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| Meadow Pipit |
For me, the thing that sets the Angus moorlands alive at this time of year is bird life. Meadow Pipits busily flit amongst the grassy tussocks and Wheatears ascend with a fluttering display into the sky, trilling as they rise. High up on the grassy slopes between the heather patches a Golden Plover utters its signature ghostly whistle and a Common Buzzard meows as it dives in a tumbling display. The young Golden Eagle with pale wing spots bares its deadly talons to the harassing buzzard half its size and three Ravens croak in black harmony to the approach of a teuchat storm that rides across the mountain horizon. A solitary Blackcock, in ungainly balance, sits in a Larch tree to pick at the 'larch roses' then skulks behind the branches as a Kestrel wind hovers nearby, silently. A pair of watching Carrion Crows hug closely on a high grey branch to form an ink blob outline against the blue sky which is rushed through with the raked white clouds of April and the Skylark rises to meet the Sun in endless tune. All these things refresh the mind and spirit when walking through them, not past them, but among them and part of them, at one with nature.
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| Wheatear |
The hills and glens are fine places to be on your own and soaked in your own solitude, but they can also be places to share with others in that special feeling that only comes by being there. Recently we held a parish walk up to Loch Lee where young and old braved the blustery glen wind to eventually reach the sanctuary of the old churchyard by the loch. The children had completed my Easter egg trail and most wandered around with chocolate lip-stick faces for the rest of the day. Some of us then walked to the Cross Stone of Tarfside and then up the Hill of Rowan where a huge, conical monument stands to commemorate Lauderdale Maule killed during the Crimean war. Ring Ouzels have returned from Africa to breed amongst the rocky crevices in the corries and their song, echoing and disjointed yet filled with mountainous glory, spills down to the glen to intrigue our wind seuched ears. Previously, my attempts to photograph a Woodcock were useless but, during my early morning egg laying trail, one Woodcock flew across my path to land one hundred metres away in the Birch trees of Invermark lodge and finally a photo of this very shy bird was forthcoming.
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| Ring Ouzel |
I feel that this year will be a very busy one for me and so far it has not disappointed any of my aspirations in sharing the glorious flora and fauna of the Scottish highlands with you. Already, having succeeded in discovering many new and outstanding things, some of which that cannot be shared here, I am looking forward to exploring the higher Cairngorms to seek out the rare Dotterel at lek in May and maybe see Ptarmigan with their chicks hiding in the granite screes. At this time of year the Golden Eagles are incubating eggs on their eyries of heather kows so are very easily disturbed but later on in June it is grand to watch the adults hunting to bring back food to the downy white eaglets. Life and death are never far from your feet in the highlands and no sooner had we seen several beautiful Roe Deer bouncing over the heather, a winter mort Red Deer stag is found curled up at the foot of a steep bank. In a macabre garb of stinking hair, flesh and bone we could see by the plentiful faeces scats lying around that a Red Fox had devoured every last morsel of the beast.
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| Woodcock |
A territorial spat between two female Goshawks is a rare sight, but over an Angus wood we see the birds performing a flight display where both slowed their wing beats down to fly in an exaggerated fashion with wings outstretched and flapped stiffly. These female birds are a fair size almost approaching a male buzzard's size and in a final fast pursuit over the tree tops one chases the other's tail feathers to vanquish the rival. The courtship flight is similar but the male seemingly sky-dances abruptly after the slow motion wing flapping session.
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| Wheatear |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Stag remains |
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| Cuckoo male and Meadow Pipit - 8 May 2014 |
All sketches and photos done on the day unless dated and are copyright.
Please be aware that it is illegal to disturb nesting eagles or other raptors and you may do so inadvertently in your journeys into the highlands. I do not recommend searching for any of the species mentioned in this blog because this may cause undue disturbance to them. With my knowledge of the areas described in this blog I can locate and observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres for short periods of time only.
No map for conservation reasons and no wildlife was unduly or knowingly disturbed by my presence or for the purposes of this web page other than what would be expected on a normal hill walk.
seuched - sound of the wind against something.
David Adam web-site