Scotland Trip - photo highlights

Just back from a fantastically successful five days birding up in Scotland with my Dad, Martin and Paul. We stayed in Aviemore, and took in a selection of sites in Speyside, the NW coast from Little Loch Broom round to Loch Maree (i.e either side of Gairloch), the Moray Firth and the Black Isle... basically cleaning up all the birds we hoped for. Full trip report to follow in due course (with trip list comfortably over 100), but until I've put e-pen to e-paper, here are some snaps of the birds and beasts we saw.... quality ranges from acceptable to truly atrocious (and there may be worse to come!), but hopefully you'll get the idea that it was pretty good. Just ask Paul, who's the proud owner of four more UK ticks!

Saw loads of these, as you'd expect...


Just one of these, a tagged adult, perched and in flight.


8 of these!!!


Plenty of kites around the west side of the Black Isle


Adult Iceland Gull - resulting in a candidate for loudest bird-finder's shout in the history of the world ;)


Ah, so much opportunity for so many bad jokes - I'll resist (for now)


Whopper


Proper Pigeon


About 20 Snow Buntings, they always look far more at home up on the Cairngorms than on a Norfolk coastline


If Suzanne had taken this, it would be captioned a Vestie... but she didn't, so it's just a Hoodie


Another very excited find for Paul!


Impressive Red Deer stag...


...and his missus

And finally one of the Chanonry Point Bottle-nosed Dolphins - unfortunately the camera wasn't out of the bag when one leapt out of the water with a salmon in its mouth!