My Blog

Category: Wildlife

  • Farne away

    So, home again after an epic weekend in Beadnell, Northumberland, seeing our chums from Discovery 2008.  It was magnificent to pick up from where we left off in 2011, there are not many people with whom one may do this and it’s a true joy. This year we stayed again at the Towers, and sallied…

  • Shaken not shtirred*

    FINALLY,  around six months after I hung up a Nyger seed feeder, we saw goldfinches in the front garden today.   These jaunty wee chaps are a joy to look at; their collective noun, as you will know, is a charm of goldfinches, and once or twice I have been privileged enough to see such a…

  • Fair, fair Scotia

    Sometimes I think I’m a bit rubbish at life, I don’t stravaig the planet and I haven’t invented anything, I have founded no dynasty.  This begins to explain why I enjoy watching and listening to birds so much, because they don’t give a stuff.  Some of them have cracked the egg of sheer joy, you…

  • A Rose by any other name

    Vane Farm has been re-named.  It is now Loch Leven Nature Reserve.  I don’t recall being consulted about this, either as a long term member of the RSPB or a frequent flier, but I was probably investigating a scone at the time. I haven’t decided which I prefer yet, and since it was called Vane…

  • Normal service…

    ..is being resumed as soon as possible, if you do not know then let me advise that this site was hacked, massive thanks to Alison for alerting us.  Paul has been very busy working on it since then and the message as always people is back up, back up, back up. In other news, we’ve…

  • Vanitas, vanitas, omnia vanitas

    Right.  It’s been a while.*  Need to add the password for this blog to my iPad so that I can post from wherever. Gorgeous day yesterday, we went to Vane Farm, looked around the refurbished cafe, not finished yet but we enjoyed a tasty lunch.  Then we climbed Vane Hill.  Once at the summit, and…

  • Biz biz biz

    .. busy So, we went away for the weekend, amidst loads of other stuff and keeping in touch with family, but we had a couple of lovely days in Blairgowrie.  We stayed at the Altamount House, which hosted Marika and Rob’s wedding in 1999, thirteen years ago.   It was at a wedding subsequent to that…

  • Birdwatch day

    Each year the RSPB asks people to watch the birds in their garden for an hour over the last weekend in January.  My 2012 count was an improvement on last year: Four blackbirds Eight sparrows (might have been more but they move so fast I couldn’t count them) Two blue tits Two coal tits Two…

  • Hogmanay

    Well, it will be no surprise to those who know us to learn that we have been up to Vane Farm again today.   It was dreich, wet, foggy, misty, dour, and held out no hope for any sightings at all, but we went in anyway. Having secured the prime table in the cafe – the…

  • Snow way

    Yes, the white stuff is back, but only about two inches, and if this blog had audio you would hear Ross next door clearing the footpath with his brand new snow shovel. The adverse weather this week catapulted Scotland to the forefront of the news – fortunately this was not because of any fatalities incurred…