School of Birding, Module Two, Class Three - May '26

Alright, catching up time.... May was, as ever, super busy (not entirely sure where it went, to be honest) but after guiding at Spurn and then Flamborough earlier in the month, I was Scotland-bound once again by mid-month, for our tenth (!) School of Birding.

Slavonian Grebe

Or more accurately, our eleventh (if we include our School Trip to the Outer Hebrides in May last year), and our third Module Two. Simon and I were very much looking forward to this one, for several reasons: not least because we knew the whole gang well, and the fact that it was our first in May meant a significantly different suite of species would hopefully be on offer.

Pied Flycatcher

And what a week we had, with a truly fabulous team. The learning sessions were great, which focused on patch birding, songs and calls, finding rare birds, purposeful birding and more; our time in the field, meanwhile, was rich and varied and (and generally blessed with good weather).

Glaucous Gull (above), Willow Warbler (below)

Highlights? Where do you start? Beautiful breeding plumage Slavonian Grebes glistening in the sunshine, even more beautiful breeding-plumage Black-throated Divers performing fabulously (and delivering much high drama for us, all of which thankfully ended well), Crested Tits feeding young in the nest....

Pied Flycatchers (below) and Tree Pipits (above) singing and attending their nests, a very special Osprey nest with lots of close-up activity, summer-plumage divers, waders and ducks on the coast....

..... point-blank Dippers, Red-breasted Mergansers and Goosanders, a cracking surprise Glaucous Gull (at Spey Bay), fantastic views of Crossbills, plus Peregrines, Merlins, Goshawks, Golden Eagles, huge Sand Martin colonies...

... and an unforgettable session at the summit of Cairn Gorm, as described in the next post. I'm sure I've forgotten more highlights, but it was one of those weeks when they just kept on coming - and we couldn't have shared it all with a better bunch.

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