the ferry at the time and didn't have my binocs handy, so all I really saw was a black and white bird with long, narrow wings flying agilely right along the water's surface.

And of course there were Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows and I'm pretty sure a pair of Ravens somewhere along the roadside in there (the initial reaction of "holy crap those are big birds" certainly suggests Raven to me), and various other gulls - Great or Lesser Black-backed, probably also Herring? And things that were present but wouldn't show themselves. As is always the case with birding, no matter where in the world you go.