Holiday 2021 Day 1 Wednesday 28/04/2021

 For weeks since the announcement of Lockdown we were unsure whether our holiday to Scotland, booked after last years holiday to Wales was cancelled, would go ahead,😰with the First Minister keeping her cards close to her chest it was touch and go right up until a few days before when it was confirmed that the border would open up on the 26th,phew!!!!!!!!! Two days to  spare hurrah!!!😀

Well after a quick breakfast, serenaded by our garden Sparrows and Starlings, we are in the car by 6.40 (just 3 hours behind schedule!!) and on our way!! Credit to Margie for doing most of the packing (all of the packing!!) Though it was me who had to get it in the car, Apparently we are taking everything we own!! Destination, The Farmers Inn, Dumfries and Galloway for 3 nights before heading up to Badachro for 7 more nights in the Creel Cabin!! The journey, first part 383miles, was pretty easy, with no holdups at all, the only stop, to be mugged at the petrol pump, £1.47per litre, BP shame on you!!😡 One slight hiccup when Margie woke from her slumber with a start to announce "I forgot the medicine bag""  Now as we were 2 and a half hours in we ain't going back, however after 10 mins of contortions to find the bag, whilst trying not to take her seatbelt off ,"it's here!!" was somewhat of a relief!! 

On the bird front Buzzards beat Red Kites by 14 to 11 with Kestrels a long way behind with 3 sightings! 2 Parakeets around the M25, 3 Lapwings and a flyover Oystercatcher, Mammals were represented by 2 Muntjacs in separate sightings along the M40 and a Roe Deer further on!! The M40 was also swathed in Cowslips some fantastic displays along the road!! The absolute best sighting however was just before the Sandbach Services, a Merlin zipped across the road in front of us! 

Arrival in Scotland!!(taken by Margie from the moving car!)

So after 7 hours we arrived, the journey went so well we were 2 hours early so nipped down to the Caerlaverock National Nature reserve, just 10 miles or so away and ate our Rolls that Margie had made when she wasn't doing the packing, though I made the Flask of Tea!! In the carpark. We decided to walk the Reedbed Ramble.

As I was getting kitted up we could hear, a Greenfinch, a Chaffinch, two Willow Warblers, a couple of Sparrows were squabbling, putting me bins on em, Tree Sparrows, boom!! straight into the good stuff!!

Tree Sparrow

Tree Sparrow

Chaffinch

There was a lot of chatter in the field over the road from the Car Park, a large flock of small birds, approx. 150 or so was swirling about the place landing on the wires, Bins on them, Linnet and Twite at this point they were a bit distant. 

Part of the Finch flock

All lined up, think these are pretty much all Twite

We walked through the farm and down to the Reedbed, the hedge lined path had more Chaffinch and a couple of Willow/Chiffs they didn't call and were hard to get views of I suspect Willow Warbler but can't be 100% sure. Reaching the end of the path the view opened up with the Reedbed and the foreshore beyond with the Solway Firth in the distance. Margie got some good landscape stuff her pics below

As we walked along next to the Reedbed, which was pretty quiet, we noticed the gorse lining the path had some good stuff in it, Reed Bunting, more Chaffinch (nice to see so many!) another couple of singing Willow Warblers, a Song Thrush, Wrens etc. In the distance we could see a huge flock of Geese take off they were very distant but I surmised they were the fabled Svalbard Barnacle Geese that winter in these parts.

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Chaffinch

Gorse

My Landscape shot has a deer in it, just saying Margie!😂

Part Of the Goose Flock

Barnacle Geese

Grey Heron

The walk was notable for a large number of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits on the marsh, a flock of about 20 Golden Plovers that didn't stay in the air long enough to get pics, a nice pair of Stonechats and a Willow Warbler that tried his best to stay hidden!

Female Stonechat 

Male Stonechat

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Back at the car park the Tree Sparrows had been joined by some House Sparrows and I had another crack at the now slightly nearer Twite flock!!

House Sparrow

Tree Sparrow

Twite

Linnet and Twite

Twite

Some very curious cows by Margie

After this enjoyable sojourn we headed to The Farmers and booked in, a very comfortable room and friendly staff,an added bonus was Scotland is allowing inside dining so we had a very nice meal, Burger for me and some Shredded Beef for Margie, very nice Sticky Toffee Pudding for afties, Margie was going to be good, however the revelation that the special was Malteser Cheesecake undid her good intentions and she caved😁 !!