I'm sure you'll agree the weather hasn't known what to do with itself this past week! It was delightful to wake up to the sun shining yesterday, which meant Mark and I's proposed cycle there and back to the RSPB Loch Gruinart reserve had the thumbs up. Even if it had rained, our spirits couldn't have been dampened. We saw a wide range of wonderful wildlife, with some highlights being young pied wagtails and shoveler (so cute), 7 spot ladybird, and rook (I know..) Here's a handful of the photos that Mark took. It was hard narrowing it down to the final six!
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| This small tortoiseshell landed after the planned fox glove shot was set up - lucky us! |
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| Willow warbler - a photo tick for Mark |
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| Both there and back, this spotted flycatcher and chaffinch were perched on the fence by the track to the new hide. |
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| Seven spot ladybird, of which I counted 10. |
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| This is my first rook this summer, so I was quite excited! |
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| Cycling back, I spotted this baby hedgehog by the side of the road. I looked back when a tractor passed once we'd set off again. I think it was ok. |
Bird Species List
buzzard, hen harrier, grey heron, twite, spotted flycatcher, blackbird, great tit, chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, linnet, lesser redpoll, pied wagtail, robin, wren, lapwing, starling, raven, rook, song thrush, house sparrow, corncrake (heard) common gull, woodpigeon, rockdove, black headed gull, shoveler, mallard, moorhen, swallow, house martin, sand martin, whitethroat, sedge warbler, snipe, willow warbler, dunnock, meadow pipit, skylark, shelduck, oystercatcher, mute swan, herring gull, pheasant
Lorna
We had such a wonderful day! Was a good wee cycle then to see so much wildlife take advantage of it like that was amazing. Then to top it all off, just as we were leaving the reserve, for us to hear the unmistakable croak of the corncrake was the icing on the already rich and diverse cake the reserve itself had to offer!
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