Scone with Jam

Last weekend my friend Grant and I took a trip to lovely Perthshire to do a bit of bird-watching.
Our first stop was to Scone Palace (pronounced Skoon not Scone) to try and see some Hawfinch. The grounds of Scone Palace are a favourite haunt of a small flock of Hawfinch, which is a relatively rare bird in Scotland.
Being Scottish we did not pay to go into Scone Palace but hung around the area near the back gate in the hope we would see a Hawfinch. Apparently that is often where they are seen.....but not by us on this occasion. We did however enjoy views of the wooded palace grounds:

Scone Palace towards Perth Racecourse

Scone Palace Grounds

Yew Tree Avenue (we were not authorised)

 

We did see some birds including Dunnock, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, etc..............but no Hawfinch! We also saw a pair of Buzzards which looked like they were going to 'display' but didn't:



 

 

 

Having 'dipped out' with the Hawfinch we decided to move on, and twenty minutes after leaving the low lying farmland of Scone we were in the Hills and Glens.

The Sma' Glen to be precise, where we planned to scan the River Almond in search of either a Dipper or Grey Wagtail, preferably both. Although the sun was shining brightly, in the shaded valley of the Sma' Glen it was very cold:

 

Sma' Glen with Dun Mor casting shadows

River Almond in Sma' Glen

It wasn't just cold we were also having no luck on the bird front and 'dipped out' with Dipper and Grey Wagtail. We only saw a couple of crows and they looked cold too, so we decided to head for higher ground and hopefully catch some sun. We headed further up the Sma' Glen and turned right just before Amulree to take us into Glen Quaich.

Here it was much warmer in the sun................. Grant didn't even bother putting his coat on?

 

Grant in Glen Quaich

It really was a beautiful day and the scenery was spectacular (the jam on the scone I thought).

Here is a few pictures to illustrate my point:

 

Glen Quaich looking East

Glen Quaich looking West towards Meall nam Fuaran

 

My photos might not do the scenery justice, but here is a video to supplement them:

 



 

We did however see a few birds here including Lapwing, Pink-footed Geese, Buzzards, more Crows, hundreds of Rabbits ..............oh! and a Red Kite.

By the time I got the camcorder fired up it had almost gone and I only got a few seconds of it flying away passed some big house (so I have done it in slo-mo in the hope you might make it out):

 

 

 

 I could see that this was not going to be a day where I would get stunning wildlife shots!

We moved further into Glen Quaich and stopped alongside lovely Loch Freuchie; once again the scenery stole the show:

 

Loch Freuchie looking East

Loch Freuchie looking North

As well as being picturesque Loch Freuchie is also a winter home to many birds and on the loch that day were Mute swans, Greylag Geese, Mallards, Grebes, coots and hundreds of Canada Geese. You might not make them out in this video but if you have the volume turned up you can certainly hear them, even though they were on the far side of the loch:

 

 

Sounds a bit like we were being hunted by a pack of dogs, but they were feral Canada Geese.

We also saw Lapwing, Pheasant and Red Grouse but once again no decent photographic or video evidence I'm afraid.

Although Grant was driving I suggested that we should complete the round trip by continuing on through Glen Quaich and return via Kenmore, Aberfeldy and the A9. I didn't tell him this involved a dodgy road with hairpin bends over a mountain pass which may still have some snow on it. So it was onwards and upwards (literally):

 



 

Having successfully negotiated the mountain pass the view across to Schiehallion (over 1,000m high!!) and the surrounding mountains was simply stunning:

 



 

Thanks Grant for doing all the driving; which allowed me to capture some good footage of our trip.

Hope you all enjoyed it too!

 

Cheers

 

Teddyedward

 



Going Local

I think anybody who has at least a passing interest in wildlife should have a Local Patch; where they can take time out from their hectic life to sit or walk and enjoy the natural world around them. This could be a local park, a nearby pond, a nature reserve or just your own back garden...........either way it can be somewhere you feel relaxed and can enjoy the wildlife.
I am quite fortunate to have several 'local patches' and I'd like to share some of my recent experiences with the natural world in these areas. Firstly I will start with my back garden, where I have the basic minimum requirements; a small lawn, a couple of bushes/small trees, a bird feeder and a bird bath.
This however is more than enough to attract a few garden birds...................as illustrated below:


Female Chaffinch

Male Chaffinch

Starling in the snow

Starling feeding



Male Siskin on feeder

Male Siskin in bush

Blackbird

Goldfinch

Goldfinches

You looking at me?

Goldfinch in flight

Moving slightly further afield, within a ten minute walk is a local cycle/walk way which makes use of a redundant railway line. It is very popular with dog walkers and cyclist so can be busy at certain times of the day, particularly at the weekend. This can impact on the level of wildlife you see but does not detract from it being an enjoyable walk with some lovely views:


Old Bridge on cycle/walk way

Cycle/Walk Way

Ferry Burn cascading down

Sunlight on Rail Bridge arches

Forth Rail Bridge in afternoon sun

Heron on Dalmeny Ponds

This cycle/walk way carries on for about five or six miles, so you need to give yourself plenty of time if you want to walk it all...........and come back!
I sometimes come off the cycle/walk way at a place called Royal Elizabeth Yard (it used to be a MOD storage depot but now it is just a general transport hub) from here I take an alternative route home. This is often quieter at the weekends and gives you some lovely views of the Pentland Hills just South of Edinburgh:

Pentland Hills

 You do occasionally see some wildlife such as this pheasant in the field:

Cock Pheasant

Or this flock of waders, who were happily roosting in the field until I went past and spooked them.......oops!!

Waders Take-off

Waders Fly Away

And if you are very lucky you might see some Roe Deer such as this buck which is still sporting its antlers:

Apologies for the noise of the cars in the background but it was just off the B800 which can be a busy road at times.
Going a bit further afield there are a few places that are less than a ten minutes drive away (or a twenty minute cycle) and which I consider to still be some of my Local Patches, such as Humbie Pond:


Humbie Pond

Those of you who are observant will notice that there is a family of Swans on the partially frozen pond; those of you are keen birders may have even noticed the bird of prey at the top of the tall tree near to the pond. I did mange to get a closer look at this bird of prey, it is a Buzzard as you might (or might not) make out from this video clip:

Certainly the bird that was calling 'keyaah' sounds like a Buzzard to me.
Another favourite haunt of mine is a little wooded area that lies just north of Edinburgh Airport:

Come Fly With Me

Up, Up and Away

 

Despite being less than half a mile from the airport Pepper Wood is a tranquil place, and although it is a small woodland it is well worth a walk round. The fields surrounding it are always worth checking out as well; I have seen large flocks of Pink-footed Geese, Fieldfare and Lapwings in these fields.

My recent visit to Pepper Wood was special for a much more common bird, everybody's favourite......the Robin:

 

Robin in Pepper Wood

This little bird followed me all around the woodland, anywhere I went he (or maybe she) went; and it wasn't afraid to come close to me:

Robin Close-up

Robin very close

It became apparent that on this snowy day the Robin was looking for food. Perhaps someone had been feeding this bird on previous days and it had equated people to food, whatever the case it followed me everywhere. There was also a Great Tit following me, but anytime it got close the Robin would chase it away. The only thing I had to eat with me was an Eccles Cake, so I dropped a few crumbs on a snowy tree stump and got my camcorder ready for the showdown:

I hope that you enjoyed my trip round some of my local patches, perhaps it might encourage you to get out a find your own local patch, if you haven't already done so.

Take care and enjoy yourself

Teddyedward



The Clyde, The Clyde

A few weeks back we were fortunate enough to acquire tickets to go and see Michael McIntyre at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. As it was in an area of Glasgow that we were not too familiar with we decided to book into a hotel near the Hydro and make a weekend of our trip. The Michael McIntyre show was fantastic but I wanted to say a little bit about the area around the venue.
The Hydro, the SECC and the Armadillo are all top-notch venues which sit next to each other and are built in an area which was originally part of Glasgow's docklands. These arenas are on the north bank of the River Clyde, known locally as the Finnieston or Stobcross Quay and some of the original dockland features still exist, such as the North Rotunda (part of the defunct Clyde Harbour Tunnel) and the giant Titan Crane:

Finnieston Titan Crane

Finnieston Crane at Night

This huge crane was one of many along the length of the Clyde, of which only four remain; and to put this in context that is four out of the remaining eleven there are worldwide. This particular crane was built in the early 1930's and saw many years service lifting heavy equipment such as steam engines on to ships before containerisation and the demise of Glasgow docks made it redundant.
It now stands as an icon to that era and shares its spot on the riverside with more modern icons such as the Armadillo, the Hydro and the Clyde Arc Bridge:

The Clyde at Finnieston

Finnieston Titan Crane and Clyde Arc Bridge

Across the river from the Titan Crane is another docklands area which has also seen recent re-development and is known as Pacific Quay. It is a bit of a conundrum why it is now called Pacific Quay when the ships coming to and from the docks previously situated there plied their trade across the Atlantic? A similar docklands regeneration area in Leith near Edinburgh is known as Ocean Terminal and is not specific (or Pacific) about what ocean it served!!
On this southern bank of the Clyde there are also some well known buildings, well they are if you watch the TV News:

STV Studio

  

BBC Scotland Studio

BBC Scotland and Glasgow Science Centre

 Whilst the STV Studio and the BBC Scotland Studio make and present the news, the Glasgow Science Centre is more likely to feature on the news...............for all the wrong reasons.

Glasgow Tower at Science Centre

The tower at the Science Centre (which is reputed to be the world's tallest rotating tower) has had more news coverage than the Science Centre itself. Plagued with thrust bearing problems and lift failures the tower has been shut longer than it has been in operation over its 14 year life.
The good ship Waverley which is anchored next to it could give it a few pointers regarding longevity:

Waverley Paddle Steamer

Built in Glasgow in 1946 to replace the original PS Waverley (circa.1899) this ship started life in the service of London and North East Railways (LNER) as a steamer on the Helensburgh to Arrochar (on Loch Long) route. This was when staying at home with day trips to nearby seaside resorts, weekend camping trips to the hills or other places of interest, etc. was the traditional holiday for many in Scotland. In the Glasgow area this often meant a trip 'doon the watter' on a paddle steamer such as the Waverley.
Cheap package holidays abroad and increased car ownership in the late sixties and early seventies saw passenger numbers falling; and in 1973 the then owners Caledonian MacBrayne retired the vessel.
Calmac sold the ship to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for £1, a registered UK charity, who have been running PS Waverley as a pleasure cruise ship to various destinations in and around the Clyde Estuary for the last 40 years.
About half a mile further down the river and back on the northern bank lies the Riverside Museum (aka Glasgow Museum of Transport) and this features many of the exhibits (although not all) from the old Museum of Transport that was in the Kelvin Hall. We stopped in here for a cup of coffee before having a quick wander round some of the exhibits.
When we arrived we had just missed the DalmarnockTram:

 

Horse Drawn Tram to Dalmarnock

It was getting dark so we thought we could hitch a lift on this old Albion lorry, unfortunately it was on axle stands:

Albion Truck

Luckily Moira managed to make friends with some undertaker's horses, so we were assured a lift back to the hotel:

Moira and the Cuddies

Only joking, but the early 1900's street was very interesting.

Moving forward a few decades Arnold Clark's prices seemed quite tempting back in the 1950s, this tidy little Ford Popular 103E for example:

Only £425, I'd check the service history

Ford had other 'popular' successes in the 1960's and 70's:

 

Ford Anglia

Ford Capri 1600L

Ford Capri 1600l in traffic

And in the 1980s they even made the iconic 'Jam Sandwich' ................the scourge of all motorway drivers:

Ford Granada Police Car (aka Jam Sandwich)

"alright Stirling, oot the car" a phrase well known by many??

It wasn't just the Fords that were on show here; we had offerings from Talbot and MG:

Talbot Sunbeam and MG B GT

And there was the 'futuristic' Hillman Imp; which was built in Linwood, Renfrewshire and held the accolade of being the first mass-produced car with an aluminium engine block and cylinder head, the first to use a diaphragm spring clutch, etc. Some early reliability problems damaged the reputation of the small, economical, rear-engine car; otherwise we may be talking about it with the same fondness as the Mini

 

Hillman Imp

Perhaps the Imp drivers saw a bit too much of the following vehicle, rather than the 'Jam Sandwich'

 

AA Motorcycle and Sidecar

No ride in a comfortable AA recovery truck (with your car on the back) in the 1960s. It was all a bit more Wallace and Gromit.

However my favourite car in the museum was this beautiful Rover 3.5 Litre P5B Saloon. Fitted with Rover's legendary three and a half litre V8 engine it was produced from 1967 to 1973 I think it is still a lovely looking car (even though it is not very environmentally friendly).

Rover 3.5 Litre Saloon

Well that was our whistle stop tour of the Riverside Museum, but there is a lot more to see.

I really enjoyed our trip to this part of Glasgow, and to top it all we saw a great show at the SSE Hydro with Michael McIntyre.

 

Have a very merry, teddy Christmas

 

cheers

 

Teddyedward