Tag: birds

On December 16th, 2023, I assembled a recapping blog entry showcasing the first fourteen parts of a daily trek challenge which I began on May 1st, 2023.

The blog which assembles those entries can be viewed at this link: Recap for Whaligoe Steps 365… (Parts 1 to 14) – Whaligoe Eye

The daily trek challenge began on May 1st, 2023, hopes were high that I could walk and document life down and around Whaligoe Steps each and every day until May 1st, 2024. This was initially going to be utilising commentary and photography, but latterly has incorporated wee video clips too.

Personally, with all that life throws at us, something of this discipline is hard to achieve.

It is the three hundred and forty second day of my daily trek challenge and I can happily report that I remain on target to succeed in this ongoing endeavour.

Today is a Saturday, full of overcast skies and strong gusts, visitors are still dropping by to visit this location. Life goes on.

It’s also a good time to have fun with numbers. For example, roughly I may well have walked two hundred and three thousand, one hundred and forty eight steps thus far. Another way to look at such a distance is to say I have walked one hundred and one miles.

This achievement has highlighted the extraordinary stamina and results of those individuals who tackle the remarkable ‘Land’s End to John O’ Groats’ trek – Traditionally seen as the most extreme journey by foot within the United Kingdom, starting out in western Cornwall, England, and eventually finishing up in the northern territories of Scotland.

I’ve only managed perhaps a sixth or an eighth of what that distance would encompass. But still, it’s provided an insight to a coastal way of life, for those who would frequent the trail or stone steps down this cliff to the North Sea below.

Below is a photographic highlight which can be found via this link: Daily Trek Challenge (Part 15) – Whaligoe Eye (November 13th up to and including November 26th, 2023)

Dramatic skies are vibrant in the photograph below, found via the following link: Daily Trek Challenge: Part 16 (Nov. 27th – Dec. 10th, 2023) – Whaligoe Eye

Photograph of the sixth flight of Whaligoe Steps, found via the following link: Daily Trek Challenge during December, 2023 – Whaligoe Eye (December 11th, 2023 up to and including December 24th, 2023)

A serene rainbow captured during the fortnight I document during my daily trek challenge via the following link: New Year for my Daily Trek Challenge! – Whaligoe Eye (December 25th, 2023 up to and including January 7th, 2024)

Winter weather strikes me as I tackle another fortnight of daily treks down and around Whaligoe Steps: Daily Trek Challenge in January! – Whaligoe Eye (January 8th up to and including January 21st, 2024)

The moon tries to hide unsuccessfully during another fortnight of daily treks: Spring Whispers on a Daily Trek Challenge… – Whaligoe Eye (January 22nd up to and including February 4th, 2024)

A mixture of weather conditions captured during my daily treks throughout February: Frozen Frolicking in Fabulous February… – Whaligoe Eye (February 5th, 2024 up to and including February 18th, 2024)

Short video clip of the Whaligoe Steps waterfall: Dancing Waterfalls To Windswept Songs – Whaligoe Eye (February 19th up to and including March 3rd, 2024)

March offers up some pleasant weather in 2024: Beautiful Nights and Daily Flights – Whaligoe Eye (March 4th up to and including March 17th, 2024)

Beautiful coastal signs of spring photographed in another fortnight of daily treks: March Springs with Light and Life – Whaligoe Eye (March 18th up to and including March 31st, 2024)

Thank you for your kindness and support up to this point. All going well, I’ll be sharing another blog entry as April continues to entertain with changing weather conditions and visitors continue to arrive in larger numbers. At the time of this entry, the Bink (grassy platform at the base of the six flights of Whaligoe Steps) is still quite muddy and slippery, so caution is advised.

Take care, stay safe and thank you for being You.

FACEBOOK: Whaligoe Eye | Lybster | Facebook

X (Formerly TWITTER): Whaligoe Eye (@WhaligoeEye) / X (twitter.com)

X (Formerly TWITTER – GARY): Gary (✌🙄 busy) (@floodland08) / X (twitter.com)

EMAIL: WhaligoeEyeToo@gmail.com

To research this area down and around Whaligoe Steps, along the Northerly coastline of the U.K. mainland in the Scottish Highlands, I decided to attempt tackling a trek each and every day since May 1st, 2023 for an entire year. This is another chapter providing some highlights of a fortnight witnessing the colder seasons of the year as we creep from November into December…

Nov. 27th, 2023: This particular Monday trek was mostly uneventful as the environment continues to adapt to the colder temperatures, rainfall and windy weather. Below is a photograph of the deteriorating 4th flight of Whaligoe Steps.

Nov. 28th, 2023: Seabirds around here have significantly diminished in numbers due to various factors, I think. One which springs to mind is the recent wave of ‘bird flu’.

Nevertheless, as November approaches December, my treks encountered these feathered friends in frivolous mood and flying around at the top of Whaligoe Steps.

Nov. 29th, 2023: Skies are an eye-catching natural wonder in this part of the world. This moment was captured during my trek on a particular Wednesday adventure.

Nov. 30th, 2023: Aren’t rainbows a lovely sight?

December 1st, 2023: The second flight of Whaligoe Steps…

Dec. 2nd, 2023: Let’s have a moment with the fiery orb dancing with clouds over the wind farm known as “Beatrice”, and the impressively cold North Sea.

Dec. 3rd, 2023: The local landscape during this specific morning trek was being poked by the finger of winter, as the presence of freezing temperatures turned some of the environment to ice.

Dec. 4th, 2023: During my Monday morning stroll along the Bink here at Whaligoe Steps, I was greeted with a sighting of a grey seal.

Dec. 5th, 2023: Blue was the mood for the weather, and the colour of the sky and sea during my trek on a Tuesday in December.

Dec. 6th, 2023: More ambience captured below, as the blue gives way to a soft orange glow on the horizon.

Dec. 7th, 2023: Throughout November, and still relevant to December, was the presence of impressive wave activity on the North Sea.

Dec. 8th, 2023: You’d be forgiven for thinking that the photograph below is a palm tree! Instead, it’s just another silhouette which caught my eye against a grey and ominous cloudy sky.

Dec. 9th, 2023: Around this point in December, I began noticing the return of the seabirds to Whaligoe Steps. Along many rocky ledges in the cliff face, fulmars and some varying seagulls began arriving and getting settled.

Dec. 10th, 2023: If you’re an animal lover, you may be wondering if you’re going to see a photograph of Star again. Well, here she is taking a break from catching rabbits and rodents.

Thank you for your generosity of time and once again for the kindness you share by simply social media support or by visiting this website. I’ve been fortunate to meet some really kind and interesting people who visit Whaligoe Steps, and as my daily trek challenge continues up to May 1st, 2024, I look forward to more encounters to come.

Here’s a link to my previous blog entry relating to the previous fortnight of the daily trek challenge – Daily Trek Challenge (Part 15) – Whaligoe Eye

Until my next blog entry, take care and stay safe. Thank you for being You.

FACEBOOK: Whaligoe Eye | Lybster | Facebook

TWITTER (X): Whaligoe Eye (@WhaligoeEye) / X (twitter.com)

TWITTER (X) – GARY: Gary (busy ✌🙄) (@floodland08) / X (twitter.com)

EMAIL: WhaligoeEyeToo@gmail.com

This is my second blog regarding my humble attempt at following the inspiration of ’30 Days Wild’. Each day of June it’s all about appreciating and understanding more about Mother Nature, an initiative started back in 2015 by The Wildlife Trusts | The Wildlife Trusts.

Documenting each day from June 11th to June 20th, this second blog will showcase everything from going orca spotting in the north sea, to signing an online Wildlife Trust approved petition.

DAY 11: WILDLIFE TRUST APPROVED PETITION

DAY 12: SUNDAY STROLL

DAY 13: MELLOW MONDAY

DAY 14: PICNIC

DAY 15: SNAIL WATCH

DAY 16: CAITHNESS SKIES

DAY 17: NATURE-THEMED POEM + EXPLORING SHALLOW CAVE…

DAY 18: FIRST DAY OF THE ‘BIG CAMP OUT’ WEEKEND!

DAY 19: SECOND DAY OF ‘BIG CAMP OUT’ + ORCA WATCH ALONG COASTLINE!

Hoping for a sighting of an orca, but sadly no luck this time…

DAY 20: READING A BOOK OUTDOORS

I own a 2nd edition of ‘A Canny Countryside’ which was written by John Horne and features wonderful articulated descriptions of this local area, including the Whaligoe Steps. (Published in 1902, Oliphant Anderson and Ferrier, Edinburgh and London).

Thank you only always for your time and I hope you have enjoyed the wildlife so far. One more blog which will summarise ’30 Days Wild’ for June 21st to June 30th is to follow, plus a blog about the residential car parking and my near-miss as a car nearly ran me over on the pavement outside my front door!

Until next time, take care and thank you again.

TWITTER: Whaligoe Eye (@WhaligoeEye) / Twitter

FACEBOOK: Whaligoe Eye – Home | Facebook

TWITTER (Gary’s personal account): Gary – Busy times! ✌😯 (@floodland08) / Twitter

YOUTUBE: Whaligoe Eye – YouTube

EMAIL: WhaligoeEye@gmail.com

I will admit that over the last eleven years especially, each and every day I find myself on a steep learning curve. Whether this is applicable to food, health, people or animals and plants.

For some reason it had sneaked in to my subconscious that a ‘Shag’ was some sort of nickname for a Cormorant. So after hanging out this morning with what I thought was a ‘Shag’ watching the overcast grey skies and feeling the gentle tingle of light drizzle on my face, I filmed it for posterity capturing this special moment.

Once I was back in the dry, I reached out for my trusty British bird handbook and flicked over the pages to find that a Cormorant is a separately recognised bird. They both possess different latin names for example: Cormorant – phalacrocorax carbo, Shag – phalacrocorax Aristotelis.

I think the fellow that was happy to sit on the ledge to my left was indeed a Cormorant. I shared a tweet on Twitter which said it was a Shag, but now I am thinking I was wrong. Do you recognise this bird?

Before I go, this morning reminded me how slippery underfoot the Whaligoe Steps can get. Two photographs below show how slippery and wet it can get – Please tread carefully if you visit here during or after rainfall.

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Who doesn’t love a shameless clip of calm and nature? That’s a rhetorical question and one that leads me in to sharing some wee clips from my early morning stroll.

I think these might well be a couple of herring gulls. They are simply contemplating life this morning in their habitat. Footage filmed 22nd of August.

Isn’t nature a wonderful aspect of life?

With sightings of sea-life and bird-life around the Whaligoe Steps being rife, I really hope to capture some stunning photographs/footage to share with you in future posts. Keep your fingers crossed.