And the owner of that white feather is.....

Hiking up into the Cairngorms we found a wild landscape strewn with granite,

the odd feather,

and somewhere amongst the scattered vegetation was its owner.

spotted it yet?

 

Ptarmigan! And very good at hiding so they are.  They were calling too (calls here).

We counted 65 in this great gathering!

 

Some lovely views of snow bunting too

and then finally, the bird we had come to see, dottel, and what a superb bird!

 

Quite a bit of snow about still,

some funky rocks, 

 

 

and a gorgeous soft evening light as we dropped down off the mountain

 

Thanks to Bea Ayling for the superb photos!