Well the snow’s nearly gone, though it still covers much of the ground over 1000ft and most of the forests. Looks like the freeze is about to return next week though! A few small signs of a change with the first Siskins on the feeders this year today, Great Tits singing this morning and a few more Blackbirds about.

Not heard of any rogue Capers for some years but was told recently of an "attack" on a walker, must don my protective gear and go and have a look for him!

Was staying up at Lairg for a few days and met the most ridiculously tame Pine Martin coming for food at the house I was staying at…….quite happily took food from the hand apparently and even took to coming in and raiding the kitchen waste bin. Saw quite a few Snow Buntings at random places up in the hills there, my guess is that there must be a huge under-recorded number of these birds wintering in Scotland at over 1000ft.

Haven’t managed to get up to the coast this year but seems the King Eider is still at Burghead and now joined by a smart "Northern Eider" too. Hopefully get up there next week for a look.

Nethybridge, The Freeze! We were unable to get cars to the road for 9 days, snow lay for 48 consecutive days and it was constantly below freezing for over 3 weeks. It reached -20 in the village on several nights with daytime max of -12. Snow depth reached over 50cm level.

Now that’s "real" winter.

This Caper seen last week doesn’t seem to think so!
Unfortunately I forgot my camera, this was taken on my mobile phone! A flock of 35 Whoopers flew through in the background seconds earlier (this site being on a hill at around 1500ft), another great photo opportunity missed!

Whoopers and Pinkies going through, surprisingly not a single Redwing or Fieldfare yet, but seem to be a trickle of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes. On the coast Common Scoter are in the hundreds by now and a large count of 30 Slavs off Roseilse, thought this was probably just because the sea was actually calm enough to see them. A few Velvets and the first Long-tailed Ducks have also appeared. Despite there being a few good rares found in the region I have yet to actually find my own. I have seen plenty of Cranes in my time going down the A9 but one of the Sandhill type is a new one!

Dip of the year has to be receiving a phonecall saying there was a YB Cuckoo at Deerness on Orkney  the very second I had driven on to the ferry after seeing the aforementioned Crane. Made do with a Leach’s Petrel and chips at Brora instead.

Well I think the idea of a Blog is that you are supposed to update it regularly! At least I am making regular six monthly postings……….

Summer’s gone too quickly and despite a glorious day yesterday hinting at a Highland Indian summer, today is back to dreik yukky drizzle. Visited the East Coast last week, Strathbogle and Rattray head were as usual packed with birds. Not so sure about the health of that WTE at the reserve though, I am pretty sure they don’t normally lie flat on the ground, though perhaps it has been hanging about with geese too much. Did wonder about the possiblity of lead poisoning as it is probably  feeding on a lot of duck carcasses full of shot at the moment?

Back over here in Strathspey all is quiet, the Osprey tree looks sadly forlorn (apparently), thought there are still birds hanging about on the coast. Black Throated Divers are still on Lochindorb and there are several good flocks of PARROT Crossbills in the local woods. As for Eagles, they seem to have vanished off the face of the earth. Despite extensive searching for local birds recently the sum total seen was 0.

Better luck with Caper though, excellent views recently at several "Top Secret" locations , three birds regularly showing well within 100 yards of a busy "A" road ! Doesn’t bode well for survival perhaps.

Since I put Crestie as the ringtone on my new Nokia, simply call me and they appear like magic! (The old ringtone was Kraftwerk Die Robota, but I got sick of ageing electro rockers suddenly appearing from the woods each time it rang so I changed it, much more useful). (Thanks to MC for that joke).

Anyway, back to birding. A recent crossing from Ullapool to Stornoway was very productive, with a huge feeding flock of Stormies and several Leach’s. We counted at least 700 Stormies but at a guess it was well over that. Also a "super-pod" of over 150 Common Dolphins and a brief Minke.

As for rares, autumn is here at last! Though did find a breeding Icky this year in Strathspey which was not bad.

Well seems to be spring with unseasonal warmth last week of 19degrees on the Moray Firth. A few migrants are trickling in, Wheatears, Sand Martins and more Ospreys by the day. Sighting of the week has to be Waxwings feeding in the midst of Abernethy Forest on juniper berries. Seeing them sitting on lichen clad branches of ancient pines much better than in Tesco car park on an ornamental berry tree, but of course I didn’t have the camera handy.
Black-throated Divers are back at their usual spots, looking splendid in full breeding plumage, stood by a loch on the moors on a still afternoon listening to their eerie wailing drifting across the water as Red Grouse croaked all around.

On quite a few nights have heard what at first I thought were frogs, croaking away in the nearby field, though after a while I realised it wasn’t amphibians but birds…………Woodcock. Must be some form of terrestrial displaying, guess it’s not often seen but they seem to sit and croak for hours. I have an image of a lone Woodcock and Frog in that field, both wondering why their luck is never in.

Well wind has gone S easterly tonight, always makes me wish I was nearer the Aberdeenshire coast at this time of year……my guess is the first fall of migrants could be on their way.

Well to make up for the speck on the Moray Firth last week, this time found a cracking bird just a few hundred yards offshore in Little Loch Broom. Lovely monster banana bill glistening in the sunlight as it fished for crabs. Was a diver bonanza with over 40 Great Northerns also in the area, several Black-throats though as much as we tried could not find a single Red-throated to get a full house. Typical, they turn up like buses everywhere then when you need one nothing.

Apparently a few Ospreys are already back in the area, basking in the unseasonal sunny weather and thinking they are still in Africa no doubt.

Seems spring is creeping nearer, Song Thrushes have appeared in the last week with quite an influx over the weekend. At least five around the garden, quite a leap from none at all for the past six months. Had an excellent car window tick when a young White-tailed Eagle did a fly-by at road height while I was driving back from the west coast, birds over there now well into nest building and should even be down on eggs by now.

Lovely day on the coast, though not nearly the numbers of sea-duck as usual, not sure what’s going on with them this year. Found a probable White-billed Diver, though as it was nearer Norway than Scotland even the best of scopes struggled. Though the bill on these things really does catch the light even miles away, and they always seem to be looking from side to side with it held pointed skyward. Besides that it was next to two GNDs and it wasn’t a third! Anyway nobody else has seen it since so it will just be a dodgy single observer record that gets rejected as a misidentified Royal Navy Frigate, so no description needed there then. Not that  I have a problem with rarities committees or anything, but if you are reading this look, it was a flippin Bonaparte’s Gull ok. enough.

Headed up to the Moray Firth, Findhorn Bay was pretty misty and as always when you first arrive looked completely devoid of birds. Gradually from the mist however 6 Black-throated Divers, a dozen or so Slav Grebes, and a scattering of Velvet and Common Scoter.
Checked out one of the harbours, cracking views of Long-tailed Duck around the boats and a nice line of Purple Sands sitting on the wall. Went looking for a reported Smew, stood staring at a misty loch for a while until eventually something black and white appeared in the furthest and mistiest part of the loch. Views got better eventually, in fact so good that I found another! This time a redhead. Smews are real cold weather birds, just wouldn’t be the same watching one while wearing shorts and T-shirt on a hot summers day would it.

I did look, the weather was awful and I forgot my hat and gloves. Rooks are quite nice really, as are Chaffinches and Coal Tits.