Anyone who knows me fairly well can tell you I have to be in the right mood to be patient. Free of distractions and noise to sit and wait. Luckily yesterday I was in such a mood and, with the glorious sunshine blessing Cumbrae, I left Matthew to his reading and set out in search of the Grasshopper Warblers I'd heard in the scrub around Farland Point.
Cutting first toward the marine station to make sure the light was behind me I made my usual vain attempts to get a good shot of my other wonderful neighbours, the Fulmar.
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| The standard disinterested look... |
Then through the gate onto the Point, where I has quickly distracted by Sedge Warblers carrying huge green caterpillars to the nest. Tearing myself away I followed the path until I heard the familiar buzzing call off to my left, in a bush I thought.... so I ducked off the path, settled down on some heather, pulled up my socks to avoid midge bites and settled down in the sunshine.
Then the calling stopped and later started up some 20 meters away.... bugger not even a glimpse. I pondered remaining, to see if it would return. I'm glad I didn't, Leaving my coat where I had been sitting on it I followed the rabbit path through the fairly boggy ground to and open patch of grasses where, to my joy, I found him singing his little heart out, turning his head this way and that to broadcast his song. And it was a good job I did, any more waiting and my sunburn would have gone critical!
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| Small bird, big voice! |
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| And this was the closest I got, I wasn't going to risk flushing a beastie I'd just gotten sunburn waiting for! |
