Monday, 29 July 2024

North Rhinns Camping, Stranraer 2023

 

In August 2022 we took Baker on a trip to celebrate his 10th Birthday. He loved it so much that we went away again in June 2023 to the same place. We also went away this year, though on a different trip and as I was getting ready to share those photos, I realised I hadn't shared last year's photos! So here they are - this first post shows some photos I took at the campsite. 


2022 Holiday Posts:












The first evening we arrived was beautiful. Just the right temperature, not too hot, not too cold and gave us a sunset to remember! Baker was happy, there were sheep in the field to watch and we managed to have a relaxing evening.

Evening two I didn't photograph at all and because of that I cannot tell you anything about it haha! I've no idea what the weather was, what we did or what wildlife we saw...though I'm guessing there wasn't much otherwise I would have made it a point to photograph it. 











On our third and final night, the rains came! The skies were dark and it was soaking, but we managed to work around the downpours to cook tea and get cosy inside. The sound of the rain on the tent as well as the sheep's baas was actually rather lovely.

We really loved North Rhinns our first year there and the only issue we'd encountered was one family being slightly disruptive, but they were soon told off by the owners which was fab! This place is billed as a 'quiet' and relaxing site and has such awesomely private pitches and that's why we decided to return for a second year. Unfortunately, this time there was another family who were disrespectful and as well as playing music were running up the hill towards the other pitches and startled Baker (and us) multiple times. 
If you aren't as anti-social and anxious as us, then things like that might not bother you but for us, it put a bit of a dampener on things and set off my nerves etc. Still, overall our trip was a success. It's always lovely to have that one-on-one time with Baker away from the stresses of home.

There are many more photos to come from both our 2023 holiday and our 2024 (failed) adventure!
Until next time.

Monday, 22 July 2024

The Birds of 2024 - June

 

We're in the 4th year of sharing my birdy photos, though technically 2024's images are year 5, as usually I post the previous year's photos each quarter however this year I am posting each month in the following month!
I can't believe it's been 5 years of taking notice of my species' photographed! I don't know who, if anyone, cares about these types of posts and I understand that birding, on the whole, is vastly dominated by middle to older-aged males who probably aren't reading a 30-something female's blog! However, as with everything, I love to have this all here to look back on myself. 

That being said, here are June 2024's bird photos!







Taken at Mam and Dad's - 2nd June
House Martin
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Rock Dove







Taken at North Berwick and an undisclosed location - 3rd June
Greylag Goose
Pied Wagtail
Eider Duck 
Meadow Pipit
Buzzard


Taken at Loch Ness - 4th June
Mallard


Taken at Morpeth - 5th June
House Sparrow


Taken at home - 7th June
House Sparrow


Taken at home - 8th June
Collared Dove


Taken at home - 9th June
Magpie












Taken at Washington Wetlands - 10th June
Mallard
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose 
(and their Hybrid baby!)
Treecreeper
Stock Dove
Bullfinch
Robin
Pied Wagtail
Grey Heron
Tufted Duck
Lapwing
Redshank
Mute Swan


Taken at home - 11th June
Starling





Taken at home - 13th June
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Blackbird




Taken at home - 14th June
Starling


Taken at home - 16th June
Starling
Rock Dove








Taken at Northumberlandia - 18th June
Tree Creeper
Moor Hen
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
House Martin
Goldfinch
Little Grebe




Taken at home - 20th June
Carrion Crow
Dunnock




Taken at home - 22nd June
Blackbird
Collared Dove
Wood Pigeon


Taken at home - 26th June
Wren
Goldfinch


Taken at home - 27th June
Rock Dove









Taken at Washington Wetlands - 28th June
Shelduck
Sand Martin
Black Tailed Godwit
Avocet
Black Headed Gull
Common Tern

---

Considering June was 30 Days Wild, there are way fewer bird photos than I expected! Still, 6 new species to add to the annual list is so exciting - especially the Little Grebe and Black-tailed Godwit which were unexpected spots as well as being lifers for me too. The coming couple of months will likely be much shorter posts as we don't go far during the school holidays, so get ready for lots of Rock Dove photos from our gardens haha!


Check out previous year's 'The Birds of...' posts below
The Birds of 2024 // January
The Birds of 2024 // February
The Birds of 2024 // March
The Birds of 2023! // January - March
The Birds of 2023! // April - June
The Birds of 2022!
The Birds of 2021!
The Birds of 2020!


The current species list for 2024, in alphabetical order, is:

Avocet
Barn Owl
Blackbird 
Blackcap
Black-headed Gull
Black-tailed Godwit
Bluetit 
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Coal Tit
Collared Dove 
Common Tern
Coot
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunnock 
Eider Duck
Fulmar
Gadwall
Gannet
Goldeneye
Goldfinch
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Greylag Goose
Great Black Backed Gull
Great Spotted Woodpecker 
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Guillemot
Herring Gull 
House Martin
House Sparrow 
Jay
Kestrel
Kingfisher
Kittiwake
Lapwing
Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Linnet
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie 
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Moor Hen
Mute Swan
Nuthatch
Oystercatcher 
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail
Pink-footed Goose
Pochard
Razorbill
Redshank
Reed Bunting
Ring Necked Parakeet
Robin 
Rock Dove 
Rock Pipit
Rook
Sand Martin
Shag
Shelduck
Shoveler
Siskin
Skylark
Spoonbill
Starling 
Stock Dove
Swallow
Teal
Tree Creeper
Tree Sparrow
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Velvet Scoter
Water Rail
Waxwing
Wheatear
Wood Pigeon 
Wren

Annual total - 87