• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Uganda 2013

Musiewild's blog

~ An occasional blog, mainly photos

Musiewild's blog

Tag Archives: red deer

West Highlands, 2022 – 3

25 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Geology, Photography, Wildlife

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Ben Nevis, Caledonian MacBrayne, Corran ferry, Devil's toenails, Gleann Gael, grey seal, gryphea, Isle of Mull, Kingairloch, Loch Aline, Loch Linnhe, Loch Uisge, Lochaline, Lochaline Mine, Morvern, otter, pine marten, red deer, red-breasted merganser, sika deer, Sound of Mull, stonechat, whinchat

Tuesday, 13th September. Today, having passed through Fort William, we went down the eastern side of Loch Linnhe (pronounced ‘Linnie’) to its narrows, where we crossed the loch by the Corran ferry, enjoying the view of the lighthouse on the other side.

After the narrows the sea loch is much wider. We followed it southwards.

Looking back
Looking forward
Red-breasted merganser
Common seal ‘banana-ing’
Distant red deer

At one stop along the loch I was pleased to have my 2007 Open University geology revised. I had never realised that Ben Nevis was an extinct volcano.

We left the Linnhe at one point to visit a small lochan (that’s tautologous) with a very long name in Gallic.

Whinchat and stonechat by the lochan

Back beside the Linnhe, I was delighted to see a seal come in to cavort in the rocks and weed. It was some way away, and rather difficult to photograph, but these are my two best pictures.

Our packed lunch was taken at Kingairloch,

from where we made our way inland on the Morvern peninsula to Lochaline, on the Sound of Mull. We had on the way passed Loch Whisky and Gleann Gael. [Linguistic note!: I wrote ‘Whisky’ in my notebook, because that’s what I thought I was being was told, being assured that it was its real name, and that ‘whisky’ means ‘water’ in Gallic. I was being teased to a certain extent. On the map I find it is spelt ‘Loch Uisge’. And ‘uisge’ does indeed mean water, ‘uisge beatha’, the water of life, being the Gallic for ‘whisky’.]

Distant sika deer, and sheep
Isle of Mull behind the ferry

We walked away from the Sound, and made our way a short distance along Loch Aline off it, past a fascinating sand mine and its works.

There was some waste sand lying around. On picking it up we could see and feel just how very white, fine and soft it was, quite unlike any I had encountered on a beach.

I would love to have had a visit round the works, not to mention the mine itself!

David and Jon (hidden behind his telescope), look at the storage
Conveyor belts
Sand just about to be dumped onto a conveyor belt

We walked on.

Tern of some sort being photobombed from the front by a young gull

I then got absorbed into the next activity and totally forgot to take any photos of it. There were literally hundreds of ‘devil’s toenails’ on the beach. David collected several. Devil’s toenails are fossils of bivalves, gryphea, about two inches, 5 centimetres, long. And here’s a (copyright-free) picture of one found on the internet..

Time to go home the way we came.

This evening a pine marten visited even before our meal, so it was possible to get some semi-daylight pictures through the glass.

Clearly not worried by us, as long as we stayed we we were. We could even move around.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Travelling again – 7. Strathdearn and Insh Marshes

03 Saturday Jul 2021

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Photography, Plants, Wildlife

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

birch polypore fungus, butterwort, common rock rose, curlew, David Parkin, dung beetle, Findhorn Bridge, Findhorn Valley, Germander Speedwell, Grant Arms Hotel, greylag goose, heath spotted orchid, Insh Marshes, Nigel Marven, red deer, roe deer, RSPB, Ruthven Barracks, small heath butterfly, Strathdearn

I had been to Strathdearn on my visit to the area two years previous. I had been on my own and had had the good fortune to encounter there a couple of practised birders. On Monday 14th June, the location was one of the options on the programme, so I was able to benefit from the expertise of Richard, one of the Grant Arms Hotel‘s list of local guides. The meeting point was a car park ten miles along the Strathdearn/Findhorn Valley, where I took the obligatory photos looking ahead,

and behind.

We were some ten people from the hotel. Almost as soon as we were gathered, a herd of at least 20 red deer arrived. I was a little careless as I took the photo. They were at a considerable distance, but I should have held stiller. I include this merely for the record.

We also got a brief glimpse of an osprey, but not good enough for a photo.

It was blowing an absolute gale, a really cold one at that, and at times it was raining. Like several others I am afraid I just sat in my car for much of the time, and emerged only when I saw a brave few huddled over the roadside verge. They were examining two plants,

a heath spotted orchid, and this pretty, innocent looking thing, a butterwort.

Not so innocent. It is insectivorous, as a closer look at these sticky leaves shows.

After an hour or so alternately shivering outside and warming up inside my car, I gave up. I imagine the others were continuing with Richard to Burghead in the afternoon, but I had booked on to a different outing. I made my way back along the Findhorn Valley, admiring the views once more, and occasionally stopping to take photos when it was safe to stop in the passing places along the single-track road.

The art deco Findhorn Bridge at the beginning of the valley is interesting.

The inscription explains, ‘This bridge was built in 1926 to replace the bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1833’.

I had plenty of time before I was due at the meeting spot for the afternoon’s outing, so I stopped off at a hotel in the village of Carr Bridge for a coffee. I had to sign up for the Cairngorms own Track and Trace system and not to forget to sign out as I left.

Continuing on my way, I tried to capture the beauty of the distant mountains, some with occasional snow.

I was heading for the Insh Marshes RSPB reserve, and passed of over Loch Insh. It seems to be best known for its water sports activities, but I saw none of those, I’m pleased to say, and had the road bridge to myself when I took these, with not an activity in sight in either direction.

There’s a bit of a breeze, but it wasn’t cold here.

I was very early at the meeting place, ate my banana and wandered around a just a little.

I didn’t want to leave the beaten track, but just enjoyed the wildflowers on the verges, the sheep and the views. Not to mention the smidgeon of sun.

As I’ve said before, I do like a clump of flowering grasses.

It turned out that I was the only customer for this afternoon’s outing, so we were just three, Nigel Marven, Sue W of the hotel, and me. We went to a lookout. I was pleased to have expert company. I would have spotted nothing in these marshes without them.

But with their eyes, I was able to see at a great distance, (my camera is on maximum zoom here) a greylag goose and goslings (and more geese),

a curlew

and a roe deer.

We also saw a redshank, but my photo of that is so poor it does not even merit being included for the record. We came down from the viewpoint and started making our way to a ground level hide. Nigel went on ahead, and came back with…

… a dung beetle. No, until a few days earlier I did not know that the UK had dung beetles. Though ours do not gather and roll along those balls of faeces you see on the nature documentaries about Africa, and indeed which I have seen there, most recently in Morocco.

On the way, we saw, among other things, a small heath butterfly,

germander speedwell,

common rock roses, and

and birch polypore fungus.

Once installed in the hide, we were delighted to see very close a family of curlews. A parent,

a chick,

two parents,

and a parent and a chick.

In fact there were two very attentive parents and three growing chicks, but it was not possible to capture all five together. Sue was very pleased to see that there were indeed still three chicks, the same as the last time she had been there a couple of weeks back, and they were very adventurous now.

Over in the distance was a buck roe deer.

As I drove back to the hotel I was taken aback to see this. Only on my return did I learn that it was a significant historical monument, the Ruthven Barracks, built by George II after the 1715 Jacobite Rising. Had I known, I would have parked up and looked around.

After another delicious dinner at the hotel (here is the menu for that evening, which also included a choice of four tempting sweets),

visiting speaker David Parkin gave a very interesting talk, more so than might be suggested by the title, called ‘Birds and Climate Change’.

This was the end of the official ‘celebrity week’, but I had a further full day to explore the area.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

“The Newt in Somerset” – January 2020

14 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, History, Photography, Plants

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Cyder, Hadspen House, Hobhouse, Karen Roos, Koos Bekker, Museum of Gardening, Newt in Somerset, red deer, Stourhead, Tony Irons Cacti

Last November/October, when my friend Mary came down from London for the day, we had planned to visit The Newt in Somerset, but the weather was so appalling that we went to the Haynes International Motor Museum instead, and a fine time we had there too. This Sunday, the forecast being reasonable, I decided to try again, and take advantage of a promotion whereby I could get a year’s pass for the price of one entry.

Hadspen House (back history here, but not updated since 2007) was the home of the Hobhouse family from 1785 until recently. In 2013, South African billionaire, Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos bought the place, including its very extensive grounds, and reportedly spent £50 million pounds on refurbishing it. The complex now comprises a hotel (£350 B and B a night) the Gardens, a small farm, and a cyder (sic) plant. (The Newt’s website does not give the story of the conversion as such, but its The Press gives links to many articles, the most informative, in my view, being those of the Telegraph and the Financial Times. The other accounts seem destined more at those, including the international market, who might be interested in staying at the hotel.)

Having bought my ticket near the car park,

I was directed to the Threshing Barn for further information and the ticket’s conversion into ‘membership’. I saw a modern building, but am now confused as to whether this has just been modernised out of all recognition, or is indeed brand new. The same goes for some of the other buildings.

Looking back at Cyder Cellar, Cyder Bar, Threshing Barn, Shop

Coffee was the first requirement, being served in the Greenhouse, it being too chilly for the Cyder Bar to be open.

When I saw this, I was reminded of an idea I had had of putting together a bowl of cacti and succulents to go on my front and very sunny window ledge. I have realised that very thing today, with the help of a grower living near Bristol. I hope the tiny plants do not grow this big!

Over coffee I looked at the plan, and decided to look at the gardens, nearby, before lunch, then take a walk in the more extensive grounds afterwards.

But first a peek at the Mushroom room.

Began my stroll.

Cottage garden
Through to the Victorian Fragrance Garden

Apparently the squirts of water from fish to toad are set off by movement sensors. I didn’t know this, and nearly got a shower on my calf from a small toadlet on a stone by my left ankle as I moved off! So that’s what the blurb meant by, ‘be[ing] careful not to approach the Giant Toad and her children: they have vile tempers!’

Over to the Colour Garden, to be explored at a more colourful time
Hadspen House, via the Long Walk
The Kitchen Garden in January
Interesting to see Aponogeton (water hawthorn) in bloom. Mine hasn’t shown the slightest leaf yet.
And a water lily thinking about waking up.
There were many labels around the place, always in English, sometimes accompanied by translations into what seemed like random other languages.
Dog kennels turned chicken house
For all their splendour, tiny bantams both
The Garden Café, see through a corner of the Parabola, which contains most of the 500-odd apple varieties grown on the estate.
A few counties were set in stone. Good to see my own, Middlesex, which disappeared in the London government reorganisation of 1965.

Time for lunch. All the dishes, whether vegetarian or not, are named for one of the vegetables grown in the gardens. I had ‘Kale’.

And two kinds of bread and two kinds of butter
The view, through glass, from my seat. Far too cold to eat outside.
I finished with jasmine tea.

A heavy shower followed my lunch, and I thought I would soon be headed home, especially as every gate out to the parkland I had seen in the morning had been locked, and displayed a notice, ‘Parkland walks will be opening in the summer.’ But the rain stopped quickly and I found that a walk into the deer park, near the café, was open.

I soon came to this. Despite appearances to the contrary, the supports are firmly planted in the ground.

At the end of the walkway came this.

To begin with I thought, enviously, that it might be someone’s home. The building was on the plan, but without a label. A young employee emerged, so I asked him. It was the just-opened Museum of Gardening. And here was its door, just round the corner.

The young man asked if I’d seen the deer. I’d forgotten I might. He said I was unlikely now, as they would have departed way over there from their morning hangout near here.

The Museum is to be investigated another time. I went on.

The ball had hundreds of holes drilled, for bees I imagine.

Beyond here was a big gate, with some machinery beyond. I wasn’t sure that I was allowed, or indeed wanted to go on this time. A woman, of about my own age, was approaching from the other side. Did I want to come through? She could let me. I said I was not sure, was thinking of turning round at this point anyway. We chatted, as she clearly knew a lot about the estate. She also asked if I’d seen the deer. There were two herds, red and fallow, the latter very shy indeed. I was bold in my questioning, and found that she was a Hobhouse. My departing ‘Really lovely to have met you’ was heartfelt!

WAY over on the horizon is King Alfred’s Tower, part of the Stourhead estate.

Nearly back at the beginning of my walk, I saw this. On the way out I had assumed it was a bit of fencing due to be placed somewhere. But I now realised it was the top of the Museum of Gardening, a safety precaution!

Evidence I was in a deer park

I looked up, and was surprised to see these does springing up the bank.

They were joined by a buck.

And then by a big buck!

Who wanted me to see his antlers in all their glory!

I took a slightly different route, through some woodland, back to the courtyard.

The Marl Pit

The Cyder Cellar was not open, but I looked in.

The farm shop definitely was open, and I bought bread, tomatoes and beans.

I shall be returning before long, and plan to follow the gardens and grounds through the seasons. Next time I will get there by 10.30, so that I can do the Garden tour, and have some more questions answered. Another time I will do the Cyder tour.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Grantown-on-Spey 4

10 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

common sandpiper, Findhorn Valley, little grebe, Loch Farr, Loch Ruthven, mallard, Meadow pipit, oystercatcher, Raven, red deer, ring ouzel, RSPB, Slavonia, Slavonian grebe, Strathdearn

Sunday, 2nd June. The verdict as to what I should so on my final full day was unanimous: ‘Strathdearn’, they said, which is also known as the Findhorn Valley.

Findhorn Bridge
Through which can be seen a railway and a major road bridge

I made several stops along the valley As I got back in the car the first time, ‘Henry’ and ‘Clara’, out for a walk, asked me was I looking for waders. I replied I was looking for anything, in a very amateurish way. The waders were all over the fields they said.

I succeeded in seeing nothing for a while, except some colourful cows,

evidence that sheep had once inhabited this field,

some actual sheep,

and some oystercatchers too far away to get a decent picture. I liked the colours in this newish wall round a farmhouse.

And then it started raining. Many years ago, when I was working in Whitehall on public housing subsidies, it had been alleged to me that it rained sideways in Scotland. Here’s the proof.

With wind like this, no wonder it does.

It calmed down, and I came to a little layby. ‘Jack’ and ‘Jock’ were there with telescopes and heavy rainwear. Of course I pulled in. Birdwatchers always compare notes, though I had nothing to offer. The hope was to see a golden eagle. I stayed just a short while, which they clearly did not think was very professional of me, but I was keen to reach the car park at the end of the road for lunchtime, and I was now only halfway along.

I had stopped at a broad bank and had been watching the first oystercatcher making desultory nest-building moves, before the second came along and appeared to tell her there was no point. ‘Marie’ and ‘Hamish’, who said they were keepers (self-appointed or not, I was not sure) came along in a Landrover, and said they were concerned that a pair of dippers had been disturbed ‘just under that bridge’ in their nest-building recently. They seemed satisfied that I was not guilty and after some pleasantries drove on in the direction I had come from.

I continued on my way, and just before the car parking area, I encountered this meadow pipit, with caterpillar.

This was my view as I sat in the car starting to eat my lunch. I was really, really hoping to see a golden eagle or some other raptor.

Then I stopped chewing, because I could see two tiny protuberances at the top of the mountain. With my binoculars I saw this.

Then this.

Then this.

Then this!

I was spellbound.

In due course ‘Jack’ and ‘Jock’ came along, and asked me if I had seen the ravens. (As it was ‘Jock’ who asked me, I had to ask three times what he was asking, his accent was so strong.) The ravens were way up on a hillside behind me. I had been so mesmerised by the red deer (and nice and warm in the car as I ate) that I had not yet turned round to see them, on a far horizon.

I learned that ‘Jack’ and ‘Jock’ came up to the Highlands from Dunfermline and Airdrie as often as they could to look for birds.

All of a sudden ‘Jack’ got very excited. ‘I don’t believe it!’. He had just been idly looking through his telescope, and there was … a ring ouzel. I had never seen one in my life, and I had previously met people who had travelled many miles unsuccessfully to see one. It is a mountain relative of the blackbird, and has a white bib. I was invited to to look at it through their telescope. I then tried to find it with my camera, in vain. So I took some general pictures of the gully, hoping I might pick the bird out on screen later.

Here’s one of the photos.

And yes, the bird is there. Yes it is. Here is a tiny segment of the main photo, enormously enlarged.

And here’s a tiny segment of another photo.

Clearly there is a blackbird with a white bib.

I was chuffed! Thank you ‘Jack’ and ‘Jock’. I’d never have seen either it or, probably, the ravens had you not been there. But that’s the birdwatching world (of which I do not count myself part). They love sharing their sightings.

Another car came along, but I was moving on. I had more plans. Again using the map and information provided by the hotel, I was making for RSPB reserve Loch Ruthven. But not before this common gull had greeted me beside my car.

And I had zoomed in on this ruin back along the Findhorn Valley.

There was what turned out to be a very narrow one-track road over some moorland to get to the reserve. The sun was coming out, and it made this ‘blasted heath’ a little more attractive.

(I don’t usually manage to take a 360 degree video at all steadily, but this time used the car as a leaning post.)

The road was only 7 miles long, but it took a while to travel it. There was a delightful small loch at the end of it, Loch Farr. But I stopped only long enough to take a picture of it, as I had a few more miles more to do.

This was the view as I parked the car at RSPB Loch Ruthven.

And these a couple of views as I walked along the path to the hide.

THE bird to see there is the rare Slavonian grebe. Half the UK’s breeding population is found at this loch. (I know, there are countries called Slovakia and Slovenia, but no Slavonia. I don’t know why the grebe is so-called! … Ah, I do now. Spellcheck didn’t underline the word, so I thought I’d better look it up. Slavonia is a region in Croatia. So now I know. Well, I still don’t know how the bird got its name. In the US it’s called the Horned grebe.)

Anyway, I didn’t see any. Neither did ‘Janet’ and ‘John’, who were already in the hide, and didn’t say hello. They left after after ‘Janet’ said to ‘John’, ‘Shall we give up?’ I was happy just to sit there and see

a female mallard and duckling,
several little grebes, aka dabchicks,
two common sandpipers,

and various other birds of which I didn’t get decent photos, and to enjoy this abstract.

As I left, ‘Nick’ came in. We exchanged shy smiles and as I made my way back along the pretty path I found my self thinking, ‘I’m sure I’ve met him before. Is he on the telly, or is he in in the Somerset Wildlife Trust?’ I didn’t work it out.

Half a day left. What shall I do tomorrow?

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

USA 2018 (6), Jackson Hole, afternoon.

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Bison, Brown bear, Carl Rungius, cervus canadensis, cervus elaphus, Cougar, elk, Georges Gardet, Grand Teton National Park, Grand Tetons, Grizzly bear, Jackson Hole, Jackson Visitor Center, Landseer, moose, Mountian lion, Mule deer, National Elk Refuge, Nicola Hicks, Pronghorn, Puma, red deer, Robert F Kuhn, Shepard Alonzo Mount, Wapiti, wolf, |National Museum of Wildlife Art

USA 2018 (6), Jackson Hole, afternoon. After lunch in its restaurant, we had a guided tour, by a volunteer, of some of the exhibits at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Not nearly long enough for many of us, but much better than nothing, a really beautiful museum.  There were sculptures and paintings, inside and outside. (Brrrrr – we had divested ourselves of outerwear!) Here are just a few that particularly caught my eye, with references where I noted them.

P1290332001

Moose (American), elk (English)

P1290333001

Mountain lion/puma/cougar

P1290334001

Brown/grizzly bear

P1290341001

Pronghorn deer

P1290342001

This dramatic picture of a bison coming out of the mist occupied a whole wall. I’m tempted to think that the mist is that of the thermal heat in Yellowstone which we were to see later.

P1290344001

Sir Edwin Landseer, ‘The Deer Pass’ 1852. who saw a sphinx in the mountain behind the deer.  But did he get the colour of the deer/elk right?

P1290348001

P1290349001

‘Long Island Frog’, 1860 by Shepard Alonzo Mount

P1290351001

‘Pas de Deux’, 1975 by Robert F Kuhn

P1290353001

‘Old Baldface’ c. 1935, by Carl Rungius. (Bears are in a kind of hibernation at this time of year, so we saw none.)

P1290355001

‘The Gangmaster’, c 1020, by Carl Rungius (German)

P1290357001

‘Combat des cerfs’, 1910, Georges Gardet (French)

P1290361001

(Hastily taken as we left) ‘Little Bear’, 2015, by Nicola Hicks, (British)

P1290339

‘Midnight Serenade’, Robert F Kuhn

P1290338

I don’t have details for this picture, but even when it was painted, Bison no longer roamed the plains in these numbers. The painting occupies a whole wall.

As we left the museum, a few of us saw some mule deer in the distance, so-called because of their huge round ears.P1290369001 Afterwards we were taken to a viewpoint of the Grand Teton Range, sadly, as so frequently, topped by cloud, so not seen in their full splendour. P1290374001A panoramic view makes a straight road crooked, so here’s a brief video.

It just so happens that this interesting story on the geology of the Tetons, including a fabulous sunrise photo of them clear of clouds, appeared on Facebook yesterday.

Then it was on to the National Elk Refuge.  Elk/Wapiti (cervus canadensis) are closely related to our (European) red deer (cervus elaphus). They migrate northwards each year for the winter, and many come to this national refuge where they are safe from hunting.P1290378001Had there been more snow we would have been taken to see them in horse-drawn sleighs.  As it was we went in horse-drawn carts.P1290394001P1290408001P1290384001P1290396001P1290397001

P1290425001

Our horses

After a short time at the Jackson Visitor Center…P1290430001P1290434001P1290435001

P1290436001

Mule deer seen from a viewing platform.  See the big ears.

… we returned to our hotel for a short rest, and then went to dinner at another Jackson restaurant.  Because I had arrived so late, I had no other chance to see anything of the town, as we were off the following morning northward for good.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Andalucia 9

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Andalucia, Andalusia, bats, bullfighting, burrowing beetle, Donana National Park, Donana Nature, fallow deer, mouflon, Naturetrek, red deer, rock ibex, Sierra Morena, Spanish ibex, wild boar

Andalucia: non-feline mammals and a few other natural things.  In Doñana National Park to start with. This was the first creature of interest we saw, a long way off and in poor light – a wild boar.  P1270641Later in the week, in the Sierra Morena, we had a good but distant and fleeting view of a large family of boar, great and small.

In both places there were many deer, but horses – in abundance – only in our first location. P1270653P1270765Everywhere we went there were dragonflies, but they very rarely settled for more than a second or two. This was the only half-decent photo I managed in five days of trying.  P1270841What follows only happened to us once, but it is a frequent occurrence apparently in the National Park.  P1280033All out and push! No, we didn’t actually have to push.  Our driver and our excellent Doñana Nature guide, Sergio, pawed away the sand in front of the wheels, and all was well after a few minutes.  The unexpected stop gave me time to look around, and take this photo. P1280034I had seen these before, but now I had the chance to ask what they were, each sandy strand about a centimetre wide. The answer was a burrowing beetle cast.

Did we see lynx? The final post in this series will answer that question!  Moving on to the Sierra Morena, there was a greater variety of mammals to be seen, but still dominated by deer.  We had two excellent sightings of courting mouflon. They are not rare animals, but we were lucky to have two such sightings just minutes apart from each other on our drive.   P1280120P1280133P1280138P1280141This was sad.  P1280148We saw many magnificent bulls like this at one point – on farmland, being bred for bull-fighting. Horrible.  I had deliberately not been to see Seville’s bullring.

P1280155

Magnificent red deer stag, the other side of a wire fence

P1280157Simon’s eagle eyes spotted this exciting creature for us shortly after lunch. We stood on the dam, the rock ibex (also known as Spanish ibex) being at a very great distance from it.

P1280229

My camera at maximum (x24) zoom

P1280230

The same photo cropped and enlarged

P1280243

It wasn’t around for long, and not everyone even managed to see it before it jumped down. But it was far to far away to have been disturbed by us.

Then we walked through a totally dark tunnel at the other side of the dam, and saw…

P1280262

… bats roosting. Here are about eight, huddling together, lit by Simon’s head torch.

P1280263

A single bat. Whether these were Daubenton’s (myotis daubentonii) or Large mouse-eared (myotis myotis) bats, I cannot say, but we saw both.  There were several more holes sheltering bats in the tunnel.

P1280283

Continuing on the afternoon’s drive, we saw more deer…

P1280295

… including fallow deer. This male has magnificent palmated antlers.

P1280302P1280305P1280318We drove back to the second of the chilly morning’s stopping points, and stood on a bridge there.  This is not a Monet painting, and I don’t know what the fish was – but it was big!  P1280496At the spot where we had awaited the sunrise, we took advantage of the shade of trees to keep out of the now very hot sun.  These deer used other means of keeping cool!

P1280503

Maximum zoom again – it had required binoculars to see what the black smudges were

P1280506

Cropped and enlarged

P1280512

Left alone, this one appeared to be throwing around and then eating weed!

 

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Andalucia 7

06 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by Musiewild in Cats, Countryside views, History, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Andalucia, Andalusia, Donana National Park, Egyptian grasshopper, Egyptian locust, El Rocio, Hotel Toruno, Iberian lynx, Naturetrek, red deer, Romeria del Rocio, Wild West

Andalucia, El Rocio and Doñana National Park.  The Doñana wetlands are the largest in Europe – except that they were almost dry at this time of year, the effect exacerbated by the farmers who take much of the water for irrigation, especially of strawberries.  We were staying at the Toruño hotel. P1270772

P1270773

Note the hitching posts

P1270775 copie

On the wall of the reception area showing the species we might expect to see

P1270775

The hotel restaurant, over the way from the main building. What appear to be tall hitching posts are bar counters for horsemen!

This was in the small town of El Rocío (‘the dew’), quite the most extraordinary town I have ever visited.  It was like driving into the Wild West. When you think of it, the Wild West may well have been modelled on such places in the first place – except that in this case much of the town has only been built from the 1950s onwards,.  We were told that it is known as the International Town of the Horse, though my researches since have not been able to find out much about that.  But what El Rocio is known for is a pilgrimage, the Romeria del Rocío, at Pentecost each year, which attracts up to a million people. These can arrive on horseback, in horse-drawn carriages and in wagons.  For there is no tarmac in El Rocío itself. The ‘roads’ are laid entirely with sand.  (Another blogger has written much more fully – and elegantly – about the town here.)

The remaining posts about my trip to Andalucia will be by theme, rather than day by day accounts.

The remains of this one will introduce El Rocío and the National Park, the next the entirely different Sierra Moreno where we spent the second part of our wildlife tour, then the remaining three posts will relate the wildlife we found  –  and some domestic animals.  But back to El Rocío. Internationally known for it or not, it is certainly a town for horses, and there is much evidence of the pride of place given to them. Here are two ordinary ‘roads’ and the sign at the restaurant where we ate lunch at one day.

P1270776

Yes, cars are allowed

P1270781P1270782When we got back from a morning drive on the Tuesday, instead of sheltering from the blistering heat, I went out to explore El Rocío for a short while.  P1270786 copie

P1270797

I thought I was perhaps the only person about (‘the English(wo)man out in the midday sun’) but these three horsemen greeted me cheerily.

P1270799 copie

Huge pilgrimage needs huge church

P1270800P1270802 copie

P1270803

The sign says that in 2001 the Andalucían authorities had declared this species of olive, endemic to the region, a ‘Natural Monument’. (If only all regional declarations in Spain were so benign.)

P1270836There were two young cats entertaining us with their antics at each of our two outdoor dinners there, siblings probably, and here is one of them just before we left at midday on the Wednesday. P1270838Horses. I had looked round from my meal on the Tuesday evening and seen one of the high bar counters being used! P1270978And I took these two photos from the van as we returned from our second morning drive.  P1280047

P1280054

The head of the woman exercising the horse at the end of rope in the ring is just visible

El Rocío is right on the edge of the Doñana National Park.  These four photos were taken a short walk from the hotel.  For most of the year, there is a lagoon hugging the whole of one side of the town. However, we could just see a very distant shimmer of water, all that remains until the rains come. (Nearly two weeks on, I don’t think they have done so yet. And yet my guidebook says that October has one of the highest rainfalls of the year in Andalucia.  Climate change?)

P1270797

Horses are everywhere around the town, and in the National Park, grazing where they can, sadly some of them in an emaciated condition.

P1270798

Most of the birds were too far away to be well identified.

P1270812

Two-inch long Egyptian grasshopper, also known as the Egyptian locust, but no threat to crops and vegetation.  Here at a wildlife visitor centre.

P1270819

Lizard with attitude, same place

These remaining pictures were taken out as we explored early in the morning or as the day drew to an end, deeper in the national Park, looking especially for Iberian lynx. P1270997

P1270998

The long shadows are of humans. The flat brown bit would be under water earlier in the season.

P1280021P1280028P1280031P1280032And these red deer stags were a distant vision on the ‘lagoon’ just before we left El Rocío.P1280070

 

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Return to Aigas 8

07 Thursday Jul 2016

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Photography, Plants, Travel, Wildlife

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Aigas, Arctic skua, eider, Gairloch, Golden eagle, greenfinch, grey wagtail, Loch Ewe, Meadow pipit, oblong-leaved sundew, primrose, red deer, red-breasted merganser, roe deer, Round-leaved sundew, sea eagle, sedge warbler, Slavonian grebe, Strathconon

The two final days at Aigas in one post.  Accounting for Thursday will very be short. We drove over to the West Coast of Scotland, to the Loch Ewe and Gairloch areas, returning by way of Loch Maree.  Here are a couple of views we saw on the way there, and a very short video.

P1230289001P1230294001

From these it can be seen that the weather was not exactly ideal, and I have already indicated that I was not well-equipped with bad weather gear.   Having had our lunch we walked along the seashore for a while, in a howling gale, hoping to see sea eagles.

P1230306001P1230309001P1230311001The sea and the grass show how windy it was, and I chickened out again, being absolutely frozen, and made my way back to the bus.

P1230313001

It was quite a time before my colleagues returned and I hoped they were having luck with the eagles.  They weren’t, but they did see a ‘bonxie’, an Arctic skua, which was a plus.

On the way back to Aigas, we had two unexpected sightings at the same place.  The stop was for reasons of nature other than wildlife, and we weren’t expecting to see anything special, but to our surprise we saw there a large group of eider duck, and a red-breasted merganser, swimming on the sea.

P1230315001

This is only part of the group of eider

P1230327001

Red-breasted merganser

P1230329001

And it was a treat to see a greenfinch, that increasing rarity in our gardens because of a rapidly spreading disease.

Friday was our last day, and was spent along Strathconon.  A pleasant morning:

P1230338001

Roe deer

P1230350001

Meadow pipit

P1230355001

Meadow pipit with insect

P1230359001

P1230362001

Red deer

An after-lunch stroll:

P1230378001P1230389001P1230394001P1230396001

P1230399001

Round-leaved sundew. Each trap is no more than a centimetre across

P1230401001

Primroses -in June!

P1230414001

There are both round-leaved and oblong-leaved sundew here

P1230405001

P1230411001

Grey wagtail

P1230415001

The very same making photos easier

But the best was yet to come.   I wasn’t able to get pictures of an osprey perched in a tree, because sadly someone had not understood the instruction to keep within the outline of the bus when we got out, so it was spooked and flew off.  But I had been able 30 minutes earlier to get a few pictures of – at last – two golden eagles!  Sadly, in terms of wildlife the fact that we saw two of them flying around was not a good thing, because it meant there were no chicks on the nest to be looked after by one parent. But it was a thrill for us.

P1230425001P1230429001P1230430001

P1230434001

View from a bridge…

P1230435001

… which was really a hydro-electric barrage

The afternoon’s sightings were completed much nearer our base by some Slavonian grebes and a sedge warbler.

P1230449001P1230450001P1230448001P1230438001P1230445001

P1230451001

Sedge warbler

 

P1230455001

A last drive back to Aigas through the Highlands

Up very early on the Saturday morning for the 8.55 flight from Inverness to Bristol.  What will be the next photographic experience I post here?  At present I have no idea!

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Return to Aigas 6

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Geology, Photography, Wildlife

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Aigas House, Aigas Quarry, bog bean, bog cotton, common frog, four spotted chaser, Glen Affric, Glen Cannich, Glen Strathfarrar, golden retriever, Lord Tweedmouth, oystercatcher, Plodda Falls, red deer, sandpiper, spotted heath orchid, stonechat

Tuesday dawned sunny and bright, and so it continued until mid-morning. (But that was it for the week.)  Today was spent going up and down Glen Cannich and Glen Affric.

P1230037001

P1230050001

Four spotted chaser dragonfly

P1230060001

Bog bean

P1230069001

P1230073001

Bog cotton

P1230079001P1230091001P1230092001P1230093001

P1230099001

Spotted heath orchid

The sun abandoned us at this point.

P1230111001

Common sandpiper

P1230118001

We saw enormous numbers of red deer today, sometimes in huge herds.

P1230120001

P1230123001

Stonechat

P1230134001P1230140001

P1230148001

Oystercatcher

Lunch was spent in a howling and rainy gale, (and in my case inside our vehicle!) so I couldn’t get any decent shots of the dam where we had it. Fortunately the wind and rain dropped at about the time we were to set off again. On the way to Plodda Falls we saw this curiosity, a tribute to the man who ‘invented’ the golden retriever.

P1230152001The Falls were not for those with vertigo!

P1230179001

P1230167 copie001

Just to be clear, we are looking down from the platform at this point

P1230190001

Then we walked about halfway down,  and I took this…

P1230185001

… and this.

P1230192001

But I wanted to take the lot, so I set my camera to panoramic.  But it will only do vertical or horizontal, so I had to twist my head and take a skewed vertical picture, if you see what I mean.

P1230202001

On the way back to Aigas House, we called in on Aigas Quarry, hoping to see a peregrine falcon’s nest.  We didn’t, but I was able to enjoy the geology and some more wild flowers.  The stone is micaceous schist, and was used for building one of the many hydro-electricity dams along the glen. (Did you know that a glen is a valley formed by river action and a strath is a valley formed by glacier action?  I didn’t either.  Glen Strathfarrar clearly has a problem with its identity!)

P1230204001P1230206001P1230207001Someone came across this tiny frog, barely an inch (2.5 cm) long.

P1230210001

(It will be a couple of days or so before the remaining two posts in this series appear.)

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Return to Aigas 1

23 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by Musiewild in Countryside views, Geology, Photography, Plants, Travel, Wildlife

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Aigas, bog plant, Inverness-shire, oystercatcher, red deer, song thrush, Strathfarrar

Ever since October 2104, when I had done a photography course, far too high-powered for me, at the Aigas Field Studies Centre in Inverness-shire, I had wanted to return there to do one of their basic wildlife courses.  I succeeded in doing so last week, and was not disappointed – apart from the weather for which, soft Southerner that I am, I was stupidly ill-equipped.  I hadn’t realised that up there if it isn’t raining they reckon it’s fine.  When out in the field I was cold, expecially for the second part of the week, but I’ll try not to go on about that too much in this series of blogs, because otherwise I had a great time, with some lovely fellow wildlife enthusiasts.

Sunday morning was spent in Glen Strathfarrar.  Much of it was pretty boggy, and acidic.

P1220270001P1220271001

Wherever we went, there were masses of wild flowers, pretty small most of them but oh so pretty.  Some of my companions took their identification very seriously.  I just enjoyed looking at them. If anyone wishes to tell me any names, I will add them and credit the source!

P1220277001P1220278001P1220279001

P1220284001

Bog cotton.  This was everywhere, all week, and very pretty it was too.

Those were all taken at our first stop.  Our second stop also had its boggy plants…

P1220301001

… though it paid to look around as well.  And the sun’s come out for a few minutes.

P1220302001P1220304001P1220319001P1220323001

Our third stopping place was less boggy, but had a great view at the end of a loch, and was a little more lively as far as wildlife was concerned.

P1220325001P1220328001

P1220343001

The first of many troops of wild red deer we saw in the week, not to mention those being farmed.

P1220357001

Song thrush

P1220368001

Oyster catcher and cuckoo

P1220369001

The remains of the winter’s snow

P1220376001

Two cuckoos and two oystercatchers

Back for an excellent buffet lunch, looking forward to the afternoon’s activities.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

  • Norway 2022/23 – 12, An even quieter morning, though not without a degree of anxiety
  • Norway 2022/23 – 11, A quiet day
  • Norway 2022/23 – 10 New Year’s Eve
  • Norway 2022/23 – 9, Turnabouts and changes
  • Norway 2022/23 – 8, Hammerfest
  • Norway 2022/23 – 7, Kirkenes
February 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728  
« Jan    

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015

Blogroll

  • Avalon Marshes 'Hands on Heritage'
  • Londonsenior
  • Salmon Brook Farms
  • The Jaguar
  • Tootlepedal's blog

Recent Comments

Musiewild on Norway 2022/23 – 12, An…
maryh on Norway 2022/23 – 12, An…
maryh on Norway 2022/23 – 12, An…
Musiewild on Norway 2022/23 – 5, Boxi…
Musiewild on Norway 2022/23 – 4, Chri…

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Musiewild's blog
    • Join 195 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Musiewild's blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: