Friday 2 December 2011

Montrose Basin, incoming tide, setting sun and stalking predator.

While at Montrose Basin from the car park at the old harbour I was struggling to get close enough to get a photo of anything and started looking at views instead of wildlife. I'd seen a large wake in the river which was high due to the rain and half thought it might be a seal, and was proved right when it popped up in one of my scenery shots.
I also got one picture of a Little Grebe but they and the even more wary Goosanders will need to be captured from the hide on the north bank with the sun then becoming the problem.
The quality isn't the best as I'd been trying out the digital zoom which I'd never rated and it proved the case.

Montrose Basin

Montrose Basin Seal

Little Grebe, common but wary and not easy to photograph

Montrose from across "The Basin"

Friday 11 November 2011

Montrose Basin

A second visit to Montrose Basin again with a low sun causing many of the photos to look red.
There were many flocks of Fieldfares but they were quite shy and difficult to photograph. A young Heron also proved a bit elusive but I did get a few shots when it thought it was hidden in the bank-side trees.
I did get a couple of photos of the Redshank and Greenshank I had seen the previous day but I must try a polarising filter to see if that will improve the results.
Even during daylight small groups of Widgeon started to come in to roost but as this was in the Wildfowling area they wouldn't settle if they saw me or anyone else. I later spoke to a guy who was on his way to his favourite shooting spot, he reckoned the wildfowlers only took about 300 of the geese each year. I suspect many duck as well!

Heron

Hiding Heron

Fieldfare

Fieldfares

Greenshank

Redshank

Sunday 6 November 2011

Montrose Basin Nature Reserve

A visit to see the 63,000 Pink Foot Geese which were coming in but far off and in small groups proved more fruitful with sightings of, Whooper Swans, Mute Swans, Greenshank, Redshank, and I think Little Grebe.

I've included a couple of pictures of Mute and Whooper Swans to demonstrate the differences, two sunsets, roosting Starlings and Shellduck crossing the moon.

Shell duck Moon

Montrose Basin Starling Roost

Montrose Basin Sunset, West

Montrose Basin Sunset, East

Whooper Swans, Montrose Basin

Mute Swans, Montrose Basin

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Crail and Anstruther

On a trip to the Kingdom of Fife we visited Anstruther and Crail on a sunny, warm but windy autumn day. While at Crail beach trying to get the ultimate picture of the harbour, one that resembled the one in Olive's jigsaw we spotted two obvious tree stump fossils. These are well documented on the web and I found some interesting detail and pictures here. http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/crail_fossils.htm

Crail Harbour

Crail Fossil Tree

Crail Fossil Tree 2

Crail Cliffs

Grey Wagtail at Crail Beach

Anstruther Curlew

Wednesday 26 October 2011

October 24-26, it was stormy

Storm force Southerly winds blowing from France although warm caused big seas and Arbroath Harbour was out of bounds due to the waves crashing over the breakwater.

One photo below shows a wave breaking across the Foghorn completely covering it.
By the 26th the sea was still producing very large waves which were crashing onto the beach at Montrose.

Along with the winds had come heavy rain and I'd thought that salmon would be jumping the fall at Dalbrack on the North Esk but it's still not cold or late enough for them to be there in any numbers. At least it was a good day and the pictures actually had colour in them unlike the start of the week when all was grey.

North Esk above Tarfside

Dalbrack Bridge in Glenesk, no salmon jumping today

Scurdie Ness, Montrose from the beach

Arbroath Harbour Foghorn

Arbroath Harbour Breakwater

Friday 14 October 2011

Cave Spider

This spider was found in a cave at Auchmithie when the Carnoustie Mob were on their Treasure Hunt. Identified as a European Cave Spider, either a Meta Menardi or Meta Bourneti, apparently a magnifying glass is need to tell then apart.
The white eggsac is teardrop shaped and hangs from a silk thread, the adult female in the picture shuns light but the baby spiders are attracted to it. This may be to disperse the young from the mothers territory.

Auchmithie, European Cave Spider

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Fishing trip to West Water and North Esk

Having been blown off the West Water while fishing for imaginary salmon I ventured to the Gannochy Gorge on the North Esk near Edzell thinking taking photos of said salmon would be easier, wrong. I did get many photos of tails and fins disappearing into the foam but it's not easy and the lack of light didn't help.

Fishladder Fall Salmon

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Arbroath Cliffs to Carlingheugh Bay

These photos were taken on a slightly colder day along the path from Arbroath to Auchmithie over the first section of the route which still has areas cordoned off due to landslides.

The Six Spot Burnet Moths mostly had pale orange spots which I assumed meant they were recently hatched, there were one or two with the distinctive red spots.

I'd seen Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Green Veined Whites and Ringlets the previous day but the cold had reduced these numbers. An unidentified butterfly seen previously turned out to be a Grayling.

There were still reasonable numbers of Bumble Bees but many later on were affected by the cold wind and weren't active. The Hoverflies didn't seem to be suffering the same, and there are photos of what I think are a Drone Fly, a bee mimic and another which mimics a bumble bee.

I can't say that I have definitely identified the Pipit correctly, the decision was made on size, the Rock Pipit is roughly a third heavier than the Meadow Pipit. The other similar bird I've decided could be juvenile Skylark or a Meadow Pipit!

Six Spot Burnet Moth, up close and personal


Six Spot Burnet Moth


Buff Tailed Bumble Bee


Volucella bombylans Hoverfly

This Hoverfly is an obvious Bumble Bee mimic

Volucella bombylans Hoverfly


Drone Fly Hoverfly

This Hoverfly is a mimic of a Honey Bee

Drone Fly Hoverfly


Scaeva pyrastri Hoverfly


Heath Bumble Bee, I think


Red Admiral Butterfly, Photo Richard Webster


Painted Lady Butterfly


Grayling Butterfly


Field Grasshopper


Rock Pipit


Skylark juvenile or Meadow Pipit??


Eristalix pertenax Hoverfly


Thursday 18 August 2011

Murton Insects

A couple of hours enjoying the sun at Murton and some half decent pictures of various insects. I also took some interesting video of a pair of Damselflies which were paired with the female depositing eggs onto a reed just below the water of the back pond. I'll need to find a good video editing program to edit clips before I can post them here though.

Although there is a rich variety of wild flowers at Murton, many don't produce large amounts of pollen on large flower heads and getting pictures of butterflies flitting from flower to flower can be difficult. All of these here except the Cinnabar Caterpillar were taken at distance using the zoom.

Meadow Grasshopper


Common Darter Dragonfly, Female


Small Copper Butterfly


Common Blue Butterfly


Marmalade Fly on Unscented Mayweed


Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar, on Ragwort as usual


Sunday 31 July 2011

Short walk at Auchmithie to Arbroath Cliff Path

The first picture below is a collage of some of the 12 commonest different wild flowers we saw in the field margins and along the cliff path. This was clearly attracting hundreds of insects, bumble bees, hover flies, butterflies and some day flying moths including a Cinnabar Moth which a certain 5 year old scared away before a photo could be taken! As well as the butterflies below there were also Large and Small Whites and a few Ringlets.

Wild Flowers at the Coastguards Houses, Auchmithie

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