Scotland February 2nd - 5th 2015
In mid February 2015 a period of heavy snow and cold weather hit the UK and it seemed a good time to make a long promised visit to the Cairngorms to try and photograph winter plumaged Ptarmigan and Mountain Hares in the snow. Leaving Barton ay 23:00 I was in the upper Cairngorm car park by late morning having driven through a lot of snow en route. My first attempt at the Ptarmigan was thwarted by an ice field that I could not cross and I reverted to Loch Garten for some Crested Tit action. Eventually after a couple of attempts and a warm walk through some thigh deep snow and a trek across a deep valley I eventually managed to get up close and personal with a small party of Ptarmigan. Other birds were limited in variety but Red Grouse were abundant and a few Snow Buntings around the Ski lift car park. One day I walked up for the Mountain Hares in a strong and very cold wind but the light was fantastic. Leaving the Cairngorms early on the 5th I took a detour to Aberdeen for the long-staying first-winter Harlequin Duck which I eventually found and managed to get some images of.
