Whinchat on the upper Coquet at Windyhaugh
Dipper on the Rowhope burn
One of the feral goats at Mozie Law
A view of the Hen hole from Windy Gyle
A Raven in Scotland on the wrong side of the Border fence!
The Rowhope burn
The path to the summitI went for a long walk into the Coquet valley leaving the car at Rowhope then up the Street to the Border fence. I headed South west to Mozie Law as far as Beefstand hill then back along the Pennine way heading North East up to Windy Gyle. From this lofty position you get the best views from any of the Cheviot peaks. Very cold and breezy up here but very nice. Not much wildlife up here but I did see Buzzards and at least four Ravens. Caught up with the nomadic Goat herd at Mozie Law with Kids in tow. A single Golden Plover and dozens of Red Grouse between Mozie Law and Beefstand hill.
I returned by the Trow burn and began to see more birds at the lower levels. On the upper Coquet there were a few Common Sandpipers and at least 500 Swallows, this is where all the feeding must have been and as I watched them I noticed a small bird feeding in the middle of the water from a rock. Probably Britains finest bird species...Whinchat...the highlight of the day! Unusually I thought, was a Swift feeding near the summit of windy Gyle.
7 comments:
Some nice pics there Nigel, the camera must be getting more familiar...
I'm starting to get used to it but birds have to be quite close for a decent shot. The Grouse would have made nice photos if I could capture the view I had through the binoculars!
Lovely whinchat
Nice pics from my favourite Cheviot Hill! I love the walk up 'The Street' and back down through Trows and Rowhope
My friend walks the coquet valley quite a bit and looking at your photo's I might just have a trip there myself, lovely
Michelle
Thanks for the comments. That is also my favourite part of the Coquet valley. Its a leg stretching walk to the tops but it also a pleasant walk along the valley floor as well.
Hi Nigel and thanks for your comment on my lichen pictures. Your bird pictures here are great.
I love my Lumix camera but it find it focusses a little too slowly for by bird photography. However, for almost every other use, it's perfect. I have recently bought the 1.7x converter allowing me over 800mm reach and a sunny day, I can still take hand-held pictures at about 1/500 of a second.
Keep up the good work.
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