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.

Heard an odd call I couldn’t quite place, was a Coal Tit but just something odd about it. Found the bird and seemed odd too. Paler below, and colder grey/blue on the back. Can’t say I have ever seen one before but seems to be a bird of the continental race rather than "britannicus". Not really sure how regular these are in winter, probably over-looked but if they can make it over the north sea then well, raises interesting questions as to what other tits might manage it also. Some nice thoughts for future UK firsts there.

A trip over to the west again, nice 1st w Iceland Gull at the fish farm near Corran ferry and a couple of Slav Grebes there also, already coming in to summer plumage. Goldies were impossible to find for some reason, but a smart adult WTE soaring in the mist was a bonus. Fantastic otter sighting, watched it fishing for nearly an hour, then swim ashore just yards away where it groomed, rolled about a bit doing cute otter things before falling asleep.
Great Northern numbers are building up, counted over 20 at least in Loch Linnhe (or is it Lhinnhe or Lhine or linny or lhinney, whatever I can never spell it without looking it up and I can’t be bothered to check).

So didn’t find a single Goldie up despite driving through about half a dozen territories. All or nothing with these birds…….one’s up and they all follow or they just all laze around doing absolutely nothing for hours on end. If you are lucky enough to manage to find one sitting you will see I am correct, I once found a perched bird, then went on to tour the whole of south Mull, had lunch, toured some more of Mull, had numerous coffee breaks, a brief snooze then went back and it was STILL there.

On the way home had ridiculous views of Black Grouse doing acrobatics in roadside birch trees…….I discovered that the optimum speed to pass them is 15mph……….lower than this and they’ll fly, but if you keep moving they stay and you get crippling views. You can reverse back and forward if you want, but keep an eye for massive logging lorries in your mirror as the impact tends to flush everything for miles.

Got away from the snowy Highlands to the west coast for a couple of days. On the way had half a dozen Black Grouse feeding in birches right next to the road accompanied by a Barn Owl sitting on a roadside snow-pole. First Eagles were an immature Goldie circling with a sub-adult WTE, then cracking views of a pair of WTE sitting in a tree together on the edge of a forestry plantation. Had another three Goldies together and to top it all three Otters and a Pine Martin!!! Not bad for 24 hours.

Well it would be apart from several thousand skiers. Nice flock of Snow Buntings in the car park, 6 Ptarmigan feeding around one of the ski tows and a Mountain Hare.

Wow, the snow’s just vanished, never seen such a quick thaw. The river Nethy is a raging torrent and there are branches littered all over the forest floor.

See Dead Wood a Bounty for Birds

Headed up to the coast, loads of Scaup on the inner Moray Firth and a couple of Iceland Gulls as well as the usual mix of wintering sea-duck. Scoter and Long-tailed Duck numbers very low off the usual haunts of Findhorn Bay, must be somewhere else at moment, probably off Culbin Bar. (It’s probably easier to access the central Cairngorm plateau than Culbin bar so didn’t go there!). Cool bird of the day was a Tawny Owl blissfully sitting warming it’s feet on a Chimney pot  oblivious to passers by and traffic. Headed round to the Cromarty Firth, lots of distant grey blobs………barwits, knot and dunlin was the best my distant grey blob id could manage. A nice flock of Twite and other finches near the hide and as usual no exciting gulls. A word of advice, Udale Bay NEVER has exciting gulls, if you love Common Gulls it’s great, but they really are just all Common Gulls.
Chanonry Point had a very sad looking Guillemot a nice close flock of Dunlin but little else, Dolphins probably basking off some tropical island if they have any sense.

Siberia, well Loch Garten actually but felt like it. Amazing scenes as the forest branches cracked under the weight of the mounting snow falls, the worst for 20 years.

Forget it.  Your feet get soaked and you will have to dig your vehicle out more times than you’d care to mention. Wait till spring.

Heavy snow showers all day today, built an igloo in the garden and watched a couple of very nice Lesser Redpolls feeding in the nearby birches .A few Redwings were flying about this morning, first I’ve heard for ages, not sure what they’re feeding on, probably scouting about the local village gardens in this weather as there is little else. The flock of Waxwings was apparently still in Grantown, feeding on rotting apples, but very little bird activity otherwise. Hope to get out and about a bit more next week, perhaps, but the big freeze seems set to continue till the end of the week at least.