One of the tracks we follow from our end of the village climbs through land which was burnt in a large fire which swept through a section of coniferous plantation in 2018. Much of this area is now blanketed with gorse, though pines are striving to outgrow it and willow, beech, broom and heathers are all competing for space.
When I followed this track yesterday it was obvious that....
....I wasn't the first along it, these slots being so crisp that the deer that made them must have passed by hours before.
The spiders had also been busy, their gossamer traps materialised by the previous night's dew.
The gorse-dominated area isn't ideal for wildlife, though it was along here that we saw one of this summer's adders. On yesterday's walk, with autumn moving in, the main wildlife pleasure came from two small bird species....
....the wrens, which seemed quite happy to come out and show themselves from gorse vantage points instead of skulking around in the undergrowth, and....
....the robins which, while usually found on high vantage points, seemed to be vying with the wrens for the best spots on the gorse - this youngster had found his display post on a pile of logs.
I spent much of my time sitting on a boulder looking out across the view and listening to....
....the noisy skeins of greylag geese passing over on their way from Loch Fleet to feeding grounds in farmers' fields to the north of us.
One of the many joys in reading your blog is the pictorial support of your messages. I am always impressed by the interesting images you capture, especially the birds. My wife and I sat for a cup of tea on a bench during a break from gardening and I imagined trying to photograph subjects of interest in the way you do. Birds flew left and right, butterflies zigzagged and fluttered together, the sound of nature all around and I stood no chance of grabbing a single shot for the storyboard. How you do it, I don't know; but thank you that you do!
ReplyDeleteThank your your generous comment, Derryck. The trick is to be retired. That way I have plenty of time just to sit, watch and blend in with the environment. In my African travels, what I most enjoyed was sitting in a hide waiting for life to come to me, not chasing around after it in a smelly, noisy Land Rover which animals heard coming from miles away, giving them plenty of time to avoid! Jon
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