Mountain birds
honked above the main caves. Both Wheatears and Meadow Pipits were plentiful, while the Ravens had a nest above the caves themselves, with at least two fledged young begging for food.
Certain species found, such as Bullfinch and woodpeckers, suggest other habitats present here, like woodland. It has also been suggested that the remains of seabirds were likely the result of them being caught by raptors while flying over the area, after being pushed in with high winds.
It is a steep climb from the valley bottom to the caves themselves, but well worth it for the view alone. Standing there is an amazing experience, feeling the time travel through your bones to the bygone era of Wolf, Eurasian Lynx and Polar Bear.
I dropped back down to the valley bottom only to see another visitor look skywards, and there was a male Golden Eagle displaying! What a find in May! A new book about Golden Eagles claims display is also about the enjoyment of living, as these eagles live so long (25-plus years) and territories are often ‘set in stone’, not changing from year to year.
The Grey Wagtail was still enjoying the spring water and now the car park was nearly empty, it looked like a great place to spend the night. An evening walk down the glen side brought me a Dipper, not far from the van.
I had a long chat with the under-keeper for the Inchnadamph Estate first thing in the morning, which gave me a few more birds of the area, like nesting Osprey and sightings of White-tailed Eagles to look out for as I drove on to the next valley.
I made my way along the River Traligill, and this was again a Ring Ouzel valley, with birds calling and flying over my head. The river was much bigger, with plenty of water coming down. On my right was a mix of trees, with plenty of Elm, which was pleasing to see, but Red Deer were everywhere, making one bungalow erect a new deer fence.
Whose deer are causing this damage to residents’ gardens? The answer has to be the estate’s. So why are they not paying for all this fencing? It’s interesting to note that the Inchnadamph Estate has fallen out of favour with Scottish Natural Heritage (now Nature Scotland) over its National Nature Reserve on the estate, owing to the number of deer the government agency wanted to remove.
The walk was cut short, partly because I’d forgotten my map, and secondly because I had found a gorge running back down the river. It was not like Corrieshalloch, but it was impressive, especially as it had created steep banks which held a variety of trees, well away from the grazing deer. A Song Thrush was in full song, and the classic water birds were buzzing around. Additions were Redstart and Redwing, with Wheatear and Whinchat along the track. Redwing is a bird that could have colonised many parts of Scotland, but in recent years, numbers have fallen to an estimate of fewer than 80 breeding pairs in all.
Loch Assynt has a nice castle, but my real goal was Little Assynt and the community walk around the lochs. This was not signed well, so I ended up at the tree nursery and started from there. It was a long way from the lochs, but it was still nice to see the area flourish from lack of deer. Trees were mainly Birch, with some Aspen and Rowan and flowering Gorse. There were plenty of Cuckoos, Willow Warblers and Tree Pipits, but the lochs looked limited, even though they are supposed to hold Black-throated Diver.
The surrounding mountains must have Golden Eagle and passing White-tailed Eagle. The area looked good for Merlin as well, probably using old Hooded Crow nests to breed in. I was soon back on the road, heading for Lochinver. I missed my turn here on the minor road to Stoer, and got stuck behind a static caravan on a low loader, whose destination was Clactoll.
This was a magical location. I drove onto a grass verge by Loch an Aigall. This had everything, with machair and a reedbed with a Sedge Warbler singing.
My walk was to cross the machair back to Stoer Bay and the broch. The bay was full of birds, with a local telling me the Sand Eels were back, and boy, did the Arctic Terns know this, with many sitting on the rocks off the broch with eels hanging out of their bills. All three divers were here, as well as many Guillemots and Razorbills. The wet bogs along the fields held Snipe and Redshank, and the area looked as if Corn Crake was possible. Twite and Wheatear were common and the view from the broch was amazing. If a birder was here all year, they’d certainly pick up some rarities.
It was then onto Stoer itself, and the
lighthouse with a car park and food van. I packed my lunch and headed off, first inland and then along the coast. The first thing I found were two dolphins clearing the water. I thought they were Bottlenosed, but a couple later claimed they were Risso’s, owing to scarring on their front.
I was amazed only to find two seabird colonies in view, one of which was worth the walk, but the other was distant and made up mainly of Kittiwakes. Great Skuas patrolled the cliffs, and I finally made it for lunch overlooking the ‘Old Man of Stoer’, where four climbers were trying to climb it. Just previously, I’d seen a party of around 15 Meadow Pipits, unusual as all other pipits were on territory and this group looked out of place. The second time I flushed them, I noticed a Lapland Bunting with them.
Seawatching
I decided to walk back by the moor, with a pair of Great Skuas on territory. The area was very dry and most of the bogs I crossed were easy. A small section of lochans were found with the much bigger Loch cul Fraioch much further to the east. These only had Mallard and Pied Wagtail, but the Sky Larks were singing snatches of Dunlin song, suggesting they are breeding in the area.
Golden Plover was another possibility. I did the last section of the coast that I had missed at the beginning of the walk, with the board back at the car park suggesting the day was good for cetaceans, with both Bottle-nosed and Risso’s Dolphins being seen, as well as a Minke Whale!
The night was spent in this car park along with two motorhomes, but a seawatch by the lighthouse gave a first! Not a bird, but a thermal out to sea! First of all a small group of Kittiwakes used it, and they were joined by lots more and even Gannets.
Another early departure meant I had the road to myself and what a road it was, with many bays and inlets, Birch woodland and then the A894. The plan was to photograph Handa, as it was 1980 when Thelma and myself last visited, when it was an RSPB reserve. It would have taken most of the day to visit it again, with the little boat ride to and from it, and a walk of four miles around the trail with various stops for the massive sea cliffs full of birds, and of course the many Great Skuas nesting. After this it was a drive up to Durness, missing out the Cape Wrath area, as time was running out and I had to be in Caithness by Saturday.
No stops meant I was up there in good time and drove past Durness to Balnakeil and on to Faraid Head, looking out into the bay. A birder was on the beach, and flushed waders, with many coming and landing just feet from the van. There were large numbers of Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Sanderling, with the odd Turnstone, most in summer plumage. I quizzed the birder on what was about, and realised I’d bumped into Bob McMillan from Skye, who I’d emailed only weeks previously.
He was looking for a Little Ringed Plover, but had already covered the marsh the other side of Balnakeil Farm, where he had found Ring-necked Duck with the Tufted Duck. The first pool seemed dead, other than a group of White Wagtails, but the second was a real gem with reedbed, shallow pools and plenty of edge for waders. The Ring-necked Duck was about the first bird I found.
I was joined by a birder from Falkirk who was on holiday two-and-a-half hours away at Dornoch. It was his third trip to this spot, as he thought the marsh was the best thing since sliced bread. The birds he was really after were Yellow Wagtails.
The last time he was here he had found a ‘normal’, a Blue-headed and even a ‘Channel’ Yellow Wagtail. Yellow Wagtail only breeds in a few locations in Scotland, such as Torness Power Station and in Fife, so these Scandinavian and Low Country birds were well off course. The Blueheaded was still here, and turned up by the outflow to the marsh.
Other interesting birds here included a pair of Wood Sandpipers. This species is now breeding on the Flow Country not far away, so were these birds just feeding up before using this acid wasteland to breed? A Water Rail was calling from the reedbed, along with a singing Sedge Warbler. It was too far north for Reed Warblers, so Reed Bunting was the only other bird found in these reeds. Ducks were well represented with Shoveler, Gadwell and Teal. A Black-headed Gull colony was here. This meant even Wigeon breeding was possible, as they use these gulls as cover to protect the young once hatched. More White Wagtails were here.
The big sand dunes pointed to Faraid Head with its breeding Puffins and other seabirds, but it was time to move on. I passed down along Loch Eriboll, with a raised beach worth stopping for, and on to the Kyle of Tongue. I had just enough time to cover part of the Flow Country, driving down Glen Naver with Redstart alarming and Cuckoo belting out. I turned on to the minor road across the Flow and found a quarry for the night, with Red Deer all around, and hopefully not that Cuckoo! Caithness awaited me…