Hi everyone,
I've just got back from a week in Scotland and I thought I would share a few of my pictures with you all. I was very lucky to be staying in the Avon Gorge, which had an abundance of birdlife as well as rabbits, foxes and grey squirrels. Just around the small camp where I was staying, I saw Blue and Great Tits, Wren, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Robin, Woodpigeon, Crow, Rook and had great views of Buzzards and Swallows flying overhead. However, the highlight was spotting my first ever Treecreeper just outside the lodge.
There were literally hundreds of Swallows in the surrounding fields which was hardly suprising given the amount of insects around! I managed to get a couple of shots of the Swallows when they were on the telephone wires.
As well as the Swallows, there were a lot of Buzzards in the area and I saw at least one almost everytime I went out! I got some shots, but unfortunately the bird was quite far away in both of them.
The higlight of the holiday was of course visiting the spectacular Bass Rock and Craigleith islands on the RIB. The sheer number of Gannets and other seabirds was overwhelming, and although the boat wasn't particularly stable, I did manage to get a couple of pics. On the islands, I saw Gannet, Shag, Cormorant, GBB Gull, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, a few Puffins and even a Peregrine Falcon high up in one of the crevices!
I also visited Vane Farm RSPB reserve in hope of seeing an Osprey. Unfortunately none turned up, but I did see a variety of birds on the feeders including Siskin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Blue and great Tits. I got a decent shot of a Siskin and a cute juvenile Robin, as well as a couple of scenery shots.
A visit to Beecraigs country park gave me the opportunity to photograph some captive Red Deer.
Finally, some more scenery shots for you and a large moth that took up residence in our lodge! If anyone could identify the moth I'd be very grateful.
Overall it was a great week (apart from the weather!) and I hope you like the photos :-)
Kind Regards
WW
Hi WW
Theres some great pictures there, congrates on the Tree Creeper, I love the shot of the Red Deer and the sky shot that is straight after it, thanks for sharing your holiday. Cannot help with the moth though sorry.
Shane
Regards Shane
My Photos in Flickr.
Hi WW,
What lovely photos!
I agree with Shane that sky shot is brilliant and I also like the Robin and the Red Deer.
Becca :-)
Hi WW Must have been 'wandering' around in your wake!! The Bass is my fav piccy as its just a wonderful place to visit - was hoping to be there today but maybe one day soon!! Glad that you had a wonderful trip + yes the weather was a bit 'off' but well its the UK!!
'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks' John Muir.
Excuse wobbily dyslexic spelling!
Thanks everyone :-) I think my two favourite photos are the deer and the sky shot as well. The juvenile Robin was literally about 2 feet away so getting a photo wasn't too difficult! And I agree Osprey the bass was a fantastic (and smelly!) experience and the boat ride out was pretty fun as well!
Great photos there WW. My fave is probably the robin. I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to the Bass Rock despite not living that far away but I'll hopefully recify that soon. By the way, I saw my first treecreeper yesterday too whilst visiting Dirleton Castle (just along from North Berwick) but couldn't get a picture.
Brilliant pics. I love the shot of the Bass Rock and the Deer. Well done for the Treecreeper: I rescued one of these years ago from a cat. Took it to vet's (the bird, not the cat) but couldn't save it. I've never seen one since.
Moth could be a Brindled Beauty, but I'm no expert to say the least!
Regards
Ken
It's amazing what you see if you open your eyes.
Thank you Fergus and Ken,
The Treecreeper was climbing up a tree just outside the lodge where I was staying! I also saw another treecreeper at a country park a few days later so that part of Scotland might be a good area for them :-) Either that or I was just looking in the right place at the right time! And thank you Ken for the Brindled Beauty suggestion I have no clue when it comes to moths! I'll lokk that species up :-)
Love all the pics especially the siskin, what gorgeous birds they are.
WP
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. - John Lubbock
WW looks like a very good trip and it does not look too lumpy heading out to the Bass - well done for keeping the camera steady. Good spot on the Treecreeper. I am heading towards a Northern Deep-brown Dart for the moth but not 100% confident - I will do a bit more research later if I get a chance
ukmoths.org.uk/show.php
Caroline in Jersey
Cin J
Thanks Caroline,
They managed to keep the boat steady for a few minutes so everyone could take pictures :-) and thank you for the moth sugestion having looked at your link I think you could be right :-)