Our next accommodation after Pitlochry was in Ballachulish (near Glencoe); but, because of the expanse of Rannoch Moor, there wasn't an obvious direct route between the two. The choices were to go south, via Crianlarich, or north via Spean Bridge and Fort William. Since we had the whole day for the journey, we decided to take a slight detour and head up through Aviemore to the
Loch Garten Osprey Centre. The eponymous birds have nested in Loch Garten every year since 1954, and the RSPB have installed a "
nest cam" so that the chicks can be observed at close quarters without being disturbed. Sadly the birds didn't return in 2019, but our visit was far from wasted. Loch Garten is in the Cairngorms National Park, and its ancient Caledonian Pinewoods are ideal places to spot two of Scotland's iconic species: crested tit and red squirrel. After the damp squib of Mar Lodge Estate, we had high hopes that the glorious sunshine would gives us better luck this time.
I spotted a red squirrel running across the track, but didn't manage to photograph it. Perhaps our optimism would be justified after all?
The Visitors' Centre at Loch Garten is absolutely brilliant, with plenty of opportunity to watch the comings and goings on the various feeders. Photographic conditions weren't ideal, unfortunately, with extremely harsh back-lighting and perches which were obviously man-made. Even so, our patience was rewarded - briefly - when the feeding station was visited by one of the local cresties.
Other visitors were siskin, chaffinch, great tit and a juvenile spotted woodpecker.
No comments:
Post a Comment