reserving nature

My Walk this Week 253 – Revisiting the Nature Reserve

My walk this week returns to the nature reserve I began exploring a couple of weeks ago with my phone camera. When I returned with my DSLR camera I enjoyed finding practical angles and appropriate subject matter to try and represent the tangled and wild environment.

Some of this old quarry has been used as a bit of a dumping ground in the past, but even the these items are being swallowed up by nature and I suspect that the only object that will resist both time and natural forces is that dreaded and indestructible material plastic.

Nature Reserve – Listen out for the Red Kite at 0:20, 1:04 and 1:23 as it wheels around, harried by a crow.
edge land

My Walk this Week 176 – Edging Along Land and Sea

My walk this week comes from the break I had last month and explores the edge of land and sea with rough rocks and calm waters along with the sounds of coastal and mud-loving birds.

rocks and water

I set out along the country lanes of the south west Scottish coast, enjoying the backdrop of the Galloway hills and the textural details of the verges. From a broad beach, empty except for myself and a solitary crow, Continue reading

Bluebells by the river

My Walk this Week 156 – Springtime Hill

My walk this week follows an uphill route I have climbed many times in the past but on a sunny Springtime morning felt really fresh and new. Atop the hill the view was very hazy for me and the crow below and I could see across to the far side of the valley and area of woodland that is being harvested for its conifers. My walks through those woods will never be the same again and while I knew that some day the trees would be felled, I feel very sad about it.

Crow with a view

The sunlight and life of this walk on Goppa Hill had no sadness to it and as I walked up the hollow way I was surprised to meet a goat which I thought had a somewhat “knowing” smile on its face. What it knew I cannot say but he appeared to be welcoming enough to a stranger and let me pass on by to say hello to a group of playful young cows in the field above.Continue reading

Colourful landscape

My Walk this Week 137 – Quiet Quarry Walk

My walk this week takes place at first light in an old, quiet quarry and its surrounding landscape. The rocks were black with the wet weather and to begin with the atmosphere felt quite oppressive. However, things lightened and brightened as I ascended to the upper edge of the quarry and into a very mossy woodland.[spacer height=”10px”]
black quarry rock

The soundscape down in the dark confines of the quarry was still and my footsteps echoed in the amphitheatre of hewn rock, the small birds chirped and the crows cawed. Once I arrived at the top edge of the steep, dark slabs and could look over the Welsh landscape,Continue reading

spiky foreground

My Walk this Week 130 – It Must Be Mist

Mist or fog – whichever you think it is depends on where you are in relation to the cloud that creates it. Near the start of this walk I was able to look down on the mist/fog in the valley below, but as I climbed up the side of the valley, so it thickened to become more fog like.

mist and crow

But early morning fog is apt to clear or at least move and it is the latter that happened on this occasion – at least until later in the day when the sun finally raised the temperature and dispensed with the dampness. The gloom was very atmospheric and I didn’t mind in the least as I stopped to photograph and listen to my surroundings. The sounds included electricity pylons and cables fizzling in the moisture filled air and temporarily the sound of Continue reading

crow in flight

Fauna Findings 1 in Scotland – Birds on the Shore

Like this solitary crow, I enjoy my solitary walks, but this is far from the only species of fauna I found when in Scotland last month. I approached it quietly to try and get a closer shot but was spotted, naturally, and it it took to the air, flying across the bay to meet its partner.

I've been spotted

There is a quiet bay, an old disused harbour, along the shore from us where the gulls and oystercatchers – and on this occasion, swans – gather and sit quietly on the water or by its edge andContinue reading

dark day at the beach

Sea and Wind – Reviewing the Week

So our holiday in south west Scotland may not have had the best of the Summer weather but the sea and wind soundscape below holds good memories for me.

wavelet

With the wild weather and the wildlife and the wonderful walks, the fact that there was not so much sun does not matter to me. Continue reading

heron

Wildlife Watching

Still reporting back after our holiday in south west Scotland, my photos this week from my walks there focus initially on some of the wildlife to be seen if your lucky enough.

Young Roe Deer

June was a month where the young were getting adventurous and exploring away from their parents. This young roe deer came down to the beach in front of us wandered around in curiosity for a while before obviously hearing the call of its mother and bolting off to find her again.Continue reading