A few days in and around Perth

 We had a lovely few days away in and around Perth last week. The very changeable weather didn't stop us enjoying a few walks. The highlight was going to the Tay Reedbeds, with the aim of finding Bearded Tits (now also known as Bearded Reedlings). There's a lovely walk from the village of Errol, which takes in the reedbeds and the surrounding area:

 

We were lucky enough to see a couple of Bearded Tits, though we didn't get a close up view! We also saw and heard: Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers. After a lovely lunch in the cafe in Errol, we had a quick visit to the Cistern Green Wildlife Garden and Community Orchard, which is a lovely greenspace. 

On another day we had a lovely walk up Kinnoul Hill, which we visit every time we're in Perth. The walk is a lovely mix of woodland

scrubby heathland  

and amazing views over the River Tay (the silvery areas near the river are reflections from the polytunnels in fruit farms)

We had a couple of walks along the River Tay, which runs through the centre of Perth

 

 

and visited a couple of local parks

 We were impressed by the wetland area in the main Perth park

where we became surrounded by feral pigeons, even though we weren't feeding them

Some of the pigeons were very pretty 

We were very happy to find a good number of House Martins and Swifts flying around above the river in some places. 

Perth is always a nice place to visit, as well as the lovely walks, it has a good selection of cafes and restaurants and a good museum and art gallery. 

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I'm delighted to have a poem included in the Ekphrastic Review's selection of responses to a work by Severine Gallardo.  

You can read my latest Substack post, the first in a series about 30 Days Wild, here.  

 

My Next Craft Project

 I've been bored with this t-shirt for a while now

 but today I was given some lace ribbon which will work perfectly in brightening it up and giving it a new look

I should of course, first finish customising the jacket I'm working on. This is the jacket as it was originally, when all I'd done was replace a couple of buttons.

It now looks significantly different, but I've not quite finished it yet. So I should get round to doing the fiddly finishing touches.

I'll share photos of both items of clothing once I've finished customising them.  

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It's Seachdain na Gaidhlig (International Scottish Gaelic Week)! The Highland Countryside Rangers shared an excellent post on their Nature Unveiled Substack blog about the connections between the Scottish Gaelic language and nature and landscape. You can read it here. 

Three Days of Scottish Summer

 We've had a really poor summer as far as weather has been concerned. However, we were lucky enough to get three days of glorious sunny weather early last week which coincided with our brief trip to Peebles in the Scottish Borders. 

You can read a wee bit more about our trip in my latest Substack post.

Wood of Cree

Wood of Cree is a lovely RSPB reserve, close enough to Dumfries for us to visit on many of our holidays in the area. The main part of the reserve is made up of beautiful woodland with a small stream running through it

The trees themselves are mostly relatively young as the whole woodland was clear felled during the First World War, but the woodland has since regenerated, so it qualifies as ancient woodland. There is a wealth of plant life here, including Blechnum ferns (Blechnum spicant)

 

 and other interesting things such as this Scrambled Egg slime-mould (Fuligo septica)

Outside the main woodland, there is an upland area that is currently scrubland and near the car park for the reserve there is a lovely lochan (small loch) which apparently is a favourite spot for otters, though we've never seen any here

Information notices around the reserve give details of wildlife that can be found here, including pine martens. We didn't see or hear any of the Wood Warblers or Pied Flycatchers that the reserve is renowned for, neither did we see any Red Squirrels. Nor did we see any Pine Martens but did find this poo (next to a 50p piece for scale), which we think may be from a pine marten - if you can confirm our thought, let me know in the comments.

You can read more about our holiday in Dumfries and Galloway by following these links: 

Enjoying Wildlife in Dumfries and Galloway (on my Substack blog)

and on this blog 

Wildlife at Caerlaverock.

Walking the Grounds at Drumlanrig Castle. 

Grey Heron on the River Nith.

Wildlife at Caerlaverock WWT Reserve

One of our favourite places to visit in Dumfries and Galloway is the WWT Caerlaverock Reserve. 

The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust has reserves across the UK, all of which are best known as centres for migratory wildfowl, such as geese and swans, but all are havens for a wide range of wildlife. 

Caerlaverock is a vast area of wetland habitats, along with wildflower meadows and wildlife gardens, all dotted with bird hides and observation towers giving visitors great views across the reserve. 

 

Caerlaverock is most popular in winter, when the migrating geese and swans visit, but it is just as wonderful in summer, when the dragonflies and damselflies are seen in abundance across the reserve. In 2013, we were lucky enough to visit during what must have been a mass emergence of dragonflies, as they were everywhere in vast numbers (see this post). This year, there weren't such huge numbers, but still we were impressed by what we saw, including this mating pair of Common Blue Damselflies 

The wildlife garden area has several specially made homes for solitary bees, which are well-used - how many bees can you see in the photo below? 

We saw a lot of Latticed Heath Moths around the reserve 

The reserve is full of birds, of course. We saw plenty of Swallows, some of which were nesting in some of the bird hides and round the observation towers, so we got very good views

We also saw a family of Linnets with the parents diligently feeding their chicks, several Stonechats, two families of Mute Swans, three Teal (teal are more usually winter ducks, so it was slightly unexpected to see them), Lapwings, and had our best ever views of Sedge Warblers (though sadly the photos didn't turn out well enough to share!), we also saw Reed Warbler, Reed Buntings, Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows (both species of sparrow together at a feeding station, which is unusual in my experience), Pied Wagtails 

 Although we didn't see Song Thrushes, we know they are around as we found this anvil where the thrushes smash snail shells before eating the contents

We spent all day on the reserve and could easily have spent longer there, but had to leave when it closed. 

Walking the Grounds of Drumlanrig Castle

 Our first trip while we were in Dumfries and Galloway was to Drumlanrig Castle, where we walked round the beautiful wooded castle grounds. 

The castle itself is a lovely building and has House Martins and Swallows nesting in it, many of which were flying around the castle and car park when we were there. 

 

Drumlanrig Castle and car park 

Swallows

There are some lovely pools around the estate,

which attract a good number of Dragonflies and Damselflies, including Large Red Damselflies 

and Common Blue Damselflies 

Thee's also a lovely stream that flows through the estate

All in all it's a lovely place for a walk and one we have visited many times.

Grey Heron on the River Nith

We're now back from a lovely few days in Dumfries and Galloway. I'll post more soon, but just for now, here are some photos of the River Nith in the town of Dumfries and a Grey Heron who was kind enough to pose for photos. 

In a Veil of Mist by Donald S Murray

 

This book is set in Stornoway in the Western Isles of Scotland, in 1952, when experiments in germ warfare were taking place on a vessel in the area, an undertaking known as Operation Cauldron. 

John, one of the scientists involved in the experiments, wrestles with his conscience over what he and his colleagues are doing to the guinea pigs and monkeys they are working with. His doubts build up, particularly as his wife, Lillian so obviously disapproves of even the small part of his work she is aware of. Then there is the suspicion that mist from the vessel may have caused anthrax to be spread among the crew and to people they mixed with. Meanwhile, the other islanders have their own concerns, suspicions and uncertainties about what is happening so close to their homes, which they are not being told about.

The author comes from the Western Isles and recreates the landscape and atmosphere of the place beautifully, also weaving descriptions of the natural world into the story:

"Jessie was still restless, still unable to sleep. She tried to blame other things for this - the corncrake in a nearby field of oats that was sending out a loud, persistent signal for a partner, the weeping sound of a curlew as it swept overhead - but she knew in herself that it had much to do with her own state of mind..... She felt she resembled the moth that appeared in the room the moment the tilly lamp began to glow. It flitted between the curtains and the edge of the stove..."

As a Gaelic learner, I was also pleased to find the text includes extracts from Gaelic songs and the occasional Gaelic phrase - the Western Isles being a stronghold of the Scottish Gaelic language (and more so back in the time the book is set).

The novel is an excellent look into how uncertainty and paranoia can affect individuals and communities. A lengthy author's note at the end expands on the historical background to the novel and gives some context into its relevance to the time it was written in (the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic).

In a Veil of Mist by Donald S Murray, published (2021) by Saraband

Mersehead RSPB Reserve

Our holiday in Dumfries and Galloway continued with a visit to the Mersehead RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve. It's a working farm that is managed with wildlife in mind. Livestock include this fine herd of Belted Galloway cattle

It's always a beautiful reserve to visit. The visitor is greeted by a beautiful array of flowers that should offer a banquet for pollinating insects, though there weren't very many pollinating insects the day we visited

There are paths all around the reserve, offering lovely views of the surrounding countryside

and the coastline 

 

There are lots of bird hides around the reserve, allowing great views of the flocks of geese that gather here in winter.

and decorated with beautiful artworks showing some of the species you can see here 

Summer lacks the magnificent large flocks of wintering birds but there's still plenty to see! We were entertained by this Rook family at their nest

We also saw Linnets, Goldfinches, Stonechats and Tree Sparrows and heard lots of Skylarks.  

We were delighted to see this Emperor Dragonfly, 

 and entertained by these Rabbits who seemed to be racing across the grass

The reserve also has a wildlife garden that includes demonstrations of ideas for how to help nature in your own garden, including this Rubble Retreat, which is full of cosy little hideaways for insects, reptiles and amphibians

and this Bug Hotel

Mersehead is a lovely place to visit at any time of year. Though it is particularly spectacular in winter when the large flocks of geese come in.