Fogey

How do you get the damned things to pose like that?

It's the subtlety of colour that has taken my eye, Polly. Very cleverly done.

There are times Polly when the pool is devoid of birds. However, on the good days it can be extremely busy. If you are going to come, then I would say a long lens is essential, together with a decent bean bag or a tripod. There have been sightings of Osprey, Curlews, Snipes, Green and Redshanks, Grebes, Cormorants, any amount of Lapwings, geese and waterfowl. A pair of binoculars, for when you're not photographing, is nice as well.

Some recent shots from the Venus Pool...

Now why did I think he was a milkman?

Cormorant Stretching Sleeping Snoring.

Within the moody and majestic life goes on - mundanely.

I love the composition of the basin.

Excellent Denis. There's not one I don't like.

Nice set David. Brings back some memories.

From majestic........... To the mundane.

There is nothing as beautiful as a tree.

Thank you all. Yes Paul, it was very remote. There were some middle-aged ladies swimming in the harbour while I was there - much braver than me. I couldn't get over just how quickly the weather and lighting changed. Once the sun heated up the atmosphere, in came the fog. These two shots were taken within the same hour.

Staxigoe cove early morning and then...........

Reminds me of a Constable painting.

Well done, Vanguard.

Surprising what makes a photograph.

Great action shots, Leon. The first is my favourite.

A lesson in Macro photography - truly! Amazing photos.

Ah! I see - thank you for that............you learn something new every day. Cracking image BTW.

So explain to me what I'm seeing, Paul. Is that brown thing on its back a food source, camouflage or just part of being a nymph.

I just love this. Moody and dramatic indeed.

My next port of call was Wick, right at the top of Scotland. I had hoped that driving up the coast would give way to some nice seascapes, but the weather had really closed in and I drove up in very heavy fog. When I got to Wick the rain set in with a vengeance and I managed just the one photograph. Wick harbour.

As the weather was closing in I returned to the hotel in Inverness.

There are so many facets to this holiday Clicker, I have mixed feelings. I think I'll deal with it from stop to stop, so, although some of the images will have already been shown, there will be some consistency. The overriding irritation over the three weeks was Covid and how it was screwing up my perceived expectations and many times I had to take a deep breath and re-evaluate my position. For example, all wildlife hides had to be pre-booked as there were limits on how many people could be accommodated at any one time and I didn't see one instance of this on any website. Also there was no information on nesting sites for Osprey, Golden Eagles et al. So bearing this in mind, When I stopped at Inverness, I visited Loch Garten Nature Reserve in the Cairngorms as their website mentioned breeding pairs of Ospreys, only to find they weren't breeding there this year. I did wander around in the hope of seeing Red squirrels, but was disappointed as there wasn't a squirrel in site. After some four hours, I decided to go for a drive. These are some of the scenes I encountered. Loch Garten Loch Pityoulish I did keep my eye open for fly fishermen, but didn't see one. River Spey. Strathspey Steam Railway