The king(horn) has returned.
I am back from my two holidays. I spent 2 weeks in Perth and Kinross and then spent 1 week on Orkney. I have seen loads of birds and far to many to list all of them but here is a roundup of the highlights I had from my two holidays:
Perth and Kinross – 2 Weeks
I had a cracking time and I think raptors and Cuckoos where the main highlights for me. I saw loads of Cuckoos and got a cracking view of one individual in my telescope, they are special birds I think. I saw loads of raptors: Kestrel, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Osprey, and 2 Golden Eagle. So it was a good trip overall with quite a lot of bird species logged with 91 being the total, that’s not bad for a (sort of) non birding holiday!
Orkney – 1 Week
I had a fantastic time in Orkney. Here is a nice summary of what I saw:
Arctic Skua (15-20c)
Great Skua (numerous - 40+?)
Hen Harrier (12c)
Short-eared Owl (15-17c)
Rock Dove (numerous)
Corncrake (heard only)
Red-throated Diver (3)
Raven (numerous)
On the long trip to Orkney we stopped off at Loch Ruthven and saw Slavonian Grebe, 2 Peregrine, and 1 Osprey.
Other interesting birds seen on trip home and trip to Orkney include: 2 Red Kite, and 3 Osprey.
Highlight had to be the male Hen Harrier only about 20ft of the car up on Birsday Moor. Also the Short-eared Owl sitting 15ft away staring at us for about 3 minutes will be another unforgetable experience. If anyone wants to see loads of Hen Harriers Orkney is the place to go!
I also saw the long staying Bearded Seal in Finstown.
Till next time, Foghorn OUT!
With all this birding you've been doing Andrew, you'll be needing a holiday.:-) Possibly missed you by a week or two on Orkney! I can vouch for your comment re the Hen Harriers. I also got a good sighting of the Bearded Seal. Great place to visit Orkney, especially if you like crawling into Neolithic tombs between spots of birding. Cheers. Brian.
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