A gaggle of geese

Hi folks,

I hope this blog post finds you all well. I’m well and truly back in the swing of things since my holiday – amazing how quickly normal life resumes after two weeks of sunshine and relaxation. As predicted, we didn’t get round to as much wildlife watching as we had hoped – and the one time we made a special effort and booked on a three hour whale and dolphin cruise, the sea was so choppy, we saw absolutely nothing...EXCEPT we did see an (empty)osprey nest on the sea cliffs off Los Gigantes! Shame there were no ospreys though...

Anyhow, my fears that I would miss most of the autumn glory were totally unfounded and I returned to a blaze of colour, which is still lingering. The birch and aspen trees have been utterly breathtaking and even the non-natives have put on a show – the larch and Norway maple in particular. It’s my second favourite time of year (surpassed only by those tantalising last weeks of winter and first weeks of early spring) and it’s difficult not to just while away the hours standing and drinking in the wonderful scenery before me.

The first week of November also saw the first smatterings of snow on the tops. The sign of things to come.

The highlight of the season so far was just this week, when I helped out Alison Greggans, our Community Ranger, at a Goose Roost event at Loch Garten. Ali had already been down at the loch in the early morning, with Caper-watch pro and regular volunteer Kenny McGowan, and they estimated 1,500 wild greylag geese took off from the loch after roosting there overnight. Expectations were understandably high that we would witness similar numbers coming in to the loch in the evening.

 A few folk came along to join us just before dusk settled, and we all waited patiently, sipping soup to ward off the creeping cold. The loch was still and silent as we kept our eyes to the skies and our ears open, listening for the first long-travelled, wild Icelandic greylags (or possibly Greenlandic!). Time wore on and we were starting to wonder whether they’d got wind of the forecast snow and decided to make southerly tracks instead of hanging around for a few more days in Strathspey. But, patience paid off and I’m pleased to say we weren’t to be disappointed.  After the first few dribs and drabs of up to thirty geese at a time, which was wonderful to see, we suddenly heard the calls of an unmistakably larger grouping, getting nearer and nearer. Necks craning and eyes squinting into the gathering darkness, we were eventually rewarded with the sight of the first geese making up a huge skein, flying over the tops of the Scot’s pines at the head of Loch Garten, and low, right over our heads. And they kept on coming. It was an utterly breathtaking and joyful experience. Their calls as they flew over us were incessant and their wing beats were audible above the cacophony. In all, we reckon there were 500 in that group, and more followed. What an experience. I did take a short film of the event – really just a sound recording, as the loch was too dark for my phone to cope with, but I‘m afraid I can’t upload it onto the blog, but it is on our facebook page (RSPB Operation Osprey) and Twitter account (RSPBLoch Garten). It’s a shame I can’t share it with you here - it’s a lovely piece, with the greylags gradually building in volume and the delighted “oohs!” and “aahs!” of the gathered spectators. Hey ho, catch it elsewhere if you can. We hung around, listening to the calls of the geese on the water as they settled for the night, but eventually the cold got to us and we had to make tracks. But we went home with a song in our hearts after such an uplifting experience – the power of nature to uplift the soul, like nothing else on the planet.

Other wildlife spots on the reserve since my last blog include: hen harriers; barn, tawny and long eared owls; woodcocks; fieldfares; whooper swans; pink footed geese; goosanders; crested tits; capercaillie; and even a red kite – one of just a handful seen on Abernethy over the last ten years. There are, of course, the usual red and roe deer and red squirrels too and obviously this list is not exhaustive!

I’m delighted to say that one of the capercaillie sightings was my own – and in true capercaillie form, it was quite by chance. Also described as a “bump-into-bird”, I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see a female caper sitting on the track just a few metres in front of my car as I was driving to Forest Lodge yesterday. It really does go to show that whilst ninety-nine times out of a hundred, searching for them often ends in disappointment (not to mention potential disturbance to this rare, hugely protected and vulnerable bird), just occasionally, you get a wonderful chance encounter.  I hadn’t seen a female caper for some time, so my heart was in my mouth and I willed her to stay-put for just a few seconds longer. I’m pleased to say she hung around long enough for me to get a few out of focus, distant shots with my phone, before flying off, low through the forest. How lucky was that?!!

Finally, some news on the internet situation at the Osprey Centre. Unfortunately we’ve already had a false start with installation – Peter was up here just yesterday and discovered a fault with the dish (or some of the other technology – he did tell me, but to be honest, I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about! Just kept nodding and saying “Hmmm...yes”), so we’ve had to order another one. He did manage to do most of the cabling groundwork though and installed a new computer – hopefully this alone will make a difference to the set-up. We’ll have to wait and see when the new dish will arrive – hopefully not too long.

So, watch this space and keep your fingers crossed that second time round all goes well and the technical stuff works out ok! No-one will be more relieved than me if it does! Thank you for your patience!

Greylag goose info here: https://goo.gl/K37TfH