Friday 23 September 2016

Wild camping week on Ardnamurchan

A week of wild camping on the Ardnamurchan peninsular in Scotland a few weeks back was exhilarating and physically challenging in equal measure. I went up there with my good mate Robin Mars; no campervan this time, so it was an interesting exercise getting all the required gear in the back of a Nissan Almera ... my concession to comfort, a double duvet, didn't help of course but hey my back is pushing 60!



Who doesn't like Scotland? Well, without getting political, there's plenty that don't care too much about the wee midges and then there's the unpredictable weather, but when you can wake up to this sort of thing of a morning its worth putting up with both.








The Ardnamurchan peninsular lies just to the north of the Isle of Mull, just as rugged and scenic, but just that little bit more remote and thus a good choice for a trip up to Scotland in the height of the holiday season! In terms of good birds I have to say it was pretty pants with not a sniff of Golden or Sea eagle, no Hen Harriers, Crossbills or anything like that, no Otters either but it mattered not because we had a campfire, good food and music every night and spectacular scenery to tramp around in every day. So here's my Scottish wild camping week in pics ...

The Falls of Falloch, nr Loch Lomand


Loch Sunart, 21/08/16
The bothy at Loch Sunart
At 31k in length, Loch Sunart is the longest sea loch in the Highland district. There was a conveniently situated bothy right on the edge which we made full use of as a camping base, especially after a wet weather day.










Any chance to dry out a pair or 2 of favoured walking socks!


 At Strontian, the main village around Sunart we walked around an ancient stretch of woodland called Ariundle. The wood is a remnant of ancient oakwood that once spanned the Atlantic coasts of Europe from Norway to Portugal and due to the unique climatic conditions of the area it is actually classed as a temperate rain forest.

Ariundle forest, Strontian, 22/08/16
Old Man's Beard, Ariundle, 22/08/16
 Lichens, mosses and ferns in absolute proliferation but hardly any birds ,,, a flock of Lesser Redpolls being the only notable record!

Plenty of Argus butterflies though, in fact we saw many of these with several Mountain Ringlets throughout the trip.

Scottish Argus, Ariundle, 22/08/16

Scabious, Ariundle, 22/08/16

 Here's a bird we expected to see a lot of but in the end only recorded a handful. A misty backdrop to this Stonechat on the banks of Loch Linhe
Stonechat, Loch Linhe, 21/08/16
Camping spot nr Loch Shiel
Around Loch Shiel we were a bit naughty and camped out on forestry commission land but it was such an isolated and picturesque spot it was a no brainer with the light closing in.

Migrating Swallows and resident Raven, Sparrowhawk & Buzzard here but all the watching of the skies for eagles was in vain.








Fantastic camping location though ...  this was our view after making camp!
Loch Shiel, 22/08/16
 We headed up to the north of the peninsular for the last leg of our short trip up here and ended up around Kilmory Bay with stunning views across the sound of Arisaig of the isles of Eigg, Rum and Muck.
Kilmory Bay, 24/08/16

Eigg from Kilmory Bay, 24/08/16
Painted Lady, Acheteny nr Kilmory, 24/08/16

It was yet another stunning place to camp and we were blessed with the best weather of the trip with warm sunshine and clear skies. A Campfire on the beach and even a decent bird record in the shape of a couple of juvenile Whinchats was marred only by a small accident - I managed to give myself a bloody eye and nose whilst gathering wood for the fire and everything was blurred for 24hrs after that!


Rocky headland around Kilmory, 24/08/16

Camping spot, Kilmory

Whinchat (juv), Kilmory, 24/08/16
I wasn't the only person taking photographs .. Rob's pretty handy behind the lens too. These are all his pics, all taken on the Ardnamurchan peninsular and with the added bonus of some of them featuring my good self!

Much better Argus than mine!





That'll be me doing my James Bond impersonation!



Best wild camping spot ever!



Like I say, not the abundance of wildlife we expected, I guess we finally managed to get most of the common species - Grey Wagtail, Hooded Crow, Rock Pipit, Coal Tit, Shag, Eider, a handful of Willow Warblers & Blackcaps, lots of Meadow Pipits of course but very few raptors (not a single Kestrel!) and maybe even more surprising not a single Dipper! Birding isn't the be all and end all for me on these trips though and my week of wild camping with all its challenges will live long in the memory.


















Friday 19 August 2016

High Summer around Yorkshire and Lincs, butterflies at last and returning waders

Well that's another Summer nearly over and, barring a wet spell in June, not a bad one weather wise. I'm looking forward to the autumn colours now, not least because after many months of frustration I finally have my investment property in Hull and will have a bit more time on my hands. Feels like ages since I posted on here back in June and I'd half expected to get all my business sorted, buy a small camper and do a bit of traveling in the UK. No worries, an enforced lapse into mid summer slumber, playing my guitar at campsite socials has been a heap of fun and of course I've managed to squeeze in a few trips out, mainly local plus a 3 day excursion to the Lincolnshire coast. So in no particular order here are my high summer pics neatly themed into butterflies, dragonflies, wild flowers, birds and landscapes.

Banded Demoiselle, Howsham Mill, 20/07/16


Here's my haul of decent butterfly and dragonfly pics with the odd moth thrown in there too


Broad Bodied Chaser, North Cave, 21/07/16

Common Blue (female), Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

Common Blue (male), Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

This next one was new for me, much more widespread down south, its an Essex Skipper and almost identical to the more familiar Little Skipper apart from the black tips on their antennae. They're spreading northwards but still scarce in Yorkshire and this one was just across the Humber in Lincs at Donna Nook.

Essex Skipper, Donna Nook (lincs), 27/07/16
Small Skipper, North Cave, 21/07/16



Not a great comparison pic but here's a Little Skipper





















Gatekeeper, North Cave, 21/07/16

6 spot Burnett, Donna Nook, 27/07/16

Marbled White, Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

 This was a sight for sore eyes too, never abundant and a Yorkshire first for me

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Cropton Forest, 12/07/16

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Cropton Forest, 12/07/16

Common Darter (female), North Cave, 21/07/16

Birdies next; July is never a great time for birding but the month had its moments, especially towards the end with masses of early returning waders around the Wash.

Dunlin flock, Gibralter Point, 29/07/16

Greenshank, Gibralter Point, 29/07/16

Whimbrel, Donna Nook, 27/07/16
Black Tailed Godwit, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Nothing better than seeing migrating birds, the Whimbrels above were just a few of maybe 60 or so we saw flying overhead around the Wash. At RSPB reserve Frampton Marsh we had many thousands of waders - Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Avocet, Lapwing & Dunlin made up the vast majority but also Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Knot, Bar Tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and a surprise rarity - a White Rumped Sandpiper


Black Tailed Godwits, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Black Tailed Godwits, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Dunlin, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

White Rumped Sandpiper with Dunlins, Frampton Marsh, 29/07/16

Some selected raptors, starting with the best pic - a stunning female Sparrowhawk in the road and stood on top of a recent kill (looks like an ex wood pigeon to me!)

Sparrowhawk, Wharram le Street, 06/07/16

Marsh Harrier, Humber, 21/07/16




During an unsuccessful attempt at tracking down a reported and scarce Montague's Harrier around the Humber we spent a pleasurable few hours watching the comings and goings of birds on the estuary, including at least 5 Marsh Harriers.


Hobby, Gibralter Point, 29/07/16
I photographed at least 4 different Hobby's during the Lincolnshire trip and got lots of blurry grey / blue  shapes always going away but this one sailed right overhead, caught a dragonfly in mid air and I managed an in focus shot of it eating on the wing.

























This time of year there's lots of juvenile birds about and they all need feeding! This Sedge Warbler is clearly a youngster ....

Sedge Warbler (juv), Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16
.... and guess what he's having for supper!

Sedge Warbler (juv), Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

At any tern colony around this time of year you'll see almost continuous feeding by the adults in order to get their young fledged and flying. I photographed these Common Terns at North Cave Wetlands where both young and old seemed to be thriving.

Common Tern, North Cave, 21/07/16
Common Tern, North Cave, 21/07/16
Reed Warbler, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Yellow Wagtail, Frampton Marsh, 28/07/16

Here's a little floral selection ...

Pyramidal Orchid, Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

Marsh Woundwort, River Derwent, 20/07/16

Harebell, Fangfoss, 18/07/16

Common Cranesbill, Wharram Quarry, 06/07/16

Rosebay Willowherb, Fangfoss, 20/07/16
.... and here's a few landscapes that captured my imagination during July

Cropton Forest, July, 2016

Donna Nook, July, 2016

Donna Nook, July, 2016

Faxfleet, July, 2016

Faxfleet, July, 2016

Gibralter Point, July, 2016

Gibralter Point, July, 2016

Roe Deer, Cropton Forest, July, 2016