Week 28

9 – 15 July 2025

During my big year, I will update my blog most weeks. This is the twenty-eighth week's recap. This week, we were in Caithness, staying at a holiday lodge in John O'Groats. The number next to the day indicates my year list at the end of that day. Birds written in italics indicate Scottish year ticks.

July 13 - Day 194: 184

Today, on our way up to Caithness, we stopped at a very sunny and warm Ben Rinnes, in search of Ptarmigan. We started walking up the mountain, hearing a Kestrel and spotted some Meadow Pipits. I soon realised how much I had underestimated the difficulty of the hike. We saw some Ravens and a Wheatear, but unfortunately, no Ptarmigan. We also experienced the warmest temperatures so during my big year, a scorching 27 Celsius.

That afternoon, in John O'Groats, we walked down to the shore, where we saw a family of Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin a couple of Redshanks and Kittiwakes. From our accommodation, which had sea view, I could do a bit of seawatching, and saw a few Guillemots, Arctic Terns, more Kittiwakes, and a few Fulmars.

July 14 - Day 195: 185

The next day, we started off by going to RSPB Dunnet Head, the northernmost point in the whole of Great Britain. The sea cliffs around are home to many seabirds, including Puffins, and the cottages around the lighthouse are a regular spot for Twite. At the cliffs, we saw a couple of Great Skuas, and, while scanning the Guillemots, Razorbills, and Fulmars on the cliffs, saw some Puffins. While watching the impressive acrobatics of the skuas, an otherwise rather stocky bird, I got distracted by the metallic call of the Twite. I turned around to see a flock of birds landing on a fence, near the car park. We snapped a few photos, to later confirm our sighting. I heard some more on our way to the designated viewpoint, although the wind made it hard to pinpoint the birds' location.

We then went to Dunnet Bay, where after a short seawatch, we all went for a swim in the sea. Shortly followed by a woodland walk at Dunnet Forest, spotting some Common Blues, Speckled Woods and Meadow Browns, as well as some Siskins, Goldcrests, and Blue tits. On our way back to John O'Groats, we stopped at St John's Pool Bird Hide, where we watched the Black-headed gulls and Common Terns feeding their young. There was also a female Wigeon in front of the hide. On our way out the hide, we saw a Small Tortoiseshell and a Large White, bringing our butterfly list for the day to a respectable seven species.

Back in John O'Groats that evening, we went for a walk towards Duncansby Head. On the way we saw many Whimbrel, some Wheatear, Rock Pipits, and a few Ravens. We stopped at Duncansby Ness, where just with binoculars, and sitting on the rocks, we saw Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, a couple of Great Skuas, an Arctic Skua, a Dunlin, Gannets, and more!

July 15 - Day 196: 185

The next day, we visited Thruso, where we saw some Hooded Crows, Swallows, Swifts, and Rooks, before entering the NC500 Visitor Centre, where we learned a lot, all about Caithness's culture, heritage, and history. We then went to Thurso Beach, but it turned out to be quite disappointing. We instead went to Duncansby Head, where we saw a Black Guillemot, more Puffins and other seabirds.

July 16 - 197: 185

Today was my parents' 14th wedding anniversary, but that didn't discourage my dad from heading out with me for a seawatch at Duncansby Ness at half past 5! It started slow, with a few Whimbrel, Kittiwakes, and some Guillemots, but it soon picked up, with our first Fulmars, Razorbills, Gannets, and our first skua species, a Great Skua, soon followed by another. We saw Shag, Cormorant, and a Black Guillemot, as well as another Great Skua. Before long, I noticed a bird chasing Kittiwakes, as it came closer I could confirm it being an Arctic Skua. Just as we were taking a last selfie on the beach, a Great Skua flew behind, although it didn't make it on time to join the selfie!

We then join my mum and sisters, to get ready to go to RSPB Forsinard Flows. After an hour and a half of driving, we stopped for a quick brunch at a small café - the only one for 15 miles (approx. 24 kilometres). We filled our batteries, ready for some birding. Only in the café's car park were a few Siskins, a House Martin colony, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, and Goldfinch.

Once at the reserve, we watched a family of Spotted Flycatchers, and we quickly visited the visitor centre, before walking onto the reserve. We saw some Small Heath butterflies, a species I had never seen before, and a few Meadow Pipits. We didn't see much from the watch tower, other than some Red Deer. After enjoying the impressive views, we shifted our focus to the smaller things around us. We saw some Emerald Damselflies, Heath-spotted Orchids, and some Bog Asphalt. After learning from a sign that the Bog Myrtle (Myrica gale) has a perfume that repels flies, we rubbed every inch of our bodies with this plant's leaves. Back at the visitor centre, we watch a film about the Flow Country. For those who had never heard of this area or its importance, here is a short description. The Flow Country is a vast area of blanket bog covering a large fraction of Caithness and Sutherland, in the North of Scotland. It is home to a very unassuming but no less important, moss. The Sphagnum moss sucks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere like a sponge, reversing the harmful effects of global warming. When it decomposes, it turns into peat, which locks up the carbon stored in dense quantities. Until recently, however, the sheer power of this habitat was unknown. People saw the Flow Country as a wasteland, so they started draining the land and planting trees, instead, which had a disastrous effect on this fragile ecosystem. It is crucial that public awareness grows about peatland and its potential. The Flow Country is home to some of the rarest breeding birds in Britain, such as Hen Harriers, Common Scoters (despite the name!), and Greenshanks.

On our way back from Forsinard, we saw the now decommissioned nuclear power plant at Dounreay, which still employs countless people. We also briefly stopped at the Wolfburn Distillery, in Thurso, before going back to John O'Groats.

In bed that night, while I was counting sheep, my sister came to nudge me out of my half-sleeping state, saying she had just heard an owl and was wondering what species it was. I doubted it was really an owl but opened my ears anyway. Low and behold, I heard the call of a Tawny Owl in the distance. Thanks, Maya! I soon went back to catching some Z's though!

July 17 - Day 198: 186

On our way south to Aberdeen, we stopped at Lairg, where we had some drinks at the Pier café - highly recommended if you're in the area. Exactly like 4 years ago, we were drinking from the back of the garden, when we spotted a pristine breeding plumaged Black-throated Diver out on Loch Shin. Back in 2021, for the late Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee, we stayed in Embo, near Golspie. We made a day trip to Ullapool, when we stopped in Lairg on the way. It was my first diver species.

In Aberdeenshire, we took a detour to go to Strathbeg RSPB, where we saw a Crane from the Dunbar Hide.

Days 194 - 187: https://ebird.org/tripreport/394762