I didn't spot any more wildcats on my recent trip to Invernahavon site near Newtonmore - instead, thanks to wifi on the site and twitter, I discovered that there were a number of free events running that weekend in the Cairngorms National Park and so I went to two of them. The first was a guided walk through Glenmore forest by Trees for Life. The guides were very knowledgeable and the forecast rain did not materialise so it was very enjoyable. The second event was a talk on raptors by Roy Dennis - an expert who has spent years studying raptors and following their movements via satellite tagging. The talk was excellent with a good question and answer session afterwards but was very poorly attended. It was a held on a nice Sunday afternoon which may not have helped. It finished just in time for me to drive to Inshriach Nursery for a cup of tea and scrumptious cake followed by a wander round the gardens.
The caravan site is very pleasant, although the sound of traffic on the nearby A9 was intrusive at times. The toilet block is good and there is a mix of hard standings and grass pitches with a few seasonal caravans scattered around. It has changed ownership recently and, according to some regulars I spoke to, has not changed although there is some concern that it might in the future. My main concern is that there is no warden on site overnight or for parts of the day and tents are allowed to pitch where they like, not just in the designated tent area. My peaceful grass pitch at the far end of the site was spoilt on the last night by a family pitching a tent right behind it "because they always pitch there" even although the tent area was empty. In the end I moved the caravan rather than put up with their noise.
I always like to take some books to read when I go away in the caravan and, this time, I had a copy of The Eagle's Way by Jim Crumley which I had won in a facebook competition run by the RSPB. I thoroughly enjoyed it - Crumley's descriptions of eagle-watching in the Scottish hills are poetic and also give an insight into the life of a dedicated naturalist. He also has some thoughful observations on the re-introduction of the Sea Eagle to Scotland and, in particular, whether the east coast birds will stay in the east or migrate west, as some have already done, notably Sula who is currently starring in the BBC's Springwatch. I'd definitely recommend the book to all wildlife fans.
Talking of wildlife, I got a superb view of a red-legged partridge sitting on a stone wall not a stone's throw from the caravan at Invernahavon and also spotted thrushes and meadow pipits in the grass. I could faintly hear a cuckoo calling - my first for 2014. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos - the partridge made like a road-runner as soon as I got the camera out and I didn't take it on the forest walk because I was expecting rain! Inshriach Nursery tea-room is a great place to watch red squirrels which come to the feeders just outside the window, along with a variety of birds. I definitely recommend it!
