Everything.....including the kitchen sink
I just love when I get people coming back for another Nature Nuts tour, as it indicates I might be doing something right and today was one of those occasions. Claire and Lynn had not long ago been at my woodland hide and what I can glean from their visit they had a tremendous time watching woodpeckers, jays, red squirrels and pine martens amongst other things. My other guests that joined us in the evening for the beavers were Verity, Naomi and Sophie; they had all joined me on a beaver tour earlier in the year apart from Sophie.
So, first up were Lynn and Claire, a lovely pair of girls from Stonehaven that agreed to meet me at silly o’clock (0600). I tip my hat to both girls as they were up at even sillier o’clock (0300) to get to me. We all met at a wee bit earlier than the agreed time and I was still getting ready packing my gear in the car (this IS important to note for future reference in the story). Now, Lynn is more than meticulous in her preparation and I can assure you that every piece, and I mean EVERY piece, of photographic equipment, kitchen, larder and fridge at her disposal was in her boot, back seat and on top of Clare!!! Poor wee Claire had a totty wee handbag with a single sandwich, and one of those pocket cameras and nothing else as there was no more room in the Audi. Worse was yet to come though, we had to decamp the whole bloody lot into MY car!!! So, with roof rack on, trailer hooked up and a back up bus following with all the provisions and extra equipment, and Clare strapped down on top of the trailer, we headed for the hills. Before anybody kicks off, Clare had 5 layers on so she was just fine, in fact I persuaded her to lose a layer when travelling as everybody has heard the old adage, “you’ll never feel the benefit once you get there”. I don’t think Claire did feel the benefit as she never said a word for hours, but I just think she was overawed with the whole experience!!!
So onwards and upwards into Cairngorm National Park and our first task: getting Claire her first Munro. The weather, although dry, was quite misty looking on the peaks but this didn’t deter my intrepid pair and of we set. Multiple flocks of grouse were spotted on the way up and also a small herd of Red stags moving into the mist. I think both girls managed to get pictures of the animals, I know I didn’t. As we walked up the hill we saw a huge amount of mountain hares and red grouse and although I hunted around the usual ptarmigan hot spots, none were spotted. I’ll give the girls their due, they conquered the hill in no time and we settled down behind the obligatory cairn to have a celebratory dram (in special bespoke nip glasses from Lorraine Irvine Art) , cup of coffee and a bite to eat. It was at this stage I realised that I hadn’t been as meticulous in my packing as Lynn had been…..I’d left my sandwiches at home!!! Claire had half her single sandwich, Lynn had a banquet and I made do with munching some lovely lichen that I found on some of the rocks.
On our descent we did spot one female ptarmigan in flight but other than that a no show from these beautiful birds. However, we parked up in a wee gully, and had some great sightings of the hares, such beautiful animals. We then stopped off at the café and had a bite to eat (thankfully not more lichen) and headed to the hide. On our way there we had viewings of buzzards, it seemed to be a theme of the day in all honesty. At the hide we had great fun, squirrels ripping about literally only feet from us, jays in good numbers, woodpeckers, the return of a dunnock, variety of the usual birds and a wee woodmouse plus a new addition, a young cock pheasant. At the pond just along from the hide we did spot a few smaller dragonflies but there weren’t any of the big ones on show for the girls. We had intended to leave the hide around 1430 but the girls were having a great time photographing the hide visitors, so much so we ended up leaving over an hour later.
From the hide I took the girls to see some beaver habitat and I think they we quite impressed at what they saw. Personally, I just love the place and witnessing all the work the beavers had carried out still blows my mind. I don’t ever tire of showing my guests around this place and it really is a very special place. This was a wee taster of the evenings visit but before our visit to the beavers we went a wee waterfall.
A lovely place to visit and witness and although we had the gorgeous autumnal colours we were probably a wee bit late in getting there to appreciate it fully as the sunlight had dipped below the tree line and it wasn’t as spectacular in dull light as it is with a wee splash of sunlight. From there we went to meet the rest of my evening visitors, the gorgeous Verity and her lovely girls Naomi and Sophie. Once all were introduced we headed to the river and were pretty much instantly entertained by a kingfisher.
Him and his mate were regular sights zipping up and down the river with its easily identifiable “chee chee-chee” call. We had a few brief and teasing sightings by a yearling beaver before the majority of the family came out, unfortunately it was getting really dark by this stage and we all decided to call it a night. So with Claire safely tied up on the roof rack this time (I like to give my clients something different) we headed home.
I must admit, I had a great day meeting up with previous clients again and hopefully I’ll see them all again soon….thank you ladies, it was a pleasure. As an aside, when we decanted everything back into the Audi, we realised Lynn hadn’t forgotten the kitchen sink…..we’d just left it in her boot alongside my sandwiches.
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