Birding with the Clayheads: Exclusive - The Truth behind the lost Appendix

So what has happened since the last Snowy Owl post. Well this blog I'm going to use headings for a change. Hope everyone likes it. Just email me with any comments, well unless you are blocked and can't.

Big Exclusive News

Well as mentioned in the last blog, celebrity birdvlogger Lord Lich has certainly been enjoying the high life and the taste of fame. Well one night it all went slightly wrong. He's spending most of his time now at the hall of Jeremy and Sophie Farquharson, along with celebrity pals Timothy Snott and Phillip Boast. One night, when many bottles of Pinot Grinot were being drunk, and while playing Junior Cluedo, Lord Lich ran out of pennies from his penny jar and foolishly bet his appendix to get him through to the end of the game. The rest is history and we say, and on future trips unfortunately we will be one appendix short now. He knows we are not happy to say the least but we will just have to accept the situation and let him share ours when he needs to.

Flexi-listing

The Clayheads have decided to adopt the well used listing technique now of Flexi-listing as it seems everyone else uses this system and we don't want to be left behind. Basically it makes listing far easier and less stressful. So how does Flexi-listing work. Well you choose a list, add your total but you don't worry about things like borders, escaped birds, BBRC decisions or IOC split criteria. That way you cut out the stress of what to count and what not to count, and if your arch enemy suddenly gets close to you in your total, then you just add a few more. Its so easy and I'm sure more and more will adopt this technique.

Scottish Trip

Well I decided on a short break before Easter with the plan to take a car full of my mates up for a jolly to the Highlands and further. So on 28th March I set off on my own and headed up to Musselburgh for my first stop. It was an excellent visit with four species of Scoter on view. The American White-winged Scoter was in a small flock of five or six Velvets and for a change was showing nicely and easily picked out. A drake Surf Scoter was also flying around.

Musselburgh looking over towards Edinburgh

I was staying in the Nethybridge hotel as we always do, and following my drive up from Lothian I was able to visit a few sites in the area, seeing Crested Tit at several sites, plus enjoying walking in Abernethy Forest as usual.

Driving up the A9

Loch Garten

Abernethy

Loch Garten

Loch Mallachie

Following a pleasant night and an equally pleasant breakfast, I headed off from Speyside and headed north. I stopped briefly in Inverness before carrying on up the A9. The sky was blue, there was no wind and it was simply a superb drive up. The scenary was breathtaking at times, and you never knew what was round the next bend.

Beauly Firth

Near to Cromarty Firth

Cromarty Firth

I drove and drove until I could drive no more. Unfortunately for me, it was the end of the road.

View from John O'Groats towards Orkneys with loads of Purps on the rocks

I headed up to Duncansby Head lighthouse and was able to walk from Britain's east coast to the north coast in two minutes. For a moment I was the most north easterly person in Britain.

Top corner of Britain - Duncansby Head

The actual corner where the Atlantic meets the North Sea. Note the waves

These were just round the corner

I then drove further along the coast to Dunnet Head. The birding was quite good en route, seeing a nice flock of Greenland White-fronts in many many fields of Greylag Geese plus Rock Doves and Hoodies. Then I became the most nothernly person in Britain.