The days are getting shorter but there is still plenty of time for birding by making use of all the light that's available.
We started off at first light with a trip to a local Black Grouse lek, and were not disappointed to say the least. No less than 18 Black-cocks were sitting in the grass as the mist rolled back across the Strath, giving excellent views in the scope as some of them began to fan their tails, though rather half-heartedly compared to spring.
Next we moved on to the forest where a feeding freanzy of tits clustered round a feeder, including a very obliging Crestie determined to nudge in on the Coal tits busily pecking at the nuts. Several Red Squirrels also scampered up and down the trunks behind the feeders as we watched until flushed by a rather ignorant dog walker who allowing his animals to run riot all over the woods, no wonder Caper stay well hidden from this locality.
Moving on we went looking for Eagles, an extremely calm day with little on the wing when we arrived made the going difficult. We missed a White-tailed by just a few minutes when we arrived and sadly it did not reappear, however we had plenty of Ravens, Dipper and Goosander along the river before deciding to leave for the coast while there was still plenty of light. Travelling over the moors Red Grouse were everywhere at the road side, just feet away from the vehicle their croaking display filling the air as we sat and watched two males entertaining a lone and rather bored looking female.

On the coast the first stop was North Kessock, a group of Goldeneye fed under the bridge and a raft of Long-tailed Ducks were feeding not far offshore out on the firth. A Red Kite drifted across the water and in the calm we could make out numerous seal heads as we scanned towards Chanonry.
Moving round to Alturlie, conditions for viewing were stunning, with small rafts of duck all over the place. A small group of Scaup with several Slavonian Grebes feeding around them, more Slavonian Grebes everywhere we looked as well as a distant Great Northern Diver. After checking through the wigeon and Teal we headed further along the road to get closer to the diver, it's heavy bill, thick body and neck with patchy brown plumage confirming the original distant ID. 
There was just about time to check through the gulls gathering at the sewage works before heading back as the light faded, a lot of Black-headed, a few Herring and Common but no white-wings as far as we could see!
A perfect winter birding day had by all as we headed back down the A9, the sky turning a soft pink hue over the snowy Cairngorms, skeins of Greylags headed to roost and corvids circled the darkening forests now swathed in whisps of frosty evening mist.

We've been seeing a lot of Bullfinches around lately, it's possible these birds are migrants from Scandinavia, looking slightly bigger and the call perhaps a little louder and sharper than resident birds.
This morning however, a Bullfinch was calling from trees here in Nethybridge with a very different call, rather like a childs toy trumpet is the best description.
These "trumpeting" birds are thought to come from much further east, possibly even Siberian Russia, though ID is not that simple. There was an influx in 2004 in Northern Europe including the UK, which is the last time I heard these in the Strath.
Will keep an eye out and try and get a photo or even a recording if it appears again.
Waxings are also starting to be reported from Highland, so far none in Nethybridge but with plenty of berries about it surely won't be long.

If you ever wonder what on earth that bird is calling as it flys over, we will be running some Fieldcraft Days, aimed at concentrating on calls and bird ID. 


There is no better place than to learn calls in the field and on an average day we will probably encounter 30-40 species at least, using a variety of habitats from the forests to the coast....if you are interested check our calendar for dates, the first one is on Mon 11th November.

On a frosty morning walk in Anagach Woods with guests from the BWWC at the Grant Arms Hotel, we came across this quite amazing sight. No this isn't a fungus or cotton wool, it's ICE ! Hundreds of tiny fragile strands of it protruding from a piece of dead wood like silk threads. It's called Hair Ice, and only forms when conditions are just right, the water in the wood slowly freezing and as it does being forced through the pores. It is so fragile the slightest touch will destroy it from the heat of your hand.
The forest is always full of surprises, even when you think you've seen everything.

A great day out with Keith and his group, which started early pre-breakfast in search of autumn lekking Black Grouse. We headed to a secluded site at the edge of the Cairngorms where several males were already showing, one only yards away peering at us from behind a wire fence was a stunner! Several other birds were interacting on the lek though as always in autumn they never seem to quite get going as in spring, though still giving wonderful views.
Redwing and Fieldfare were streaming in straight off the coast and probably making their first landfall in clumps of trees on the edge of the moor, looking rather hungry and tired. 
After re-fueling with the Grant Arm's cooked breakfast we headed off attempting to beat some rather ominous looking rain clouds in search of Eagles. As we drove in to the glen a shout went up of "what are those up there?"....screeching to a halt we jumped out to catch two adult White-tailed Eagles soaring towards us. They drifted right overhead, only to be then joined by an imm Golden Eagle which proceeded to talon grapple with one of the rather annoyed looking WTEs. What a stunning view. I never claim to be a wildlife photographer as you can see here....yep that's a Goldie, in the bottom right, I'm usually too busy trying to find the birds than photograph them....I leave that up to the clients with the big lenses.
As we headed back down the glen we stopped off at hidden spot beneath some birches where if you look hard enough you will see one of nature's most amazing spectacles....spawning salmon. Having swum thousands of miles in open sea before returning to a secluded spot in a Highland Glen to spawn, we watched several huge fish as they flicked the gravel with their tails and splashed in the slack water. 
Well we beat the rain and headed off towards the coast, where we took lunch at North Kessock, scoping a huge raft of Long-tailed Ducks as they bobbed out in the Moray Firth and enjoying the sight of endless streams of Redwings and Fieldfares heading off over the Kessock bridge. We got more views of Long-tailed Ducks as they flew past Chanonry point, where several Turnstones also fed amongst the seaweed and pebbles close by. Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Slavonian Grebe and Red Kite were all added to the list as we explored the inner Moray Firth from the south side also, where one of the most unusual sights of the day was hundreds of golf balls washed along the beach at Alturlie?! A great day spent in habitats ranging from highland moors, glens to the coast and shoreline.....we headed back as the light faded for the drop of at the Grant Arms Hotel where a few more species were added to the guest sightings board for Wednesday!