Fly Fishing Forum banner
161 - 180 of 235 Posts
Like Col I've often had snipe spook me when I've been creeping along a moorland stream. Last month had a male siskin alight on a bush next to me on Dartmoor. Recent visit to North Uist yielded all the usual raptors including an extended view of merlin versus pipit along the shore of the loch where we were boat fishing. The pipit got lucky when it crash dived into a dense reedbed.
 
Male hen harrier and Arctic skuas on Boardhouse on Monday, female hen harrier on Swannay today, red-throated divers on Swannay, Boardhouse and Harray...
 
Not exactly fishing but on the road today and passed a field full of storks. I saw my first stork at the ripe old age of 23 on the train to Prague and didn't see another till I saw some in Zurich zoo.

Now a field on the way to Zurich had abut 20 of them and my wife tells me the storks in Zurich zoo don't fly to Africa for the winter but stay put.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JoeOh
I guess as fisherman we take this for granted. However when my wife comes with me to the river she is fascinatied by the wild life. In fact I very rarely notice much of what is going on around me . Too focused on the fly on the water ☹
 
Speaking of wrens, we heard one on Orkney last month, and it definitely had a different accent from the local ones here! :oops:

When doing the drive from Altnaharra to Loch Hope, crossing the high moors, there are always lots of LBJs on the road that play chicken with the car. I can only think that the car whips up insects for them as it passes, and they swoop in to catch them while they are there. I don't think we have ever hit one - they are very good at ducking and diving. I have no idea what they are? About sparrow-sized. Small groups of about half a dozen to a dozen of them at any one time. Any ideas?

Col
 
The only one that springs to mind is the Meadow Pipit. Walking up the hill a few weeks ago and there were about a dozen of them in the trees and on the track and verges.
Bird Grass Groundcover Meadow Grassland
Bird Grass Groundcover Meadow Grassland
Plant Larch Tree Evergreen Terrestrial plant
Plant Tree Terrestrial plant Larch Evergreen
 
The only one that springs to mind is the Meadow Pipit. Walking up the hill a few weeks ago and there were about a dozen of them in the trees and on the track and verges.
Aye, that crossed my mind, but I am fairly sure I am sufficiently familiar with a meadow pipit to say it is not that. MP not a million miles from a wagtail, eh? Just not that 'kind' of bird, if you see where I am coming from...

We might need to take the long lens and stop the car and get out when we run into them (figuratively!), and try and get a shot of them... ?

Col
 
Saw an Osprey have a good go at at a buzzard .Then 4 Ospreys over loch.(2 juveniles crying to be fed with 2 adults trying to ignore them)

Jim
 
Aye, that crossed my mind, but I am fairly sure I am sufficiently familiar with a meadow pipit to say it is not that. MP not a million miles from a wagtail, eh? Just not that 'kind' of bird, if you see where I am coming from...

We might need to take the long lens and stop the car and get out when we run into them (figuratively!), and try and get a shot of them... ?

Col
Inspection of the radiator grille after driving up and down Strathnaver generally produces twite and, surprisingly, a fair number of siskin. The other birds which are common roadside dodgers are stonechats and when the thistles are in seed goldfinches but these both seem to be better at avoiding cars. I would suspect on the open Hope road it is mostly twite.

I always feel bad when I find one in the grille but it is unavoidable unless you drive at 20mph. To be clear I'm talking four or five a year not dozens every week!

Andy
 
First, we saw some Canada geese...



Then we saw some more Canada geese...



That was followed by a number of Canada geese...



And more Canada geese...



Overhead, there were Canada geese...



Followed by more Canada geese...



Finally, some Canada geese arrived...

 
  • Like
Reactions: Wee Jimmy and scobo
161 - 180 of 235 Posts
Top