Misty Owl

Last Thursday I seen some stunning images of the long staying Cairngorms Snowy Owl, I couldn't resist having a look at the weather forecast, by Friday evening Heather and I were heading North.

The mist never left us. We arrived at Loch Morlich at about 23:30, pulling up into one of the lake side car parks, we pitched the tent in the light of the car beams, accompanied by a Daubenton's, hunting in the beams, it gave us some stunning views, whirring its wings and clicking as it went.

We started our climb in the mist, the calls of Red Grouse haunting the hidden landscape. This was my first venture into these glens, the terrain was completely new. The mist aided the idea of mystery and discovery, as we climbed, areas cleared briefly and then were shrouded again, only offering fragments of the landscape at a time, unwilling to reveal its full face. The most impressive of these fragments was the steep back corrie wall of the Cairn Lochan, complete with a few patches of snow.

The weather gradually cleared as we continued further into the hills, showing bits of blue sky here and there, it turned out really nice by the time we got to our home for the night, on the edge of Lochan Buidhe. Passing a few birders on the way up, we had a better idea of exactly where the Snowy Owl was haunting, so after pitching our tent, watching the comings and goings of the many walkers and few birders on the hunt, we headed up onto a small boulder covered hill. A quick scan and there it was, a large white object in a landscape of browns and greys.

Moving down hill we stumbled upon a Mountain Hare, sporting its finest Summer threads. Leaving my bag behind we moved closer in fine sunny weather, we must of only moved 100 metres when the clouds came in, everything was lost to the mist. The Owl was perfectly suited to this harsh landscape, briefly ghosting out of view, before appearing on a nearby ridge. What a beautiful bird.

We managed to pick up a few feathers for our collections, and Heather collected a couple of the birds pellets !

The mist never left us, it only gave a brief window as the sunset. Ptarmigan called in the background, building upon that eerie feeling the mist creates, and a number of Pink-Footed Geese picked their way through the glens.

The sun returned as we headed back to the car, allowing us a few Ptarmigan sightings before we met the lower hills.

The Shed Roof

I spent some time sitting on our shed roof today, watching the comings and goings of our feathered  garden inhabitants.

After 10 years, the House Sparrows have decided to pitch up in the terraced box !

Starlings have made use of this box since we put it up, sometimes having up to three broods.

The Collared Doves are busy prospecting our tree in the front, as are the Woodpigeons.

Unleashing the Wild Side of Belsay

I'm beginning a work based blog at http://cainscrimgeour.wordpress.com , giving a behind the screens look at some of the projects I get involved with, with the thoughts and ideas that they create.

Here's my first post from earlier in the week.

For the past two days I’ve been privileged to spend some time working with Chris Harman, from The Den Building Experiment, as part of English Heritage’s ‘Unleashing the Wild Side of Belsay’, producing a promotional film for future events.

Chris is the first person I’ve met whose title reads,  ‘The Den Builder’, and the first person I’ve ever heard of whose profession is building dens. When I first met Chris back in February I couldn’t get past the thought of how sad it was that his job had to exist. It took me back to my school Summer Holidays, where almost everyday, from dusk till dawn, was spent buildings dens, making fires and exploring our small patches of woods. I was under no illusion that few kids build dens, or even spend time in the woods in this ‘modern’ age, so much so that just last week when I spotted a little lean-to den in the woods, it brought a huge smile to my face.

Spending time in the woods on my doorstep, building dens, making fires, wandering observing nature, has been one of the main influences on my development as a person, on my career and my life. I still walk in those same woods today.  This is why, once you look past what we have lost, you can see why Chris’s job is not only amazing, but essential! The Den Building Experiment site states

‘We believe that the experiences of den building is fundamental to children’s development, allowing them to learn through play and exploration. Despite the proven value of den building activities, research suggests that it is dying out. Through engaging and inspiring people, our aim is to preserve the art of den building, providing opportunities to learn a broad range of skills, including team work, problem solving, mathematical skills and creativity’.

Not only is Chris inspiring the younger generations, but he’s also re-inspiring the older ones too. Today we’ve had the weather on our side, blue sky and a lovely warm sun, in the beautiful Quarry Gardens of Belsay Hall. Its attracted a variety of people out, from young to old, very few walked past without engaging in conservation about the Belsay Wildman, the Den itself, but mainly (from the older generations) reminisces of there childhood dens. You could see their eyes light up as they recounted their experiences, digging underground dens with roofs of corrugated iron, cooking on metholated spirits and fires, every little detail describe as if it was yesterday. Dens had obviously played an important, and happy part of their lives.

When was the last time you seen children in the woods building dens? Childhood is now mainly an indoor, structured lifestyle, with very few ‘wild’ children kicking about. I feel that its important not to forget about the older generations, mainly parents, when you talk about inspiring children, as they are the main part of the problem, along with schools, public perception and the police. On Easter Sunday an article was published in the Chronicle, titled ‘Mum hits out after police called to deal with children building a den in Warkworth Woods’. Taking the article with a pinch of salt, the main problems still ring true, local residents complained (public perception) and the police responded telling the children to dismantle the den and ‘leave the woods’. I was in a similar situation a few times when I was kid, once being put in the back of a riot van, suspected of taking drugs when I was out looking for a Sparrowhawk nest, and told to ‘not go in the woods again’, thankfully I didn’t listen, but where would I be if I had?

The lack of kids outdoors isn’t a recent trait, it’s been slowly building over the years and has been heavily documented in America by authors such as Richard Louv. William J Long spotted the trend back in 1903! Despite this, I feel trends are changing, thanks to a number of organisations and individuals making a difference. Children are starting to become wild again.

Unleashing the Wild Side of Belsay will be running all Summer, inspired by the story of the Wild Man, the Middleton’s protector for over 600 years, an uncivilized, hairy and strong being that live in the forest and mountain wildernesses on the edge of civilised society. By the 17^th century it is said that the Wildman had come to be seen as a noble savage, protecting civilised society. Changing the perception of the wilderness from frightening to celebrated.

Chris will be back for ‘Wild Week at Belsay’ from Sat 24^th May- Sunday 1^st June, helping (and inspiring) children build their very own Wildman Dens.

Swan Catch

Today I was extremely privileged to be invited to take part in the annual swan catch at WWT Caerlaverock. Roughly 180 Mute and Whooper Swans were caught, ringed, measured and released, with a number of birds having bloods and x-rays taken, in order to assess the amount of lead in each individual.

Its was a great experience handling and working with these birds, there's something truly wild in the nature of the Whooper Swans. Stunning animals.