Fat-balls - Feed the Birds

Spending time in Dumfries & Galloway is always intended to be restful and peaceful and that’s exactly what we find at the lodges where we choose to stay. A favourite pastime is watching the birds feasting on the fat-balls and seeds that we provide. We feed the birds at home, but hardly get chance to enjoy the results of constant topping up. It’s different when we’re away. A morning consists of relaxing after breakfast with a coffee on the veranda, or inside if it’s chilly, reading yesterday’s paper or a Kindle. Reading material is soon cast aside as bird watching takes over. Depending on the time of year, we may repeat this in the late afternoon. The lodges are surrounded by evergreen trees and huge rhododendrons offering plenty of branches to hang an assortment of feeders.  

We were there in November for a much needed break. My father-in-law had passed away the week before and the funeral arranged for our return.  We looked forward to the family gathering that was always a highlight of our visits. I had started to be ill in the days prior to our trip and hoped the Scottish countryside air and time to rest would help me pick up. It wasn’t to be, but we still enjoyed our stay.

Health permitting, our spring time visit will go ahead. It’s a good time to watch the red kites at their feeding and conservation station nearby or at Galloway Forest. What I’d really like to do, more than anything, is fill seed feeders and fat-ball holders, hang them up and wait.

As we’re in his domain and it’s nearly Burns Night, I chose this poem,

 

 

O stay, sweet warbling woodlark stay,

                                      Nor quit for me the trembling spray,

 

                                       A hapless lover courts thy lay,

 

                                       Thy soothing, fond complaining.

 

 

Again, again that tender part,

                                      That I may catch thy melting art;

 

                                      For surely that wad touch her heart

 

                                       Wha kills me wi' disdaining.

 

 

Say, was thy little mate unkind,

                                      And heard thee as the careless wind?

 

                                      Oh, nocht but love and sorrow join'd,

 

                                      Sic notes o' woe could wauken!

 

 

Thou tells o' never-ending care;

O'speechless grief, and dark despair:

                                      For pity's sake, sweet bird, nae mair!

 

                                      Or my poor heart is broken!

 

 

                                                                  Robert Burns  1759-1796

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, Pam x 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Wild Side - Red Kites

     One of the things I like so much when staying in the lodge at Dumfries and Galloway is the     abundance of woodland animals. It’s so relaxing to watch the rabbits at play or the birds that come to the feeders we provide when we are there. Foxes and deer tend to keep their distance, too timid to roam close to the buildings. Usually, its night time when we might be treated to a glimpse of one or the other, caught in our headlights as we drive slowly along the narrow lane. Deer tend to be in pairs or small groups. They leap into the hedges or bushes as we approach, but not before we’ve had a brief moment to admire them. A fox will hunt alone, stalking rabbits and rodents to catch to feed his family.  Once, I was horrified to witness a fox snatch a rabbit from close to the lodge and run towards the woods, carrying the lifeless creature. It is nature, prey and predators.

 

The lodge is close to Galloway Forest Park. Within the huge expanse of carefully  managed woodlands, there are conservation areas for otters, red squirrels and deer. And lots of birds, especially the red kite. The first time I saw one, we were sharing binoculars focussing on a herd of deer, willing them to come close enough for a photograph. The red kite swooped to the ground in front of us, black tipped white wings and forked tail with the distinctive rusty-red colouring across the body and into the white feathers, spanning about two feet. I was fascinated. I’d never seen a bird of prey close-up in its own environment before and this was beautiful. They are protected and looked after. I found information from the RSPB and this paragraph from the Galloway Kite Trail.  

“Red kites have been congregating at Bellymack Hill Farm since 2001 when they were reintroduced to Galloway. This is partly due to the prevailing SW winds which create updrafts from the hillside, enabling kites to ride effortlessly over the farm. Since 2003 the feeding has allowed visitors to get close firsthand experiences of these gregarious birds when they come in to spectacularly snatch food provided for them.”

Our visit to the farm was breath-taking and a haven for proper photographers with sophisticated equipment. My shots are a combination of Olympus compact and mobile phone.

     Going on safari is not my thing. Galloway Forest is as wild as it gets for me.  

 

 

 Thanks for reading, Pam x



 

 

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