Speyside Part 3 - 16th to 17th April 2026

Just two more days to cover of the Speyside holiday and it was a very early start as we were going to a Black Grouse lek. Again, the weather was ideal but at the first site we tried, there were no birds present. A sinking feeling, but our excellent guides knew of another site about 20 minutes away. Luckily we arrived and six males were showing. It is very important not to disturb them so we viewed from the roadside, screened by the vans. These images were taken from distance, but have not come out too bad.

It really is an amazing experience and certainly one of many highlights of the break. Here is a short video of the birds.

It was then time to head back to the Hotel for a well earned breakfast before heading out again to the Findhorn Valley where we saw another Golden Eagle and more Ravens. A very spectacular location. 

We then headed to the coast, specifically Udale Bay. Here, a lot of birds were pushed up by the tide into a corner of the bay, so we had some good views, starting with this male Red-breasted Merganser.

Wigeon were feeding or resting and this small group flew in to join them.

We had distant views of a Slavonian Grebe and there were still a few Greater Scaup in the bay. I managed a distant shot of a few of them in flight.

There were still a lot of Pink-footed Geese in the fields as well as some large skeins flying overhead, again possibly returning to Iceland.

Quite a few waders were in evidence, including a large number of Oystercatchers.

The commonest species were Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits. They were usually resting, but every so often were spooked and took off, allowing for some flight shots.

The last picture clearly shows the difference in size with the Godwits considerably larger than the Knot. One of the reasons they were spooked was due to this Osprey which came in to fish. Fairly distant, but good to get a couple of shots.

Our next stop was Loch Ruthven for the Slavonian Grebes. We saw four birds in total but they were too distant for meaningful shots (we did visit another site the following day so don't worry). We then headed back over the Farr Road, a single track road over high moorland. I managed to grab this Wheatear shot through the window.

Ashley then spotted a Mountain Hare and we were able to pull in and watch it. It was starting to turn brown from its Winter white, but still looked very pale on the front and underside. These are the primary food source for White-tailed Eagles. Golden Eagles tend to go for Brown Hares.

Dropping back into the Findhorn Valley a few of the group had had good views of Red Squirrel and then we spent some more time scanning the Valley with views of Golden Plover. Another great day, and here is a shot of the group in action!

Our final day dawned, and it was a tad cold and windy to begin with. We headed up to Cairngorm again to look for Ring Ouzels. The weather defeated us and this view sums it up.

Lower down in the valley, the weather was kinder and we headed to Avielochen which is a small private loch attached to the hotel where we were staying. It seemed popular with these Herring Gulls. 

As well as a pair of Goldeneye. The male was displaying, throwing his head back in a forlorn attempt to attract the female.

The stars of the show were no less than six Slavonian Grebes which were a lot closer than the ones on Loch Ruthven.

We headed back to the Loch Garten area but failed to find more crested Tits, though some of the group had brief views of a Common Redstart. We then had a longish walk theough the ancient woodland at Forest Lodge.

It is a tricky birding environment but we did find another Tree Pipit as well as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch and Coal Tit.

The best bird however, was this female Scottish Crossbill which happily fed on pine cones above our heads for a good 15 minutes.

And finally on to Nethy Bridge where we had a couple of Goosander on the river.

But I have to end with one of my favourite birds - Dipper! A pair were nesting and we spent some time watching them from a safe distance.

A great way to end the day, and still some time for some "team photos". 

A truly memorable holiday spent with a lovely group of people (Edde we missed you!). Special thanks to the staff at The Grant Arms for looking after us and especial thanks to Ashley & Nick from Oriole Birding. I don't think we would have seen half of those birds without you!