A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides. (ix)
The variety of habitats accommodate a big variety of birds; here is a list by no means exhaustive,
MOORLAND
golden plover, curlew, the famous grouse,
black cocks, peregrine falcons, plenty of buzzards, kestrel, raven, hooded
crows, snipe, pipits, sparrow hawks, owls, larks.
FRESHWATER
geese, whooper swans, red throated divers,
great northern divers, black throated divers, dippers, mallard ducks, tufted
ducks, heron.
COASTAL
gulls of all kinds, fulmars, shags, cormorants,
eider ducks, scoter ducks, gannets, oyster catcher, ring plover, snipe,
greenshanks, redshanks, turnstone, tern, kittiwake, skua, petrel.
GRAZING LAND
feral pigeons, finches, thrushes, red
wings, fieldfares, starlings, wheatears, rock sparrows, tits, geese, cuckoos,
buntings, wagtails, robin, wren, swallows.
The north coast is the first landfall for many migrating birds heading south from the Arctic in the Autumn. In October great skeins of geeses and swans arrive and re-fuel in our feilds and lochans before continuing their journey.
The R.S.P.B. has its peatland reserve nearby at Forsinard, about 15 miles down the Halladale road.
P.S. If you are driving up from Inverness,
look out for the red kites re-established in the Black Isle.
The tree tops of the woods just north
of the Tore roundabout are a good place to look.
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