Scotland, September 2014, Rosemarkie Day4

After a night of rain it dawned gloomy and misty but soon cleared into the most magnificent day: bright, warm and sunny with fabulous light.  The light on the Firth tonight as I write is beautiful and it is flat calm.  We have just sat outside the van with our preprandials enjoying the view and the beautiful evening.

Only two dolphins turned up this morning, although very close in.  Unfortunately there were no breaching displays although I again secured some pleasing images.

After lunch outside in the sun we went for a walk up the Fairy Glen where we had amazing views of a very tame dipper and a couple of grey wagtails.  The woods were beginning to take on warm Autumn hues now and at the end of the glen was a delightful waterfall.  From here we drove back over to Udale Bay where I enjoyed an excellent hour’s birding: common and black-headed gulls aplenty, half a dozen herons, several curlews, a few bar-tailed godwits and a single black-tailed, teal and large numbers of wigeon in various states of moult.  It always makes my spine tingle to hear the whistle of wigeon carrying over water or marsh.  A mile or so up the loch was a large raft of scaup which even allowed some photography.

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Bottle-Nosed Dolphins

Bottle-Nosed Dolphins

Bottle-Nosed Dolphins

Bottle-Nosed Dolphins

Bottle-Nosed Dolphins

Amazingwhat turns up when waiting for dolphins

Sea Kayaking, Moray Firth

Sea Kayaking, Moray Firth

Sea Kayaking, Moray Firth, Fort George, home of the Black Watch in the background

Sand Patterns

Sea Kayaking, Moray Firth

Waiting for Dolphins

Fairy Glen Waterfall

Fairy Glen Waterfall

Fairy Glen Reflection

Fairy Glen Reflection

Fairy Glen

Scaup, Udale Bay

Scaup, Udale Bay

Unreal colours at sunset

Scotland, September 2014, Rosemarkie Day3

Up early again this morning and off down the beach again for low tide at 9.00 am.  Not so long to wait this morning before two adult dolphins and a calf swam towards us from the sea ward side with the baby leaping clear of the water.  Annoyingly this was the only clear breach and I had my binoculars to my eye rather than the camera, being somewhat caught by surprise!!  Another excellent morning, though, with about 12 dolphins feeding in the fast current and turbulent waters off the point and, although no stunning images of leaping dolphins, there will be some ‘keepers’.  As well as the usual birds, it was interesting to see a few late guillemots this morning.

After a lunch outside in the sun it was off to Cromarty by a superb back road, which wound high over the headland with excellent views down to the Moray Firth.  The autumn colours in the bracken and the woods added to the gold of harvest fields provided beautiful warm golden colours in the afternoon sun.  Cramarty is a lovely old town, which, judging by it’s impressive buildings and houses, must at some time have been a bustling port of some importance.  Now it is a quiet backwater.

We took another back road along the Cromarty Firth via the Uldale Bay RSPB reserve and what a productive spot this was: curlew, rafts of scaup, noisy redshank, wigeon, mallard, gulls and black tailed godwit. 

It was beer o’clock next and we called in to the quirky local pub in Rosemarkie.  Now I am busy cooking pork with apples, cider and sage for tea.

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Scotland, September 2014, Rosemarkie Day 2

The eyes began to prickle from what seemed like hours staring out at the ruffled surface of the sea as incoming tide battled wave driven waves in the opposite direction.  Hopes were raised; but no just a different wave form this time, the next a seal, the next a gull riding the waves and then.....a single dorsal fin broke the surface and then another followed by a tail fluke.  Dolphin watching, like much wild life watching and photography, is a game of patience.  Although the book says that they appear an hour after low tide, the dolphins have not read the book. 

It had been pleasant last night to have a good night’s sleep without a gale buffeting the van and I awoke at dawn to a wonderful sunrise, so out with the camera at 6.30 to photograph it and then retire with a cup of tea to watch it unfold from bed.  After the tea it was up for breakfast and then off along the beach for the low tide.  Although it was a long wait for the dolphins eventually about four appeared and fished off the point, really close to the watching crowds.  Unfortunately there were no dolphins leaping but it was wonderful to see them so close and I was happy with several of the photographs I got.  There was plenty of other wildlife around to watch while waiting: several seals which kept pushing their heads out of the water to get a better view of us in between feeding dives, gulls on the water’s edge busily crabbing, parties of gannets flying up the Firth, presumably to favoured feeding grounds, cormorants and various small waders.

Once the activity was over for the day, it was time to return for lunch before heading north again to have a look at some of the east coast for a change.  Much less dramatic than the west but still with mountains constantly in view and the interesting geography of the Firths penetrating deep inland: Moray, Cromarty and Dornoch.  We got as far as the small fishing village of Brora but particularly liked Dornoch with its old castle and cathedral.  The views up the Dornoch Firth in the evening light were beautiful and we enjoyed the novelty of the small car ferry from Nigg to Cromarty on the way back.  It was good to see a pair of eider on the Cromarty shoreline the male once again in smart plumage.  Tea was excellent fish and chips looking out over the sea before returning for a cup of tea and, later, a wee dram for a nightcap.

Another excellent day. 

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Moray Firth Sunrise

Moray Firth Sunrise

Moray Firth Sunrise

Rosemarkie Beach

Bottle Nosed Dolphins

Bottle Nosed Dolphins

Bottle Nosed Dolphins

Sunset, Dornoch Firth

Nigg-Cromarty Ferry