An unexpected treat...

 

I had promised the Lady Anne Boat trips crew that I'd have a go at getting some shots of them going out, and coming back from trips - not a particularly taxing task, and all the easier when I realised that on Wednesday they were running two trips back to back in the afternoon. Simple - I could shoot them coming back from the 3pm one, and going out on the 5.30pm. 

Naturally things were complicated a little by the arrival of two fish farm vessels at the pier I was working from immediately before "Amarisa" was due back in - but my usual method of just proceeding with purpose while also being sure to avoid getting under people's feet worked well enough and I was able to get some shots I was pleased with. 

We spotted that Nick, founder of "Lady Anne Boat Trips" as it was then, and skipper of the "Lady Anne" herself was about, and having not seen him for a good while we headed down for a quick chat with him, Nye & Rosie before they headed out again - and that was when things got interesting!  Rosie had mentioned that there were a couple of spaces on the trip - they weren't certain they weren't waiting for people, but as far as Nye could see everyone booked had arrived, and suddenly the offer was made that we were welcome to jump aboard for the trip if we wanted? Well, yes please! 

A quick flurry of activity - Mr EH headed back to the car quickly to grab jackets and binoculars, and once he was back we climbed aboard - all the while keeping a watchful eye ready for anyone else to turn up, but sure enough the briefing was done, we waved farewell to Nick, and off we went for a completely unexpected boat trip!

The weather was certainly not a patch on what we had last week - after several days of higher winds there was a decent swell out on the open water - Nye headed that way first which is the first time we'd been on a trip in that direction, but it was perfect timing as once back in the sheltered area around Ronay the tide was perfect to enable us to get right into the channels around the little grassy islands - a different and very pleasant view of things. We did encounter one heavy rain shower which sent most of those on board scampering for the cabin, quite sensibly, but as so often happened after that it turned to a beautiful evening with positively golden light - lighting the Red Deer in particular beautifully.

The Sea Eagles played obligingly as well - along with Golden Eagles giving good views although at more of a distance out. We couldn't be more grateful to Nick, Nye & Rosie for giving us the opportunity to get out again - it was hugely appreciated and very much enjoyed!

Robyn

A new boat, and lots of Eagles!

I mentioned Lady Anne Wildlife Cruises in the post about walking round Grimsay - the brilliant boat trips out from Kallin Harbour. At the time of writing we had in fact already booked this year’s trip - but weren’t wishing to tempt fate as the weather forecast did look a little uncertain. Thankfully though the wind dropped and the rain stopped right on cue, and we rocked up to Kallin at the prescribed time to be greeted by Rosie - the boat’s wildlife expert (and also superb photographer) and skipper Nye. A shout out here to Nick too - without whom there would be no Lady Anne - it was Nick who first took us out a good few years ago now! This trip was our first on their new boat Amarisa - and very smart and comfortable she is too! 

Nye & Rosie carrying out the pre trip briefing

The route for the trips varies depending on tides and weather - although the hope is always to get out onto the open waters of the Minch at some point, that isn’t always possible and Nye’s concern on this occasion was a fresh westerly wind that he suspected might make things too choppy (he and the boat would be fine with it, some of the passengers perhaps less so though!) on this occasion we began by heading out around the uninhabited island of Ronay and exploring some of the sheltered inlets between there and North Uist in search of eagles - and it didn’t take long to find those! 

I don’t think we have ever had quite so many Eagle sightings in one trip - from a White Tail (Sea Eagle) which followed us for much of the time we were out, to several other White Tails and Golden Eagles too. Not only were they in sight but the White Tails in particular were swooping around over the boat as well giving great views and photo opportunities. 

Deer too were all over the place - it is the time of year where as Nye put it the stags are all still friends, but they are starting to work towards the rut which will take place next month- and then all friendships will be off as the males battle for territory and females. It’s always lovely to see them gathered together though. 

Other bird sightings included a Great Skua, a probable (from a distance) female Hen Harrier, herons and Shags aplenty, a lovely group of Curlews which took off as we got closer, Black Guillemots, a diver which we weren’t able to work out whether it was a Red or BlackThroated, and once on the Minch Manx Shearwaters and Gannets galore!

All in all a huge amount packed into 2 hours. Nye and Rosie know the very best spots to give their passengers the best chances of seeing interesting wildlife, and out here “interesting” comes in many forms! The Eagles are always a highlight of course, but for me this time I think seeing the Shearwaters far closer than we usually would from the ferries just felt like a real treat - although they are an absolute nightmare to photograph - small and very fast! The boat trip is one thing that we absolutely can’t imagine not doing when we’re over here - such a brilliant way of getting a different look at the wildlife.  We do have another rather different sort of boat trip planned too - weather permitting, but that is for another post! 

Robyn. 

Looking back...

 

This handsome little chap is of course a Puffin - so many people's favourite bird it seems, I suspect mostly because of their quirky and striking appearance. This one was pictured on our second trip to the Farne Islands in July 2012, and I stumbled across the photo when looking through some older stuff on the computer I use for work. I think this is actually the third time I've used this particular photo on here - but I suspect not too many folk remember the other occasions! 

Although we've been across to Farne twice, on neither occasion have we managed to have the trip we actually expected. The first time in 2008 we landed on Staple Island but then had to leave again after a few hours because poor weather was closing in more rapidly than expected. The second time was the opposite issue - we made it to Inner Farne but an unexpected level of swell meant that we couldn't do the transfer to Staple island for the second part of the trip - we did however get an extended amount of time where we were though!

We've very much decided that we fancy a further trip to the Islands - and although it is unlikely to be this year, we might perhaps manage something in the next couple of years instead. While the loss of the Great British Beer Festival is sad, it has at least opened up holiday time for us to get back to doing all sorts of other things w enjoy! 

A gentle start to the year...

 

Over the past few years we've got into the habit of heading out for a walk on New Year's Day - usually to one of our local-ish RSPB reserves - with a view to getting our annual bird list off to a (wait for it) flying start (sorry). This year was no exception, and as neither of us felt like going far, the most local option of Rye Meads got the nod. The RSPB have been muttering for a while now about various "options" for Rye Meads, and sadly it does seem as though in the longer term they are probably not going to retain it on their books which is a shame, although we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. For now at least its lovely little out-and-back trails with the possibility of a longer loop onto the neighbouring Wildlife Trust area remains open to us, and we will make the most of it. 

On this occasion we weren't there long - but it was a beautiful day for a wander with stunning light as the daylight faded away as you can see from the picture above. Bird wise the usual suspects were present, plenty of ducks from one hide, the little family of Long Tailed Tits in the trees alongside and overhanging the path, and a large collection of Lapwings from another hide,  but we also saw a Water Rail which was a nice little highlight , as far as I can think we didn't see one at all last year in spite of knowing all the "right" places to look for them. Secretive little birds, far shyer than their near relatives the Moorhens and way less thuggish than Coots! (Pretty much everything in the bird world is less thuggish than a Coot, mind you!)

It's nice to start the year with a gentle wander, and time taken out to take in nature is always good. It's a budget friendly way of spending an afternoon for us, too - as our membership means we get reserve admittance/parking for free just by showing our membership cards. Rye Meads doesn't have a shop, or a fancy-pants cafe, but it's close enough to home for us that it doesn't need to. It does however sell local-ish ice cream so in the summer months that frequently proves a temptation!  now that we have regained some of our free time which previously went to Beer festival related activities hopefully we'll be able to spend more time there this year too - as long, of course, as it stays accessible! 

Robyn

Local exploring...

During the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, like a lot of folk, we did a huge amount of exploring our local area, both on foot and then once a small amount of travel by car was allowed, slightly further afield. Also like a lot of other folk though, once things were relaxed and life began to get back to some sort of normal again, we went back to doing all the things we'd done previously, and the local exploring got pushed aside again. There are habits we have stuck to - we still go for a walk first thing on any weekday morning when we are at home, but those walks tend to be constrained by distance, as usually MrEH has to get home to start work at his regular time.  A few weeks ago though while I was away at the Royal International Air Tattoo (might write a bit about that in another post, we'll see) MrEH went off to look at an area he had seen mentioned on several local birding forums/websites - the old Golf Course over at North Weald. He was so taken with it that he wanted to go back to walk around a bit more of it, and so recently, we did exactly that. 

It's only about a 10 minute drive from home for us - and the parking is very easy, as the access is off a quiet lane, there is a small car park which serves the church, but in fact you could just as easily park on the road. Then it's just a case of going through the gate, and along a path leading to the golf course itself. Immediately the landscape opens up in front of you you are suddenly surrounded by wildflowers, butterflies and various bird calls. It's a mix of wooded areas, scrubland and more open heathland like spaces - I can only assume the bunkers have all been filled in as we didn't find any! There are also a couple of small areas of water, MrEH saw Reed Warblers around one of them when he was there the first time. The area is huge, and spans both sides of the busy A414, but handily there is a useful route under a bridge which carries the rushing traffic over your head - towards Ongar in one direction, and Harlow in the other. 

I can't recall ever having seen such a large number of wildflowers anywhere locally to us - with paths lined with  Bristly Ox Tongue, Ragwort, Thistles bearing their stunning purple flowers, Hawkweed, Wild Carrot, Teasels and much more besides. Right at the far side we emerged onto a farm field planted with beautiful blue borage - and regular crop locally, but always stunning to see. Of course with the flowers come the insects - crickets were absolutely everywhere, the entire walk was punctuated with the sound of them and I dread to think how many we must have inadvertently trodden on as we walked round! I don't believe I've ever seen so many Gatekeeper butterflies in one place before either, and that's before we come on to all the other varieties we saw!

We only walked just over 2 miles in the end, but there were plenty more paths we could have explored, and turnings we could have taken, and there was SO much stopping to look at things that just that short distance made a really good walk. There were deliciously ripe blackberries all over the place too -  we have already said we need to find a time to get back over there pretty soon with a box for some of those!

Robyn

Hebrides…DONE!

 

Another two weeks at beautiful Kettle Cottage - and how lovely it was to be back after missing a year last year because we were too slow off the mark to book! 

As usual with any Hebrides trip these days, there was a bit of ferry-related stress on the way up. It was windy - not by Hebrides standards, but windy nonetheless. And the ferry has a stabiliser out of action at the moment which affects the sea-states she can sail in. As a result we actually let our overnight hotel not quite knowing if we would get across, or not. Thankfully by the time we reached Fort William we were able to see that the boat had left South Uist on her way across to the mainland, so a big sigh of relief was breathed! 

The weather this year did leave a little to be desired - especially when compared with our two weeks of wall to wall sunshine and ludicrously warm temperatures in 2023. Nobody with any sense visits the Western Isles for sunbathing weather though, so it didn’t get in the way of anything we wanted to do, although it did mean we adjusted the days we chose to do a few things, and also meant that it was right at the end of our stay before we finally made it up our favourite little hill on Benbecula - Rueval…

The views were as stunning as ever, but oh my was it breezy at the top! 

Coincidence of the trip was finding ourselves by chance sharing a table at The Dunes Cabin for lunch with another couple - we got chatting as you do, and after a while the conversation turned to where we were from… “Essex” said we…”oh, us too” came the response…”which bit?”  Well, it only turned out that they live less than quarter of a mile from our front door! Ludicrous or what? It was their first visit to the islands, so we passed on a few “must sees” and will be keeping an eye out for them locally now we’re back to see if they are planning a return trip!  

Of course we booked for another trip on the boat with the lovely Lady Anne crew - Nye was skippering this time, with new crew member Rosie alongside, and as usual we were expertly navigated into some great spots to see some fabulous wildlife, with the beautiful White Tailed Eagles being stars of the show as always.

That is Ronald - one of the pair resident in the area the boat visits. Handsome chap isn’t he! I’ve photographed them a number of times now but the thrill as you first see them never diminishes - and it always takes your breath away seeing such a huge bird so close up as well. It’s just such a privilege - and well worth the cost of the trip. 

As usual the trip was filled with plenty of wandering about, nice food, general relaxing and a bit of exploring too - even after all these years we still find the odd place we’ve not been to before. We were also over for the Tractor Rally this year too - first time we’ve been there for that in a good few years. Always good fun, the tractors set off earlier in the morning to do a circuit around the Island before heading back to the hall and show ground at Hosta. Everyone admires them for a bit, then goes and eats and jolly good lunch of soup, sandwiches and homebaking - and there is NOTHING not to like about that! The Uist ladies really know how to bake as well and they are definitely “never knowingly undercatered” - we were absolutely stuffed. It’s all for charity as well, so feels like a good way of being able to contribute something back, while we are there.

We were also up at the right time for the stunning arrays of wildflowers on the machair - always a highlight of a spring visit, and this year didn’t let us down as Uist had a warm spell at the beginning of May which meant all the flowers were a bit ahead of where they might usually have been. The orchids in particular were both stunning and prolific! 

All in all, another lovely trip. It’s always tough to leave, but then these days not only do we know we will most definitely be returning, we are also coming home to a place we love, and with plenty to keep us occupied between the garden (which ran cheerfully amok while we were gone!) and airshow season now starting properly for me.  

Our 2025 trip is already booked up - so we’d better get saving! 

Robyn. 

Hebrides Countdown...

Well, we've not had one of these for a while, have we? I always used to do them, then stopped because I wasn't blogging regularly while we were actually away any more, and so the countdown felt a bit redundant. then I (mostly) stopped blogging much at all, but now I'm back to trying to blog at least semi regularly again anyway, and blogging with photos, at that, so actually, it felt like a nice thing to resurrect! 

So - we're off again shortly - staying in the gorgeous little Kettle Cottage up on North Uist. We missed out of booking Kettle last year as the timings didn't work for our "usual" slot, and there wasn't availability at another time we could make, so we made sure we were able to book it again for 2024 (and have actually already booked 2025 as well - we're not being caught out again, oh no!) As has been the case for a few years now, we are also stretching the trip out for a bit above a straight fortnight too - booking for a ferry over on the Thursday of our trip, and not returning until the Sunday at the end too - this is something we've managed to do for a few years now, and while no doubt there will come a year when it's not so practical, this isn't that year. (Hurrah!) So our first two nights will be spent in one of the glamping pods at our favourite campsite, and the final night of the trip will be there, too. 

As always, we've made NO definite plans for things to do while we're there - we don't, generally. There are things we undoubtedly will do of course - lots of walks on the headland where the Cottage is located and elsewhere. Lots of wandering about looking at birds of course, and time on various beaches too. Cafe trips, cake eaten, at least one stroll up our favourite little hill with the amazing views - Rueval. We'll probably book a boat trip again, and I will be hoping to get some photos of the beautiful White Tailed Eagles as well - it's always a treat seeing them. Whatever we see, and wherever we go though, just being up there, with no specific plans, and time to just relax, sit and enjoy the views, listen to the silence...those are the things that we go for, after all! 

Robyn

Hills for miles...

 

We’ve done a lot of walking this week. Almost every day has ended with us saying we’d have a bit of a lazier day on the next, to give my poor foot a bit of a break, and each time we’ve said it we’ve failed entirely to make good on the idea! A lot of that walking has also by necessity involved hills -  Cornwall is by nature a pretty hilly county, and the bits round the coast all the more so. As I by nature gravitate towards water, we’ve done much of our walking by the sea...

Yesterday’s nearly 10 miles were across on the other side of the Lizard from where we’re staying - from The Loe - Cornwall’s largest freshwater lake, along to Gunwalloe and then on to Poldhu using the coast path, then back to Gunwalloe and returning to the car via the beach. And of course you can’t go to Poldhu without visiting the wonderful Poldhu Beach Cafe. And you can’t visit the cafe without having a hot chocolate....look.... 

See?  This is the “special” hot chocolate, and yes - it tasted every bit as good as it looked, too! I’m a bit funny with hot chocolate as a rule - sometimes it can be way too sweet for me, and a real struggle to drink, but this one was just perfect! 

We’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather this week - I’m conscious that the photos I’ve been posting both here and elsewhere on social media are all very “blue skies and sunshine” but in fact that is exactly how it’s been - although quite chilly at times, and especially in the evenings, the days have been beautiful. Mr EH has worn shorts for a good part of the week, and we’ve both spent a reasonable amount of time in short sleeves. Holidaying for a week in the U.K. you do expect at least some rain, but we’re certainly not complaining about not having seen any this week! 

As it wasn’t too late when we arrived back at the car, we decided to head a little further south to Lizard Point again to see if I could track down the Choughs for some photos. Although we had fabulous views of them earlier in the week, I’d not taken my camera with me, and as I was keen to get some shots if at all possible, and we were in the right area already, we decided to go back. We retraced our steps from the previous visit, but to no avail, there were plenty of Jackdaws but no Choughs to be seen. The final hope was to head back round the lighthouse to the car, and as you can see from the picture above, it paid off! This shot was taken on my Canon 80D with its built in WiFi meaning I was able to transfer it to the phone and process on there. I don’t use this method too often as the results are nowhere near as good as “proper” processing via a laptop, but it does mean that sometimes I can play with the odd shot like this. I’m delighted to have got some photos of these fantastic birds, anyway! 

Robyn 

Signs of a new optimism...

Something we have realised just recently is that over the last year we seem to have seen a lot more wildflowers - during the first lockdown last year of course areas that would usually be mown regularly were left to grow meaning things like the Speedwell in the lawn outside suddenly made its presence felt far more than usual. 

This time of year is always beautiful with the vibrant green of spring appearing everywhere - the willows in particular are looking wonderful just now, giving an almost lime-green tinge to great areas of the countryside.

Everywhere you look too, buds are breaking. The Blackthorn near here having been a riot of frothy white blossom just a week or so ago is now dropping the petals in great drifts, while all the tree’s energy seems to suddenly be going to producing leaves instead - and incredible metamorphosis!

We saw the first bluebells of the year at the weekend - native ones too rather than the pervasive Spanish invaders. It always feels like spring has properly arrived when the bluebells appear - although the sub-zero temperatures overnight and the snow flurries we’ve had do seem to suggest otherwise! The Hebrides had quite a sprinkling of snow this morning and while it didn’t last long I gather it did leave the landscape looking more winter than springlike!

One plant that seems to have thoroughly taken off around here over the past few years are these beautiful little violets - always seen occasionally, there are now great carpets of them on many of our road verges, in every colour from a deep, rich purple right through varying degrees of paleness to pure white. 

 Are there actually more wildflowers this year than usual or are we just seeing them more because we’re looking for the bright cheerful signs of optimism - confirmation that the changing seasons might hopefully bring a bit more of a return to normal? I’m sure someone knows the answer - I just hope that in future years we remember to notice them just as much! 

Robyn

Day 81...

The above photo is called “things you didn’t expect to see on your morning walk...”! We were just walking round the edge of one of our local ponds, and there was this chap sitting on the bank. Initially we assumed it was a plastic model placed there by the nearby fisherman to try to fool passers by....then it moved! As we watched, he slid back into the water and disappeared - seemingly happy enough with his surroundings!

The other excitement today was finding some yeast for sale in the supermarket. We are about to use the last of our current pack, and although we have the new pack ready to start, we always have another lined up behind it as well. This allows for something silly like a pack coming unclippped and losing its contents, or getting dropped. I’ve been keeping an eye out for the last month or so but seen none, Although I wasn’t too concerned, and certainly not enough to buy a different brand to our usual. Today the persistance paid off as there it was - in its usual place on a shelf rather a long way away from where you might expect...!

Robyn

Today...

Was a "2 Corncrakes in the garden" kinda day...

So, it seems Corncrakes are like buses - you wait all year and then two come along at once!

Robyn

All over for another...SIX MONTHS!

Well that's it - we're back, everything is unpacked, the car is breathing a sigh of relief outside, and the washing machine is set ready to run later with the first load of washing. We left the cottage at 10am yesterday - packing up never takes us long these days, we're well practised at it, and by 10 not only was the car fully loaded but the cottage was returned to the spotless state in which we found it. The nice thing about taking the later ferry is that we have a lovely relaxed final day - so we stopped at Baleshare on the way through and look....

...I promised I'd try to show you what all that lovely yellow Iris looks like when it's in bloom - it gets better than this but it didn't quite make it while we were there - still pretty good though no? From there we carried on South down through the islands - arriving at Lochboisdale where the ferry to Oban leaves from in plenty of time. As usual, we ditched the car in the ferry queue (in spite of being VERY early - they're used to that!) and went to grab some lunch - actually warm enough to sit outside too - amazing! Wandered back towards the ferry - still very early, but bumped into a pal who'd just driven down to drop some folk off for the boat so we had a nice chat with him while we waited! The boat arrived bang on time and we were one of the first few on thanks to the extreme earlyness! This has the advantage that on a busy day you are up on deck in time to watch the loading of the final vehicles - which can sometimes be entertaining - they cram cars into the smallest of gaps...

Oddly enough we were further forward in that line, and I commented to MrEH when we got out that I was surprised they'd not put me another couple of inches forward - I bet the driver of that red car wishes they had! Once everyone is on they waste no time in getting away...

...always a little sad seeing the Hebrides slipping away behind us like that, but at least this time we knew it's only a few months, rather than a whole year, until we're back again! Anyway, for the next 5 hours we had a ferry crossing to distract us - and for the first part of it the weather was just lovely - hardly any wind, water like a millpond, and lots of birds to look out for - Razorbills, Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Gannets and puffins can all be seen easily from this crossing, and with a bit more practise Manx Shearwaters and Storm Petrels too. The Petrels are the toughest to spot - tiny birds, a little bigger than a sparrow, and they rarely come in close to the boat either! Our favourite spot from the boat this time round though was a little easier to see...

...a Basking Shark! They're seen in Hebridean waters quite often during the summer, but this was the first time we'd seen one - amazing! There were Dolphins too - always lovely to watch them leaping and diving. A little after that the rain started falling and the decks emptied indoors - us too, and the rest of the crossing was spent reading, dozing, and eating surprisingly good fish & chips. We arrived at Oban on time and with the rain still falling quite heavily drove the 2½ hours to our bed for the might just outside Glasgow.

The rest of the journey today is straightforward enough...as usual we share the driving, stopping for a late breakfast/early lunch, and then again to change drivers as required. As we spotted the sign for Doncaster's Robin Hood airport from the A1 I realised that it was only 20 minutes or so until the UK's sole remaining airworthy Vulcan Bomber - XH558 - was due to leave to fly out for a couple of air displays, so we diverted to there to see her leave...

...well if you're that close it would be rude not to really, wouldn't it! Amazing to see her on the ground - but even better to watch this...

...the local residents clearly agreed too as there was a good crowd there watching. She nearly reduced one old chap to tears - he was saying that he remembered living in the area in the 1950's when they used to scramble three of them at a time - flying out right over his house "My, the windows used to rattle and the whole house shook" he said - still gazing at the departing aircraft, now just a faint speck in the sky. Definitely a complete contrast to the past fortnight, but a nice way of ending the holiday nonetheless!

My camera will now get turned back to aviation matters for a while - with a couple of days at Scampton later this week, and then Biggin Hill Airshow next weekend, to start me off. Lots planned, and lots to look forward to!

Robyn

A wee cruise...!

We've had the decision that this year we're not going to take a trip up to Lewis and Harris while we're here. We do love going up there, but with the return ferry fare for us and the car now coming in at over £80, we've struggled to justify it for the past few years really. This year's increase in fares was really one too many, and we've taken the call that we'll give it a miss for this year. Once RET (Road Equivalent Tariff) is brought in on the inter-island routes we'll happily revert to making  the trip again I'm sure, but that's probably another year at least away yet. We do love the ferry crossing though, so yesterday we decided on the spur of the moment to do the crossing "out and back" as foot passengers - or as the man selling the tickets said "Oh, you're just going for a wee cruise!"

Definitely all about the wildlife this one...the binoculars are in constant use and we're constantly pointing out things to one another. No question about this one though - a nice close pass from a Gannet...

 ...one for you there Jo! Oddly enough they weren't diving at all today - now that is a fantastic sight to watch! Another bird great to watch is the Tern - although these Common Terns were using a channel marker as a handy bench for a rest...

Its always worth keeping an eye on the markers as a lot of things seem to find them useful - quite often you find the bottoms of them covered in the tiny Black Guillemots. Also out of the water resting were the seals...

They can be seen all around these islands and are always great to watch. they'll often come towards the boat for a closer look too.

More Gannets - resting on the water this time, but all the better to get a really good look at just what strange looking birds they are...

...and finally a couple of Cormorants also making use of a channel marker...

...do you think they realised how good their plumage would look against the red?!

Robyn