A Wander Round the Ponds

December 10th and it's freezing. Went out in the car this morning and the display showed -3 degrees! A wee bit nippy but a beautiful clear sky day.

Sadly our trip out was to the vet with our wee special Budgie, Chicken. She has been struggling for a while now, just to get around and therefor to eat and so on. Her given name was actually Parabol after a Tool song but I could never remember that and our daughter used to call her little chicken so that stuck.

She was pure white and couldn't fly but was a feisty wee so'n'so! 

R.I.P Chicken.

May 2023

As I said, it was a glorious, sunny day so I wrapped up well and headed out for a wander. 

I headed over to the barns to see if the Barn owl was around.

Bonus! It was out on the shelf and dozing in full view, I usually get a glimpse of it sleeping inside the box.

It is really dark in there so these are hand held high ISO shots. I never expect to see it out in the open like this or I'd bring a tripod. Beautiful bird but it wasn't long before it clambered back into the box for the day.

There are always House Sparrows flitting around the area, they're the ones I see fewer of up here as they spend more time out in the hedges and fields.

I have said it before, I never saw a Tree Sparrow until we moved here, now they're seen more often than House.

Round between the sheds as usual, the top field view looks fabulous and you can see how cold it was.

I almost always go round that way .... you never know.
Down to the lane and off on my walk.

The mixed hedge here is a haven for a lot of birds and many are used to people walking or driving by so can be easy to photograph ............ sometimes :)

There were more Chaffinches in there today.

Lovely birds that I have a habit of overlooking because they are so common. I try not to. 

My favourite bird to photograph on the hedge is the Reed Bunting, they can be so steady and just [perch there letting me get close shots. I adore the Yellowhammers too but they rarely sit for long.

Of course, there were two or three females near this male but they flew off sharpish and he wasn't that keen to be photographed either

Slightly unusual today was several Dunnock in the hedge, I'm sure they're always there, I just don't see them that often, a very overlooked wee bird that forages around in and under hedges, bushes and so on.

The Roe deer were out foraging as usual, lots of them around just now.

I tried to get a few shots of a flock of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammers in the tree at the bottom of the lane but they flew off as soon as I pointed the camera. Typical. 

There wasn't a lot going on as I passed through the woods and headed down the hill, the Fieldfares and Redwing are still around, high overhead and flighty as ever.

Redwing in a treetop

I caught a quick glimpse of a Red Kite gliding over the trees before it disappeared.

The dry stone walls are covered in mosses and lichen and the frost adds an extra glint in the sunlight.

I can't do it justice, more practice needed.

I've also noticed how many apple trees there are dotted around the area, many have gone too gnarly and old, need someone to trim them back properly to allow them to fruit better?

And so on to the far pond, see what the Beaver have been up to.

I guess they've worked their way up from the Isla and are now going about their destructive business here. Still not seen them yet.

I notice as I walk that there a LOT of Corvids around here, Rooks, Crows and Jackdaws with the odd Raven thrown in. I've stopped counting them for BirdTrack, there are a LOT! :)

Not everyone likes them and I have met people with stories of their bad behaviour but I find them so clever they can be fascinating.

I've been lucky that a Crow and Rook family bring their youngsters to the garden in Spring so I get to see them and they way they interact up close.

This lot gathered up by the ridge, had a quick murmuration then headed North. I'd love to know where they all go and why?

The burn is bubbling away down there, too fast to freeze but the plants dangling near or into it do!

The ponds are frozen solid, I dropped a hefty stone on one and it bounced and echoed!! 

I headed up the green lane, the other side of that hedge and back to the road.

I looked back as I headed up the hill, a pair of Red Kites were cavorting up by the ridge line.

There are quite a few of them in the area now, great to see and watch, they're fabulous flyers.

It was only 14:20 but the sun was low in the sky, it was getting colder and the light was amazing.

Home or away?

I loved the way the con-trail from that jet was lit up like neon while the shapes in the surrounding clouds contrasted with this straight(ish) line.

I noticed a couple of ladies discussing the length of my lens as I crested the hill ;)

Anyway, those con-trails. Not everyone likes them. There are conspiracy theories galore but, I thought they looked fabulous.

Oh and the gulls! Every night and every morning hundreds of them head South / North, depending on the time of day. Why? Where to?

See! A tiny selection of them. I think they're mixed Herring, Common ......?

Rook heading South

And another thing? There's almost always one or two birds heading in the opposite direction from the flock. Just being individuals? Done their thing? Carrying a message back? Hmmmmmmm

That aside, I was back on the road now and heading for the lane back home when the SCAA passed overhead.

Scottish Charity Air Ambulance

I hung around at the bottom. of the lane, waiting for the postie, who arrived, drove by me and up the lane anyway! Dammit.

So, I headed home.

Isn't Teasel, Teasle, Teazel SO photogenic?

Carrion Crow in low sunlight

The light was absolutely beautiful by now, everything had a golden glow as the sun started to set. I started to take shots for a panorama of the field but with a long zoom and hand held, not a good idea so, I've left it as it turned out. :)

I made it to the top of the hill with no snags, the sun was setting and the light was getting low so I dropped some food on one of the posts and started for home.

A Robin flew in as soon as I stepped back.

There were more gull shots but I think you've got the picture?

A lone Buzzard flew by in the gloom, I'd seen a pair having tussle t the bottom of the lane but was too slow to get any shots.

I was down into the dip now, looking back and watching the sun go down, I definitely had the wrong lens for sunset shots but ...

It was as I was looking back that I saw a lone Goose heading my way. Camera out, quick! Grab a few shots. It was making odd noises as it flew by low overhead.....

Mainly because it wasn't a goose.

It was a lone Whooper Swan.

And that was me, up the hill and home for a warm up but the night wasn't over that quickly.

What a show! That sunset went on for hours, absolutely stunning, a fitting end to the day.

Oh and! More gulls! :)