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| Glen of the Peewit - pastel sketch on paper |
Roamin' in the Gloamin' is a Scottish love song made famous by Sir Harry Lauder way back in the 1930's and one verse goes like this, 'Roamin in the gloamin wi' my lassie by my side'. Well I didn't have a lassie by my side, but I did have dozens of Lapwings by my side all piping their 'peewit' call into the bejewelled light of dusk as the Sun finally set on a gorgeous day here in east Scotland.
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| Sketching this evening by a burn side |
The Lapwing is an iconic symbol of the countryside but unfortunately, like the Curlew, their calls are becoming few and far between. Nevertheless an oasis of conservation flourishes here in the Angus glens where a combination of traditional hill farming and game shooting exists. The noise this evening, from sheep and lambs constantly bleating mixed with the calls from the Lapwing and Curlew, could come from only one place on Earth ..... here! What could be a better recipe for a good night's sleep other than a wee roam in the gloaming and all wrapped up in a Scottish glen.
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| Face to face .... Blackface lamb and Lapwing |
Deep within the glen, as mottled feather blended with dappled rush, a Woodcock rises and tuts a call to dimming, twilight dusk and both become one to be absorbed into the tapestry of glen colours. Unseen, a heather bleating Snipe adds some plumaged vibronics to the orchestra of the glen and several frantically dashing Ring Ouzels chuckle their alarm calls from the grassy haughs where they search for their last supper.
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| Curlew |
Finally, the cool aroma of coming rain wafted on every lashing wing beat from the guardian Lapwing watching overhead and then, as glowing yellow occluded to clouded grey, the first spots spat on the land and the sky washed over with runny streaks of wet to end the glowing warmth of gloaming that was.
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| Lapwing |
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| Chickweed Wintergreen |
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| Sand Martin colony |
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| Milkwort and Lousewort |
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| Primrose burn |
Notes;........article in progress............
All text, sketches and photos are done on the 17th May 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