Birdwatching near Rosegrove Guest House

BIRD LOG BOOK

Birds can be seen right outside our dining room. Many species can also be seen in the area, these include;

Grebe, Black Grouse, Crested Tit, Siskin, Wigeon, Osprey, Ring Ouzel, Black Guillemot, G N Diver, Black T Diver, Red Th Diver, Shag, Fulmer, Barnacle Goose, Razorbill, Greenshank, Red B Merganser, Ringed Plover, Golden Eagle, Wheatear, Stonechat, Red Grouse, Longtailed Duck, Common Scoter, Gannet, Velvet Scoter, Slavonian Grebe, Raven, Peregrine, Buzzard, Kestrel,Capercaillie, Dipper, Common Sand, Grey Wagtail, G S Woodpecker, Crossbill, Whinchat, Gold Crest, Goldeneye, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Cuckoo, Ptarmigan, Snow Bunting, Parrot Crossbill, Eider, Purple Sandpiper, Gt Skua, Glaucous Gull,Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, Rock Pipit, Yellow Hammer, Goosander, White Wagtail, Tree Sparrow, Blackcap, Mistle Thrush, Willow Warblers, Treecreeper, Chaffinches, Gt Northern Diver, Golden Plover, Red Kite.

Also, Mountain Hare, Pine Marten, Red Deer, Red Squirrels and Wild Goats.

We recently took a day trip to the beautiful and secluded Findhorn Valley along the Findhorn River, driving some 9 miles into the valley. There we saw herds of deer as well as Oyster Catchers, Dippers with chics, Lapwings and Kestrels.

BIRWATCHING AT ROSEGROVE GUEST HOUSE

Here at Rosegrove, apart from trying to make sure our guests enjoy relaxed, comfortable surroundings with friendly service we would say that if we specialise in anything it is birdwatching. Immediately outside the dining room windows, there is the action! Multiple feeders offering various bird delicacies to attract the usual customers – Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Gold Finches, Green Finches, Sparrows, Collard Doves and at certain times of the year the more unusual, Siskins, Crested Tits, Bramblings, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Garden Warblers, Wrens, Dunnocks, Fieldfares, Nuthatches and my favourites, Long Tailed Tits which come in great flocks of anything upwards of a dozen birds at a time. All these within inches of the windows – birds with breakfast and dinner! Thanks to our wild garden we also have regular visits from Red Squirrels, wild Rabbits and we also have a semi-tame Woodmouse who is amongst the first of the visitors to the ground table every morning. Also gliding past, as only birds of prey can, we often catch sight of Buzzards, Kestrels, Sparrow Hawks and again at certain times of the year, Ospreys and we have even seen a Goshawk flying low over the tops of the trees.

For guests wishing to see other varieties of birds who live in or visit these wonderful Highlands we keep a detailed log book and we are well used to normally sane people leaving their lovely warm beds at some unearthly hour in the morning to go to the Caper watch at Loch Garten or farther afield to Lochindorb or Tulloch Moor to try and spot, amongst other species, Black Grouse. We can also point you in the right direction for Golden Eagles, Crossbills, Red Grouse, Dippers, Red Kites etc. etc.

As I write this at the end of August autumn is fast approaching and the wild flowers and shrubs in the garden are forming seeds and berries so it is ‘alive’ with birds especially first thing in the morning and again at about four o’clock in the afternoon. We have wild raspberries in the garden and I look at them through the windows with plans of how to use them for evening meals but to date I haven’t managed to get my hands on any of them as the birds get there every time!

Bird watching here in the Highlands is not confined just to early spring. Summer, autumn and winter each also offer their own delights. We are very lucky in that the roads are kept clear of snow when it falls and are well salted in icy conditions so access in and out is not a problem. The winter months are very hard for birds to survive so we feed several times a day and the birds come in great flocks; the last time I tried to count the number of ‘visitors’ I gave up at 150. So don’t come and stay with us just in the spring give us a try at other times of the year and if you come in winter you may even be lucky and catch sight of the elusive Crested Tit that only visits our feeders on the very coldest or snowy days. If you come in autumn there is the added bonus of seeing the colours that rival anything that the American Fall can offer, from the purple hues of the Heather and Birch bark through the reds, yellows and golds of trees and shrubs to the bronze of the bracken.