The Sights and Sounds of Stratherrick in early Spring

Last week on the 28th Feb the Peesies returned to the moss in front of our croft where they always nest. "Peesie" is the Scots word for Peewit or Lapwing. Their eerie cry at dusk signals to us the start of Spring, even if there is snow on the ground. The gulls and oyster catchers are there too, but there is nothing like the first cry of the year of the peesie. This is the peat moss where the peesies nest, between our croft and the next cottage, This is the view from the window of my Art Studio and Gallery- very inspiring! 

Over the winter one regular night time visitor is the hoolet ( tawny owl) which regularly roosts on our lum (chimney)- and last week we had to rescue a hoolet that had come down our lum- thankfully unharmed despite being trapped behind the stove. We often hear the eeerie scream of the barn owl too at night, very startling and surprisingly human.

What I love best is the red kite wheeling overhead, so low I could almost count its feathers!

This is the ground they hunt over, very daunting to find a wee vole or other prey  I think!

Over the winter the Sikka deer , and a large fox have been roaming our croft, the deer are midway in size between the roe and red, and their eyes are scary when scanning with a torch at night.  We hear their calls too, again can be startling at night.

Apart from our noisy wildlife, Stratherrick is as peaceful as ever, here in Torness silence rules a lot of the time!

Beautiful Loch Mhor in late winter mode. Waiting until it warms up a bit so I can don my wetsuit and go for a swim. Looking forward to the return of the osprey who watches me while I swim!