Leaders

Duncan Macdonald and Craig Round

Day 1	Arrive at Glen Feshie for 5 nights
Days 2-5	Wildlife and birdwatching exploration throughout Speyside, plus a day on the West Coast
Day 6	Journey to Islay via Oban and the ferry from Kennacraig 4 nights at Bridgend Hotel
Days 7-9	Birdwatching and wildlife exploration on Islay
Day 10	Return by ferry back to the mainland then drive to Speyside 1 night at the Steading
Day 11	Depart after breakfast

Walking	There’ll be some short easy walks on wide paths. Walking boots are recommended.
Weather	Varies from cold to warm and sunny with windy weather regular on the isles (0°-10°C), sun and showers
Insects	Biting insects are unlikely to be a problem
Meals	All included from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 11
Accom	Ballintean Mountain Lodge - double, twin and single ensuite rooms, the last single room will be in a self-contained flat 50 metres from the main building Bridgend Hotel - double, twin and single ensuite rooms
Group	12

The ultimate winter wildlife combination - the best of Speyside, plus the ‘Queen of the Hebrides’, for geese, Chough and possibly the odd dram!!

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	*   Speyside specialities - Capercaillie, Crested Tit, Scottish Crossbill and more
	*   Wintering seaduck, divers, grebes and white-winged gulls
	*   West Coast day for White-tailed Eagle, Black-throated Diver and more
	*   An evening at our hide for Pine Marten and Badger
	*   Huge flocks of Barnacle and White-fronted Geese with chance of rarities
	*   Otter, Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Ptarmigan in white winter plumage
	*   An excellent loch-shore hotel on Islay with great food

Day 1	Dinner together on Wednesday starts the holiday at the Steading.
Days 2-5	The high mountains of the Cairngorms may still be covered in snow at this time of year, making a truly beautiful backdrop to our local birding. From the warmth of our accommodation in Glen Feshie, we’ll enjoy the views, while nearby forests provide excellent chances of Crested Tit, Scottish and Common Crossbill and Red Squirrel. Black Grouse will already be performing at a local lek and we’ll search for Capercaillie in the ancient pines of nearby Abernethy Forest. Wintering Waxwing may linger into this time, while summer Ring Ouzel, Wheatear and Ospreys are just arriving, so we shall be on the aler t. One evening we’ll head to our wildlife hide, where Pine Marten and Badger are regular visitors - with the chance of close up Red Deer, or perhaps a Tawny Owl too. We’ll visit Cairngorm ski area for Snow Bunting and scan for Ptarmigan, still in their beautiful white winter plumage. This is a fabulous season for Golden Eagle encounters in the glens, with birds performing their astonishing ‘switchback’ display over their territories. At dusk, Hen Harriers flight in from the moors to roost at Insh Marshes, where Whooper Swans, Goosander, Goldeneye and a variety of other duck species can all be seen. A visit to the Moray Coast at this time of year is a must, with wintering flocks of Velvet and Common Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and Eider. There’ll be Red-breasted Merganser, Slavonian Grebe, Red-throated and Black-throated Diver and we’ll be on the lookout for Great Northern Diver, or scarcer species like Red-necked Grebe or Surf Scoter. Purple Sandpiper are possible amongst the Turnstones and Pink-footed and Greylag Geese are in the fields. Glaucous and Iceland Gulls sometimes appear and if we hear of any wintering King Eider, we’ll surely take a look! The dramatic peaks and sea lochs around Gruinard Bay make for a memorable day on the remote West Coast. Twite and Great Northern Diver are specialities, Black Guillemot and Shag are common and Otter regularly pop up, but it’s White-tailed Eagle that forms the focus of our quest - all in a spell-binding landscape.
Days 6-9	We journey to Islay through stunning scenery via Oban and south-west to Kennacraig, catching an afternoon ferry. Thousands of Greenland White-fronted Geese and Barnacle Geese occupy every field around RSPB Loch Gruinart. We’ll spend plenty of time enjoying the spectacle and searching through the flocks to find rarer species amongst them. Pale-bellied Brent Geese are likely and several other species have been found, including North American Snow Goose and genuine vagrant Canada Goose, often of the smaller forms, now split as a separate species, known as Lesser Canada Goose. They are surprisingly small and can be the same size as the Brent Geese! Brown Hare are everywhere and Merlin and Peregrine hunt over lagoons where Shoveler, Snipe and Pintail feed. At the dunes of Machir Bay and at Ardnave Point Red-billed Chough are the stars, a species with very limited distribution in Scotland. We’ll also be alert to the chance of Otter, which is relatively common along the shorelines. Loch Gorm has been a good site for rare Snow Goose, whilst the rough moors of the Rhinns are very good for Golden Eagle, Stonechat, Twite and Rock Dove and we’ll check Loch Indaal for all three divers, Scaup and rare gulls such as Ring-billed - we may also pop in to sample a dram at the Bowmore distillery! The evening goose roost at Bridgend is always something special, as thousands of cackling birds drop into the shoreline at dusk against a sunset sky.
Days 10-11	We make the journey back to Speyside and the Steading for our last night, watching out for birds along the way. After breakfast on Saturday we say our farewells.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Golden Eagle	Shoveler	Twite
Barnacle Geese	Eider	Black Guillemot
Greenland White-fronted Geese	Common Scoter	Shag
Barn Owl	Purple Sandpiper	Eider
Chough	Raven	Gannet
Hen Harrier	Peregrine	Red Squirrel
Red-throated Diver	Merlin	Common Seal
Black-throated Diver	Buzzard	Brown Hare
Great Northern Diver	Kestrel	Otter
Long-tailed Duck	Snipe	Roe Deer
Scaup	Rock Dove	Red Deer
Pintail	Stonechat	Short-eared Owl