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| The Meeting - pastel sketch on paper |
Nothing epitomises the call of the wild better than the haunting song of the Curlew as it rises to a piercing crescendo from the silent gasps of the rush bedded moor. On quivering wings, bridged by a crescent back that scythes a shape from curved bill to tail, the song is uttered as it flies over the nesting territory, and it is guaranteed to send a shiver down one's spine. Sadly these birds are now missing from many rural areas, as farming haste waits for no nesting bird. Fortunately in the glens of east Scotland a saving grace exists in the form of rough hill pastures where boggy Soft Rush dominates to provide some nesting cover and a predator controlled conservation haven for this threatened species.
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| Sketching today |
We all live with threat to a certain degree nowadays, from the mortgage threat of, "your home may be at risk if you fail to keep up with payments", to "you are committing an offence by watching television without a licence". Abstract statements like these cow us into enforced conformity through threat, like an authoritarian form of, "you'll get a skelp roon the lug if yer nae careful". The art of threat is practised by many creatures and today we find one such beastie basking in the sunshine, be it ever so chilly. That Bracken cloned, zig-zag camouflage of the Adder just shouts, "beware, don't mess with me" and the threat is real and before me. Beautifully real ..... not stress filled words on paper that drop through your letter box.
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| Adder female |
Words on paper often change the world and the old adage of, "the pen is mightier than the sword" rings true; importantly, what is written may not be necessarily true or just, if read at all, but lies have a habit of turning into facts when data or reports are presented by academics and celebrities. And these lies (or economies of truth) in turn transform into threats, and the power of conformity. Golden Eagles become threatened by alleged grouse moor management persecution but eagle numbers in Scotland are at their highest since recording began, so claims of continued persecution, supposedly proven by the cruel act of satellite tagging, do not make sense statistically but as a lie they make perfect sense.
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| Slow Worm |
Today, in the space of seven hours in one Angus glen, we see three Golden Eagles and one White-tailed Eagle which is statistically impossible if one listens to the diatribe spouted by agenda driven activists campaigning against shooting and grouse moors. They claim that the hills and glens of Angus are barren and devoid of wildlife which, I think, has been categorically disproven by this blog over the years. Something wild lusciously stinks in the charity lands of justice and revival methinks.
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| Golden Eagle male immature |
So special it was today. Two young Golden Eagles meeting and sharing air space over the heath where Rabbits, Mountain Hare, Lapwing and Red Grouse provide their food stuff. The birds soar together with respectful curiosity and the evidence of their hunting success is clear to see. Grouse feathers, a Lapwing wing, some twisted Mountain Hare spines and the fatty folds of skin peeling from bunny feet tatters. In the glen haughs, between the Rabbit cropped grass and the grazed to death Ling, springs an Ermine Stoat. Pure white it is against the snow bare land, with a black brush tail, and no doubt its mesmerising dance in front of the Rabbit masses will produce a neck bitten kill, and then it will chew into the skull for bunny brain stew tonight.
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| Young Golden Eagles meeting |
The Cairngorm mountains glow in the distance with the latest snowfall as the land I sketch turns darker and moodier until the threat of Winter's rebirth becomes chillingly imminent, and maybe soon the Adder will shiver in its sloughing skin to the tune of the returning Curlew and that mistaken gambit of waking from hibernation into a false Spring, slithers home. High on a rocky hillside a Song Thrush sings where no trees grow and it will nest in the heather kows or like the Ring Ouzel, yet to come, beneath a boulder crevice perchance. There are lots of thrushes in this glen and their conservation presence here is reliant to a degree on moorland management; their story is just as telling as the eagles and waders in my opinion. Come April this glen will be abuzz with activity, it can't come too soon!
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| Young female Golden Eagle |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Curlews |
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| Oystercatchers |
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| Lapwing |
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| Mountain Hare |
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| Golden Eagle |
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| White-tailed Eagle immature satellite tagged |
Notes;........article in progress............
All text, sketches and photos are done on the 5th March 2019 and subject to copyright - no reproduction.
My new book 'Wildsketch' is available from Blurb bookshop
Income from book sales will form a donation to CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter)
If you are inspired to go out into the hills and glens of Scotland please leave it as you find it, respect the environment, do not litter or discard so called 'biodegradable' fruit and especially if you are a dog walker keep your beast on a lead and do not bag up its waste then chuck it by the wayside. I recently came across one black poo bag neatly hung on a tree branch for someone else to take home and also a bright blue one thrown in the moorland verge....why?
Moorland birds like Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dotterel, Ptarmigan and many raptors nest on the ground, it is advisable to keep dogs at heel or preferably on leads when walking on the high plateaux of the Cairngorms during summer months.
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. Observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres and for short periods of time only.
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. Many geographic names and location recognizable photos have been omitted to prevent persecution or ringing-monitoring disturbance to named species.
Canon camera 200D with optical zoom lens EFS 55-250mm used; please note that the zoom range distance if given is calculated by OS map from subject location to camera.