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Common Birds found at Loch Ness

The bird table in the grounds of Aspenwood Cottage is a very busy place and is visited by a variety of birds e.g. chaffinch, bullfinch, greenfinch, siskin, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, robin, blackbird, goldcrest, thrushes and the tiny wren. Unfortunately for some birds this rich feast of birdlife also attracts the predatory sparrowhawk which is amazingly speedy to watch.

Great Spotted Woodpecker is in the vicinity – often seen on the nut feeder under the bird table and heard in the nearby trees. Male is easily spotted by the red spot on the back of its neck.

 

 

The bird bath and feeders along the fence are always a flurry of activity and it is very entertaining to watch the birds and red squirrels from the comfort of an armchair in the lounge or from the decking. Small colourful siskin finches are frequent visitors during the breeding season. The male is a vibrant yellow-green. Female a dull yellow.

Birds are fed all year round with extra provisions provided in the cold weather – especially in snowy conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

Peanuts and ‘fatballs’ are kept in the shed for their use.

Please help us to keep the birds well fed – that way they will keep coming back to visit.

 

 

 

Treecreepers can often be spotted spiraling round the bark of trees searching for insects. Note the curved needle like beak ideal for picking out tasty insects from the bark of the tree. The long stiff tail helps to anchor the bird as it tugs at some stubborn insect in the bark.

Owls can often be heard calling out in the dusk and darkness and you may be lucky enough to see one swooping low nearby.

Bird books and binoculars are provided for your use.

Mistle thrushes enjoy the berries of the rowan trees. They are the largest of our native thrushes and they are called mistle thrushes as they are fond of the sticky berries of the mistletoe but will willingly eat other berries. They can withstand the winter weather and lay eggs in late February in exposed nests at the top of trees.

We have had waxwing winters - depending on the severity of the winter in Scandinavia swarms of waxwings can suddenly arrive in late September to harvest the local rowan berries in a feeding frenzy – stripping the trees bare within minutes.

Pheasants often appear around the cottage, foraging under the bird table for remnants and the plumage of the male bird is quite magnificent especially in the sunshine when it seems to take on a metallic sheen and they can often be heard crowing quite loudly for their partner[s].

 

It is not unusual to see a family of pheasant chicks and mother in the late spring and summer wandering slowly in the grounds pecking under the bird table.

 

 

 

Red legged partridges thrive in the area and a brood of 12 or more chicks can often be seen following mother about in early summer and foraging under the bird feeders. Unfortunately very few actually survive due to the many predators around.

Cormorants seen on the old disused pier posts at Dores beach which jut out into the water of Loch Ness. One of them has its wings outstretched to dry.  Apparently they often sit with their wings stretched out to dry as they are the only web-footed birds which do not put out a waterproofing oil for their feathers. They are strong underwater swimmers and therefore need to dry out on land before taking off again.

Red grouse seen by the side of the mountainous single track road over to Garbole and the Coignafearn estate. This is a beautiful run, enveloped by heather moorlands on both sides but only to be taken in decent weather due to the elevation. Grouse rely almost entirely on the ling heather for food. Look out on your journey for the large white hares and various raptors – raven, merlin, hawks, falcons & eagles.

 Black grouse used to appear fairly frequently, but nowadays these and the  Blackcock are much rarer. Capercaillie are found in more wooded parts of the Highland, notably in the Abernethy Caledonian pine woods. Ptarmigan are on the Cairn Gorm range.

A wide variety of raptors inhabit the area and it is not unusual to see buzzards circling overhead, sailing through the air with slow flaps of its rounded wings or hovering in the air looking intently downwards with their sharp eyes ready to pounce on their next target. They are quite widespread and are the most common of our larger birds of prey. They can often be seen sitting quite still on a fence post by the road side or in a field looking and listening for their lunch. Also look out for red kites, merlins, peregrine falcons, kestrels, sparrow hawks and the magnificent osprey.

Along the shores of Loch Ness, grey wagtails and dippers feed and breed. Red breasted mergansers skim over the surface of the water. Grey herons are frequent visitors. Mute swans nest by Farigaig Pier. In winter Goldeneye, Cormorants, Goosander and various types of Gulls and other coast loving birds come to Loch Ness, some seeking shelter from the cold westerly winds.

Dipper seen on the banks of River Affric at Glen Affric - easily recognizable by its puffed up white chest, usually perched on an outcrop jutting out into the river. It preened itself for a long while and then suddenly plunged into the water to search for food along the river bed.

A breeding pair of ospreys return every year to their nest  [or 'eyrie'] in the mountains some distance behind the cottage. They fly in from Africa during April, have their young and then all return to their homeland sometime in August. They are frequently seen flying high above the loch and you may be fortunate enough, as we have, to see them actually dive into the water for a fish- a marvelous sight.

Golden eagles inhabit the more remote mountainous areas. We have seen an eagle flying over the Cairngorms at Aviemore as we stopped for a picnic at Loch Morlich at the base of the Glen More Forest Park. We have also seen them on the Isle of Mull and at the pass of Glenshee between Blairgowrie and Braemar {A93 road}.

Loch Ruthven Nature Reserve is a great favourite with bird watchers and only a short drive from Aspenwood. It is fringed by sedge beds with birchwood, moorland and crags nearby. This is the best site in the whole of Britain for summer viewing of the rare Slavonian Grebe. You can see these grebes in their dowdier black and white winter plumage on the Moray Firth but from April to late August they occupy this famous loch for breeding purposes. They are conspicuous then by their upright golden ear-tufts and their glorious black russet and chocolate plumage. From the Loch Ruthven car park a short trail leads to a hide overlooking a sedge bed used by the grebes as well as other species. Ospreys are regular summer visitors here as are red-throated divers, goosanders and other ducks. Inhabiting the surrounding wood and moorland are short-eared owls, hen harriers, redpoll, whinchat, wheatear and the occasional ring ouzel.

The Osprey Centre at Loch Garten not far from the bustling village of Aviemore, a journey of about 45 miles from Aspenwood. The osprey is a magnificent fish-eating bird of prey with a wingspan of approximately 150cms and about 60cms in length. They were once widespread in the UK but its numbers decreased dramatically as it was persecuted by egg collectors and hunters. In 1959, after an absence of almost 40 years, a pair nested near Loch Garten and raised three young chicks with the help of special protection from the RSPB. Since then ospreys have returned to nest at Loch Garten every year and more than 80 young have fledged successfully. From the Osprey Centre building you can watch these spectacular birds of prey from close quarters using binoculars, telescopes and also watch the closed circuit television screens that show live pictures from the nest. Through the windows you can clearly observe the nest perched on the very top of a tall tree and see the adult female osprey feeding the chicks with fish provided by the male bird. The pair mate for life and always return to the same nest every year. The male arrives first during late April after spending the winter in West Africa and rebuilds the nest in preparation for the female to follow a few days later. They mate and the three eggs are laid over a period of a few days and incubated for about 37 days. By late May the eggs hatch and the young ospreys grow rapidly on a diet of fish. By the middle of July the young begin to learn how to fly but remain around the nest for another month. They should have developed their flying and fishing skills by mid August and they all leave on their migration back to West Africa.
This nature reserve is not only important for ospreys. The rare native pinewoods are home to some of Scotlands rarest wildlife including Scottish crossbills, crested tits, otters, pinemartens and red squirrels. You can also stroll along the various forest walks and gaze across beautiful Loch Garten.