Christine's walking & birds blog

It must be summer at last, because this afternoon we've had a thunderstorm. However, the morning was lovely - warm and bright with quite a lot of sunshine. Greger's still convalescing so I drove north and then walked west, heading for the moorland between Cul Beag and Cul Mor.


For the first time this year I was wearing shorts and T-shirt, and it felt great. I felt tons lighter. I was hoping for reed buntings, red grouse and golden plovers - all of which I saw here last year. I saw none of these, but a white-tailed eagle flying high and purposefully from north to south was compensation of sorts.


This was golden eagle territory last year, but I saw none today. I walked on - well, I didn't walk on. I squelched and splashed on, thanks to the boggy nature of the ground - and looked through to the heart of Inverpolly and Drumrunie Forests. The only forests are the birch woods - which have been described as "moribund"; there is certainly an air of deadness around, with the birch and rowans seeming to fail in their efforts to reproduce. This is almost certainly thanks to the red deer which are not culled properly. Areas need to be fenced off so that any seedlings get a chance to grow; or the deer need to be shot. Harsh but true. These wild areas are wonderful in their open aspect, but a few more trees wouldn't go amiss - and would mean more birds.


There were plenty of meadow pipits, and something was chacking somewhere, but I couldn't get onto it. Mindful of Greger at home alone, I turned. As I made my way back to the log bridge over the stream, a young dipper flew up onto it.


I took some pics and then walked slowly towards it. A shame to disturb it but there was no alternative but the track and the bridge. Anyway, the dipper flew off upstream, and as I crossed I could see it a short distance away on a stone. There was no sign of an adult.

Back at home, Greger was also in shorts and confessed he'd walked downtown and had an ice-cream. But he'd also mown the lawn, so he deserved it!