BACK TO REALITY

I left Kirtomy at 7am on a perfect summer morning,the first for ten days,ironic or what?as I got to the top a merlin swooped overhead chasing a meadow pipit,more irony.The journey south towards Inverness on deserted minor roads was a real pleasure,I hadn`t planned to stop but the scenery and light was irresistible

A WEE KIRK AT ACHANLOCHY CLEARANCE VILLAGE.

LOCH NAVER ON A PERFECT MORNING

REFLECTION OF BEN KLIBRECK.

Enough,onwards and downwards, Inverness, Perth, over the doomed Forth Road Bridge,Edingburgh and back to North Berwick where the boat had been well and truly missed over three weeks before,no mistake this time.At 2.30 the SULA II set sail for the Bass Rock.

THE SULA II

CAPTAIN BIRDS EYE AND MISS SCOTLAND

APPROACHING THE ROCK

GANNETS GALORE

NOTE THE FAT DOWNY CHICKS

SOME OF THE 120 000 PAIRS ON THE ROCK

MORE FAT CHICKS

A QUIETER SIDE

AROUND THE RUGGED ROCK

WE HAVE LIFT OFF

WHEELING AROUND

PUFFIN FLYING ON WHIRRING WINGS

PUFFIN AFLOAT

A FINAL SHAG

ISN`T THIS WHERE WE CAME IN?
An hour later I was over the border and heading for Newcastle but I think I`LL BE BACK!!!!!

A VIEW WITH SOME ROOM.

For three weeks I awoke to this view across the Atlantic.


Or occasionally this

SCOTCH MIST.
And in the evenings the sun went down about 10 30pm when I first got there.

THE LAST SUNSET.by the end of  my holiday it was 9.45pm.winter draws on.

Some regular visitors to the garden included willow and sedge warbler,swallows were nesting in the old croft building,rock doves the ancestor of all our feral pigeons were commonplace here,a family of ravens,hooded crows,which replace the carrion crow north of the Black Isle,curlew and oystercatcher in the field opposite.Sea watching from the garden bench produced gannet ,bonxie,shag black guillemot in addition to the usual gulls.

HOODED CROW

WILLOW WARBLER

CURLEW

SWALLOW

SEDGE WARBLER

FIVE HUNGRY SWALLOWS Unfortunately they all perished when for three days a cold wet spell meant there was no food available.

ROCK DOVE. I took my moth trap with me and caught some interesting species a selection  below

GARDEN TIGER

BURNISHED BRASS

THE DRINKER

BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN Y

GREEN CARPET

ANTLER MOTH &TRUE LOVERS KNOT

PURPLE BAR

GREY?

GOLD SPANGLE

So that was it, thanks to Graham and Elizabeth for the pleasure of their house and lovely dogs and to Paul,Julie and Sam at Armadale for their hospitality and the trip to the Sutherland county show.All that remained was the drive home a small matter of 750 miles.

STRAIT TO THE POINT

Only one more headland to go, Strathy Point is a popular whale watching place,but on the sunday of the organised event the infamous scotch mist descended and was cancelled,however after another visit to the puffins,I went alone,no whales but plenty of seabirds,especially shags.

STRATHY POINT LIGHTHOUSE

DUNLIN

FEMALE EIDER WITH SINGLE DUCKLING.After breeding the males clear off and the females band together in small groups to form a creche,safety in numbers no doubt.

PUFFIN

PUFFIN

PUFFIN

LARGE HEATH BUTTERFLY( SCOTTISH VARIETY)

The scottish variety is less well marked than its english counterpart and was very flighty and difficult to
photograph.

but eventually I got one reasonably sharp

 NEAT PEAT at Strathy.

SCOTTISH PRIMROSE a tiny flower that is found in Sutherland and the Orkney and Shetland Islands.