A Fungi Few Days

Here at the BWWC we were fortunate to have a fungi expert in our midsts recently. Sam Ranscombe joined us to give a talk on the Fungi of Speyside, followed by a Fungi Foray the next morning in our local Anagach Woods. We were certainly not short of fungi to look at. The woods are full of colourful and oddly shaped mushrooms at the moment - some with the telltale nibble marks of hungry Red Squirrels!

Our guests enjoyed learning about the many varieties of fungi to be found here in the Highlands. I certainly learnt a lot - I knew that there were many species of fungi but I hadn't realised just quite how many we had on our doorstep! I'm determined to learn more about the common ones we find here but I certainly won't be eating anything other than Chanterelles...there are too many dangerous lookalikes for my liking!

September's Wildlife Hotspots

Here at the BWWC we are fortunate to have the author of the fabulous book "Best Birdwatching Sites in the Scottish Highlands," Gordon Hamlett, paying us a visit later this month. Gordon will be leading our guests on a wildlife watching tour of Findhorn Valley and Loch Ruthven on Sunday 20th September. Gordon will also be giving a talk on the best birding areas of Scotland that evening, based on the advice and information found in his book.

For those of you not lucky enough to be staying with us on this occasion, here are Gordon's top tips for a successful September of birdwatching in Scotland:

"Seabirds and raptors dominate this month. Sea-watching is always considered one of the dark arts of bird-watching but with the right conditions, you can expect to see good numbers of terns, auks, Gannets, skuas, shearwaters, petrels (more on the west coast), gulls, divers, seaducks and waders.

Chanonry Point on the Black Isle is famous for watching bottlenose dolphins close up but get the weather right (strong winds in the north and east) and you can expect some spectacular sea passage too as birds get forced through the channel between Chanonry and Fort George on the opposite shore.

With the wind in the north and west, visit headlands on the west coast such as Ardnamurchan Point or Point of Stoer at Inverpolly. Another alternative is to take a non-landing ferry trip from Ullapool, across the Minch to Lewis, sea-watching all the way there and back. We tried a similar trip from Uig on Skye to Harris a couple of autumns ago and on a day when the sea was like a millpond, clocked up a minimum count of a quarter of a million seabirds. Spectacular stuff indeed!

Young eagles are on the wing and you can often see family parties flying together - I can remember watching five Golden Eagles and 14 Buzzards soaring in the same thermal at Dunvegan on Skye. Gruinard Bay or the new hide at Inverewe Gardens can produce sightings of White-tailed Eagle. Most valleys hold a pair of Golden Eagles.
Findhorn Valley is the favourite spot for birders but try also Glens Roy, Affric, Cannich and Strathfarrar. Strathconon can easily be combined with a trip to Chanonry Point."

A big thank you to Gordon for that info - and I'm sure the guests staying with us this week aren't disagreeing with him...This week we've had fabulous sightings of Dolphins and Seabirds at Chanonry Point, as well as Buzzards, Kestrels, Peregrines, Wheatear, Dipper, Hen Harrier, Grey Wagtail, Wild Goats, Salmon leaping and hundreds of Red Deer in Findhorn Valley! As you can see from the photo - Findhorn Valley is beautiful both in terms of scenery and wildlife.

Rutland Birdfair and beyond...

Please excuse the pun but doesn't time fly?!

I can't believe it's been over a fortnight since the Birdfair! The BWWC had a fantastic weekend and were really pleased to see some of our previous guests there. We look forward to seeing those of you who booked with us at the Birdfair again in the near future. I've been busy with lots of enquiries from people who visited us at our stand and am also pleased to say that our lucky competition winner from our Birdfair Prize Draw will be arriving for a complimentary week with us at the Grant Arms Hotel very soon!

So now it's all over and back to normal: helping the guests with their enquiries at our evening Briefings, getting ready to learn about the fungi of Speyside with our guest expert who's visiting over the next couple of days, leading some of our guided walks, planning our Special Events for next year and pulling together information for The Watcher. It's a busy job but somebody's got to do it...and I'm very happy that the somebody is me!

Bye for now,

Kirsty Sharratt.

(Programme Organiser)