Sunday 3 March 2013

High Dip for Hedwig


Ptarmigan thinking it can hide
Well after my run of form (err, popping along the A1 to peek at Common Crane and Egyptian Goose) I was clearly feeling a little overconfident! Tempted by the chance of a lifer Snowy Owl in stunning winter scenery I headed up the A9 early to try to maximise time up in the 'tick zone'. No easy trip this, 8 hours of walking in outstanding (but fairly invisible, as it turned out) scenery, with the added bonus of the excitement of ensuring personal survival on the Ben Macdui plateau as well. Full winter kit, crampons, map, compass, all proved essential - in fact navigating off the plateau had to be done in zero visibility - great for brushing up on winter skills - not great for spotting a white owl in cloud on a snow blanket! Think the tops may have cleared just as I was descending...

ex-Ptarmigan... only signs I saw of a Snowy Owl on Ben Macdui today (assuming that's what killed it?...)
Looking forward to connecting with Snowy Owl sometime soon...




1 comment:

Stuart said...

Great job on the Ptarmigan shot - a white bird on snow is about as hard as it gets exposure wise!