Sausages and eggs

Usually, having spent at least a day travelling to a holiday destination, I like the first full day on holiday to not involve a car. So, having carelessly forgotten to check the weather forecast, we woke to a wet Sunday morning and immediately resolved not to be so carless.

Instead, we drove to RSPB Loch Garten to see a pair of Ospreys. The visitor centre has a wall of tv monitors showing camera close-ups of various scenes. Two large monitors showed the Osprey nest and a favourite perch in a neighbouring tree. Another monitor was split-screened into four, giving a view of a bird feeder; a couple of nest cams (Goldeneye and Great Tit); and a mammal box baited with nuts which had a Bank Vole foraging busily.

The female Osprey had very recently (within the hour) laid her first egg for the year, so the staff were very excited. Her mate was sat in the neighbouring tree, having just caught a Brown Trout, which he was undecided whether to offer to the female or eat himself. After watching for a while through our binoculars or the centre's telescopes, our thoughts also turned to what to have for lunch. In the corner of the RSPB shop was a fridge containing sandwiches and cakes from a local cafe, some of which we purchased for a picnic. We also took the opportunity to buy a couple of bird feeders and some peanuts, which we could use at the cottage and then take home. And then we noticed a freezer, off to one side of the Osprey viewing area. On closer inspection, this was full of a variety of venison products from the Cairngorms Connect project. This is a multi-partner project with a 200 year plan to return a large area of the Cairngorms to more natural Caledonian pine woods. One of the first things the project needs to do is reduce the number of Red Deer, which are present in such high numbers that they are eating all the new woodland growth, preventing natural regeneration. Without this intervention, as the old trees die, there will be no seedlings or saplings taking their places. Restoring the open woodland will benefit a whole host of species, plants, insects, birds and mammals. From the array of steaks, burgers, mince and sausages available in the freezer, we chose a pack of venison sausages for tea. Think of it as supporting biodiversity and habitat restoration one sumptuous mouthful at a time.

With the menu for tea sorted, we headed to the outskirts of the village of Boat of Garten, to a bird hide beside a small lochan. Here, whilst watching a pair of Little Grebes maintaining their nest, laying eggs and sharing incubation duties, we snarfed our sarnies and cake, and generally stared at the to-ings and fro-ings of umpteen birds, such as Water Rails, Goldeneye ducks, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Robins, a Wren, Chaffinches and a Bullfinch. Then a Red Squirrel turned up on the peanut feeder and Megan was so excited her voice went up several octaves to the point where only the local bat population could discern what she was saying.

After a couple of hours, the sun eventually came out, so we wandered around the adjacent woodland, listening to the thrum of bumblebees collecting pollen and nectar, Great Tits shouting "Teacher, teacher!" at each other and a distant gull flock reacting to the presence of a Buzzard. As the holiday vibes seeped into our souls, we drove back to the cottage for a quick brew, before heading out for a riverside walk along the Nethy. Earlier in the day, when we told her where we were staying, a kindly RSPB lady had mentioned a good place to look for Crossbills and Crested Tits. Armed with this information, we arrived at a landmark as directed, but there was nary a small bird in any tree top. A bit deflated, we stood watching the surface of the river, as cold meltwater tumbled over and around boulders in the flow. A Dipper appeared upstream of us, its beak full of aquatic invertebrates, and as it flew from rock to rock, coming ever closer, I wondered if it was going to feed its mate who might be sitting on eggs. As the bird reached the point where we were stood, another Dipper appeared from downstream, equally laden with aquatic larvae and we stood motionless, hardly daring to breathe. These parents were feeding nestlings! When the birds figured we were not a threat, they quickly visited a hidden crevice in turn, before heading off again to forage underwater for more food. Meantime, we both exhaled.

A visitor which came through an open bathroom window - a White-legged millipede

A garden visitor photographed through the bedroom window - a female Great Spotted Woodpecker

Osprey Central

Male on the left, female on the right

A Little Grebe tending to its clutch of eggs

"      !            !" said Megan

Next time: Relaxing in the garden...