First bird of a short trip to Badenoch and Strathspey was a Dipper heard but not seen on the Spey at Calder Bridge, Newtonmore. Nearby were a pair of Oystercatchers and seventeen Greylag Geese, the first of many of both species. A little later, a young Rabbit scampered across the road in the centre of Newtonmore. A Kingfisher flew along the Spey at Dellmore of Kingussie. Insh Marshes held sixteen Whooper Swans plus 30+ Greylag Geese, a distant flock of 60+ Pink-footed Geese and little groups of Wigeon, Teal and Mallard. Redshank (2), Oystercatcher (10), Lapwing (1), Black-headed Gull ( 12) and Common Gull (1) were scattered across the marsh while a Curlew bubbled, unseen and two Roe Deer grazed in the shallows. Larger numbers of Black-headed Gulls (50+) were at Lynchat where nesting looks lokely (subject to favourable water levels). The Glebe at Kingussie held its usual mix of domesticated and wild waterbirds plus a single Moorhen while Loch Insh added Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye and Cormorant.