September 22nd to 9th October.
Due to having finished my contract as summer ranger on the Scottish Wildlife Trusts Rahoy Hills nature reserve in Morvern, and to other commitments since, I’ve not been out and about quite as much during these past two to three weeks as I would have liked. However, being here, in Morvern, means that you’re always going to see wildlife, even by just looking out of your window, or going to the shop, or whilst out working, in my case, delivering the post as relief postie.
We’ve had a mixed big of weather recently, sunshine and showers, sunny days and rainy days. But such varied weather makes for a varied picture, and often one of great beauty, with wonderful cloud scapes, sudden sunlight after rain, rainbows, low mist and cloud hanging about the hills. Add to this the increasingly colourful Autumn countryside and it all adds up to this being a very beautiful time of the year.
Autumn it is then, but there are one or two summer remnants still about. Probably the last butterflies of this year, unless we get a really settled spell, (an Indian summer would be nice) red admirals, but so few compared to some years, and these ones that I saw were not flying on a sunny October day, but during a mild and drizzly day, butterflies in the rain. And today, the 8th, two swallows, the first I have seen for nearly two weeks. Also, those big common hawker dragonflies may be seen even into early November, along with common darters.
What about winter visitors then, well, I’m surprised to have seen so few. No more than those three drake wigeon at the estuary, where on a very blustery day with frequent heavy showers, resting common and black headed gulls, facing into the cold strong northerly blow with their heads tucked round under their wings, kept getting blown and buffeted about, having to resettle and re-position themselves after each strong blast. I had to admire one of the several hunting herons there, that had found a sheltered spot behind a jumble of seaweed covered rock and tree bough out in the middle of the mud flats, poised to strike and unaffected by the strong wind. But no other winter wildfowl yet, or waders, other than curlew. Although at a bay along the sound, there was a lovely sunlit flight of a dozen turnstone in between summer and winter dress. Passage birds, or will they stay the winter?
I’ve not heard or seen any skeins of south bound geese yet, which is a surprise. A few redwings were in before the end of September, and more are being seen every day, along with mistle thrush. No fieldfare yet, but they were always a little later than redwing. I always used to think that the autumn movements of birds was something that you only saw on the east coast as birds arrive from Scandinavia, but over the years I’ve seen some quite spectacular flocks and movements of winter thrushes here. The majority of redwing that we see along the west coast of Scotland are in fact from Iceland, where as the fieldfare are from Scandinavia, mainly from Norway. Will we see a little later on, also coming from northern and eastern Europe and beyond, any waxwings this year?
Although most of those big mixed flocks of birds on the meadows have moved on, there is still the occasion pipit, and small charms of goldfinch, and there are still quite large numbers of chaffinch coming to the garden. Still plenty of food then for those young sparrowhawks, they will be learning that being around gardens is a good place for food, and they would do well to stay around them for the winter. I was scanning around with the binoculars from the upstairs window one day, and picked up a sparrowhawk, flying along and through a row of gardens. Into one tree it flew, scattering the small birds from within it, had it had any luck? No, out it came and on it flew, into the next tree, scattering more birds, and so on until it was lost from view. An opportunist, looking for that lucky strike, in quick and grab it if you can. On another day I watched another young sparrowhawk sparring with two hoodie crows, though I don’t know if the two crows were young birds. That same day I saw a kestrel hunting the high edge of a wooded cliff, along which an adult sea eagle flew.
It’s always worth having a look around, even if you don’t have very much time. Again, I was looking out the window when I noticed the wintering greylags rise from the fields across the other side of the loch. I was hoping they were going to fly this way and over the village, but they just circled and landed again. Then I saw why they had taken to the air, a golden eagle was flying quite low over the fields, heading along the side of the hill above the fields. Sometimes you can spend all day in the hills and not see an eagle, and then you can just see one like that, out of the blue in an unexpected place, right opposite the village.
But that’s the way it is with wildlife watching, always unpredictable, you never know what you might see, or where, or when, and that’s the beauty and enjoyment of it.
The red deer rut has been in full swing, with roaring stags all about the place. There have been signs of pine martins every where, they are enjoying the bountiful fruits and berries of the Autumn, as can be seen in their droppings. One has been in our garden, as has a young hedgehog, which I was delighted to see, although I do feel quite sad when I see them, for they are finding our warmer winters hard to deal with. If it’s mild then they may not hibernate, but there isn’t enough food to see them through a winter if they don’t.
Now, we’re waiting for our winter visitors to arrive, and I’m looking forward to seeing and watching them.
