Natural highs and lows

A few of our day trips were to wildlife sites about an hour away from the cottage, not too far to travel, whilst at the same time being an exploration of locales for future holidays. One of these sites was the national nature reserve at Tentsmuir, on the east coast, where we visited Morton Lochs on the warmest day of our trip in the hope of some early-emerging dragons. No such luck, unfortunately, but we were rewarded for our dedication with several flybys from a Kingfisher. We also drove most of the way to Tay Reedbeds, but with temperatures in the mid 20s, we didn't fancy a 6km walk on dusty tracks, opting instead for an ice cream in a nearby village, followed by a meandering route back to the cottage and an  appointment at patio o'clock. An Orange Tip nectaring on apple blossom Grey Heron A reflective heron Probably our most adventurous day was another gorge walk, this time at the Birks of Aberfeldy, where the Moness Burn tumbles its way through a beech wood. We found severa...

For me, a keenly-anticipated holiday can have a bittersweet moment as it becomes a reality. Although I am always ready for some downtime, travelling doesn't usually fill me with the same sense of gladness.  This year, my grumpiness was mitigated to obscurity by circumventing a ludicrously early start and treating the rest of the day as continuous birdwatching. We booked B+B on the mv Hamnavoe, so spent the first night of our holiday berthed in Stromness harbour, which meant that we didn't have to be up at stupid o'clock to pack the car and drive to the ferry. It also allowed me the opportunity to reprise a motif from a previous blog. Although there wasn't a kitchen sink or a pen involved, I woul d like to think that Dodie Smith would've approved. After a smooth crossing of the Pentland Firth, we set off from Scrabster, on the north coast of Caithness, at a leisurely pace, and turning west, not east like the majority of our shipmates. Just before Melvich, we took a t...

Here are a couple of videos of wildlife taken during the Lochinver week. First up is a Drinker Moth caterpillar seen on the road through Glen Canisp. I have never knowingly seen the adult moth, but occasionally come across the caterpillars at this time of year, even if it's only in the beak of a Cuckoo (as they're a bit partial to a big caterpillar). As I finished filming the video, a car approached along the single track road, so I stood back to let it pass. I had to hold my breath as it went over the caterpillar, but it was all ok, phew.  This next video was filmed on a window sill of the cottage we were renting. Blue, Great and Coal Tits had been seen coming to the sill, as well as Chaffinches and Redpolls. So I put the camera out and retreated back indoors, controlling start and stop on my phone via WiFi. This is an edited version to miss out all the pauses and shots of a tit's arse as it lands on the camera and then hops down in front of it.   The next couple of videos...

After a week in the Cairngorm area, it was all change for the rest of the holiday. Between cottages, there was time for a pilgrimage to Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve in the hope of seeing a male Azure Hawker dragonfly (readers who have followed me from another place may remember expeditions in 2012 and 2015 where there was only a sighting of one female). With fours hours available before resuming the journey, it was always a long shot, but hope springs eternal, as they say, even in overcast conditions. Walking past the first wooden bench shortly after leaving the visitor centre resulted in a double take, as there, bold as brass, was sat a male Azure Hawker. Woohoo! Now I could enjoy the scenery... Beinn Eighe Slioch and Loch Maree The cottage for the second week was located just off a single track road between Lochinver and Achmelvich. After all the driving, it was good to be leaving the car to its own devices for a few days. Harbour Seal with pup, Achmelvich A beach at Achmelvic...