In the driving seat

One reader’s morning of wildlife photography using his car as a hide on a single-track road in the Scottish Highlands

My family helped to pay for a photography holiday as a birthday present. So I booked a hotel in Grantown-onspey and spent most of the week exploring the mountains, forests and lochs of the Cairngorms.

On the final day I thought I’d try heading north to the Moray Firth. Lochindorb is a remote loch about five miles north of Grantown-on-spey, with a minor road running along the southern shore. It looked like a great place to visit on my way north. As such, I set off with my camera and a beanbag ready on the passenger seat.

Diesel cars have a poor reputation, but with the car in second gear it would crawl along the road at about 5 mph, allowing plenty of time to look for wildlife. The road was single-track, like many in the highlands, and the passing places were spread out. It was important to keep an eye on the road and pull over in plenty of time if a car was approaching, either from the front or behind. The passing places make excellent spots to sit and scan the area without blocking the road. My Mini has automatic stop-start so as soon as the handbrake went on the engine stopped, reducing vibrations that might cause camera shake. The electric windows also have one-click activation so a press of the switch allowed a beanbag and camera to be positioned ready for a picture.

I spotted a pair of blackthroated divers moving towards the edge of the loch and realised they would pass

If I stopped on the road I could grab a few photos while keeping my eye out for other vehicles

close behind me. Getting out and moving towards them caused distress and disturbance but they were used to seeing cars. I knew if I could get ahead of them they would approach on their own. I turned around to head back the way I’d come, and as I sat in the car with my camera ready the birds swam by, just about 15 metres away.

An oystercatcher stood next to the road, but it didn’t move, as I slowly pulled up alongside it. It was only a few metres away but on the opposite side of the car, so I had to lower the other window and move slowly to support the camera against the passenger seat.

Further along the road, red grouse could be seen and heard calling from rocks or hiding amongst the heather on the open moorland. Passing places were never in the right spot, but if I stopped on the road I could grab a few photos while keeping my eye out for other vehicles. Eventually, after a couple of hours, the road joined the B9007, which I followed to continue the rest of my journey to the coast.