September 2009 started with some pleasant autumnal sunshine but ended with a more wintry feel, with night time temperatures dropping noticeably, and the days getting shorter. By the middle of the month the last of the summer visiting birds had departed, but by way of compensation, the first winter visiting birds were beginning to arrive, and with the heather at its vivid purple best and the Rowan trees full of shiny red berries Speyside is a very attractive place to be.

Wildlife highlights included:

Bird day-lists dropped down into the 30's & 40's but resident local speciality birds such as Dipper, Goldeneye, Red Grouse, Crested Tit etc continued to show well.

Mammal day-lists remained steady at 6-9 with local specialities such as Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Mountain Hare, Mountain Goat etc being seen regularly.

Our first sightings of winter visiting birds, mainly large flocks of Greylag Geese (see pic), though a few early Brent Geese & Whooper Swans were reported too.

Good views of Black Grouse, our first since late spring, as, with breeding season now over, their numbers increased near their traditional 'lek' sites.

The Red Deer stags became noticeably more aggressive as the October 'rut' approached, with their loud, belching roars echoing around the hills.

At the end of the month I took a break to visit relatives & friends in Surrey & Hampshire, but managed to sneak in a bit of bird watching, which produced a number of 'year-ticks' for me such as Dartford Warbler, Bearded Tit & Little Egret - species that are not, or are only rarely found this far North.