Scotland 2020 - Day 4 - Eagles, Martens & Potter

  For day 4 we headed to the stunning West coast along the A830, "The Road To The Isles". Our first stop was Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan Monument and Viaduct.

  Glenfinnan viaduct made more famous from been used as the route to Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

  The Glenfinnan Monument, a memorial to the people who fought in the Jacobite risings in 1745.

  Loch Shiel with a handy bench to view the scenery(if you have wellies)

 

  To the left of the monument entrance there is a boardwalk that takes you around a marsh and woodland area so we had a quick stroll along it til the boardwalk became part of the Loch.

  Spring was most certainly in the Highlands as Common Frogs were everywhere along with clusters of frog spawn.

  Back in the Monument car park we had the pleasure of this Robin's company.

  We continued West til we reached the scenic Loch Eilt with it's small islands including Eilean Na Moine which was used as Dumbledore's grave (yes this post does seem to becoming a Harry Potter location tour) 

  I tried to get a photo quickly as a hail storm began and hurt like hell lol 

  Loch nan Uamh was always worthy of a stop in the layby as we had spotted numerous Great Northern Divers here before.Today we had Cormorants and a few Seals on the distant rocks. While scanning the water for life this Song Thrush appeared out of the scrub nearby.

  The next place worth exploring is one of our favourite places.As you turn off the A830 to Arisaig there is a single track road to Rhu.A fabulous little road that takes in all the inlets letting you scan for waders and ending with a stunning view across to Rum and Eigg.

  It's an amazing place to stop and sit in the car having lunch while watching the wildlife around the West coast.A Curlew foraged among the seaweed, a Grey Heron fished from the rocks and a Hooded Crow using it's high intelligence to hover in the wind with a shellfish, dropping it on to the rocky beach below to be rewarded with a small meal.

  Grey Heron fishing the bay.

  A pair of glorious Stonechats flew from the field behind to land in the scrub before us.

  Male Stonechat

  I usually look for Raptors along this road too as there are usually Buzzards and Kestrels nearby but I didn't expect the flying barn door to appear from over the hill and glide calmly by us.

  White-tailed Eagle near Arisaig.

  What a spectacular sight :) 

  We made it into Mallaig just as the wind had blown a snowstorm in from the sea, obscuring the view over to Rum.

                             

  Staying in the car we watched the waves crashing into the shore and waited for the Snow to die down before walking into the harbour.

  Herring and Black-backed Gulls filled the air and Eiders and a solitary Black Guillemot drifted on the undulating sea.

  Black Guillemot

  Fishermen were working on their boats anchored to the harbour walls which had interested the local Grey Seal popuation.
  Photo by Majella Fox

  As more snow was forecast to hit the West coast we decided it was time to head back and beat the coming storm.
  Tug and Shadow were waiting on our arrival back to the farm.
Tug who we sadly lost this week.

  Shadow

  The trail camera was not surprisingly put out again but placed further up the lawn and nearer the cabin in hope of getting views from the kitchen.
  The Pine Marten didn't disappoint.

  Later during the night you can see the Snow arrived, though the Rabbits didn't seem too bothered as they made off with all the apples lol 

                             

  Thanks again for joining us on our trip in Scotland.I hope you are enjoying me sharing about Scotland's amazing wildlife and scenery.

Day 5 is all about the Snow and a train. See you then :) 

  

 
 

  

   

  

The Cornish Coastal Experience - Part 2

  Welcome to the second part of my blog about our Cornwall adventure.Thank you for coming back for more but be happy in the knowledge that it is a shorter blog than Part 1 ;)

  I was once again up around 7am as I wanted to enjoy the serenity of being at Seacrest and also because I was excited to check the Moth trap and trail camera I had set up the previous night.It was overcast and very fine rain was falling but I was straight out to the moth trap.

  Crane Flies were everywhere, at least 30 of them inside the moth trap and more covering the fences and plants.Not a major interest to me but it showed the abundance of food available to our feathered friends, mainly a male Blackbird and a Robin which were happily bouncing about the decking enjoying a protein full breakfast.There were quite a few Moths with Marbled Carpets and Large Yellow Underwings being the most numerous.Square-spot Rustic,Beaded Chestnut, Lunar Underwing, Straw Dot, Snout, Setaceous Hebrew Character and Garden Carpet were also among the egg trays in the trap.

  Snout

  Setaceous Hebrew Character

  Square-spot Rustic

  Lunar Underwing

  Garden Carpet

  Marbled Carpet

  Beaded Chestnut

  The most intriguing Moth though was, what I thought a well marked Rush Veneer.After asking a few Lepidopterists on social media it was suggested it could possibly be a Lucerne Moth(Nomophila Nearctica).An American moth that had maybe been blown in by the oncoming storms and a species with no confirmed record of it in Europe.Unfortunately without further examination of the Moth we will never be able to confirm it's true identity.

  The Rush Veneer or potential Lucerne Moth

  Finishing with the Moths I then removed the SD card from the trail camera and was excited to find it had recorded three times during the night.The first 2 clips were of nothing but the third featured a quick pass of a jumping Mouse.

  Our plan for the rest of the day(once Majella had woken up) was to explore the headland on the opposite side of Mount's Bay, the Lizard Peninsula.It was just a 20 minute drive around Penzance and into Marazion where we parked to walk to St. Michael's Mount.

  At low tide the causeway is exposed giving you access to walk over and explore this island community.The receding tide had unveiled a myriad of food that Gulls, Oystercatchers and Little Egrets were taking advantage of.

  Little Egret

  Young Herring Gull with a Starfish

  Mute Swans with Oystercatcher in the foreground

  We crossed the causeway and explored the village and harbour while learning about the history of this ancient island parish.The castle watching over the neighbouring island and bay was stunning, now a family home, it had been a monastery and a battle sieged fort in it's past.

  The view of Mousehole across Mount's Bay from St. Michael's Mount

  We grabbed a coffee in the island cafe and headed back to the mainland before the encroaching tide swallowed the causeway once more.

  A quick walk through Marazion brought to us this fabulous Dolphin water feature which I photographed with St.Michaels behind.

https://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk/

  There were a few coves we wanted to check out and so decided to begin at the most Southern end and work our way back.Onwards to Lizard Point.

  Britain's Southern most point reaching out into the Atlantic Ocean.

  We sat on the cliff top watching Great Black-backed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Jackdaws glide by on the Ocean breeze.Atlantic Grey Seals swam in the water below, occasionally stopping, head skyward as if watching the Human circus up on the cliffs or maybe silently pleading with us to halt the destruction of their home.

  Gulls on Lizard Point

 Atlantic Grey Seal

  

  We ate at the most Southern cafe in Britain along with the House Sparrows who were intent on longingly staring at your food like feathered Dogs while inches away from our plates.Our original plan was to also visit Kynance & Mullion coves but we just lost track of time relaxing and marvelling in the Natural beauty before us.I did however get one last close encounter with the beautiful Cornish Chough ;) 

  As we were losing daylight we decided to head back North along the peninsula to Marazion and have a quick walk around the RSPB Marazion Marshes.When we arrived the tide had risen and now covered the causeway to St. Michael's Mount.

  Marazion Marshes

  One roadside pool at the reserve held numerous Moorhen, Mute Swans, Little Egrets, a Little Grebe and a Grey Heron, while a walk through the scrub revealed Robins, Blackbirds and more amazing Stonechat sightings.It was a wonderful way to end another day exploring the stunning South West coastline.

  It was time to head back to Seacrest and pack for our 400 mile journey back North.Cornwall is such a beautiful part of the country with so many places to explore and wildlife to see and we feel just so privileged to have been able to stay in such amazing accommodation at Seacrest.

  We cannot thank Alexia enough for giving us this opportunity to experience Cornwall.She is a special person, a massive voice for Wildlife and a Trustee of The Wildheart Trust.

https://isleofwightzoo.com/the-wildheart-trust

Our final Cornwall Sunrise as seen from Seacrest in Mousehole.

  Thank you again for reading and browsing through my photos :) I hope you enjoyed it a little bit.It is very much appreciated :)