6th April 2024
The forecast for this walk was clear skies but very high gusts of wind.
Understandably 3 guests pulled out but 2 decided it was worth a go to see what would show themselves in the challenging conditions.
We had an early view of a Red Kite being chased off by Lapwings and Red Grouse displaying and calling everywhere. Some stunning male Stonechat which all appeared to have a lot of white on their wings, don't remember this trait here before but will keep an eye on it throughout the season. But the real stars of the day had to be the Ring Ouzel. Judging on dates from previous year I was fairly confident we would find them but doubt always creeps in. We must have spent a total of around 2 hours watching a male and female Ring Ouzel feeding on a nearby hillside. Through the scope we had great views and I was most pleased that both of the guests, Clare and Suzanne, were happy and didn't feel the need to get closer. Keeping your distance is so important, particularly when birds are setting up territories.
