NW Scotland - Beautiful Clashnessie

Photos of Clashnessie Bay at the beginning of the month on a sunny day.  This is amongst my favourite beaches in NW Scotland.

 

Ripples in the river reflecting the light.

 

A screenshot from a cine film my father took in 1966 with my brother and me on the right. My younger brother was happy to play with his toy motor launch, as was I.  No video games then!

 

Minsmere RSPB - Chasers

Not only were there birds to see at Minsmere during my visit towards the end of May, but a few Chasers were evident.

 

The Four Spotted Chaser seen in the morning....

....whilst this macro of another Four Spotted was taken in the golden light as the sun went down. 

 

The scarcer male Broad-bodied Chaser.

Minsmere RSPB - Reedland Birds Pt 1

In the morning of my visit to Minsmere RSPB Reserve in May, I saw one of the reserves iconic birds, a Bittern flying at some distance over reed beds.  I knew the image would be poor, and hoped for better views later.

 

Come the early evening I had worked my way round the reserve and came to a hide overlooking the extensive reedbeds.  A Bittern was heard Booming nearby and eventually I got a view of this male Bittern fishing in reeds about 40m away.

 

Also seen was this female Reed Bunting which stayed long enough at the edge of the reeds to give some clear unobstructed views. 

Scottish Wren & Fledgling

Everyday during my Scottish break, a wren was heard proclaiming its territorial possession around our holiday chalet.

 

Generally it was hard to spot until it flew to another location, but I was lucky enough to capture this close-up.

 

Later in the week I had this view of a delightful wren fledgling waiting to be fed.

Scottish Clouds

A mainly grey day on our arrival to NW Scotland early June, notable for some cloud formations.

 

Threatening weather front that delivered 15 minutes of intense rain....

 

...later leaving the mountains clothed in broken low lying cloud....

 

...before the sun started to break through in the late evening.

Peculiar Bird Behaviour

I have been away in Scotland for a week, so will resume posts.

 

When we arrived at Ullapool on the NW coast of Scotland on a cool afternoon, I was sitting in the car whilst my wife went to stock up for the week.  Waiting in the car park I observed this Herring Gull and Crow 'bathing' on the smoking chimneys of a house.  I presume that they were not doing this for warmth, but possibly were using the smoke to discourage parasites.  On a number of occasions the crow had lifted its wings whilst sitting directly over the smoke coming out of the chimney.   I have never seen this before. 

 

Taken from quite a distance, so not as clear as I would have wished.

A Wet Labrador

A walk yesterday evening along the Grand Union Canal near Slapton with a friend and their Labrador.  The dog kept jumping into the canal and had to shake the water off, resulting in these images.

 

 

Looks like the water is coming out of holes in his skin like a watering can, whilst his face becomes distorted in a momentary grimace.

Trying to avoid the deluge.



 

Wagging the tail produces a trail of water.