Lunch out with award winners..

The young stag often appears behind the house in Farigaig Forest to have a good munch of the undergrowth and a good long stare at us. It was very windy this morning and as we stood looking at all the wildlife in the garden the stag was suddenly spooked by a terrific gust of wind and took off at great speed up towards Aspenwood Cottage. The birds flew off and the goldcrest was nearly blown over like a leaf. However it was quite mild today, about 7C although snow is forecast for Sunday night with temperatures of minus 1C. Went to the local Dores Inn for a very enjoyable lunch with friends from the Pottery House B&B in Dores to celebrate their new "Travellers Choice Award 2009" from Trip Advisor for "Best Inns and B&B's in Europe"... out of the best ten they are number 5 in the whole of Europe ! Well worth a celebration.

RSPB Garden Birdwatch

The weekend of 24th-25th January is the Big Garden Birdwatch.

As a member of the RSPB we were asked to record the highest number of each species of bird seen at any one time in the garden during one hour this weekend. This helps the organisation learn more about the various birds and how they are faring throughout the country. After putting out a variety of foods at the feeding stations it was very relaxing to sit down and watch the different species come to eat. During the hour I recorded; blackbirds, blue tits, chaffinches, coal tits, dunnocks, goldcrests, great tits, long tailed tits, robins and a treecreeper. I did spot an unusual male Blackcap in the shrubbery and got quite excited when it actually landed on the bird table. It was an aggresive little thing and did not like sharing the food.

Watch it in action.

View down Loch Ness.

Yesterday was quite bright, clear and calm with a touch of chilly frost in the air. Went for a walk along the lane and down on to Inverfarigaig pier. Someone has kindly put a smart new gate at the entrance and also trimmed the gorse bushes...perhaps the Loch Ness spirits. The view down towards Fort Augustus was enveloped with snow capped mountains. The view towards Urquhart Castle and Inverness looked very tranquil. Could well be calm before the storm as rain is forecast for later today so the snow on tops might be washed away.

Goldcrest on the move.

The tiny goldcrest is the smallest bird in the UK and therefore usually quite difficult to actually see. It feeds on insects and spiders underneath vegetation but this cheeky female has developed a taste for the peanuts in the feeders. She has also been spotted on the fat balls hanging from the branches. They flit about very quickly and we have not had them in the garden before - or have we ?
See her enjoying breakfast.

Eye of the storm.

Loch Ness did not experience the gale force winds that hit the west coast and Ireland at the weekend. On Saturday evening we did have a few strong gusts travel along The Great Glen and rattle the windows but possibly we were in the eye of the storm. Woke up in the morning to a covering of snow everywhere. Went into Inverness passing Urquhart Castle jutting out on the opposite shore and silhouetted against the snowy background.

Work of art......

The rain and strong winds have finally died down and we are once again able to appreciate the clear skies and the magnificent scenery. The mountains opposite now have a light dusting of snow on tops and today the temperature has gradually dropped to about zero degrees. Drove into Inverness passing 3 buzzards. One was on a tree by lochside and two were on the outskirts of the city sitting on the tops of lamp posts with their brown and cream coats gleaming in the afternoon sunshine. The strange eerie mist coming along the Great Glen sometimes makes the mountains look like a work of art you want to frame and put on the wall.

Goldcrest returns.

The goldcrest is Britain's smallest bird,even smaller than the wren and weighing about one quarter of an ounce therefore making it quite difficult to spot in the garden. They tend to scurry rapidly around tree trunks and vegetation, rarely keeping still.This one certainly didn't want to pose for a photo shoot.I happened to notice a slight movement in a bush nearby while I was outside and then spotted the female goldcrest darting in and out of the shrubbery foraging for insects and spiders. The female has a gold or yellow crest on the head while the male has a distinctive bright orange crest. Both have double whitish wing bars making them appear like miniature chaffinches. They do seem to thrive in coniferous woodland and their numbers are always severely reduced by a severe winter so let's hope they find enough to eat in the garden. Will keep a lookout for the male of the species.

Feed the birds.

During the very cold snap we have been experiencing lately the birds have been swarming round the various feeding stations desperate for any help with food. Unusually we have had blackbirds on the fat balls and the tiny goldcrest appeared fleetingly under the bird table picking up scraps.The ground has been frozen solid and we have had to use alot of force to break the thick ice in their water bowls and this ice is still lying on the ground. Yesterday we had a welcome thaw with refreshing rain and the temperature rose above freezing.However, during the night there was a star studded sky which allowed a sharp frost to settle with temperatures of minus 3C all day today with minus 7C forecast tonight. Fortunately this is not as cold as predicted for England and Wales and the rest of Europe.

The year of the red squirrel.

2008 was certainly the best year so far for seeing the native red squirrel in the garden. They visited regularly throughout the year, whatever the weather, whatever the season. We kept them well supplied with nuts and water as well as other tasty titbits. Let's hope they enjoyed their visits so much that they keep coming in 2009. The blogger team wish all readers a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.