Enjoyed a very pleasant day in Strathspey. The weather was cold but sunny, allowing almost the full ten hours to be spent out of doors. After a walk around the town centre (noticing good numbers of Collared Dove, Starling and House Sparrow along the way), we got the bus to the ski car park. We then walked down the Allt Mor trail to Glenmore and on through the An Slugan Pass to Kincardine Cottage. The final part of the walk was along the B970 to Boat of Garten for the bus back to Aviemore. Highlights along the way were as follows:
Still plenty of Meadow Pipits around the Coire Cas base station.

A Dipper on the Allt Mor.
Plenty of tit flocks in the forest (with Chaffinches and Treecreepers tagging along).

Long-tailed Tit parties at three sites.

Four Woodpigeons feeding with various tits, finches and two Red Squirrels outside the Glenmore Cafe.

A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly and an unidentified dragonfly at Badaguish.

Fly Agaric on the way up to the communications mast near the top of the Slugan Pass.

Two Meadow Pipits and fantastic 360 degree views on top of Creag a' Ghreusaiche (views to west, northwest, south and north below).

A Common Frog at Kincardine Cottage.

Two Pheasants at West Croftmore.

Dor Beetles crossing forested sections of the road.

A female Sparrowhawk chasing Chaffinches over Street of Kincardine

A Jay flying off high over Mullingarroch Farm before dropping down into the forest

A Raven calling as it flew over the Speyside Way at Gartenmore.

Small groups of Jackdaws streaming into their roost at Aviemore from all directions.

Only 28 bird species were recorded, consisting of: Mallard, Pheasant, Sparrowhawk, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Jay, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Raven, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Crested Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper, Wren, Starling, Dipper, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Siskin. I think I need to visit a better mix of habitats (and possibly get out a bit earlier) to get a bigger list. Bird of the day was Crested Tit with records at various points along the route, and several birds giving impossibly close views.

Impressions of Strathspey in September?

- It’s cold (with a dusting of snow on the tops of the northern corries).
- It’s still very green (although yellows, oranges and browns are also starting to come through).
- Noise levels are down again with only the winter song of Robin and the chatter of the tit flocks making any impression. Certainly, last month’s rasping Spotted Flycatcher calls and the contact calls of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff are completely gone.
- There are plenty of people around (it WAS the September holiday weekend). However we saw no-one else between Glenmore and Kincardine Cottage apart from at the very beginning and very end of the route.
- Insect life is still quite abundant although the midges weren't biting to the same extent as last month.  
- The skies are fairly empty, with no hirundines and no gulls.