Otterly Exciting......Day 4

 To satisfy Majella for the day we just spent the morning in Elgin browsing the shops and getting lunch before heading to Aberlour so we could walk to the Linn Falls.

It was only a half hour drive and it was apparently a gentle walk along the river to the Falls.Parking on the high street we soon found the 'path to the falls' sign. We were only 5 minutes up the trail when the unmistakable white bobbing bib caught my eye. One of my favourite birds, a Dipper sat bobbing and preening on a rock in the river.

 

 What a great start to the walk. It continued to get even better when we unknowingly spooked a Buzzard from it's perch and it flew off between the trees. A little further and we came across this weir.

 Less than 15 minutes later and we were stood at Linn Falls, nothing to be heard except for the sound of the rushing water.

 We just stood in silence, watching the cascading water and searching for Grey Wagtails.

 The slopes around the river were covered with Common Butterbur plants.

 We stayed for a while until another person arrived and decided to leave them to appreciate the peacefulness of this place undisturbed. Soon we were nearing the end of the trail and the path on to the high street, when suddenly I noticed movement under the opposite bank. At first I thought it could be a mink but it reappeared and we were presented with a glorious view of an Otter. She slinked out from under the bank, scent marked a large rock and then made her way downstream. We followed closely behind as she had not taken any notice of us as she slipped in and out of the water.

 We followed, enthralled by her presence for a few minutes until she dived into a deeper section of the river and vanished from sight.

 Majella and I turned to face each other, both gobsmacked and grinning like Cheshire cats.A totally unexpected and mesmerising wildlife encounter.

 We left Aberlour and headed back North towards Elgin.Instead of calling it a day we continued on up to the coast again, this time to a place we'd never been before, Lossiemouth.I had only ever seen it in photos with it's bridge crossing the river to access the dunes and beach. Unfortunately the bridge was now unstable and closed to the public while a new bridge was being built.Unable to cross to the sands we stood and marveled at the amount of bird life along the coastal river. 

 Hundreds of Gulls were joined by Oystercatchers, Wigeon, Grey Herons, Curlew and Goosanders. 

 Ps If any Gull experts want to zoom in on the photos and see if there are any rarities among them all, please do 😉

                         

 Video clip by Majella showing the gathering of birds along the water.

 Photographs of Lossiemouth.

 Finally giving in to our hunger we ended our walk and drove back to our hotel in Elgin for a meal and to reminisce about the earlier breath-taking mammal encounter.

Thanks to all who have taking the time to read through my blog and browse at the many photographs.

Tomorrow we head South to different accommodation on a farm in Glen Spean.

Photos by Stuart Pike & Majella Fox

 

 

 

30 Days Wild - Day 13

  Yes, I know unbelievable a #30DaysWild blog on the correct day (just) ;)

Day 13    Coasting Around County Down

  I am staying at my partners Mum's house in Newry so we decided to head to the County Down coastline, starting in Dundrum about 40 minutes away.It's a great place to see Brent Geese in Winter but today they were replaced by 26 Mute Swans.
  Dundrum Bay

  Also dotted around the bay were a few Curlew, Herring Gulls, Little Egrets, Hooded Crows and 7 Grey Herons.

  Walking along I noticed a lethargic Tree Bumblebee in the road so carefully let it climb onto my finger and relocated it on a Dog Rose.

  On the way out there was a Male Bullfinch on the grass verge.I managed a quick pic from the car before it vanished into the hedgerow.

  We continued South down the coast a few minutes in the car and arrived at Murlough National Nature Reserve.A massive sand dune system known as a stronghold for Marsh Fritillary Butterflies and 250 species of Moth.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/murlough-national-nature-reserve

  The Dunes

  Unfortunately I didn't find any Fritillaries but there were plenty of Small Heath Butterflies instead.

  Four moth species were found, 3 Micros and this Yellowshell.
 along with a Drinker Moth Caterpillar on the path.

  Drinker Moth caterpillar.

  Hooded Crows patrolled the dunes

 
and the song of the Meadow Pipits drifted on the sea breeze.

  After returning to the car we had another short drive further South to the coastal town of Newcastle.It's a high street with a beach and mountains and one of my favourite places in Northern Ireland.

  We grabbed lunch, went in and out of a few charity shops and then headed to the small boating lake which is always good for some Gull action.

    Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls were all in attendance.
  Black-headed Gull

  Herring Gull

  Lesser Black-backed Gull

  The Gull creche.

  The sun was starting to warm up so it was bath time for a Mallard and Hooded Crow.

  Another Grey Heron was doing its best to ignore the Gulls and concentrate on fishing until it gave up and moved away to the other end of the lake.

  We avoided the temptation of buying ice creams and walked back to the car along the promenade while deciding we still had time to move a bit inland and visit Silent Valley situated in the Mourne Mountains.

https://www.niwater.com/silent-valley/ 

  There are numerous trails to trek round varying from the lower Nature trail to the more adventurous steeper trails into the mountains.Of course I decided to do the "easy" nature trail along the Kilkeel River.It was a relaxing walk with the songs of Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Long-tailed Tits serenading us along the way.

Kilkeel River

  A Treecreeper, one of my favourite(non-bird of prey) bird flew from tree to tree trying to unearth bugs from beneath the bark.

  We finished the day by having a break at Sally Lough, a very peaceful place with just Mallards for company.

  It was time to head back to Newry on the coastal road through Rostrevor and Warrenpoint and it was in the latter that the real highlight of the day arrived.AS we drove through the town along the sea wall I saw a few birds bobbing on the water and screamed "stop the car, turn around!" Majella said "what!" and continued on before finding a place to turn and park up.

  I had seen three Black Guillemots in the sea.I got out the car and walked over the road to lean on the sea wall and try to get a photograph of these stunning sea birds.

  It was then I realised there were actually seven of them and incredibly a couple of them flew in and landed along the wall, ambled within a few feet of me and just sat down, unfazed by my presence.

  What a fantastic way to end our day out.What stunning birds :) 

  I am not sure what tomorrow will bring but I hope it will contain more "wild" encounters.

  

  Get out and get WILD!! :)