A continuing mission

Leaving Dornoch the next morning, our first port of call was an outdoor shop on the outskirts of Inverness to buy some new waterproof over-trousers because, well, it is Scotland after all. That done, we took a scenic route to our next overnight stop, incorporating some wildlife watching in Boat of Garten, a road diversion due to bridge repairs to reach Tomintoul and a cake break at a pleasant tearoom in a Cairngorms valley, before pootling into Aboyne and checking into our accommodation.

A male Teal on Milton Loch, Boat of Garten

Before our evening meal, a leg stretch was very much in order, so we wandered around the nearby Birsemore Loch, seeing our first Blackbird fledglings of the year, listening to the drumming of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and hearing Common Crossbills calling as they were feeding in the trees high above our heads. Whilst crossing a bridge over the River Dee, Megan spotted a plant that was new to us both, which produced a flurry of photographic activity and much perusing of ID apps.

Birsemore Loch

Smith's Pepperwort

Day 3 of the holiday saw us finally reaching our destination in Blairgowrie, but not before a detour to Montrose Basin for a spot of nature-watching. It was quite an overcast morning, the tide was coming in and many of the birds were a long way away. Surprisingly, our shoreside walk proved more interesting for its entomological value, with our one and only ladybird of the trip, plus several species of bee which were new to us. Again, many photographs were taken, then a few posted online to the ever helpful folk at the Fb UK Bees, Wasp and Ants site asking for ID advice.

7-spot Ladybird

Marsham's Nomad Bee, a cuckoo bee of the...

Orange-tailed Mining Bee

We settled into our temporary home for the next seven days, a cottage on the edge of Blairgowrie, surrounded by woods and gardens, and positively bursting with birdsong. Looking at the weather forecast, we began to consider the fact that we mightn't require the waterproof over-trousers* after all.

* I did ponder about the word "over-trousers". Does it require the hyphen? Should it be two words? If neither, would folk think we were overt rousers?! Thank goodness I don't overthink things.