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Oh, the joys of a Highland Spring. Frosty mornings, sunshine, wildfires, drought....and snow! Yes, wildfires and snow, all in one week. And what a difference a week makes! Last Sunday at Tollie it was a winter wonderland, snowing heavily and bitterly cold, and all the birds had – quite rightly...

The last year at Tollie has seen quite a bit of change. Firstly, back in February the ‘Tardis’ arrived with the installation of the evaporating toilet and so far all seems to be going well with it, though I have yet to give it its first service. Then in April we had the official opening,...

Red kites, as you may or may not know don’t migrate to warmer climes during the winter months like the osprey. What they do instead is stay in their local territory, group together for warmth (and company?) in communal roosts in the woods and survive as best as they can. The juvenile kites born...

Fact 1- Volunteering is good for you. It has only positive outcomes for all involved, for the giver and for the receiver. Barack Obama famously said, “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some...

Sorry it has been a while, again, since I last wrote anything, as always, I have good intentions but it is so easy to get sidetracked. There are indications that the quiet time at Tollie is coming to an end, I was there on the 23 rd Sep. and there was a lot of Buzzard activity with a few Crows in...

First I must apologise for being quiet of late, but every time I tried to write a blog something came up to stop me, I have finally managed to get some time so I’ve locked the door so I won’t be disturbed. We are now in to the quiet time at Tollie, the breeding birds will have seen their chicks fledge...

Last week the new satellite tracking page for our Red kites went live, of the birds we track by this method we are putting the details of six on the page, two birds from 2009 and four from 2011. On posting the data for Lewis one of the 2009 birds we noticed that he hadn’t moved for a few days so...

The jubilee celebrations are upon us, up at Tollie we have done our best to get into the spirit of the occasion. We of course have our Red kites, and now we have a pair of Blue tits in the nest box, we just need something white. There has been reports of a White-tailed Eagle in the area so it would be...

For the last few years we have been putting satellite tags on to some of our kites and you have been able to follow their progress through the Eyes to the Skies website. That website is no longer being updated but we have our new site on the main RSPB website and of course the community page which you...

It has been a while since my last blog and much has happened at Tollie and the Red kite population since then. Sadly, there was the loss of Red T , one of the last of the Swedish birds brought over in 1993 to RAF Kinloss. It was even reported by STV . I was serving in the Photographic Section at RAF...

On Sunday the 12 th Feb Tollie Red Kites and the Easter Ross Wildlife Trail held an event up at Tollie as part of the BTO’s National Nestbox week. I have to report that a hammering great time was had by all, and the small bird population in the Black Isle area is now better off by an increase in...

On a recent trip down south I managed to spot over 30 different birds during the journey, this included a few surprises such as Barn Owl and Peregrine Falcon. In addition to these birds I also managed three mammals, Red Deer, Fox and a Stoat resplendent in its white coat, a first for me. This got me...

King Eider at Tollie. I thought that would get your attention, sadly the bird failed to turn up, might have something to do with the distance we are a way from the sea, however I did meet the man who took this amazing photo of the King Eider in Burghead harbour. Thanks goes to Allan Adams for allowing...

Weather, weather and more weather, that’s been the story of Tollie this week, we’ve had everything apart from warmth, I’m glad I dug out the big boots and woolly vest last weekend. However, this weather has not put off the birds coming to Tollie with an increase in all the main...

As you will have noticed by now the Eyes to the Skies website has not been updated as much as we would have liked since the end of summer. The Eyes to the Skies project is coming to an end and there have been some staff changes, that is why it has been a little quite there of late. Fear not, the legacy...