My wife and i were out on the Loch the other day for a fishing match and saw a lot of interesting birds.

First of course were the ubiquitous Buzzards as many as 5 in the air at once and as 2 circled over a copse a Merlin shot up and mobbed them a real David and Goliath moment. Staying with birds of prey we also saw a Hen Harrier hunting.

For Water Birds we spotted the standard Gooseanders, Cormorants, Ducks and Geese

We have been noticing damage to the apple trees lately, they have had branches snaped off and all the young Apples have disappeared. Then just the other night my wife spotted a large Stag at the tree, mystery solved.

I had a very nice fishing guest last week, i took him out on the Loch where he saw Ospreys, Divers, Various Geese and ducks and caught 5 fish. I then took him to a hill loch that was new to me and it being early in the year did not expect to catch, it was thankfully one of the really nice picturesque lochans which made up for only getting one fish. Whilst making my way round the loch i found a couple of otter spraints and then an otters holt a first for me. It was a hole at water

Over the last week Spring has finaly arrived, last weekend Primrose started to appear and a hatch of Alder fly brought the Trout on to the feed for the first time this year. Followed by overnight snow on the high ground to chill things off again, but this could not stop things once started. On teusday morning I heard the first Cuckoo of my year Whilst out with the Dogs, then as we headed back a pair of Curlew called and i spotted them circling down onto the hill. The Red deer are still down low, as the hill

At present we have a pair of Goldfinch that seem to have taken up residence, along with the normal crowd of Blue/Great/Coal Tits, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Siskins and Robins. The blue tits are using the nest box on top of the oil tank again. I have not heard a Curlew yet but it can only be a matter of days.

I have just seen a red squirrel for the first time this year, it was feeding at the bottom of the garden. The leaves on the trees are just begining to open and primrose begining to flower. This has been a very late spring but given the severity of the winter to be expected.

It's calving time on the farm now and the house is surrounded by the calving feilds. When we walk the dogs in the morning we see highland cattle with every age of calf from minutes to weeks.

Whilst sat in the conservatory reading i noticed one of my dogs staring intently out of the window towards the wooded bank just over the southern boundary fence. There was a Roe doe feeding it's way towards us, this is not unusual, last year we had a Roebuck feeding on this bank regularly. But whilst watching it i glanced at the river and a Dipper was bobbing about feeding in the pool at the bottom of the garden. These are two of my favourite species to watch.    

I took a trip to the coast the other day, it is a really rugged rocky peninsular and the temp was sub zero. After parking the car i got well wrapped up and myself and the dog set of across the rocks to work our way out on to one of the spits sticking out into the sea.

On our way within 200 yards we saw an Otter hunting the next spit of rock, I stood very still and although i was in full sight of the otter it did not see me and made it,s way to the

Patrolled the Loch by boat yesterday and whilst running one of my Pointers on the islands it put up 6 Woodcock which were the first of the migrants to arrive in our area this year.

This morning whilst on the phone at the back door i saw a linnet on the bean cage another first for me.