The most lovely part of my day was the close encounter I had with the Twite Lesser Redpoll* this evening – really special.
It was probably too nice a day to go to Oban but thankfully the late afternoon made up for it. The ferries are much quieter now, so we were able to get an earlier ferry once the chores were all done, because there was lots of space. (it is always worth booking). Oban was pretty busy given that it is September, still lots of visitors around. The fishermen’s pier was looking very colour coordinated with the blue and white boats.
Sitting having a cup of tea at the back door, a Lesser redpoll flew in to view and started feeding on the seed heads of the Meadowsweet on the banks of the burn beside the house. It flitted from flower head to flower head, taking long enough that I could go into the house and find the right lens! Then it posed for about 5 minutes with me only a few feet away. We have been seeing them a lot, flying in frantic dancing flocks around the areas of Meadowsweet and long grasses in the Black Park too.
I took Coco out for a walk. We went past the lochan, so blue, and on to the Sitheans.
I don’t want the heather to stop flowering! That will herald the end of the summer for me, well and truly. So it was lovely to be up there, hearing the bees and feeling the warmth of the sun. It was still flowering beautifully. And the views were spectacular. I watched a red deer hind and her calf sitting in the sun too, for some time before they saw me – at which point they disappeared over towards Crackaig.
I got home in time for the sunset, which did not disappoint.
* Thank goodness for Prasad. He lives on the farm and writes the wonderful Treshnish birdlog blog. He pointed out ever so politely that this is not a twite but a lesser redpoll.
