Udale Bay – Wigeon, Geese and Waders from the RSPB Hide
A few hours.
The route
Udale Bay is a quiet tidal bay on the north shore of the Black Isle, near Jemimaville, where the RSPB keeps a wooden hide right beside the road.
From late summer until April thousands of ducks, geese and wading birds feed on the mud and the eelgrass, and in autumn the wigeon alone can number five thousand. It's a peaceful hour or two when the days draw in.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Newhall Mains in Balblair, a mile away.
The day
Udale
An hour or two in a snug hide above the mudflats, watching the flocks lift and settle as the tide comes in.
About an hour and a half
RSPB Udale Bay
An attraction
The RSPB hide is beside the B9163 about a kilometre west of Jemimaville, with a lay-by for four cars at its door; there's no charge. A short boardwalk and a ramp lead into the hide, which has low viewing slots for children and wheelchair users. From late summer to April thousands of waders, ducks and geese feed out on the bay, and in autumn up to 5,000 wigeon gather to graze the eelgrass; ospreys fish here in late summer. Come an hour or two either side of high tide, when the rising water pushes the flocks close in and sends them up in clouds, and bring binoculars. If the lay-by is full, the RSPB's viewing screen at Kirkmichael, along the shore to the west, has room for four more cars. Keep to the hide and the paths so the birds can feed undisturbed, and keep dogs on a short lead from April to mid-August. There are no toilets: the nearest are in Cromarty, about 5 miles east, open in the season.
If it rains
The hide has a roof and windows on the bay, so a wet day still works; only the walk from the lay-by is out in the weather.
Where to stay