Great days on the hills

The past week has been a bit mixed weather-wise in the hills. But I have managed to grab some brilliant days out on the tops. The shot below of cloud rolling over the summit of Blaven in Skye was taken while I sat out the end of a wet and windy period. I was busy checking greenshank and twite for colour-rings when I looked up and saw these fantastic patterns weaving through the pinnacles.

The next three shots were taken on a traverse of the Grey Corries two days later. Clear blue sky with fluffy clouds, no wind and easy walking once up on the high ground. The snowy peak in the far distance is Ben Nevis. There is so much variety of terrain in the Scottish hills. I'll never be bored.

Seabirds

I was out at the seacliffs today checking on the stage of breeding seabirds. The first kittiwake and guillemot chicks are now hatching.

A newly hatched kittiwake peaks out from under its parent.

If you look closely, you can see tiny balls of fluff under the bellies of the adult guillemots.

Ptarmigan

The first ptarmigan chicks have hatched at the Cairnwell, my main study site. I photographed this hen as she ran around me trying to lure me away from her chicks.

Another hen was off her nest feeding and being escorted by her mate. And another cock bird up on Glas Maol was standing on watch over his hen while she sat on her nest. There was a dunlin nesting close by and I photographed both together, which is unusual.

Greenshanks

Last weekend I went to Sutherland and met up with several other wader enthusiasts to catch and colour-ring greenshanks. This was a pilot study to test how readily we could catch adult and young birds. This proved to be successful and we marked eighteen birds with individual combinations of colour rings and metal BTO rings. One bird we caught was a control of a bird originally ringed at Montrose last autumn. More details should be posted on the Grampian Ringing Group blog site at http://grampianringing.blogspot.com/.

An adult greenshank with colour rings.


A brood of three greenshank chicks with colour rings.


The greenshank which was ringed at Montrose last autumn and breeding in Sutherland in 2010.

Hills

For the first week of my trip I went across to the west and climbed several hills, part for fun and part of study where ptarmigan live, which habitats, over what bedrock etc. I based myself at the KingsHouse in Glen Coe from where the morning view was of the Buachaille Etive Mor, perhaps the finest-shaped hill in Scotland.

I had some great days out on these hills, in sun, and cloud, but no rain or midges. The view below is of the fine ridge climbing up to the summit of Sgorr Dhearg on Beinn a' Bheithir.

Another hill I went up was Beinn Sgulaird in Appin, above Loch Creran, where I found a female ptarmigan sitting on her nest and nine eggs - a large clutch for the western Highlands and an indication of good quality food on the base-rich bedrock in the area.