Grasshopper warblers and the Point of Ardnamurchan

So, the point of Ardnamurchan appears to be to provide solid ground for a lighthouse.  I’m not sure that it’s the most interesting of lighthouses (my recent lighthouse experience consists of looking out to sea to Long Ships and Wolf Rock lighthouses), and, in general, there’s not much vegetation around.  I took a picture of the lighthouse, but I don’t think it’s exciting enough to include.

What is exciting though is that yesterday, following a night in a B&B after our walk out from the JMT weekend (entirely Manoj’s idea – you can take the man out of the city, but…), we saw an otter near Kinlochmoidart.  We drove through Glenuig, which seems to have a great woodland regeneration scheme.  And last night we saw ringed plovers and listened to oystercatchers and snipe as we fell asleep (well, I did anyway, from inside the roof of my van.  Manoj probably couldn’t hear anything tucked up in bed downstairs).

Today we also saw what I’m fairly sure were a golden eagle and a merlin, and my first ever grasshopper warbler, c’mon!  Not being entirely familiar with my little warbler friend, I’d been hearing it for a few minutes before I realised that it was a bird.  Then it was just a matter of tracking it down, which I managed to do even though it was giving it’s ‘song’ deep in the middle of a willow bush.  I’m afraid it was a little too illusive for a photo.

A little while ago I dropped Manoj off in Fort William.  He plans to cycle from there up to Inverness, and then around the North East.  I’m making my way to Abernethy for a meeting with the RSPB.