Tegernsee Trip

Last month we took a trip to the Tegernsee area in South Bavaria; Moira and I had been there a couple of years back and really enjoyed it. This time we went with some family members, namely my sister Florence with her husband Danny and my brother George  with his wife Linda. So here are some words and pictures to tell the story of our holiday.
We were staying in the little town of Rottach-Egern on the shore of Lake Tegernsee.  The guesthouse we were in was lovely and we each had a balcony which gave us views of the foothills of the Alps. The guesthouse was just a five minute walk from the waterfront where the views were pretty good as well:

View from our balcony

Rottach Waterfront

Swans in Rottach Harbour

Boats for hire

George & Linda at Rottach Waterfront

Looking towards Rottach Church



The day after we arrived we took a trip on one of the boats that sail between the towns sitting on the lake. We paid for a round trip which allowed us to sail round all the towns and get off where we wanted. We stayed on the boat as it stopped in the towns of Tegernsee and Gmund and we got off when it reached Bad Weissee, which took about an hour.
Here are some views from the boat trip including a little video clip:

Boat approaching Rottach

Leaving Rottach on the boat

Sailing on Lake Tegernsee

  

Florence & Danny on the boat

Enjoying the boat trip

Boat leaving Bad Weissee

Bad Weissee Waterfront



We had lunch at Bad Weissee, which included a couple of the local beers of course, had a wander round the waterfront pathways (which go on for miles) before getting the bus back to Rottach; the guesthouse had given us all free bus passes and as true Scots it seemed impolite not to use them.
The following day we decided to go a bit further afield and drove to the town of Schliersee on the shore of Lake Schliersee (the free bus passes didn't go this far!!). This is the town where my grandfather was born; he emigrated to Scotland as a young man way back around 1900 where he met my grandmother...............the rest as they say is history.
Here is a view from the shore of Lake Schliersee:

Shoreline of Lake Schliersee



A short walk uphill from the centre of Schliersee there is a ski-lift which takes you to one of the hills above the lake and as the weather was nice we took a trip up there:

On the Schliersee Ski-lift

The Town of Schliersee



Lake Schliersee

View from above Schliersee



There were some fantastic views from up here, but there were other things to do and see as well.
There was a toboggan ride (too wet to be used?), there was a swimming pool (too cold to be used?), a bob-sleigh/train ride (too dangerous to be used?) and two dummies sawing logs..............you don't believe me do you?

Looks like one of them got a bit too close to the saw............but he is 'armless really.
Like most of the hilltop sites in Bavaria this one had a café and a chapel (this little chapel had the letters PAX above it.... meaning 'kiss of peace'):

Hilltop Chapel (and Bull) above Schliersee

Wildflower lined path from Chapel

Lovely Wildflowers



We didn't intend to visit the café, as we were enjoying sitting out in the sunshine, however that all changed when the clouds rolled in and the rain poured down:

Rain rolls in to Schliersee

Rain over Lake Schliersee



So it was hot chocolate all round in the café until the rain died down a bit and it was save to get the ski-lift back down the hill.
We headed back to the guesthouse for a well-earned rest before going out in the evening to a waterfront restaurant in Rottach................. with a few Bavarian beers to wash it down:



Lake Tegernsee at Night

Enjoying a stroll along the waterfront after our meal

 The following day we took a short bus ride into the town of Tegernsee, had a stroll along the waterfront, eat some lunch in a waterfront café, then wandered through the streets of the old part of town. A nice relaxing day:



Tegernsee Waterfront

Tegernsee Old Town



The river at Tegrensee

Enjoying Tegernsee

Bridge over the river in Tegernsee

 That evening we enjoyed the performance from the brass band at the waterfront bandstand in Rottach before we went for our evening meal:

Brass Band at Rottach Bandstand 

Boat arrives as brass band plays



The next day Moira and I decided to take a train trip to Bayrischzell (which is south of Schliersee) while the others decided to take the train into Munich, which was less than an hour away.

 Being south of Schliersee means that Bayrischzell is also higher up the Alpine valley and the train ride to it was a very enjoyable, scenic journey. It isn't a large place, more a village than a town, and as we were there in June (which lies between the end of the winter season and the start of the summer season) it was very quiet and peaceful. In fact, apart from a few locals we practically had the place to ourselves:

 

Refreshments at Bayrischzell

Bayrischzell Hotel

Moira in Bayrischzell

Bayrischzell Main Street

Alpine Stream

Eddie in Bayrischzell

Typical Bayrischzell House

Bayrischzell Scenery

Bayrischzell Kirche (or Kirk)

Traditional Bavarian Treats



I can safely say we had a great time in Bayrischzell.

Our next foray was a trip on the cable car up Mount Walberg with Florence & Danny. This is the largest of the Alpine foothills that sits behind Rottach and it provides some fantastic views of the Tegernsee area, as well as views of the Alps themselves:

 

Alpine View from Walberg

Florence & Moira on Walberg

Lake Tegernsee from Walberg

Towards the Alps

 

Eddie on Walberg

Flowers and Alps

Alpine Meadow



View from Rocky Spit

 The views were brilliant but so were the wildflowers, here are just a few examples:

Alpine Globeflower

 

Heart-leaved Globe Daisy

Bavarian Gentian

 As well as a treat for the eyes there was also a treat for the ears when a cattle-herder in the nearby alpine valley called his cows in from the meadow. You could hear the cow bells ringing throughout the valley:

Later on that day we visited the nearby village of Kreuth where we enjoyed a stroll alongside the river and through a local park:



The river at Kreuth

The park at Kreuth

View from park at Kreuth

Danny relaxing in park (the chair played music!)

Unusually I did not take a lot of wildlife photos when I was on this holiday, but I did grab this video of a Great-crested Grebe preening on Lake Tegernsee:



On the last day before we left Tegernsee Florence and Danny decided they wanted to revisit Schliersee and also take the train up to Bayrischzell, just as Moira and I had done previously.
The rest of us agreed to go for a car ride along the Alpenstrasse, which is a famous road that runs along the alpine valleys zig-zagging between Germany and Austria.
Our main aim was to drive to the town of Bad Tolz, taking the scenic route. Our first stop was at Sylvensteinsee, where a man-made lake (or reservoir) presented some stunning views:





Sylvensteinsee

The lake from the dam at Sylvensteinsee

This water from this lake was used to power electricity generators built into the hillside before the water was then discharged to the River Isar:

 

Tunnel through the hillside

Other side of tunnel



Water discharging to River Isar

We had a further stop at the small town of Lenggries for some coffee and cakes (somebody has to eat the local produce!) before driving on to Bad Tolz. We parked in the new town (although it is not that new) and crossed the River Isar to reach the historic old town:

 

The River Isar at Bad Tolz

Bad Tolz Old Town across the Isar

Cobbled Streets of Bad Tolz

Bad Tolz Visitors

Bad Tolz Murals

Saint Christopher Mural

Bad Tolz Church

So that was about it for our trip to the Tegernsee area, the next day we drove to Munich airport and then flew home.

Hope I haven't bored you too much with our holiday snaps.

 

Take care,

 

Teddyedward

 

 

 





Blue Tits Revisited (The Fledglings)

Back in May I shared the story of our Blue Tit parents who, after occupying our nest box with the hidden camera, laid ten eggs. This is the continuation of that story and I will start with a picture of the ten eggs which were being dutifully incubated by our female Blue Tit:

Blue Tit Eggs on 5th May 2016

Female Blue Tit Sitting on Eggs

Blue Tit Eggs on 15th May 2016

The 16th May saw the first egg to hatch, which was just over three weeks after the first egg was laid:

 

First Egg Hatches

Young Chick is Tiny and Vulnerable

The rest of the eggs started to hatch over the forthcoming days until we had seven young chicks in the nest. Three of the eggs did not hatch, which is not unusual in a Blue Tit brood.

The chicks were well fed by both parents and grew quickly:

 

Both Parents fed the Chicks

The following time-lapse video (covering a period of about four weeks) will give you an idea how quickly the chicks grew:

 

I have a lot of videos of the chicks over the four weeks they spent in the nest; but I will spare you and only show a few clips, the first illustrating how the chicks react to food being brought in:

 

 

They can certainly tell when the parents are coming to feed them.

The following video (or series of videos) was captured using my trail camera and shows how diligent the adult birds were in feeding the young chicks:

 

 

The next clip shows how big the chicks got within a few weeks after being fed intensively by the adults (there was barely room for seven chicks, just as well all ten did not hatch!):

 

 

 

 The chicks had even started to preen by this stage, in preparation for leaving the nest.

By the 7th June all seven chicks had grown and were very restless; looking very much like they were ready to fledge:

Crowded and Restless

 Anticipating that they might fledge the next morning I put my trail camera in place outside the nest box in the hope that I might capture a picture of the chicks leaving the nest.
My hunch was right and on the 8th June I woke to find an empty nest:

Empty Nest?

At least I thought it was empty!.............. then just as I was about to shut down the nest-box camera................. I noticed a little beak sticking out from the corner of the nest-box:

I'm Still Here

It was the smallest of the chicks (commonly known as the runt of the brood) and he hadn't left the nest yet!
Over the next hour or so I watched the drama unfold as the adult Blue Tits tried to coax 'Runty' out of the nest by bringing in food and then taking it back out to a nearby branch:

This coaxing exercise was repeated several times.................. and was also captured on my trail camera:

The last chick eventually succumbed to the temptation of food and left the nest-box to join its siblings in a nearby tree.
Great that they all fledged successfully, but did I capture any of the seven chicks leaving the nest on my trail camera? ..................the simple answer is no! ...........................not even Runty!!
I was most disappointed, especially since the trail camera was in the right place at the right time; however the way that I set up the camera was to take a ten second video when it detects movement then shut off for one minute until the next movement is detected. With hindsight I should have had it on for longer and off for shorter........you live and learn! The chicks obviously fledged between the videoing gaps.............like Ninjas!!
I did however capture a video clip of an adult Blue Tit attacking the camera after all the chicks had fledged ...........as if to say "move along, nothing to see here":

 

 

So that is the end of our Blue Tit story; two adults successfully laid ten eggs, seven of which hatched and seven chicks fledged to start their own story.
Here's hoping we have similar success with the nest-box next year (maybe I'll catch them fledging next time?)

Take Care

Teddyedward

 

A Tale of Two Lochs

This is a little tale of two lochs that Moira and I visited recently and the wildlife we seen there. They are both Lowland lochs, but apart from that there are few similarities.
Let us start with Linlithgow Loch which we visited a few days back:

Linlithgow Loch

It is quite a small loch (some might say a glorified duck pond) and it is an integral part of the town of Linlithgow. It has a pathway all the way round it, giving a pleasant circular walk of around 2.5 miles.
The southern end of the loch adjoins the town of Linlithgow and is favoured by tourists, casual strollers, mothers and toddlers, sun worshippers, would-be-sailors and those who like to feed the ducks. On this southern shore lies the picturesque Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots:

Linlithgow Palace

It is a very historic place and well worth a visit; I enjoy exploring the structure of the palace as much as I enjoy the history. It is true to say that this southern end of the loch hosts limited wildlife such as Mallards, Coots and Mute Swans but in winter it can hold less common waterfowl and I have even seen Red-crested Pochard there in the past! (but that was about ten years ago).
Here is a view of the Palace and the southern shore......... very pretty..........apart from the carbuncle of a 1960's apartment development; although there are some who think it is equally a historic structure which must be retained??



The Southern Shore of Linlithgow Loch

 

Moving to the northern shore; this less-travelled path, combined with the reed-fringed banks means that wildlife is less disturbed and biodiversity is more varied.
Here we saw waterfowl such as Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Great-crested Grebe, Heron alongside the usual Mallards, Mute Swans and Coots. There was also plenty of other birds in the surrounding trees including Willow Warblers, Chiff-chaff, Long-tailed Tits, Robin, Wren, etc. We even saw a Stoat run across the path in front of us (sorry I wasn't quick enough with the camera to capture it).
I did however capture some images and videos of wildlife as outlined below:
There was a Heron flying over the loch and landing on the bank:

Then we saw a Great-crested Grebe preening and occasionally diving on the lookout for fish:

A Mute Swan with seven cute Cygnets were dabbling at the side of the loch (prepare to say aaaah!):

The adult swan lead them away, but they stayed close to the shore so I was able to get a few photographs of them a little further along the path, along with some other birds:

Swan Family

Mute Swan with Cygnets

Rear View of Moorhen

Black-headed Gulls and a Coot

Well that was effectively our trip round Linlithgow Loch, so after a cup of tea and a slice of Selkirk Bannock in a local café we headed home...................spookily Selkirk is quite near the second loch I wanted to talk about???

St Mary's Loch in the Scottish Borders lies a few miles west of Selkirk in the Yarrow Valley. It is not the largest or deepest loch in Scotland but is huge in comparison to Linlithgow Loch. It is also far more isolated than Linlithgow Loch, even though the A708 (the main road between Moffat and Selkirk) runs along the north shore for most of its length.
Even in the height of summer the A708 is not the busiest road you will find and those walking in the area are limited to a few hardy back-packers or hill-walkers. In other words it is much more rural and much quieter that Linlithgow Loch and that is reflected in the wildlife that you find on it and around its shoreline.
We stopped at a make-shift layby just where the Megget Water joins the loch as I know it is a favourite spot for one of our most iconic birds of prey to go fishing................I am of course talking about the Osprey!

St. Mary's Loch

When we arrived there was no sign of  Osprey fishing so we instead contented ourselves with watching a mess of Martins (which I'm sure is the collective term for a group of Sand Martins) catching insects in front of the small woodland where we had parked. Here is a video of said Martins, which are very fast indeed............blink and you will miss them ( I have slowed the end of the video down so you can see them better):

Shortly after filming these Sand Martins my eyes were drawn to a large bird which was hovering above the loch relatively near to where we had parked; not 'hovering' in a Kestrel sort of way, but more like an Osprey..............

I tried my best to stay on the bird as I was sure I was going to get the dramatic footage I wanted of and Osprey diving in to the loch and pulling out a large fish................but every time it looked as though it was fixed on its prey and ready to swoop, it pulled out and moved to another position. Eventually it gave up and headed towards the far bank of the loch and out of sight.............I was gutted!
I thought that it may come back so we hung about a bit longer. Whilst I was waiting I filmed these three Oystercatchers displaying; they do this head-down, straight-back, loud chattering display that reminds me of the 'parallel walking' display that Red Deer stags do during rutting (but much noisier):

Shortly after this the Osprey re-appeared in almost the same spot..................so I started the camera rolling................ever hopeful I might get that elusive fish-dive video clip:

Once again I was thwarted, but this time I knew who the culprit was, a pesky Common Gull (who no doubt was defending it's nest of eggs or chicks). I can understand why the Osprey flew away from a much smaller bird, it was already one flight feather down and did not want to lose any more, which may have hampered its ability to fish. The Osprey gave up and flew on down the Yarrow Valley in search of other (quieter) places to fish.

Towards the Yarrow Valley and Selkirk

We also headed in the same direction but never saw the Osprey again.
We turned north at Selkirk and headed back to Peebles along the Tweed Valley mulling over the fact that we did get some good Osprey video clips even though we did not get the fish-catching part.
This Bluebell woodland scene at Elibank Forest did cheer us up though:

Bluebells (and Yellow Poppies) at Elibank

That's all for now folks, but shortly I will be posting an update on our Blue Tits in the nest box.

Take care

Teddy Edward

Blue Tits and Commando Cats

Amongst many other lovely presents I received for my recent birthday I was given a couple of great gadgets.
The first was a nest-box fitted with a camera and I wasted no time in getting this installed in a tree in my garden and wired back to my computer:



Nest-box with Internal Camera

I had to modify the box slightly so that it had a smaller entry hole and a small perch, ideal for Blue Tits. No sooner had I installed this des-res in the tree and we had our first interested party, who gave the box a thorough examination:

This Blue Tit and her mate checked out the box several times over the next few days before finally deciding this was the place for them.
Over the following couple of weeks the female Blue Tit started to bring in nesting material and built a nest lining it with moss and feathers. The week after that she started to lay eggs, all of this captured on camera in both video and still photographs.
From the still photographs I compiled a time-lapsed movie of the nest building process as follows:

She laid her eggs at a rate of one per day for a period of ten days!!

Ten Eggs in Ten Days

A Well-earned Rest

She is currently sitting on the nest incubating these eggs and has been doing so for over a week; so hopefully we will have ten chicks to look forward to within the next week or so.
What a great gadget this has been, giving a tremendous insight in to the lives of Blue Tits.

The other gadget I got for my birthday was something I have always wanted...........a Trail Cam (aka a Camera Trap) and I have been trialling this trail cam in my garden.
The camera is activated by the movement of animals and can be set to take still photographs or short videos. I also like the option it has to be able to take several photos in quick succession; as demonstrated in this sequence showing a Goldfinch and Greenfinch doing battle over the rights to the bird feeder:

The Goldfinch won on this occasion, but it soon got chased off by the feisty Blue Tits who were defending their territory from the nearby tree.
As well as good quality photographs the video images are pretty good as well; here is one of a Blackbird in the garden:

However where this Camera Trap is really impressive is in its ability to capture night-time videos; aptly demonstrated by this cat trying to catch a mouse hiding under our wheelie bin:

Thankfully the cat failed to catch the mouse, which run and hid under our shed.
We do get a lot of cats in our garden at night, but they are not the only animals caught on camera at night:

It visits our garden quite often this Hedgehog and roots around looking for worms, it is definitely not camera shy:

Unfortunately the most impressive night-time video so far is...................the Commando Cat...........which not only scales the fence with ease, but stops to check the old Blue Tit nest box for a snack on the way:

Just as well the new Blue Tit nest-box is higher up the tree, otherwise we may capture some unwanted footage on our bird-box camera.
I'm sure there will be more to come from these two wonderful gadgets

Take Care (and watch out for Commando Cats)

Teddyedward