(no subject)
On Friday we drove up to Caerlaverock Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust for a short break - just overnight, coming back on Saturday. The main thing we went to see were the Whooper swans which migrate here from Iceland for the winter, but there were plenty of other birds too.
Not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about birds and water, but these pigeons seemed to be enjoying their bath in the Whooper Pond :)
Male Wigeon. There were lots of these around.
Great Tit. We have these in the garden at home of course, but ours don’t stay still as well as this one did and I was able to get this picture with no glass between us.
We definitely *don’t* have these at home. Water Rail.
Chaffinch.
Teal. Mostly Eurasian Teal, but the one on the right of the picture with the vertical stripe on his shoulder is a Green-Winged Teal which is a related but distinct species from North America. This one must be a tourist ;)
Male Shoveler duck. Not the greatest picture, at extreme zoom range.
Gadwall (“And the same to you!” they cried!}
Wigeon in the afternoon sun.
The Caerlaverock Mute Swan Synchronised Eating Team.
The view from our bedroom window on Saturday morning.
Dramatic Posing Sheep is Dramatic and Posiing
Female Wigeon. “Oi! What are you looking at, mush?”
The warden described these ducks as “Just brown, all over”, but while that’s not exactly *untrue*, I don’t think it really does them justice.
Landing gear down!
Whooper swans Making A Fuss.
Seeing, or rather *hearing8=* the Whooper swans gave us a firmer understanding of why our native swans are called “Mute”…
Whooper Swan portrait
The reserve warden explained that these swans are newly arrived from Iceland, so their heads are stained from the iron-rich pools they feed in. The colour washes away after a few weeks, apparently.
As ane fule kno, swans are petrified of Big Yellow Wheelbarrows…
Not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about birds and water, but these pigeons seemed to be enjoying their bath in the Whooper Pond :)
Male Wigeon. There were lots of these around.
Great Tit. We have these in the garden at home of course, but ours don’t stay still as well as this one did and I was able to get this picture with no glass between us.
We definitely *don’t* have these at home. Water Rail.
Chaffinch.
Teal. Mostly Eurasian Teal, but the one on the right of the picture with the vertical stripe on his shoulder is a Green-Winged Teal which is a related but distinct species from North America. This one must be a tourist ;)
Male Shoveler duck. Not the greatest picture, at extreme zoom range.
Gadwall (“And the same to you!” they cried!}
Wigeon in the afternoon sun.
The Caerlaverock Mute Swan Synchronised Eating Team.
The view from our bedroom window on Saturday morning.
Dramatic Posing Sheep is Dramatic and Posiing
Female Wigeon. “Oi! What are you looking at, mush?”
The warden described these ducks as “Just brown, all over”, but while that’s not exactly *untrue*, I don’t think it really does them justice.
Landing gear down!
Whooper swans Making A Fuss.
Seeing, or rather *hearing8=* the Whooper swans gave us a firmer understanding of why our native swans are called “Mute”…
Whooper Swan portrait
The reserve warden explained that these swans are newly arrived from Iceland, so their heads are stained from the iron-rich pools they feed in. The colour washes away after a few weeks, apparently.
As ane fule kno, swans are petrified of Big Yellow Wheelbarrows…