Scotland the Brave - Part VII

From Fraserbugh it is no more than a 'stone throw' to the tiny hamlet of 

Crimmond on the Aberdeenshire Coast, 

and the neighbouring Wildlife Reserve that is

 Having spent many an interesting day here in past years while also turning

up a 'goodie' or two, 'scarce birds' on this particular trip were going to evade us.

No matter as there is always the site's signature bird to fall back on, the

TREE SPARROW

a joy to the average Dorset Birder in which County there are none.

 Views from the Visitor Centre window

with the

Loch of Strathbeg

in the deep distance.

 It may seem to the Reader that so many images and clips of these

Bonny Birds

may have reached 'overkill' proportions but,

 this personally was vying for 

Species of the Trip

but with the likes of

Black Grouse, Golden and White-tailed Eagle, Ptarmigan 

 and others in the mix that remains an impossible call.

It is hoped that you enjoy them, even as images, as much as we did!

Cutting our losses we beat an early retreat and headed for another large

Fishing Port

which, laid side by side with Fraserburgh, could easily be considered a twin.

Unlike its neighbour

PETERHEAD

has diversified into other Marine Fields such as

Ship Refits and Maintenance

and support to the

North Sea Oil Industry

part of which we found in port the 8,009 gross tonne

MULTI-PURPOSE OFF-SHORE VESSEL

BIBBY TOPAZ

along with other examples such as this

 SUPPLY VESSEL

 putting to sea

 Loading Fishing Nets
 (and just below another

Grey Seal)

while still being home to Great Britain's largest Fishing Fleet.

One of the smaller Trawlers

setting sail.

Even amid all of this clammer and clatter and with a ready supply of food

there is room for a variety of Wildlife, which we found while in pursuit

of other 'White-winged Gulls'.

HERRING GULLs

 nesting on rooftops and already incubating eggs.

 Yes, more

EIDER

 at a favoured 'preening station'.

 ATLANTIC GREY SEAL

 cruising around all parts of the dockyard basins,

and no call to 'crop' these images with the animals being so close!

Just a couple of examples of the 

Old Meeting the New

 CANNON and BALL oh and DAVE

The new

 FISH PROCESSING FACTORY

 towers above the old

Before the day closed, it was once again Dave who found the

'White-winger'

another 'immature' Glaucous Gull. Again it would have been preferred had it been an

Iceland Gull

but such things are not sent to order! We were satisfied, but take the opportunity

of showing a few images, from the archive, of an adult

GLAUCOUS GULL

 by comparison in size and bulk with the

Black-headed Gull (left)

Just before leaving this fine town, and typically given where we were, these few words

are penned in an attempt to dispel the myths and legends that suggest the

Jocks have Padlocks and Chains on their Purses. Told in a Jockanse accent:-

Having lived his whole life in this fine town, sadly James Reed had passed away

and it was now time for his wife to inform friends and family buy means of 

an obituary in the local News Paper.

Phoning the Echo she said to the lady at the other end, "Och aye the noo Aggie yee ken aboot the wee pennies n hapnies but I need te put a wee note in aboot Jim, just say".

'Jimmy Reed 'o' Peterheed is Deed'

and that should do the trick.

The deal was done, but a short time later the Echo phoned Mrs Reed to advise

that she had entered 6 words but for the same price could have 9, and did she wish to make an alteration?

"Aye" said Mrs Reed "best change it to,

'Jimmy Reed 'o' Peterheed is Deed - Volvo For Sale'

Our final port of call in Bonny Scotland was to be the Estuary of the River Ythan which meets the North Sea

just a few miles north of the Granite City, Aberdeen!

Our stay was short but here we found, or more accurately had pointed out

to us across the upper reaches a female

SMEW

(seen here below the image of a male for comparison)

before driving on to the mouth of the river where again there were lots of

SAND DUNES

and

EIDER

THE WATCHKEEPER

COMMON and ATLANTIC GREY SEAL

CREW CHANGE and SUPPLY HELICOPTER

I was in hiding just in case they had any ideas about taking me back to the rig!

Entry	Pageviews
United States	545
United Kingdom	341
Indonesia	140
Germany	45
France	35
Estonia	19
Canada	15
China	13
New Zealand	10
Venezuela	9