Speyside 2013

A weeks holiday on Speyside was unusual in that it was hot and dry, which seemed to reduce the numbers of species seen but not the quality, it was also almost midge free.

Day one saw us exploring Insh Marshes,normally good for insects and plants but this year they were in short supply,we did find a number of Scotch Argus and Dark Green Frittilary.

 Day two found us at Loch Garten where the Ospreys had fledged the week before and were much harder to spot,we did however find quite a few Crested Tits and Crossbills. Of just as much interest was a small boggy pond in the trees with a boardwalk leading to it, this proved to be Dragonfly heaven as we were surrounded by 100's of Four Spotted Chasers, Common Hawkers, Black Darters, Large Red Damselflies and Emerald Damselflies.

Day three saw us in the Northern Corries of Cairngorm or more specifically Coire-an-t-Sneachda,on reaching the corrie itself we managed to locate a female Ptarmigan with several very young chicks,as we sat down for lunch panic set in as a juvenile Snow Bunting decided to join us, unfortunately after checking our rucksacks for food it moved off before I could get the Camera out.    

                            

The final few days of our visit  were spent on trips to Channonry Point where we were enthralled by views of at least six Bottlenosed Dolphins just off the point,a sight which is enjoyed on a daily basis by large crowds of people. We also had a trip up the Findhorn Valley for raptors but again they were in short supply and on the the day we only managed to see one Golden Eagle.                                                                                                    

All too soon our holidays were at an end but the memories will last forever