I’ve just signed up for 30 Days Wild 2017… Watch this space…
Day 26 – Wildlife Spotting on the Move
Birds spotted while driving on the motorways between Derbyshire and Brighton
Ok I probably should have been concentrating 100% on the roads but I couldn’t help noticing:
Numerous buzzards
A sparrowhawk?
Kestrels
Crows
Several jays
Pigeons
A heron
A red kite (near the M25 junction with the M40)
An egret
A tern (presumably common – near the reservoirs by Heathrow)
Jackdaws
Pied wagtail (at Cobham services – also at Watford Gap services a couple of days ago)
Birds are brilliant and get everywhere – making motorway driving much more interesting
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2016 30 Days Wild – Days 10-12
What No Pictures?!
Sometimes life takes over and getting out into the wild to take pictures (what I adore doing) seems difficult to achieve. So the last few days I’ve had to let go of my love of snapping whatever wildlife I can find and just be happy with noting my glimpses through the window literally and figuratively.
Even so I’ve been treated in the last few days to:
– Watching a bird of prey (peregrine?) being flanked and escorted by a large group of swifts out of their patch of sky;
– seeing swifts screaming through the streets at eye level (depending on what floor of the house you’re on);
– being delighted to see a sparrow in the bird bath – first time in 6 years of living with a tiny courtyard garden in the heart of Brighton;
– noticing a goldfinch in a tree in the middle of the North Laines area of Brighton;
– marvelling at a grey wagtail taking of vertically and narrowly missing catching a fly;
– listening to the gentle cooing of doves;
– watching swallows weave in and out of farm buildings;
– seeing the mist swirling around the coombes of the South Downs making them look mysterious and other worldly;
– catching a glimpse of colourful wild flowers on a grey day;
– standing on the end of Brighton (erm Palace) Pier watching a grey/blue rolling sea under a grey sky and feeling somewhat chilly!
– Feeling cool rain on my skin and warm sunshine on my face
It seems that these days a picture is what matters but on reflection this is not a bad list so I guess being wild is not just photographing wild.
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New Forest
New Forest
Old forest
Bending in the breeze forest
Heath, heather, bracken. gorse
River bubbling from its source.
Oak, holly, birch, beech.
Creeks and rustles of woodland speech
Deer gazing, ponies grazing.
Birds singing, spirits raising.
Dappled sunlight, sudden shower
Shelter in a secret bower
New Forest
Old forest
Special place indeed forest
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A-Z of Wonderful Orkney
This list could go on and on!
Artic skuas, amazing archaeology
Bluebells, Brough of Birsay, bere bannocks, black guillemots
Curlews, cuckoos, Churchill Barriers, common skate egg cases
Daily seal (well not quite but almost saw one every day).
Eagles (Sea) back on Hoy (alas didn’t see them but great to know they’re there), eider ducks and chicks
Fulmars, fabulous sunsets, fossils
Great skuas, green finches, greylag geese, great northern diver
Hen harriers, hares and hills of Hoy
Iridescent rainbows, Italian Church
Jovial guide at Maes Howe
Kirkwall’s cathedral (St Magnus)
Lapwings and lovely lochs
Mute swan cygnets, Maes Howe, marsh warbler
North Ronaldsay mutton
Oystercatchers, orchids, the Old Man of Hoy and the Orcadian
Puffins. Pictish Broch at Gurness
Quiet evenings watching the light on Scapa Flow
Red breasted merganser, ring of Brodgar, ringed plovers, rippled rocks, ravens, razor bills
Secret wooded glades, Skara Brae, stones of Stenness, Scapa Flow, sand martins and swallows
Terrific terns
Upside down sheep
Very old rocks, Viking graffiti
Wild cliff tops, wonderful vistas, white horsed waves
Xtraordinary clouds (lenticular)
Yesnaby cliffs and Castle Stack
Zoological wonders, Zephyr winds?!
Goodbye Orkney
A grey day to leave Stromness by but the sea was calm and the sun came out as we passed the Old Man of Hoy.
Even saw a puffin do a bouncing bomb act into the sea.
The long drive to Kendal (further from Thurso than Kendal is from Brighton) was rainy, grey and atmospheric. The delights of the East Coast of Scotland will have to wait for another trip.
Last Day in Orkney
Sad to say that today was the last day in Orkney. So difficult to decide where to go many beautiful places. But it was back to the Bay of Skaill for us. Such a wonderful spot not just because of Skara Brae but a lovely beach and cliff top to explore. Oyster Catchers, Eider Ducks and of course the odd seal or two kept us company.
We strolled around the bay and up on to the cliffs. Admiring the lovely flowers. Spring squill amongst other things. Still haven’t seen the primula scotica but I think we’ve missed for this time.
The Atlantic was pounding the cliffs as it does everyday. It was dramatic on a calm day a stormy one would be amazing though a little dangerous I’d have thought. It is wonderful seeing the layers of rock some so thin like paper, charting the hundreds and thousands of years that the rock of Orkney have taken to form.
Back to the bay for one last stroll along the beach admiring the views and rocks, not to mention the commons skate egg cases. Quite a rare thing these days.
Then off to Kirkwall for a final look at the use man makes of the wonderful rocks of Orkney and one last picture of the evening light over Scapa Flow.
Grand Dwellings and Sandy Beaches
By 1607 the dwellings on Orkney (well some of them!) had become significantly grander than the humble beginnings at Skara Brae. The Earl’s and Bishops Palaces in Kirkwall all felt very modern though by Orcadian standards!
But after a brief foray into the rock and stone world of human habitation it was back to the beach and the world of sand, sea and pebble.
At last I got my feet in the sea. Rather chilly it was too but after a while you just don’t notice it. Honest!
I walked along the beach for a while and spotted what I thought was a one legged sanderling it was hanging around with some ringed plovers so I thought it was with them for solidarity. Later I learnt that waders quite often hop around on one leg for considerable amounts of time, and nobody knows why.
The pebbles on Orkney are wonderful and I
can understand why the Neolithic people used the stone to build with – it is so available not to mention lovely to handle. Well and there has always been apparently an absence of trees, so stone was the obvious choice of building material.
I couldn’t resist creating a little bit of rock art myself. Not a habitable dwelling or anything like that but hey you’ve got to start somewhere!
Tarry A While
Watching the way people visit things in the outdoors. Partly because I always seem to be one of the last to leave, even on a chilly and blustery one. So often people just pass by with a quick photo and just a glance at what they could be looking at.
Spent a while looking at the Stones of Stenness and the amazing structures of Barn House. Then I noticed a bird hide looking over loch Harray (home of Harray Potter!). A wonderful calm, quite warm oasis to watch the wind ripping over the loch and an almost outside place to have lunch.
The birds on the loch were having a toughday – black headed gulls, even the swallows were battling against the wind.
It took a while to get my eye in on such a bleak day but did manage to see a sedge 
warbler, reed bunting, sparrow, green finch, mute swan, artic terns, oyster catchers as well as the black headed gulls and swallows. There were curlews around and lapwings as well. But the highlight down at the side of the road near the Watch Stone 
were 4 fluffy cygnets and their proud and very chilled out mute swan parents.
Thing about Orkney is that the weather can change in an instant and we were treated to a lovely evening of orchids and lenticular clouds
Why I Love Nature (At Least 10 Reasons)
Musing over a morning cup of tea taken outside looking at a marvellous view over Scapa Flow I started to tot up all the reasons I love being out in nature. Here’s around 10 of them
It makes me feel so alive.
It is fascinating,
beautiful,
colourful.
Always changing.
It is melodious and musical
It smells good
and tastes wonderful
I
t provides me with shelter
warmth
food
fresh water to drink (not to mention juices, wine, beer…)
It lifts, restores and inspires my spirit
I am part of it.
southdownswayandbeyond 
