Planned today's trip to Strathspey to coincide with the best weather of the week. Sure enough, it was a warm, sunny and mostly windless day.

The day started with four Swifts among Swallows and House Martins beside the A9 at Baldow. Thereafter, a short walk in Aviemore confirmed that the Sand Martin colony on the Spey behind the water works appears to have been deserted. It could be that the breeding attempts have already been completed for this year, but the relative absence of nest holes suggests that the colony may have been destroyed by the loss of part of the sandbank. Also, the lawns in front of the McDonald Strathspey Hotel were completely deserted where I would normally expect them to hold feeding corvids, thrushes etc

A quick walk around the hotel complex revealed no sign of Swift activity but a Pied Wagtail was shepherding a juvenile at the back of the main resort centre. Just north of the centre, three Oystercatchers were still in a damp field by the SNH offices.

The main walk of the day was along the road through Sliemore and on to just before Dorback Lodge. Some of the highlights were as follows:
Puffball and Elfin Saddle on the roadside verge at Badanfuaran.

Crossbills at four sites including one flock of twenty

Crested Tits at one site.
A single Spotted Flycatcher on wires at Dorback Schoolhouse.
A Raven high over Ellon.
Meadow Pipits at seven sites including 16 together on wires at Ballintuim.
Eleven Mistle Thrushes flying through a stand of pines south of Sliemore.
House Martins breeding at Blairgorm.
Lots of Willow Warblers, some in song.
Swallows around farm buildings and twittering on wires.
Buzzard young calling at at least two sites.
Goldfinches on ripening Thistle heads.
Six Greenfinches in a weedy field.
Butterflies were a constant feature of the day, particularly the Scotch Argus which was very common. Also recorded were a couple of Small Heaths, a single Common Blue and a single Small Tortoiseshell (both in particularly insect-rich field margins at Blairgorm). Moths were mainly of the micro variety, but a Poplar Hawkmoth was clambering over a Ragwort plant before flying off into the forest near Laggandhu.
Other insects included numerous bees (including Bumble Bee, Red-tailed Bumble Bee and numerous solitary bees), a couple of Bee Flies (no Bee Beetles I'm afraid) and just a single Soldier Beetle (but masses of Crane Flies, true flies etc).
Many of the nettles along the roadside were affected by the rust fungus Pucinnia urticata. This was evident in the large number of stems and leaves swollen into large, contorted galls.
Field Gentian in roadside verges around Muckrach and again near Sliemore.

Chicory in a neglected field of dock plants.
A Sparrowhawk disturbed whilst drinking from or bathing in a puddle, a cock Pheasant sunning itself in a sandy hollow, a Song Thrush foraging in a ditch and a Roe Deer munching quietly in a roadside meadow.
A Curlew out on the moor in the direction of Lurg.
Mammals for the day included two separate Roe Deer, a Red Squirrel at Laggandhu, regular Rabbit sightings and, sadly, a big Badger dead on the roadside between Garlyne and Blairgorm.
Flowering plants included White Clover, Red Clover, Tormentil, Cow Parsley, Pignut, Wild Carrot, Yarrow, Curled Dock, Foxglove, Herb Robert, Common Nettle, Daisy, Heather, Bell Heather, Ragged Robin, Devil's Bit Scabious, Foxglove, Common Ragwort, Spear Thistle, Marsh Thistle, Bugle, Buttercup, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Harebell, Honeysuckle, Chickweed, Wild Rose, Tufted Vetch, plus Bearberry and Wild Raspberry in fruit.
The day ended back in Aviemore with over 100 Jackdaws going to roost and a single Swift scything low over the railway station.
Impressions of Strathspey in August:
It's sunny (Hooray!).
It's full of insect life with various species flicking up from the path ahead or competing for space on flower heads.

It's colourful with many flowering plants in bloom.
It has elements of autumn with fungi starting to appear and birds flocking up