Sunday, May 31, 2020
On this sunny but windy day we got up onto fairly high ground (well, 300 metres) in a walk from home that blew the cobwebs away. Social distancing was not a problem.
Birds were scarce on the ridge - nothing but a singing skylark and a handful of meadow pipits. But there were compensations. A common spotted orchid was out, and in the dry moss and wiry grass grew lousewort, milkwort, and yellow tormentil. Cottongrass was seeding, snowy heads nodding in the wind.
And in sphagnum bogs and pools were water boatmen and this small beetle, which I think is an Agabus species (thanks to a photo on the assyntwildlife website).
There were deer fences everywhere. We negotiated the "dog-flap" in the first fence, and in the next two found a gate which opened easily and then a gate we could squeeze past. We sat down for a drink and enjoyed the view.
Several days ago I'd heard faint wood warbler song from deep in the river gorge, but nothing since. I'd thought that was my lot for this year. Today I heard the song in another location - but again, it was fairly distant, and we caught only glimpses of the singer. As we scanned trees for the wood warbler, there came the thrilling, bubbling call of a female cuckoo, very close; and we looked round to see a cuckoo (either the female or a male that had also been singing) speeding off up the hill, pursued by a pipit.
Finally, a raptor flying about way beyond the river looked too long-winged for buzzard and with the wrong sort of flight - and it turned out to be an osprey.
Which is a very acceptable bird for my lockdown list!
// posted by Christine @ 12:43 PM 
