Scotland Trip
We went to the RSPB Osprey centre at Loch Garten this morning as planned. It was probably the most impressive bird surveillance setup I have ever seen. There were loads of telescopes and pairs of binoculars available in the "hide", but these weren't really being used much because there were also two giant TV screens showing images from the Osprey spycams. When we arrived, both spycams were spying on a different Osprey, one on the nest (no eggs in it yet), and one on a nearby tree clutching half a dead fish in its talons.
There were a few RSPB workers and volunteers mingling with the visitors, and there was quite an excited vibe because earlier in the morning (probably while we were still having bagels and coffee), two other Ospreys had attempted to invade and capture the resident Osprey's nest! Apparently the resident birds were very unsettled and not happy at all, although I wouldn't really know how to tell. They looked like the last pair of Ospreys we saw, although to be fair, I think they were pretty unsettled too as we were paddling under their nest which probably had chicks in.
Obviously, the residents had managed to defend their nest, but there was a certain anticipation in the hide of what the next phase of attack might be. One of the volunteers got somewhat over excited in my opinion when one of the Ospreys dropped it's fish.
The hide was a much more salubrious bird hide than the ones I've been in before. Aside from all the technology, there was also a gift shop, a drinks machine, and I suspect maybe some heaters. We bought ourselves a hot chocolate but managed to resist the temptation of the soft bird toys which made a bird call when you squeezed them.
We actually got bored of the Ospreys fairly quickly (they weren't doing much), and moved over to another corner of the hide next to the bird feeders. There were loads of small birds (the sort of birds that are referred to as garden birds, but not all of which actually visit gardens in my experience). Chaffinches were the main visitors but we also saw some greenfinches, greater spotted woodpeckers, siskins, blue tits, great tits and some cute little mousey things which we think were some sort of vole.
We were able to show off our bird knowledge (and ability to read nearby posters) to several other wannabe bird watchers looking at the birds on the feeders. If we hadn't been there then they would have gone away thinking female chaffinches were greenfinches, and having completely missed the woodpeckers.
Afterwards, we called in at an outdoor shop slightly outside Aviemore that we'd missed the other day. Although Claire wasn't particularly impressed with the shop, it did have a nice selection of canoe paddles and canoe fastenings that can be quite difficult to come by. We bought some waterproof rucksack covers, which hopefully will guarantee that it will be bone dry for the rest of the holiday. I have also taken the sun screen out of my rucksack, which should help.
There's not much to say about the afternoon, because I was overcome with exhaustion from birdwatching and had quite a long nap.
We've parked up for the night at the spot I've mentioned before by Loch Morlich. There are lovely views across the loch to the mountains with the evening sun on them.
We have decided it's about time we did something a bit more challenging tomorrow, so we are going up Cairngorm. The weather forecast is good, but we are unsure of the conditions up there, so will be taking full winter walking kit and I will be carrying or wearing most of my clothes.
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