Online Fellwalking Club - Spring bird song and snakes on Beinn Dearg, Glen Artney

Walk

Today's walk was a hill about an hour's drive from home: Beinn Dearg in Glen Artney near Crieff.

As we started the walk we saw curlews, peewits (lapwing or green plover), and skylarks all singing their spring songs. As we headed up the hill we disturbed a couple of snipe and a few mice.

We reached the ridge of Beinn Dearg and had a lovely view looking west over to the the big hills still covered in snow, really surprised at just how much. A cold northerly wind was blowing and making your eyes water, but so beautifully clear.

As we walked off the ridge we disturbed a large herd of red deer hinds. We stood and watched them for a while then headed down. Noreen let out a squeal, she just about stood on three snakes basking in the sun. One disappeared into the grass but two were curled up together and allowed us to get quite close - well as close as you would like to get to adders and have their photo's taken. Then they just disappeared into the tusks of grass that we had been happily walking throw shortly before.

As we headed back to the road we saw a bird that we thought was a red kite and then a buzzard glided past us on the road. Met up with a group of twitchers who had been watching us come off the hill and verified it had been a red kite and a buzzard.

Lots of wildlife on this walk and only the second time I have seen an adder, and three of them at that too!

We had been up near Brechin a few weeks ago and had seen a lot of mountain hares and had a golden eagle hovering over us, close enough to catch its markings.

I would like to think that all of this activity is due to the coming of spring.

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