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Aigas, Arctic skua, eider, Gairloch, Golden eagle, greenfinch, grey wagtail, Loch Ewe, Meadow pipit, oblong-leaved sundew, primrose, red deer, red-breasted merganser, roe deer, Round-leaved sundew, sea eagle, sedge warbler, Slavonian grebe, Strathconon

The two final days at Aigas in one post.  Accounting for Thursday will very be short. We drove over to the West Coast of Scotland, to the Loch Ewe and Gairloch areas, returning by way of Loch Maree.  Here are a couple of views we saw on the way there, and a very short video.

From these it can be seen that the weather was not exactly ideal, and I have already indicated that I was not well-equipped with bad weather gear.   Having had our lunch we walked along the seashore for a while, in a howling gale, hoping to see sea eagles.

The sea and the grass show how windy it was, and I chickened out again, being absolutely frozen, and made my way back to the bus.

It was quite a time before my colleagues returned and I hoped they were having luck with the eagles.  They weren’t, but they did see a ‘bonxie’, an Arctic skua, which was a plus.

On the way back to Aigas, we had two unexpected sightings at the same place.  The stop was for reasons of nature other than wildlife, and we weren’t expecting to see anything special, but to our surprise we saw there a large group of eider duck, and a red-breasted merganser, swimming on the sea.

This is only part of the group of eider

Red-breasted merganser

And it was a treat to see a greenfinch, that increasing rarity in our gardens because of a rapidly spreading disease.

Friday was our last day, and was spent along Strathconon.  A pleasant morning:

Roe deer

Meadow pipit

Meadow pipit with insect

Red deer

An after-lunch stroll:

Round-leaved sundew. Each trap is no more than a centimetre across

Primroses -in June!

There are both round-leaved and oblong-leaved sundew here

Grey wagtail

The very same making photos easier

But the best was yet to come.   I wasn’t able to get pictures of an osprey perched in a tree, because sadly someone had not understood the instruction to keep within the outline of the bus when we got out, so it was spooked and flew off.  But I had been able 30 minutes earlier to get a few pictures of – at last – two golden eagles!  Sadly, in terms of wildlife the fact that we saw two of them flying around was not a good thing, because it meant there were no chicks on the nest to be looked after by one parent. But it was a thrill for us.

View from a bridge…

… which was really a hydro-electric barrage

The afternoon’s sightings were completed much nearer our base by some Slavonian grebes and a sedge warbler.

Sedge warbler

 

A last drive back to Aigas through the Highlands

Up very early on the Saturday morning for the 8.55 flight from Inverness to Bristol.  What will be the next photographic experience I post here?  At present I have no idea!

Return to Aigas 7

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Aigas, Aigas Wildcat Project, Magnus House, Wasp nest

Wednesday was a completely different sort of day.  Firstly, we got up incredibly early to leave for Kessock Bridge where we hoped to see otters.  This is what we saw, in my case from the relative comfort of the bus:

Canada geese

No otters.  We felt we had earned the breakfast we returned to.

For the rest of the morning we listened to a couple of talks, on the wildcat project, and moths, each fascinating.  The braver souls  – it was still raining, though not as hard – went out into the grounds to indulge in a bit of pond-dipping.  I’m afraid I chickened out, being very ill-equipped for bad weather.

The afternoon was free to spend exploring where we were living for the week rather more than we’d been able to hitherto.  (Some joined a small group going a very long way, for a very small chance of seeing a ring ouzel or two.  Sadly they had as much luck as we had had in the morning over otters.)

I did indeed spend a lot of time outside exploring Aigas – it had stopped raining by now, and here is a selection of the pictures I took then and at other times during the week, both indoors and outdoors.

My room

That’s the entrance to an old ice house seen though one window

My lodge

Ruth showing us where we’re going that day

First meal

The sitting room

The dining room, shortly to be laid out for a buffet lunch

A hundred-year-old wasp’s nest

Our hostess is a very talented lady

The library and overflow dining room

The gallery above the dining hall

The sitting room

The Magnus House

From the Tower Hide

No chance of seeing the wild cats!

As well as feeding us splendidly, Lady Lister-Kaye is entirely responsible for the garden

It had started raining again before I was safely back in the house.

 

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Aigas, jay, Laurie Campbell, pine marten

Monday evening, purely pine marten.  At 8 pm we went up to the (Laurie) Campbell hide, and, once Ruth had placed some strategic honey and peanuts, waited in absolute silence for 50 minutes, at which point a young pine marten appeared, well accustomed to feeding here. He (or she) stayed for about 25 minutes.

One of our number had a coughing fit and we feared this would drive the pine marten off.  But he was not fazed at all.  On the other hand he really started when a jay flew close by him.  Fortunately he decided to stay, to our great pleasure.

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Aigas, Beauly Firth, Black Isle, Chanonry Point, dolphins, gery heron, lapwing, osprey, shelduck, thrift

Monday, spent on – and off – the Black Isle, and back at Aigas, was the best day, so good that there will be three posts about it.  (By contrast, later in the week, two days may share one post.)

The weather was very grey today, but at least it was mostly dry while we were out. Our first stop was at Redcastle on the Beauly Firth. It wasn’t long before we saw an osprey!  What a sighting.  Indeed – sightings, including seeing them snatch fish from the Firth.  Difficult to tell, but we thought we saw four of these birds in total, which kept us much longer than intended.  Our excellent seasonal ranger, Ruth, was very flexible as to time.

Shelduck

Osprey

With flat fish

Another with a fish-shaped fish

We drove on and stopped further along the Firth.

Grey heron

Lapwing

The last stop of the morning was at Chanonry Point where – in a gale – we saw a few dolphins, but much too far away for photos. And had our packed lunches.

But I liked this thrift.

In the afternoon: we definitely saw dolphins, up close …

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Aigas, Aigas Field Centre, bronze age huts, Eurasian Beaver, Golden eagle, house martin, iron age fort, John LIster-Kaye, Magnus House, Magnus Magnusson, Meadow pipit, pine marten, Round-leaved sundew, wild cat, wild cat breeding programme

I forgot to say – because I had no photo to remind me – that we had this morning a few seconds’ glimpse of a juvenile golden eagle.  Quite a thrill, if all too brief as it disappeared into the cloud at the top of the mountain.

This afternoon we spent being introduced to the immediate territory that goes with Aigas House.  First of all we had a briefing from seasonal ranger Ben at the front of the house, during which we were entertained by the industrious and fearless house martin parents who were feeding young just over the doorway.

Then we walked up to the Magnus House, the educational space named after, and opened just after the death of, Magnus Magnusson, a good friend of naturalist Sir John Lister-Kaye, who, with his wife, Lucy, and his son, Warwick, runs the Aigas Field Centre.  On the way, we noticed, not for the first or the last time, that in Inverness-shire, in mid-June, the bluebells were still in flower.

Boris

Inside we found Boris, the male beaver, who, with his mate Lily, successfully bred for several years as part of an experimental reintroduction scheme. (Pending governmental decision, this scheme is now in abeyance.)  Several of the offspring have been dispersed elsewhere, but Lily and some of her cubs are still seen occasionally on Aigas Loch, which we next visited.

We saw several signs of beaver activity, including the building of accommodation more to their taste than the artificial lodge which was first provided for them.

One of my favourite photos from the whole week

Round-leaved sundew, insectivorous plant

I think this was a meadow pipit

Yes, I know you see chaffinches everywhere

When three-quarters of the way round the loch, we diverted upwards to some heathland, to the location of some bronze age huts.  We had no time to go even further upward to the site of an iron age fort.

There was broom and/or gorse nearly everywhere we went

On the way down we were told a little about the wild cat breeding programme of which the Centre is part.  In due course, in a few more generations, it is hoped that some kittens may be reintroduced into the wild, well away from where any domestic cat can be found, in order to ensure the purity of the genetic stock.

Apart from the two people who look after the cats, no-one is allowed to visit the cats. so that they do not become habituated to humans. They must remain truly wild.  Frustrating to be so near and not see, but at the same time a privilege even to be near the project.

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Aigas, bog plant, Inverness-shire, oystercatcher, red deer, song thrush, Strathfarrar

Ever since October 2104, when I had done a photography course, far too high-powered for me, at the Aigas Field Studies Centre in Inverness-shire, I had wanted to return there to do one of their basic wildlife courses.  I succeeded in doing so last week, and was not disappointed – apart from the weather for which, soft Southerner that I am, I was stupidly ill-equipped.  I hadn’t realised that up there if it isn’t raining they reckon it’s fine.  When out in the field I was cold, expecially for the second part of the week, but I’ll try not to go on about that too much in this series of blogs, because otherwise I had a great time, with some lovely fellow wildlife enthusiasts.

Sunday morning was spent in Glen Strathfarrar.  Much of it was pretty boggy, and acidic.

Wherever we went, there were masses of wild flowers, pretty small most of them but oh so pretty.  Some of my companions took their identification very seriously.  I just enjoyed looking at them. If anyone wishes to tell me any names, I will add them and credit the source!

Bog cotton.  This was everywhere, all week, and very pretty it was too.

Those were all taken at our first stop.  Our second stop also had its boggy plants…

… though it paid to look around as well.  And the sun’s come out for a few minutes.

Our third stopping place was less boggy, but had a great view at the end of a loch, and was a little more lively as far as wildlife was concerned.

The first of many troops of wild red deer we saw in the week, not to mention those being farmed.

Song thrush

Oyster catcher and cuckoo

The remains of the winter’s snow

Two cuckoos and two oystercatchers

Back for an excellent buffet lunch, looking forward to the afternoon’s activities.

Photography course at Aigas

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Aigas, Easyjet, Inverness-shire, John LIster-Kaye, pine marten, salmon

This gallery contains 15 photos.

I’d long wanted to visit the nature centre, Aigas, in Beauly, Inverness-shire, founded and run by the wonderful naturalist/author John …

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