Spring in Scotland

Since moving to Scotland in 2009 I have been fortunate to be working as an ornithological surveyor and have been involved with surveys under licence on many charismatic species. It has certainly been a major change from the kind of birding and countryside I was used to on my former home; the Isle of Wight. So from about as far south in Britain as you can get to the hills of Scotland.
One thing that never used be part of the spring for me down south is the onset of the Black Grouse leking season. I have been lucky enough to be surveying these beautiful birds on several occasions since I moved up. I say lucky although getting up for the umpteenth time at some stupid time of the morning could start to wear thin, but no it is always a magical experience to listen to the bizarre hissing and bubbling sounds made by these birds and to watch them strutting and occasionally jumping in the air. It is amusing to watch the reaction of the females that enter the lek and more often that not look totally unimpressed with the posturing.
One of the first days that felt like spring had arrived proper in Scotland for me was March 25th when I was out in the Perth and Kinross Hills on a fine settled weather and had my first Wheatear back on territory as well as the first displaying Short-eared Owls. We were away for a couple of weeks after this on the cruise but on returning it was clear that the continued fine conditions had allowed many summer visitors to arrive with a forest clearing in Stirlingshire on April 15th resounding to the song of Willow Warblers as well as my first Cuckoo and Tree Pipit. From then on the first of the spring experiences came thick and fast with Black-throated Divers and Slav Grebes returning to the lochs, Common Redstarts singing in the broad leaved woodland and Ring Ouzels delivering their melancholy song in the hills.
By May I had connected with most of the summer visitors including my first singing male Whinchats on 3rd. This month is probably one of the best to be in Scotland with a high amount of activity from the birds and the countryside looking cracking as the deciduous woodland bursts into various hues of intense green.

                                           Black Grouse- chanced upon this beauty as we
                                           we were driving off site after a days surveying

                                                         

                                               R'ouzels in their domain
                                    

                                                      
                                             Is there anything finer than a fresh spring male
                                              Whinchat?