Thursday, January 30, 2014

RSPB Mersehead - 7th December 2013

A grey cold day at RSPB Mersehead

1-barnies

Barnacle Geese

1-Mersehead-beach

We decided on a walk along the shore towards Southerness

2-Mersehead-beach

Looking back towards Sandyhills

3-reeds

Reeds in the sea

4-Mersehead-sign

Mersehead sign

5 beach-finds

Beach finds

6-wader

Dunlin?

7-Mersehead-beach

Deserted beach

8-stones

Tide now quite high and very cold so headed back to the Meida hide…

9-Murmuration

…just in time for the Starling murmuration!

10-Murmuration

Great site…

11 murmeration

…and great sounds!

12-murmeration

Friday, January 24, 2014

RSPB Mersehead–1st December 2013

Another trip to the beautiful RSPB Mersehead (before the tidal surge)

1-Mersehead

Over the gate, looking towards Criffel

2-eleven-spot-ladybird

11 Spot Ladybird

3-Rainbow-Lane

Rainbow Lane

4-Across-the-Merse

Across the merse

5-Reed-Bunting

Reed Bunting

6-Barnies

Somethings disturbed the Barnies!

7-Barnies

 

8-Barnies

 

9-Merse

 

10-Mersehead-Beach

Mersehead Beach

11 Diving-beetle Acilius sulcatus

Surprprised to find this diving beetle on the beach believed to be Acilius sulcatus

12-Barnies

Geese on the fields

13-Mersehead

 

14-yellowhammer

Distant Yellowhammer

Sweetheart Abbey, New Abbey Corn Mill & Caerlaverock Castle–30th November 2013

St Andrews Day and that meant free entry to several Historic Scotland properties, which we booked online beforehand. A great opportunity to go to places we hadn’t been to in Dumfries and Galloway and to revisit one we had visited many years ago.

1-Sweetheart-Abbey

A beautiful sunny morning, although we knew it wasn’t going to last, we headed first for Sweetheart Abbey, New Abbey, somewhere we had yet to visit.

2-Sweetheart-Abbey-info-board

 

3-Sweetheart-Abbey-info-board

 

4-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

5-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

6-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

7-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

8-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

9-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

10-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

11-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

12-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

13-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

14-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

15-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

16-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

17-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

18-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

19-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

20-Sweetheart-Abbey

 

21-Sweetheart-Abbey

We next moved on to New Abbey Corn Mill, another place we had yet to visit. It is just a short walk from the abbey,so we left our car in the car park there.

22-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

23-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

24-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

25-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

26-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

27-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

28-New-Abbey-Cornmill

 

29-New-Abbey-Cornmill

Before leaving New Abbey, we popped in to Abbey Cottage a delightful gift shop and tearoom, and well worth a visit!

30-Caerlaverock-Castle

Our next stop was Caerlaverock Castle, which we had visited many years ago. Unfortunately by now the weather, as predicted wasn’t so good!

31-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

32-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

33-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

34-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

35-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

36-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

37-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

38-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

39-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

40-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

41-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

42-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

43-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

44-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

45-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

46-Caerlaverock-Castle

 

47-Caerlaverock-Castle

Thank you Historic Scotland, an excellent day out!