Written by Stewart  Rae

Eyes to the Skies is the name of our  Red Kite viewing centre, situated at Tollie Farm approximately ten minutes drive from Home Farm.  The centre is a joint venture between Brahan Estate and the RSPB and was first established in 2009.  Red Kites were re-introduced to the Black Isle in 1989 with the first birds breeding in 1992.  The population grew sreadily for the first seven years until 1999 and although there is enough food and habitat available to the birds, insufficient numbers are surviving to breeding age.  The centre aims to increase awareness of the birds to both visitors and locals.

Red Kites are one of our most beautiful birds of prey, with a wingspan of almost six feet.  Their plumage is a striking contrast of white, black, red and chestnut.  It is of course their distinctively forked chestnut/red tail that gives the birds their name.  The centre is an excellent place to observe these birds feeding and flying at close range. Visitors can watch their acrobatic flight routines as they swoop and glide over the feeding station.  Take your camera and binoculars to make the most of your visit.

The visitor centre is open seven days a week, with the birds being fed at 2.30pm during the summer months.  A visit is highly recommended. 

Four of us  set out on one of our usual early starts, around 11.30, which taking into account the previous nights late BBQ, was indeed an early start. This time we were bound for the West coast and sunny Isle of Gruinard (a.k.a. Anthrax island) Sunny? - at least according to Stew's ledgendary weather forecasting skills. He also predicted a travel time of 1 hour 15 mins and when pressed he informed us the sun would arrive at 13.30. Exactly one hour and fifteen minutes later we were looking across the water to Gruinard and, a short while later, 13.30 to be precise, the sun came out, is there no end to this man's talents. We pulled up in a lay-by opposite the island in the hope of spotting a white tailed sea eagle. During the next half hour we had seen not one but a pair of sea eagles plus a chick. We also saw one of the adults attempting to snatch a gull from the sea but a small army of gulls, aided by a heron, drove the eagle back to the island, a meal opportunity gone. For good measure we also saw a large number of black throated divers plus Gannets diving at  full speed into the sea, with considerably more sucess than the eagle. Sue showed her skills on the trip with photos as diverse as a Highland cow and a shrew - but I am not sure she knew which was which. We carried onto the beach at Mellon Udrigle with the sole intent of causing serious damage to the picnic the girls had produced, not quite Egon Ronay, but not bad for experienced amateurs. The beach has beautiful white sands and an ever changing collection of rock art built from the flat stones that abound, crocodiles and dinosaurs were the order of the day, along with numerous precariously balanced rock piles - great fun for very elderly kids! We finished our wildlife adventure with some good views of seals quite close to the beach. Finally it was back to Home Farm for evening refreshments. The road home gave us a further and somewhat surreal view of the stunning landscape - the An Teallach ridge floating in the mist.

Must go now as the amateur picnic supremos have just read this blog.

Bye.

Dave

Written by Susan Rae 20th February 2013

Tuesday 19th February dawns a wonderful spring day in the Highlands, cold but very sunny.  Birds are singing their hearts out, who could ask for more.

Decided to play truant and take a trip to Dunrobin Castle to see the snowdrops, we had a lovely time, hardly anyone else in the Castle grounds. Managed to take some photos, hope you like them.  festival runs every year at this time, there is no charge to enter the gardens. The castle is closed but this just ensures that you spend lots of time looking at the snowdrops,  so if you get the chance, go take a look.

 Written by Stewart Rae 6th July 2011

Sunday 3rd July As the sun was shinning this morning and all our guests were staying over for at least another night, we decided to treat ourselves to some gentle (or not so gentle) hill-walking. For those of you not in the know a 'corbett' is a mountain over 2,500ft with a drop of 500ft all round. Nearby Strathconon has several, but we decided to tackle just one, namely "Meallan nan Uan" (Gaelic for little round hills of the lambs). Well it was a sweaty pull up the steep heathery slopes and a little boggy in places, but at last we were rewarded by some wonderful views from the east and west. Strathconon itself looked languid in the warm afternoon sunshine and we watched a group of young stags take shelter under a clump of alders. Near the summit we were treated to a good sighting of a Golden Eagle that took flight as we clambered up the ridge. Several hours later we arrived back at Home Farm rather tired(!!) but well satisfied.