High Dip for Hedwig

Ptarmigan thinking it can hide

Well after my run of form (err, popping along the A1 to peek at Common Crane and Egyptian Goose) I was clearly feeling a little overconfident! Tempted by the chance of a lifer Snowy Owl in stunning winter scenery I headed up the A9 early to try to maximise time up in the 'tick zone'. No easy trip this, 8 hours of walking in outstanding (but fairly invisible, as it turned out) scenery, with the added bonus of the excitement of ensuring personal survival on the Ben Macdui plateau as well. Full winter kit, crampons, map, compass, all proved essential - in fact navigating off the plateau had to be done in zero visibility - great for brushing up on winter skills - not great for spotting a white owl in cloud on a snow blanket! Think the tops may have cleared just as I was descending...

ex-Ptarmigan... only signs I saw of a Snowy Owl on Ben Macdui today (assuming that's what killed it?...)

Looking forward to connecting with Snowy Owl sometime soon...

Snowy Owl twitching kit - binoculars optional #birding #benmacdui twitter.com/morgithology/s…
— Geoff Morgan (@morgithology) March 3, 2013

Spring has arrived

A Chiffchaff was singing in the back garden first thing yesterday morning. Maybe the haar was so thick it couldn't really tell where it was but it moved on pretty sharpish!

Today was beautifully sunny and I spent some time in the garden in the afternoon. It has been all work recently but even still I felt a little guilty lying down for a spot of skywatching. Hoping for an early Osprey or a white-winged gull but not really expecting to see anything of note I hadn't even bothered to fetch the camera. Of course I wish I had now as a cracking Merlin motored north at about 5:30pm. The third I've seen from the garden, this one flew North along a route that was an almost perfect repeat of the bird I saw in equally hot and clear weather on 10 April 2011 - I wonder if it was the same bird? A great sighting and really makes up for the absence of Lothian birding for me over the last few weeks.

Only other recent notable sightings were on a work trip up to the Glenshee area last weekend. Some fantastic white Ptarmigan moulting into their summer plumage along with plenty of Mountain Hares, looking similarly out of place.