Natural highs and lows

When we attended the Valtos gig in Edinburgh in September, Megan was full of cold and couldn't really enjoy the experience. So a pre-Christmas jaunt was organised to see the band again, this time in Inverness at a new venue An Seomar (The Room). Due to my advancing years, I qualify for free bus travel, so with the addition of a couple of ferry vouchers, we were able to make the journey on public transport at a much-reduced cost. All credit to the Scottish Government for these initiatives. Rather than awake at some ungodly hour to catch the 06.30 sailing from Stromness, we opted to make use of the B+B facility on the boat, checking in at 21.30 the night before sailing. This allowed for a few leisurely glasses of wine and nibbles in the Magnus Lounge before retiring to our cabin for the night.  Following breakfast and a smooth crossing of the Pentland Firth, we had a short wait at the terminal in Scrabster until our bus arrived for the journey to Inverness. Scrabster sunrise twixt bo...

Towards the end of April, it was time for our "Summer" holiday, before Megan's busiest months of wildlife guiding around Orkney from May to September. This year we chose to return to a favourite destination, booking a week in a self-catering cottage at Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms area of Scotland. We had previously only visited in June (in 2021 and 2022, although those two holidays had been quite different owing to the very cold Spring of 2021), so we were keen to see how we would fare several months earlier in the year. The journey south meant an early sailing from Stromness, the mv Hamnavoe easing out of port at 06.30 for the 90 minute crossing of the Pentland Firth. After a quick breakfast aboard, we headed out onto deck to sea watch for birds. I was rewarded with my first Great Skuas (Bonxies) of the year, and also a couple of Puffins as we neared Scrabster on the mainland. Driving off the ferry, most of our fellow passengers headed east for the A9 and the quick wa...

Natural Highs and Lows is on holiday. I know! All vaccined up and laterally flow tested; masked and maintaining as much social distancing as possible; excited at the thought of two weeks of wildlife watching, but nervous about being amongst other folk once more. Despite umpteen announcements over the tannoy, the ferry trip to mainland Scotland was a nightmare, stuck on a ship midst unmasked covidiots with little concept of personal space. Ugh. However, several hours later, calm was restored upon checking in to a small self catering cottage in the Nethybridge area of the Cairngorms, complete with a garden which was really just an extension of the surrounding countryside. Bliss. And breathe. Four-spotted Chaser, at a pond in Nethybridge  Cardinal Beetle, in garden of cottage Goosander on the River Nethy Northern Damselflies mating, at a pond in Nethybridge Longhorn Beetle on window of cottage Treecreeper in garden of cottage Red Squirrel in garden of cottage Long-tailed Tit fledgling...