Holy Island revisited. Today I was on the island at 7.30am with some slight hope of finding a Wryneck ( mmm, my favourite [no Doc, I don't eat 'em]). I should have said 'no hope' of a Wryneck.
The dune slacks at Snook, Chare Ends and Excavations were yomped and the Straight Lonnen and Vicars Garden were also visited with little to show.
Still, I do enjoy the remoteness and the wide open space. Out in the dunes near the Excavations the silence hurt. No cars, voices, aeroplanes, bird song or anything at all really. Even the wind and sea were silent. I had to swallow to pop my ears it was so quiet. Fantastic. Only the soft drone of a passing bee stopped me thinking I'd gone deaf...
Above - Snook House. Click and you can see the name above the door. A good spot for migrants but only when the shutters are closed, the owner is a tad sensitive...
Snook Slack. The haunt of many past drift migrants....
One of the very few migrants seen this morning, a Willow Warbler. I had 4 of these plus 4 Goldcrests and a single Robin out in the dunes.
Above - This is Pirri-pirri, a plant originally from New Zealand that grows here in profusion. Believed to have arrived here from the sea after seeds were imported to Berwick on sheep's wool several hundred years ago. Its a nightmare to get off fleeces / socks etc if you sit down, and what ever you do, don't take a dog in the autumn...
Above - A few Fox Moth caterpillars were around...
As were these clusters of Buff-Tip Moth caterpillars. The books say that these moths inhabit woods and hedgerows. Not many woods or hedgerows out here, but in Ireland they favour coastal areas so its not unprecedented...
Above - A 'galaxy' of star shaped Grass of Parnassus flowers brightened the flat areas between dunes.
Above - The warm humid weather had several butterflies on the wing, best being 2 Graylings, in with 2 Wall, 10+ Meadow Brown and lots of Peacocks and Red Admirals.
And finally the Straight Lonnen was only passable in wellies so was ideal for this chap...
Not many birds. You watch there'll be fall tomorrow after this heavy rain tonight.
6 comments:
Its like someone's taken a hoover and vacuumed all the birds up BB.
I went back out around Meggies Burn this afternoon in the fog and it was desolate.
BB, get the Dyson emptied over Boulmer...
What a lovely place. Looks so peaceful. I really like the picture of the Snook House. All the pictures are wonderful BB.
Even if birding was quiet, good to see Lindisfarne on the blog again. As you say those pirri pirri are a flippin' pain.
Great pics Stew. Hoping to get up soon.
Great shot of the Grayling - I've missed them this year.
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