Speyside Honeymoon

The morning after our wedding on 31 May we left Lochside House Hotel at Loch o' th' Lowes in Ayshire (where we woke up to the sounds of Snipe and Redshank), and headed north to the Highlands for our honeymoon. Since we would be travelling half way around the globe in the coming month I thought at least we should spend some time in our own country. I say that, but in reality I had an undergrad field course near Pitlochry from the 8-15 June, so we relaxed at the luxurious Beaver Creek Lodge near Aviemore before departing for something more adventurous around the world later in June. 

The highlights included Slavonian Grebe, Crested Tit, Scottish/Parrot Crossbill, Snow Bunting, Dotterel, and Goldeneye with broods of young.

Scots Pine woodland at Abernethy where we searched for Crested Tits and Scottish/Parrot Crossbills

Streaks of sunlight over Loch Morlich and Abernethy Forest on the climb up Cairn Gorm

Walkers silhouetted on Cairn Gorm

One of three female Eurasian Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) on the Cairn Gorm plateau