Two visits were made to the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay, the first, Monday 16th May, was a wet day, too wet to get the camera out and served as a reccie, and a worthwhile visit it was too.
Though wet, and we didn't see dolphins or porpoises, we did see an osprey and a seal, most likely a common seal, among other species as well.
A weblink for those who want to find out more is: https://dolphincentre.whales.org/
A return visit was on the cards, for a drier day at least, and taking into consideration the cafe was closed Tuesday and Wednesday every week, it was to be Thursday 19th, which turned out to be a nice sunny day.
Though a dolphin and porpoise centre, they do have a statue of an osprey with a salmon in tis talons.
The first sighting was this magnificent looking dunnock, watching over the car park.
The bay itself was magnificent, well, in my eyes it was, with or without the sun, and overall my kind of place to wander around, a nice mix of coast, estuary and inland.
and looking up the River Spey,
There were a couple of very sleek looking birds in the sky....
A pair of RAF Typhoons returning to nearby RAF Lossiemouth (affectionately known as RAF Lossie locally)
Back to nature, my guess, a common orchid, but I welcome any corrections
More orchids and some gorse among others..
And for some delicate as well as sleek looking birds, a goldfinch
the house martins and swallows were busy...
A pied wagtail
and on a picnic bench seat, waiting to nip down for some crumbs....
A jackdaw with a dodgy leg, looking splendid against the yellow backdrop of gorse
A rook looking a bit ruffled in the strong breeze
More house martins and swallows....
You can make out the insect about to be taken...
There was a lot of activity, and it was a brilliant day.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Wendy S said:It was a good trip Mike but very windy, I still need to check my notes to check what we did see
I look forward to reading your report.
PimperneBloke said:Super stuff Mike... some real contenders for the photobombing thread with your martins and swallows lol
Thanks PB.
Probably a good time to give the photobombing thread a bit of a boost.
Lynn L said:Wow yet another lovely visit Mike, having a job here keeping up with your great posts ️ Glad you have a worthwhile trip.
LOL
Thank you.
That's the last for a wee while.
Someone did mention they'd noticed my absence, and my reply was along the lines, I'm back with vengeance LOL
Hi Mike,
Caught up with this at last, we appear to have been standing in virtually the same place as you a month earlier and had similar weather with quite a few showers.
Great action shots of the Martins and Swallows on the wing. It was one of our favourite locations on our Scottish trip, hope you enjoyed it as much as we did
Thanks for posting.
Trevor
You're welcome, and thank you for reading and replying.
I think it is a fabulous place, and would love it on my doorstep (Mrs PR wouldn't cos she'd never see me, but at least she would know where I am ). I never managed to venture far, but the bits I did get to were awesome. it looks like the walk upstream would be a very fabulous walk, likewise walking back along the road inland.
It's definitely on my list for a return visit next time we're up that way, dolphins or no dolphins, and the cafe (which may have been closed when you were there) is perfect.