Natural highs and lows

Spending longer on holiday made for a much more relaxed time of it. One of the things I wanted to try during the fortnight in Blairgowrie was to deploy a new wildlife camera in the garden of the cottage. This allowed us to monitor the local wildlife when we were out and about elsewhere, or even when we were asleep at night. Three Long-tailed Tits Blue Tit Great Tit Coal Tit   A cat on the prowl A different cat on the prowl Why they were prowling... Wood Mice Bullfinch Robin Nuthatch Great Spotted Woodpecker Jays Carrion Crow Jay Red Squirrel Red Squirrels Red Squirrel Long-tailed Tit And one photo from the usual camera... Jay All in all, during the two weeks, we logged thirty species of bird in the garden. Perhaps the most surprising was a small flock of Common Crossbills which appeared for three evenings running (flying?).

At this time of year, it is nigh on impossible to suppress the urge for dappled sunlight through Beech leaves. Add in a wide, shallow burn, sinuously flowing through the scene and the only option is to give in to temptation.  We found a woodland car park at the Den o' Alyth, set off on a circuitous path through the valley, with the plan to make the mid point of the walk a lunch stop in the town of Alyth itself. Dipper A female Mallard On a woodland bench, a Common Footman moth caterpillar, a teeny-tiny forager of algae and lichen Breathe... Let the tension gently subside As well as lovely views of Dipper, we had seen several Grey Wagtails, as they hunted for invertebrates along the burn. During one of our frequent pauses, letting the tranquillity seep into our souls, Megan suddenly exclaimed, "There's a Grey Wagtail up in that tree!" Stood a few feet away, I was unsighted by another tree trunk, so was initially sceptical, especially when a Great Tit flew out of the ap...

At the end of last month, putting wildlife-watching to one side for a few days, I travelled south to England for my Dad's funeral. To be fair, my wildlife-watching has much to do with Dad's gentle influence during my formative years, so I don't think he would be too upset to learn that I didn't put it to one side at all.  During the drive from Aberdeen to Middlesbrough, I encountered three Jays, birds which Dad always had a fondness for. At the funeral itself, the trees surrounding St Bede's Chapel were bedecked in Autumnal loveliness and birdsong filled the air. He would've approved. After a small and socially-distanced wake of close family members, I took a walk beside the River Tees at dusk. The colours and reflections were gorgeous, only bettered by finding a Pied Wagtail roost in some trees on the river bank. In all honesty, I think that Dad was a better father than I was a son, and I shall be forever grateful for his setting of a fine example which made me...