Ness Walk Wildlife: Who Might You Meet on the River?
Stroll with me on the Ness River Walk taking in the birds and dogs that are prevalent there in June.
After a redeye from New York to Edinburgh and a three hour train ride to Inverness the Ness River Walk provided the perfect activity to stay awake in a fight against jet lag. The airbnb I stayed in was right on the River Ness, so it was very easy to get started on the river walk. The trail is in the heart of Inverness, so even if you aren't staying near the river its not too hard to get to the trail from within the city.
The most obvious birds on the River and all around Inverness and Scotland for that matter were the Gulls. On the River Ness I definitely saw European Herring Gulls and Common Gulls. There were possibly others mixing with the flock as well.
The Gulls of the River Ness
The River walk follows a path along the Ness River and crosses over on to the Ness River Islands. There are several very charming pedestrian bridges that cross the River along the path.
While part of the path is a bit more urban, toward the Ness River Islands there's a bit more nature surrounding the path.
There was a fair/concert happening while we were walking along, so as we got closer to the islands it was quite loud. This made it a bit hard for me to run the Merlin App for sound identification while we were walking. However the birds we saw were pretty easy to identify visually.
Along the path we met several common to Scotland and the UK but new to me birds. We also happened to be out walking during bird dinner time, allowing me to get lots of photos of birds eating!
A female Common Merganser dunks her head before flying away.
I saw many Hooded Crows, in the river and on chimneys and all around Inverness. These are a uniquely colored corvid.
A male Eurasian Blackbird pulls grub out of the leaves and eats them up.
A female Eurasian Blackbird also eating. She's more brown than the male, but still has the bright eyering and yellow beak.
A male Eurasian Blackbird sings from the top of a chimney
A Blue Tit flitted around a lamp catching insects on the Ness Islands. The photo on the left it has a small insect in its mouth.
The Carrion Crow in the upper left was down near the river, while the other photos are of a different bird on the Ness Islands.
The Chaffinch is a very pretty and common bird around Scotland. The first one I saw was perched high up in a tree singing its beautiful song. Chaffinches seem well adapted to humans and don't scare easily.
This Dunnock was beneath some bushes looking for food and also looking kind of angry. I think that's just its face though.
Common Wood Pigeons are very large birds who were everywhere and also not very intimidated by humans.
This Common Wood Pigeon found a sweet ride!
Jackdaws were another common corvid. Their gray feathers make them look like a balding old man, I love it!
There was also a flock of Mallards on the river.
I also came across a Mallard with a blue beak which is possibly a cross breed with another duck?
The Ness River Walk also had many dogs, some off leash. This provided a great opportunity to take some dog action photos. Also, its so much easier to take good photos of dogs who don't know you!
This pup was thrilled to splash in the water!
Dogs are obviously welcomed and celebrated at the Ness River Walk, as is evidenced by this wooden dog statue.
I'd definitely recommend the Ness River Walk as a 1-2 hour activity while visiting Inverness. Make sure you bring your camera, there's lots of opportunity to find and snap photos of wildlife and dogs!