HIGHLAND BIRDRACE SPECIAL

Sat 28 Feb– Sat 7 Mar 2009
               

EARLY BIRDER PRICE £825pp, no single supplement.

The Early Birder catches the lowest price at Heatherlea. Our prices may increase as time goes by, but if you book and pay your deposit now, you get this Early Birder price. If you have ‘Been Before’, you can take a further £25 from the price shown here. There is no single supplement, and singles are never expected to share at The Mountview Hotel.

‘Worldbird’ guests can save a full £100pp – see 'Special Offers' for details.

The Highland and Moray Birdrace takes place on Sunday 1 March 2009, and will involve one full day in typical birdrace mode – chasing around the Highlands ticking as many birds as possible! If you have never taken part in a birdrace before, come and enjoy the Highland version. Heatherlea will organise everything for you including our route and transport, and you will also have the chance to mingle with Highland birders at the round-up in Nairn at the end of the event. We will start around 6am and finish around 5pm, so be assured this isn’t an exhausting 24 hour birdrace, it is much more relaxed than that.

Day 1 (Saturday)
Arrival, welcome, dinner and briefing. Don’t forget our courtesy collection service from Aviemore.

Day 2 (Sunday)
This is a day in typical birdrace mode – chasing around the Highlands ticking as many birds as possible! If you have never taken part in a birdrace before, come and enjoy the Highland version. Heatherlea will organise everything for you including our route and transport. Should the annual Highland and Moray Bird Race take place in 2008, you will also have the chance to mingle with Highland birders at the round-up in Nairn at the end of the event. If there is no formal event, Heatherlea will still organize a birdrace day of our own. We start around 6am and finish around 6pm, so be assured this isn’t an exhausting 24-hour event, it is much more relaxed. Winning totals will be around 100 species, with a very different ‘cast list’ than a birdrace day in England. We will round up a couple of specialities, perhaps Crested Tit and Scottish Crossbill, maybe add Capercaillie (a splendid entry on the birdrace list in 2007!), and then head for coastal regions where our list will expand enormously, with many winter ducks and waders to pick up.

Day 3 (Monday) – Day 7 (Friday)  
For the rest of the week we enjoy a Highland exploration rounding up the rest of Scotland’s winter birds. Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Ptarmigan, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Crested Tit and Scottish Crossbill will be high on our agenda, and we also collect winter visitors including Surf, Velvet and Common Scoter, Great Northern, Black and Red-throated Diver amongst many more. After the birdrace we should pick up a good list of rarities. Ring-billed Gull, Smew, Green-winged Teal, Mediterranean Gull and American Wigeonare often around, and this is much more of a ‘listing’ break than our other holidays. We will have a target of around 120 Highland winter species, so grab our special birdlist for this week only, and tick a few new species!

Day 8 (Saturday)
Breakfast and departure. Don’t forget our courtesy return service to Aviemore.

NOTES FROM A HEATHERLEA HIGHLAND BIRDRACE SPECIAL

This holiday is crafted round the idea of a bird race, popular in different parts of the country among birders. On the day of the Bird Race, teams of four to five contest with each other to see or hear as many wild bird species as they can. At least two members of the team must agree to the identification of a bird. Although the competition maybe quite ‘hot’, everyone is out to have a good time with the emphasis on fun!

The name of our team was the Heatherlea Caperers, and after the Sunday Bird Race Day, we continued to caper around the Highland and Moray areas, keeping the bird race theme alive by endeavouring to see how many birds could be located each day, and continuing to build on our tally from the Bird Race.

Sunday 19th Feb.

 We left the Mount View Hotel at 6.15 a.m., travelling along the B970, looking out for owls on fence posts as we went. A Tawny Owl was heard up in Tulloch. Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Mallard were seen on a loch by the B970.

We then drove up a track in hope of seeing Capercaillie, but without success. A comfort stop was very welcome at Jonny’s house, where Great, Blue and Coal Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Dunnock, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Great Spotted Woodpecker were added to the list. On a local moor a Bullfinch family, Black Grouse and Stonechat showed up in quick succession. Heatherlea guide Mike had found some Waxwings close to his home which we quickly located. Not far outside Nethybridge we stopped by a field full of passerines including Brambling and Goldfinch. We continued up that road to moorland where Red Grouse were heard calling and a Sparrowhawk flew across our path. By this time Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Buzzard, Siskin, House Sparrow, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove and Starling were all accounted for. Just by Abernethy Church, we stopped to verify the identification of a Song Thrush, which it turned out to be. But as can so often happen on occasions like these, we also saw a Yellowhammer and a Reed Bunting in an Elder bush just outside the churchyard! Before leaving Strathspey for the coast, a Dipper was seen on the River Spey, Crossbills were heard in woods near Grantown, Wren, Crested Tit and Long tailed Tit were seen and Goldcrest was heard just outside Nethybridge. Pheasant, Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Redwing and Greylag Geese were observed in fields on our way to the A9.

 We travelled north past Inverness seeing Cormorant, Feral Pigeon, Herring, Common, Black headed and Greater Black-backed Gulls along the way to the Black Isle. We stopped off for Tree Sparrow before adding Linnet, Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, Hooded Crow, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin, Bar tailed Godwit, Long tailed Duck, Scaup, Red breasted Merganser, Turnstone and Ringed Plover to our list. At a comfort stop we found a colony of Fulmars on a sandy cliff. Most appropriately, our last species for the Black Isle was a Red Kite. We were really astonished not to have seen a Pied Wagtail all this time!

 Pink footed Geese were in the fields on the way to Moray, but we had no time to stop, as we were a bit behind schedule with other important waders, ducks and a rarity still to find. Our first stop was near Findhorn, where Common & Velvet Scoter, Gannet and Eider were added to the tally. Before our final stop along the Moray Coast we spotted two Magpies. Further additions were Shag, Golden Plover, Purple Sandpiper, Knot, Sanderling, Little Grebe and Pied Wagtail at last!

 It was time to turn around, but not before finding a female Smew on a small secluded loch, where Moorhen was also seen. It seemed only right to call in on the park in Elgin, where we found Coot. A flock of Whooper Swans were spotted in a field before Nairn. Whilst having a cup of tea at the harbour we were joined by a Rock Pipit. We thought it was all over, but just as we were getting out of the minibus at the Golf View Hotel, a Treecreeper started calling from the hotel grounds. We had reached the magical total of 90 species, which was the winning total of the Frozen Blue Tits team last year! However, this year the Heatherlea Caperers had to content themselves as the runners up. We were superseded by the Moray Sandpipers, with a spectacular total of 103 bird species.

 The Heatherlea Caperers also saw four mammals;- Red Deer, Roe Deer, Rabbit and Brown Hare.

All guests expressed how much they had enjoyed the Bird Race and its accompanying week. As to their highlights, the Waxwings and Bramblings, the day on the mountain and actually seeing Ptarmigan was much appreciated, as were the excellent views of Scottish Crossbills later that day, but the sightings of both White tailed and Golden Eagles were always going to steal the show.

Carol informed us that she had 45 year ticks and 9 lifers on this trip. Yvonne had 38 year ticks and one new lifer for her British list, which was Ptarmigan. Other participants had fewer new birds, but lots of fun!

Notes by Heatherlea guide Jonny Pott

Field Notes

Expect a wide variation of weather. Cold winds and snow are likely. Bring warm clothing, waterproofs, and walking boots or shoes. Walking will generally be easy, although mountain walking on Ptarmigan day can be strenuous. Heavy snow can make travel by bus or foot difficult, and we will be flexible according to the conditions. Bring binoculars and a telescope if possible. A camera may be useful too! You don't need flasks for hot drinks or wellies. Biting insects are not expected.

What's included in your holiday price

• Seven nights comfortable accommodation at The Mountview Hotel, VisitScotland rated 3 Star. All rooms are en-suite, with colour TV and hospitality tray. There is no single supplement, and guests are never expected to share. Single guests may be upgraded to double room accommodation at no extra charge.
• Full Scottish breakfast, a substantial packed lunch, and a delicious dinner.
• Six full days birdwatching.
• All transport by comfortable PCV minibus. All estate access and ferry fees.
• Guidance from a professional Group Leader
• Checklist to record sightings and notes

What's not included in your holiday price

• Transport to The Mountview Hotel.
• Insurance, drinks and other items of a personal nature.

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