Winter - 2

Another grey miserable day, so no current photograph again, however here is another taken in 2002. This is of Buachaille Etive More, Glencoe.

Winter

Since the weather has been pretty miserable here of late, I resurrected one from 2002. It is of Ben Nevis (or Beinn Nibheis in the Gaelic {unless you can manipulate pdf files you really need to print this link}).

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside - 3

This photograph is included because I like Pied Wagtails. They are such perky little birds and never stop moving about.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside - 2

Since Sorlil is happier with birds than dogs, here are three for the price of one. You've got, from left to right, starling, black-headed gull and a herring gull.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

No matter how cold, dogs just seem to love playing in and around the sea. Rather them than me at present.

Boxing Day Blues

Blue becase that was the colour of my hands!

Today has been fairly yukky - overcast, windy, cold and trying to rain. I did brave the climatic conditions on Ayr Esplanade to get a photograph of a black-headed gull. I know it doesn't have black head, but it will when it comes to the breeding season. They are a very elegant small gull - noisy, but elegant.

This shot is of one trying to fly past into the teeth of a gale.

Christmas bird 02

and I am talking about the Turkey this time!



Merry Christmas everyone, and a peaceful and healthy New Year to follow.

Christmas bird .....

.... and I'm not talking about the Turkey.

This little fellow has decorated our Christmas Tree for a few years now. It wouldn't be the same without him, even if he is a bit the worse for wear now.



To those who are already on Christmas Day and to those (like me) still awaiting its coming, best wishes for a peaceful and healthy year to come.

Christmas Lights

Having been less than polite yesterday of someone else's decorations, I thought I'd let you see the only decoration I have - inside the house; nothing outside. That is apart from the Christmas (or should that read Xmas) cards hanging on strips down the wall. I'm saying Xmas since there are virtually no religious cards this year.

Scrooge-like tendencies...

Excuse the blurring on these photos, but it was a cold night with a bitter wind; I was sitting in my car with the window down but with the engine running; I was using the big camera with a fairly high magnification!

I don't know if I'm being curmudgeonly or not, but for a private residence I find this 'show' excessive. Although, at least, it is not in glorious technicolour. Possibly the owner thinks Christ was a space traveller and is trying to provide landing lights for the next spacecraft! I don't think this has anything to do with Christmas, only with one-upmanship.

Full many a ..........

I'll leave you to complete the quote! It's not completely apposite, since it is in our garden and not a desert, but it's too cold to smell if there is any fragrance being wasted. I actually thought I'd got rid of this plant, but it won't give up so I've let it be.

I love birds too ....

..... but in a different way to you!



If you still haven't found me ........

Last birds...

....... for now anyway! This is one of the blue tits which also frequent the feeder.

Long-tailed tits

Long-tailed Tits are infrequent visitors to our feeders, but when they come, they tend to come mob-handed and block out all the other birds. I don't mind, they are beautiful birds.



Ignore the Chaffinch at the water!

Bird again

I don't know if it's true, but the Collared Doves look decidedly stupid.

More birds

I left the camera set up at the upstairs window and got some more photographs; in this case of a Greenfinch feeding away. No other bird can dislodge one when it starts feeding.

A bird in the hand ....

.... or in this case rather more than two in the bush! This tree is a favourite resting place for the Chaffinches before and after eating from the feeder.

More from Cowal

A final set of photos from my trip to Dunoon, taken on the way back home the following day.

The weather was much clearer and sharper over the Cowal Peninsula.



Just in case you thought we were on a big ferry, the Western Ferries over the Clyde are small vessels in comparison to most of the CalMac Ferries and are much smaller than the ferry we took from Hull to Zeebrugge.



A photograph of the town of Dunoon in the sunshine.

Holy Trinity Dunoon

Thought I should show you a picture of the inside of Holy T. just after the service was completed.

We were all at the back enjoying Mince Pies and Mulled Wine {The links are for those who may not be conversant with U.K. Traditions}

Winter?

Last Sunday we sailed over to Dunoon to join my Sister-in-Law at an advent service in the church she attends. These hills lie to the North and, although they may not be up to the standard of some parts of the world, they are showing the first real signs that winter is upon us - about time to!

Final Birding

The last birding photograph is of Barnacle Geese flying over one of the hides at Caerlaverock. Unfortunately I can't pay you the noise they made!

Scottish Borders

Still from my birding holiday, today's photograph was taken from a wood in the Scottish Borders looking towards the Eildon Hills.

Footbridge

This is the footbridge over the burn leading into Aberlady Bay.

Boat

Another photograph from Aberlady Bay, this time over the Firth of Forth looking at a boat sailing up to, I think, Grangemouth Refinery.

Birds

Since this was a birding holiday, I thought I'd also post a bird photograph. This is one of the pink-footed geese overflying us at Aberlady Bay as headed towards the Firth of Forth to roost, on the water, for the night.

Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill

Yet another picture from Aberlady Bay. This time looking slightly further north to the outline of Edinburgh Castle in the centre and Calton Hill to the right.

Arthur's Seat

Another photograph from Aberlady Bay, this time of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

Aberlady Sunset

This photograph was taken on the mainland on the East Coast of Scotland at Aberlady, East Lothian. We were there at sunset waiting for flocks of red-footed geese to come back from their foraging grounds to their roosting area.

Birds

This photograph was actually taken before those of yesterday and shows Black Guillemots swimming in the Harbour in Oban before we sailed to Mull.

Please don't ask why Black Guillemots seem to show a lot of white when swimming whilst ordinary Guillemots seem fairly black. I don't know.

Loch Na Keal

Today's photo is also from the Isle of Mull, this time looking over Loch Na Keal.

Away Day

There actually won't be many bird photographs from my Birding holiday because
1. I was there to look at and identify birds.
2. The birds were generally at some distance.
3. The weather conditions were far from ideal for photography a lot of the time.
4. I was mainly using the large lens hand-held, so there is a fair amount of blurring.

However, as a starter here is a picture of the Oban to Craignure ferry leaving Craignure just after it had dropped us off. We left our hotel that morning at 07.00 and returned just after 20.00 - exhausted, damp and happy.

Just over the headland in the front of this picture we watched a couple of otters playing in the sea.



One of the main species we were there to see was the White-tailed Eagle (Sea Eagle) and see them we did, albeit at a distance and with no movement on their part - not surprising since it was raining - so no photograph I'm afraid.

Rare visitor

Hi folks, I'm back from a successful, if somewhat damp, bird-watching trip. I'll post a couple of photographs once they are all downloaded. Meanwhile, we had a visitor to our own bird table at home this morning. Apologies for the slight blurring, but I was taking these with the big lens hand-held and I'm not as steady as I once was. You'll note how different the colour seems depending on the magnification and angle of the shot - it is the same animal each time.

Round again

I'll be out of communication for a few days, but before I go I'll leave you with one last picture from the top of Brown Carrick Hills - this time looking eastwards. It might not be immediately obvious, but there is a deep wide valley in the near foreground.

Ayr surroundings

Taken from the same spot as the last two photographs, these two serve to show the extent of Ayr Bay and the Firth of Clyde.

The first is a little to the west of Ayr and shows the coast line up through Irvine and beyond up to the Cumbraes.



The second is even further west looking over towards Arran.

Transport modes

Taken from the same spot as yesterday, two forms of transport of quite different speeds.





The aircraft is a Ryanair jet, one of the low-cost airlines which have come to the fore recently. How low-cost is a matter of conjecture since everything 'extra' is an added cost. The latest humorous comment on Ryanair is they are about to charge for "emotional baggage" as well.

Fair Ayr...

Today's photograph was taken from the top of the Brown Carrick hills overlooking Ayr Bay. The centre of the photograph is Wellington Square and the Sheriff Court just beyond the Low Green in Ayr.

In the background is Prestwick Airport.

Historical -again

Whilst I was looking through my older photographs for yesterday's item, I found others I thought might be of interest. I'll post these on an occasional basis.

This one from 2005 was taken at the North-West of Arran, on the hills just above Locharanza, and includes the departure of the Cal-Mac ferry, the Loch Tarbert, from Lochranza to Clonaig. The view is over the junction of the Kilbrannan Sound and the Sound of Bute, looking up Loch Fyne.