Birding in Abernethy forest

Hello!  I'm new here.  I'm planning a birding trip to Abernethy forest with my daughter for a special birthday.  A fully guided holiday would be too expensive, but are there any guided walks which would help us?  Also, can anyone recommend where to stay?

  • Hi Charlotte & welcome. I can't really help with the birding bit (as the Loch Garten osprey nest is currently ospreyless) but you should be able to find a reasonable B&B in Kingussie or Newtonmore and Aviemore is also very close. I have stayed at the Loch Insh Watersports Centre which is basic but has a decent restaurant & at the other end of the loch an osprey nest. If you need something else to do I can recommend the Highland Wildlife Park & also the Highland Folk Museum. The Loch Garten osprey visitor centre is also well worth a visit even with the (at the moment) absence of osprey. Ian

  • Hi
    It's been more than a decade since I lived up there, so I have no idea if there are now guided walks or not, apart from one which used to run from the Osprey centre which was every Wednesday morning around 9 am - best to check at the centre for an update.
    I would recommend getting a detailed map of the area and there are many places you can go and get a 'feel' for the countryside and the amazing views and diversity of wildlife e.g.:
    1. Parking your car at RSPB Forest Lodge is a 'must'. Follow any of the trails around the lodge for stunning scenery and a chance of many different species of birds.
    2. If the Wednesday morning guided walk is not running when you are there park on the Loch Mallachie car park and do the trail around Loch Mallachie.
    3. Venture out towards Inverness then turn left on the A9 and drive down the Findhorn Valley (away from the sea)as far as you can to the car park, then get out and walk for as long as you like. Keep eyes peeled for Golden Eagles and red deer.
    4. Findhorn Bay is a great place to see Ospreys fishing in the estuary if you time your visit to coincide with the tides. Good pubs with great beer and seafood.
    5. Channory Point (next to the lighthouse) is a must - harbour porpoise very close to the shore - again if you time your visit with the tides. Red Kites in abundance in the area.
    I am sure others will have their favourites.
    Places to stay depend on your budget. There are many cottages to rent, a camp site just up the road from Loch Garten, or if you are feeling 'flush' the Boat Hotel in Boat of Garten does amazing food.
    Enjoy!
  • Hello Charlotte, we camped in Granton on Spey, a lovely place with lots of different shops, a great butchers and a fab chippy chop. We have also rented a cottage in Nethy Bridge, a little place, but does have a nice hotel. Boat of Garten also near, but not stayed anywhere there. All places not very far, only several miles, Granton roughly 20miles, from the RSPB centre. As Ian has said, to date there are no Osprey's back to Loch Garten but they will have walks and trails to do and will have all the literature in the centre, which is also well worth a visit. If you google accommodation BB, hotels or self catering around the area I am sure you will find something to suit.

  • Hi there...there is accommodation for every budget,,,a good place to start is here

    visitcairngorms.com/boatofgartenaccommodation.html

    and if you want to splash out there is the spa resort of MacDonald hotels in Aviemore....

    and the Coylumbridge Hotel about a mile up the road towards Cairngorm skiing area....

    Aviemore is about 7 miles from Boat of Garten. There is also a good selection in Nethy Bridge which would be worth searching for in the Visit Scotland link above.

    Hope this helps

    Henry x
  • Hello Charlotte. It's a lovely area to explore on foot, by bike or car. I have been a few times since I became an ospreyholic, but I have not been on any guided walks, so sadly cannot advise. I am sure there are others who could point you in the right direction who either live in the area or who used the services of a guide.

    Cartridge would be a good centre too.

  • Nethy Bridge & Aviemore area is always nice - there's lots of walking around there, take a look at the www.walkhighlands.co.uk/.../ website, you'll find a load of routes of varying lengths & distances on there. We particularly enjoyed the Ryvoan Pass one, took a taxi to the start in Glenmore and walked back to where we were staying near Nethy. If you're there at the right time of year, have a meal on the www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk/ from Aviemore - dinner on a steam train chuffing through the countryside is very relaxing :-)
  • That's great. Thank you all so much, especially CRinger.

    We're not travelling 550 miles to see ospreys. It's not that we wouldn't love to, but we have seen them nesting in Wales, and even spotted one flying over Winchester on migration. We want to see crested tits, and capercaillie, and Scottish crossbills, and golden eagles. I really hope we do.
  • The 'Mallachie' trail can be very good for cresties. There is also a small wood on your left hand side as you are about to come into Boat of Garten Village from the Osprey centre where I have regularly seen them. Capercaillie are problematic, although a visit to the Osprey centre even during the day can be rewarding with the odd male seen lurking close to the Osprey nest. Crossbills shouldn't be a problem - get your ear tuned to their flight call, although you will be very hard pushed to say whether they are common, Scottish or parrot. I know only of 1 man who can identify them by their call and he spend hundreds of hours recording and listening to sonograms. Even in the hand experts often cannot identify which species they are holding because of the overlap of wing and beak sizes.
    Good hunting!