A buzzard wheeled high above us today as we set off up the track into the coniferous plantation, following it upwards....
We walked on beyond the gate, with....
In the short few seconds during which the bird was visible it was difficult to determine whether it was another buzzard or an eagle. We concluded that it was an eagle on the grounds that it had a very wide wingspan, that it was flying over open moorland while the local buzzards prefer mature woodland, and that the one flap of its wings which we observed was very slow compared to a buzzard's flap. This last is, in our experience, one of the best ways of identifying an eagle, thoughts it's even easier if there is something to scale it against - such as a gull harassing it.
We'll never know whether it was an eagle or not but it would have been so good to have determined that it was, as we've yet to have a positive sighting of an eagle anywhere in Golspie or its immediate surrounds.
I’m enjoying reading your blog Jon having been pointed to it by LGS facebook page. I was one of your pupils at Ludlow, you were a very influential teacher, but not sure how effective we were in stopping fly tipping in Whitcliffe woods. I’ve had a good career reding energy waste and improving energy efficiency in heavy industry UK and internationally. Now that I’m retired I’m enjoying more time climbing and sea kayaking, especially around coasts and islands of Scotland
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you, Kevin, and to know that you've found satisfaction in what you're done over the years since LGS. I enjoyed teaching there, and well remember our efforts to stop fly tipping at Whitcliffe. My only regret about Ludlow is that we weren't ready to settle down and only spent two years there before heading off to Jamaica. And, like you, we've spent many happy years in Scotland, now on its east coast but for 20 of them on the west. I have another blog, A Kilchoan Diary, which describes those years - we, too, had sea kayaks, and a house overlooking the Sound of Mull from which we could launch in under ten minutes if something interesting came into the bay below us. All the best to you. Jon
DeleteIt does look more Eagle than Buzzard. I used the Merlin app on my phone to image your photograph and it returned Sea Eagle. I doubt that, but due to the similarity of Sea Eagles to Goldies, I would feel happy to congratulate you on your first sighting and usual quick camera agility.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Derryck. We have seen sea eagles here, one sighting to the north of the village of a pair flying out over the firth; and - again - a possible sighting of a golden eagle some way inland from the village. But nothing in proximity to Golspie.
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