Glen Strathfarrer: Saturday 30th April 2016
Spent a couple of hours packing the car ready to move on. Said farewell to "Kintulloch" and Inveruglas and drove north on a fine sunny morning, that would have been perfect for making for the hills. Took a little detour to Burghead, a few miles east of Inverness, on the Moray coast - in an attempt to see a White-billed Diver that had been reported there - failed, but did year-tick Arctic Tern, Gannet and Razorbill. After stopping in a local cafe for coffee and carrot cake we moved on. Arrived in Struy too early to enter our accommodation so we took a scenic drive through the nearby Glen Strathfarrer. Only a limited number vehicles are permitted entry to this glen, which extends for ~13 miles from the locked entry gate to a dammed reservoir. It is a National Nature Reserve. There is a mega 4-Munro circuit to be done here - we have done the 4th one as a there and back previously and I'm hoping to tackle the 1st and possibly 2nd while we're here (weather permitting) - but the full circuit involves more than 1500m of ascent and as a concession to general decrepitude, I accept that I probably can't manage that in one day any more. Along the way we found ~100 Red Deer, ~60 summer plumage and moulting Golden Plover, a pair of Whooper Swans and on the reservoir - a distant pair of Red-throated Divers.