Hard to believe...

...that just a month ago we were in the Hebrides! I've been too busy to really think about it much for the past few weeks, but thought it was about time I took a look at some more of the photos. Here's some of my favourites from the first week...

One thing we did this year was spent a fair bit of time on the beach - in fact our first Sunday, and our final full day were spent on the same beach - the one within walking distance of the cottage. That was one thing we really appreciated this year, that a stroll down the track could get us to this...

That was just a tiny bit of it too - it stretches for miles in each direction! The following day we headed south to South Uist, and visited the beautiful little community garden at Lochboisdale, which was just FULL of chives this year...

...just gorgeous! It's really nicely done, and just such a blaze of colours! Talking of a blaze of colour, there was more of that the next day at RSPB Balranald too...

That's fairly standard for late May on the Machair - just an astonishing carpet of flowers. The daisies appear first, then the yellow of the Birds Foot Trefoil, and the purple of the pansies...a perfect harmonious blend of colours. It doesn't stop there either because as June arrives the orchids appear - their colours from white through to a deep bright purple - just stunning.

The following day was our long awaited boat trip out with Nick on the Lady Anne - we were just so pleased to finally get out on one of these trips - it's felt like a conspiracy these last few years with things stopping us doing it! It must be said that it entirely lived up to expectations, especially seeing this amazing White Tailed Eagle so close up...

Yes, you don't need to be a bird expert to recognise that one, do you!  The weather went a bit grey and gloomy the next day...not though we let that stop us getting out and about. We headed back to South Uist again and climbed a hill....views weren't bad but better was spotting this Golden plover and it's mate...

They head to the hills to have their chicks, no sign of babies yet with these two but they were clearly thinking about it! Absolutely stunning birds in their full breeding plumage - and unmistakable once you've seen them the once, too!

Last shot for now, and it's one from one of our favourite hills on the Islands - Rueval on Benbecula. I don't think there's a year gone by since we first climbed up it that we've not gone back - it's only quite a small one but the views are phenomenal...

...this is the advantage of Benbecula being a quite flat island! I suspect that next time we're there though we'll probably have to give it a miss as the winter isn't the most ideal time for hill climbing - we'll see though!

Expect to see some more shots of RAF fast jets coming up over the next few weeks, as we have several airshow trips planned and a visit to Scampton for an In Season Practise with the Reds. July is looking hectic, and while I do intend to carry on with Frugal Friday posts if I miss another week please do bear with me!

Robyn

Frugal Friday...

No frugality today I'm afraid...instead, have some Thrift...

Sorry! (I'm having a day off!)

Robyn

B is for...

Firstly – an apology. As I understand it *some* of you “down South” may be enjoying less than brilliant weather. If this is something you feel particularly sore about, you may prefer not to read on…only it would appear that currently we have brought the good weather over on the ferry with us! The forecast for today was mostly cloudy…bit of sun…small amount of rain. Instead we’ve had a small amount of cloud (first thing this morning) and then sun, and lovely warm temperatures too – bliss!

We headed off round to Balranald – the RSPB reserve – this morning….and that is why this is part of my “Alphabet Photography Project”series – B is for….Birds! Before we go any further then, shall I make you say “Ahhhh!” ? Ok then - try this…

…Yes, thought that would work – Lapwing Chick, there are masses of them around up here at the moment! A little further along the road we saw this Swallow…

…we’re so used to seeing them flying about but tend to forget the stunning colour of them!  Those were before we even got to the reserve and parked up, too!  Once we had we started out on the walk – one of our favourites this, a circular walk of around 4.5 miles taking in machair, sandy  beaches and rocky shores, it never disappoints – we soon arrived at the first stretch of beach and immediately saw this…

…not quite your standard gull this – much paler and with a larger, dark eye, it looks far prettier than the Herring Gulls which we’re used to seeing when we spot a gull of this size.  It’s a Glaucous Gull – not precisely rare, but not that common either, and unusual enough here that people comment on them.  It flew off not long after I took that shot, but helpfully came right overhead…

We wandered on. Terns, Pipits, A pied Wagtail, Lapwings and Oystercatchers, lots of small waders…everywhere you looked (and listened) there were birds! The nice thing is that a lot of the time the only sound you can hear is the bird calls – no traffic noise here. The first few times we came over it actually took time to get used to that, when you live and have always lived somewhere there is some form of noise around you all the time, total silence is something that your ears struggle to process.

It's not just the birds either - at this time of year the wildflowers are getting properly into full swing and  the bees are taking advantage...we spotted this stunning chap, a Moss Carder Bee, we think... 

You finish the walk on another lovely beach, and in this weather there's really no better place to be!

And there you go, that's all the "B's" I can think of. No link in this post to the rest of the challenge either - getting (and keeping) a signal up here can be hard enough I'm afraid! Tomorrow is going to start with a walk lead by a chum of ours to looks for otters. We may see them, we may not, but either way we'll have a fine old time no doubt. We're following that up with a boat trip too so fingers crossed for more lovely weather, please!

Robyn.

Hebrides Countdown...

Talking to a family member yesterday about our trip to the Hebrides, she commented that it must be beautiful at the time we go, because all the spring flowers will be out. Well, yes and no, actually. The harsher weather conditions that the Islands get means that everything happens a bit later - Our daffodils at home are pretty much finished now, where as the ones on Uist will only just be coming out around now, I expect. We are hopeful though that the mild winter we've had this year might mean that everything will be a little ahead of where it would normally be at this time of year.

The shot above was taken in 2012 - another year with a relatively mild winter, although not so much as this time around. As you can see, the machair was already looking good and colourful - it just gets better and better from that point through into the summer. That year we were also just in time to see the first of the Iris coming out - gorgeous bright yellow spikes at the roadsides - we saw our first one open the day before we left to come home if I remember rightly. Waterlilies too - many of the small lochs are covered in lily pads from early spring, but the flowers need just a bit of warmer weather to appear...

By the time we arrives the shorelines should be edged with pretty pink thrift, a plant that absolutely thrives up there, and the first of the orchids will be appearing too, Hebridean spotted Orchids, Early Marsh Orchids and Heath Spotted Orchids. Bees are plentiful there too - including many different varieties to those that we see at home. We're hoping to spend some time with a friend this year learning about identifying some of the rarer varieties too.

Each and every year when we return we see different things, and learn more about everything the Islands have to offer. It's nice to start to feel that we're "in on the secret" - we know what the plants and birds are called, and where we can expect to find certain species. There's usually something a bit special too  - last year it was a displaying Ruff (Helpfully situated at the RSPB reserve at Balranald!) and we've regularly seen the Snowy Owl up there. Having said that though - rarities entirely depend where you are - on Uist, they get excited about seeing a Dunnock - common as you like down here!

Robyn

Five Favourites...

This time round, five favourite beaches, unsurprisingly these all seem to be in the Hebrides - whoever would have guessed that, eh?! In no particular order...

Luskentyre. This gorgeous and huge beach on Harris is a regular in "Worlds best beach" type features so it seemed only right that it should feature in mine, too! Access to the beach itself is via a long, twisty, turny single track road, not for the faint-hearted, but well worth the drive. A regular stop of ours as we drive from Lewis to get the ferry back across to Berneray. The view above, by the way, is taken from the main road...

Clachan Sands, North Uist. Often a first, or last day beach this one - we do like to start and end our holiday with sandy feet, and this wonderful stretch of beach ticks all the right boxes. Manouevering the car to the parking area can be a little interesting...through the field with the cows, up a badly rutted track...there's always a slight concern than one day, we might get stuck!

Balranald, North Uist. This beach features on our regular walk around the fantastic RSPB reserve. (As an aside, it's always entertaining when in conversation at reserves down here to be asked which is our favourite one to visit....when we reply with "Balranald" jaws frequently drop and phrases like "OOH! I've always wanted to go there!" get uttered!) This fabulous sweep of sand forms part of the waymarked walk round the reserve, but also makes a lovely walk on its own, right round as far as you can see on that photo - wind in your hair and waves crashing!

West Beach, Berneray. Now we're in good company with counting this one as a favourite - apparently HRH Prince Charles feels much the same about it. There is a full three miles of sand to walk along should you so choose - and we have! We've also walked a good stretch of this beach, AND all the way back again, without seeing another soul!

Finally, Hosta, North Uist. I know I said that these were in no order, but this one might actually be our absolute favourite beach of the lot, and I think this panoramic shot (remember you can click on it to see it larger) might show why. Over the the right is an area of lovely flat rocks, just perfect for sitting on to eat lunch. The rocks also form an area of rockpools, cleaned constantly by the stream flowing through them. On a warm day this is a spa-like place to paddle - with the water warmed by the sun and trickling over your toes... when you're bored with paddling, then there is a nice curve of sun-baked sand to wander along - leaving your shoes discarded where you were, they'll be perfectly safe.

There are so many more I could have mentioned - the almost tropical-looking bay on Vatersay, Shawbost on Lewis, Kilpheder on South Uist. Culla Bay on Benbecula is beloved of many keen birdspotters, and Uig sands (Lewis) is great for watching kitesurfers. Maybe I should do another "favourite 5" on the same theme?!

Robyn

STILL not Birdwatchers...

We made a repeat visit to RSPB Balranald on Sunday. We generally try to make the Sundays while we’re here fairly quiet days, without too much whizzing about – in part because it helps to keep at least some sort of grasp on where we are in the week, but also because the Islands generally keep Sundays as a quiet day, and we try to respect that.  We knew it was going to be a good day when one of the first birds we saw was a Corn Bunting – pretty rare across much of the country but still fairly common here thanks to the low intensity farming methods. He must have been happy anyway – he sat there quite cheerfully while I edged to within about 10 feet of him and then he helpfully sang for me…

Now if you aren’t  familiar with a Corn Bunting’s Choral efforts, just imagine someone jangling a bunch of keys about and you’re pretty much there – Aled Jones they are NOT! Once Mr Bunting had taken his bows and moved on, we wandered along the beach for a while. Word of the modelling session had obviously spread as this Dunlin was also happy to pose….

…No singing this time – he just stood there looking leggy and elegant.

Meanwhile, further along the beach, (just past the very chilly-looking twitchers standing waiting in hope that the Harlequin Duck was going to appear again) the award for “Mallards in the most implausible spot imagineable” was given out…

…not normally considered Sea-ducks, Mallards, but this pair looked fairly at home.  And elsewhere there were the usual big crowds of small waders – sociable little chaps like these Sanderling…

…they will look a lot more glamorous in a few weeks – they are currently mid-way through their change from their drab grey winter plumage into their beautiful Summer wardrobe – you can just see hints of their colour-palette of choice in the coppery, chestnut tones in the one on the right. One thing we’re noticing this year is that a lot of things are a way behind where they were at this time last year – that’s something you notice a lot as annual visitors – friends here joke that they know where they are in the seasons by when we arrive, but you do really notice each year how far on – or not – the usual springtime changes have come along. This year there are noticeably less varieties of flower, there is no chance that the Iris will be flowering before we leave, and we’ll be lucky to see any waterlilies out either. It’s not just the birds that are a little late changing over their clothes for the new season!

Robyn

Join us for a walk...

One of the first walks we usually do on arrival back here each trip is our favourite circuit around the RSPB Reserve at Balranald, over on the west coast of North Uist.  After some light rain early on Monday developed into a lovely bright sunny day, albeit with a stiff wind, and as this is perfect conditions for the walk, off we went! The waymarkers start off by leading you along a track across the machair – the fertile sandy soil that backs onto the beaches that run most of the way down the west coast. You can see the high content of the silvery shell-sand just by looking at the colour of it…

The walk hugs the coastline – initially the white sandy beach, and then, as you continue, you come across a far more rocky, rugged area – which can be spectacular in wilder weather, and this time was no exception…

It’s a bit of a haven for anyone who likes rockpooling,  look…

Although this looks completely inhospitable, it supports a mass of wildlife – Arctic Terns nest quite happily here – there were lots of those about – with so few natural predators ground nesting birds are mostly pretty safe here, Oystercatchers and Lapwings are also nesting not far from where those shots were taken.   Also a good range of flowers – here you can see great drifts of Thrift just coming into flower…

It’s not just the wildlife having fun either – some folk before us had been indulging a passion for rock-balancing by the look of it…

You don’t have to tramp much further before you come back into sight of the visitors centre and the nearby crofting township of Hougharry…

 Of all the Hebridean Reserves Balranald has the best facilities by miles – the visitors centre has toilets and now that a small campsite has opened nearby there is even a van selling tea, coffee, sandwiches and home baking during the summer season – very welcome at the end of a walk! Before that though there is a last stretch of beautiful sandy beach to be walked along – sometimes you can pick up little tiny pink shells here – I think they’re like baby conch shells – we didn’t find any this time but we’ll keep going back and looking!

Robyn

Balranald...

Remember me (well, Ben really) telling you the other week about RSPB Balranald? It’s somewhere we always enjoy spending time while we’re here, and a couple of days ago we headed off on the circular walk right round the reserve. Balranald is unusual in terms of RSPB venues as the Society doesn’t actually own ANY of the land - they are there thanks to the local crofters, and the North Uist Estate, being happy to help in their work, specifically in relation to the Corncrakes. No Corncrakes this time round for us, but we did see some other fabulous stuff…..

A wonderful beach bathed in sunshine….

　

A field full of flowers…

And some trying a more solitary lifestyle...



　

And birds - lots of them, some fairly common, here at least….

…and some far less so, and not exactly where you’d expect to find them!

Robyn

Hebrides Countdown 2012...

I asked Ben to choose a favourite place for me to write about this time, and he almost immediately said "what about Balranald?" The RSPB reserve at Balranald on North Uist is indeed a favourite place to visit for both of us. It's also one of the RSPB's most remote reserves - and the people at our local reserve are rather jealous we have been there! In fact, rather than just having been there, we consider it one of our favourites - we always visit at least twice when we are on Uist.

I asked Ben why he'd chosen Balranald, and indeed why we kept going back "there are so many different landscapes in one small area, and such a diverse range of birds too - from ground nesters such as Lapwings & Skylarks - of which there are ALWAYS several singing! - to Waders, Pipits and sea birds - Skuas and Petrels are regularly seen off the coast there" he said. It's also the home of several rarer species - the Corncrake can be heard here most evenings in the breeding season, and Corn Buntings are regular visitors too. Ben also mentioned Twite - a very sweet, and very LOUD little bird - which visits Balranald hundreds at a time and makes a deafening racket singing from the fences near the small visitors centre!

Robyn

Ps - please note, we are still not in ANY way to be considered "birders" .....


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And now for something completely different....

...in size, at any rate! From the majesty of yesterday's Sea Eagle, todays offering is somewhat smaller and - dare I say it? - cuter. These are Ringed Plovers - and these particular Ringed Plovers can be found at the Balranald RSPB reserve which is where we have been this afternoon. It's a fantastic place - there is a circular walk you can do taking several hours which encompasses all the different habitats you find up here from rocky coastline to white sandy beaches, all backed by "Machair" which is a fertile sandy grassland particular to the Hebrides.  Today we settled for a walk up the track and onto the beach, before settling down on our favourite rocky outcrop to see which birds would come closer. After a while of just sitting quietly they tend to forget that you're something to be scared of, and as a result you get them behaving naturally up quite close. The reserve is known for Corn Buntings - in decline elsewhere in the UK thanks to the destruction of their habitats they are thriving up here in the Hebrides - at one stage earlier on we were watching 10 or 12 of them at once, not more than 10 - 15 yards away from us. Fantastic stuff!

Robyn

Hebrides Countdown 2009....

We're not really birdwatchers, as such, or at least, we would not have described ourselves as such until last years trip to the Hebrides. We have always when we have been up there been regular visitors to the Balranald reserve, where the picture above of a Ringed Plover was taken, but more in a "Let's have a nice walk, oh look there's a bird over there" sort of way....rather than in a "Have you got the binoculars, oh, better take the teleconverter for my lens" way. Somewhere along the line though things seem to have changed. Last year the TC spent more time attached to the camera than not. And when we returned from holiday we joined the RSPB......oh, and I bought myself a 300mm lens.....but obviously we're not really birdwatchers......

In the course of last years trip we saw more than 50 different species of birds, many for the first time. The rarest was an Iceland Gull (resting at Balranald in the course of its migration) and the most exciting probably a White Tailed Eagle (seen at too great a distance to photograph). We saw Golden Eagles almost daily, including on our final afternoon watching, from the cottage, a pair of them quartering the hillside opposite.....amazing. It's been wonderful over the past few years to see them becoming more and more plentiful as well - hopefully the Sea Eagles will go the same way - in a weeks time we'll be finding out!

Robyn