SCOTLAND IN STYLE MAY 1-10, 2020 ©2019 Please note this tour may be taken in connection with Wild & Ancient Britain with Ireland cruise , May 11-26, 2020. Cairngorms National Park © Andrew Whittaker This short, one hotel tour provides an enormously varied and comprehensive taste of all that the bonnie Scottish Highlands have to offer. During our seven full days based around Strathspey and the spectacular Cairngorms National Park, there will be a varied and flexible daily program of events. Although the main focus is on birding excursions, we will be centrally located to visit many fine castles, battlefields, and sites of historical significance, plus we’ll enjoy a guided visit to a famous Scotch single malt whisky distillery. Scotland in Style, Page 2 The Highlands scenery is the most dramatic in the British Isles: the highest peaks in Britain; extensive remote moorlands; large tracts of ancient woodland of Caledonian Pines; stunning coastal scenery of cliffs, inlets, lochs, and offshore islands; and vast tracts of prehistoric peat bog and fast-flowing, crystal clear rivers. We will target localized and rare specialties such as Eurasian Capercaillie (rare), Black Grouse, Rock Ptarmigan, Willow Ptarmigan (the British subspecies known as Red Grouse, an excellent candidate for a future split and another endemic), the gorgeous Mandarin Duck, the endemic Scottish Crossbill, localized Ring Ouzel, Crested Tit, Horned Grebe, Arctic and Red-throated loon, and raptors such as the striking Red Kite, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Eurasian Buzzard, and Golden and White-tailed eagle (rare). Most of these breed only within the British Isles, exclusively here in this wild region of Scotland, and we have good chances of seeing most of them. There will, of course, be many other, more widespread species that will be of interest to any birders new to European birding, such as Great Spotted Woodpecker; the famous Common Cuckoo; the lovely Tawny Owl; Eurasian Woodcock; colorful Common Shelduck; Little Grebe; Red-legged Partridge; Great, Blue, Coal, and Long-tailed tits; Goldcrest; Eurasian Treecreeper; White-throated Dipper; Eurasian Curlew; Northern Lapwing; Hooded Crow; Eurasian Siskin; Eurasian Greenfinch; Common Chaffinch; Eurasian Bullfinch and magnificent Goldfinch; Red Crossbill; Common Redstart; Whinchat; Eurasian Stonechat; Wood, Garden, Grasshopper, Willow, and Sedge warbler; Greater Whitethroat; Yellowhammer; Tree and Rock pipit; Gray and Pied wagtail; Black Guillemot; Common Pochard; Eurasian Wigeon; Common and Red-breasted mergansers; and Common Goldeneye. Further opportunities exist for watching exciting coastal sites for many more migrants including Pink-footed Geese, breeding Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Sandpiper, European Golden Plover, Eurasian Oystercatcher, and always a highlight are the scenically stunning seabird cliffs with colonies of Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Common Mure, Black Guillemot, Black-legged Kittiwake and Northern Gannet. Scotland in Style, Page 3 The distinctive Scottish race of Willow Ptarmigan (Red Grouse) © Andrew Whittaker We will also have great mammal opportunities to see the shy Pine Martin, European Badger, European and Mountain hare, charming Red Squirrel, both herds of Red and shy solitary Roe deer, Common and Gray seal, Bottle-nosed Dolphin and Harbor Porpoise. There is always the chance of some rarity; on past trips we have found Yellow-billed Loon, Baltic Gull, breeding Redwing and a stunning King Eider. Our specific day-to-day itinerary on this tour will be kept flexible, allowing us to take advantage of local weather and birding conditions. Having such a comfortable base in the midst of so much fine birding gives us leeway in our exact activities and the order in which they will be done. May 1, Day 1: Travel to Inverness, Scotland. Most transatlantic flights from the United States depart in the late afternoon or evening and arrive at Inverness Airport (airport code INV) the following day. NIGHT: In transit (overnight flight) May 2, Day 2: Arrival in Inverness. Participants should make arrangements to arrive in Inverness before noon on May 2. Please note: Our group transfer to Grantown-on-Spey will depart from the Inverness airport at approximately 1:00 p.m. so please plan your arrival accordingly. A transfer will also be provided from Inverness railway station for participants arriving by train on May 2, or overnighting in Inverness on May 1. We will drive 45 minutes to our base in the historic town of Grantown-on-Spey, the capital of Strathspey, in the centre of the Scottish Highlands. It is a traditional Highland town on the River Spey, located on the northern edge of Cairngorms National Park. Grantown-on-Spey is a fine example of a Georgian planned town and one of the first Scotland in Style, Page 4 to be set out in this fashion in the 1760s by Sir James Grant. Grant built mills, factories, a hospital and orphanage at a time when The Clan Grant was established as one of the foremost Highland Clans. It has many historic buildings, a tree-lined square, and striking Georgian and Victorian architecture. This afternoon we will explore along the scenic nearby River Spey (famous for great salmon fishing and its picturesque historic bridges) where we will have a great introduction to the local avifauna. We hope to see the likes of Ring-necked Pheasant, Red-breasted and Common merganser, Common Sandpiper, Eurasian Collared- Dove, Hedge Sparrow (Dunnock), Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Swift, the enigmatic White-throated Dipper, Gray Wagtail, Eurasian Siskin, Common Chaffinch, Rook, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blackbird, European Robin and many more. NIGHT: The Grant Arms Hotel, Grantown-on-Spey A lovely sunset on our fabulous and historic Grand Arms Hotel © Andrew Whittaker May 3, Day 3: Abernethy Forest Reserve; Strathconon Valley; Black Isle & Chanonry Point. Our hotel is adjacent to the Abernethy Forest Reserve (the largest native forest reserve in Britain), which offers spectacular birding in ancient Scottish Caledonian Pine forest. Abernethy Forest offers a unique mix of woodland and northern bog with a great variety of breeding birds. It is the only area in Britain where Eurasian Capercaillie and Crested Tit occur and is home to the British Isles’ only endemic species—Scottish Crossbill—all of which will be prime targets. If we do not succeed after one try, we will certainly offer some optional pre-breakfast attempts as well. Some years with luck we have seen Capercaillie but this is never guaranteed. Other noteworthy species include Scotland in Style, Page 5 Red Crossbill, Common Goldeneye, Whinchat, Common Cuckoo, and a Black Grouse lek as well as the tiny Roe Deer. Before breakfast we’ll take a cool, early birding walk here. We hope to see Eurasian Sparrowhawk; Eurasian Capercaillie (with luck lekking at this time of year); Eurasian Buzzard; Tawny Owl; Common Wood-Pigeon; Tree Pipit; Mistle Thrush; Willow Warbler; Goldcrest; Common Redstart; European Bullfinch; flocks of enigmatic tits including Long- tailed, Crested, Coal and Great tit; and many more species. After a hearty Scottish breakfast, we’ll take a breathtaking drive up the remote, rugged Strathconon The cool looking Crested Tit © Andrew Whittaker Valley—set among rich silver birch forests, open moors, and rushing streams—to stunning Loch Beannacharan, where we will probably have a picnic lunch. En route we will search for Golden Eagle, Eurasian Buzzard, Common Jackdaw, the localized Wood or Garden warbler, Common Greenshank, and Red-throated Diver. On the ‘blanket bog’ peatlands, we’ll look out for European Golden Plovers in stunning summer plumage, Common Snipe (a split from your Wilsons Snipe), Redpoll, Merlin, Northern Wheatear, and Eurasian Stonechat. Carnivorous plants such as sundew, butterwort and bogbean, cotton grass, and bog asphodel are special to the area, where herds of magnificent Red Deer are often encountered. The prime reason to visit the picturesque Black Isle area this afternoon is for the magnificent Red Kites, which were persecuted to extinction throughout the UK during the 19 th century, with the exception of low numbers in A magnificent raptor— the Red Kite graces the Scottish skies © Andrew Whittaker Wales. In the last two decades, they have been re-introduced to England and Scotland, with magnificent results. This region is the hotspot for these stunning raptors which, as temperatures rise, grace the air soaring and hunting mostly for dead rabbits and other road kill. Scotland in Style, Page 6 Chanonry Point is a spit of land extending over a mile southeast into the Moray Firth. The ness projects so far that Chanonry Point actually lies southwest of Fort George, which we will clearly see across on the “south” shore of the Moray Firth. The ferry pier at Chanonry Point dates back to the mid-1700s when the nearby Ferry House was also built. Today, however, it has become a tourist attraction for another reason—to watch the dolphins! The Moray Firth dolphins are justly famous as one of the most northerly resident group of Bottle-nosed Dolphins with some of the largest individuals of their species, as well as Harbor Porpoise and Common Seals too. The bay is also good for sea ducks with flocks of gorgeous Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Greater Scaup and some loons too. NIGHT: The Grant Arms Hotel, Grantown-on-Spey May 4, Day 4: The Famous Culloden Battlefield (National Trust for Scotland) & Loch Garten RSPB Reserve. This morning we’ll visit the famous historic battlefield at Culloden and its high-tech visitor center. Here we’ll learn all about the battle between Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Scottish Jacobites who were defeated on this bleak moor in 1746. Birding the battlefield should also be rewarding and we can enjoy the Skylarks singing from high above, to European Stonechats, Reed Buntings, and Willow and Sedge warbler. The Loch Garten reserve of RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is the area where Ospreys first recolonized Britain after almost a century’s absence.