Blairmount Babies-First Pictures

Swans and newly born Cygnets on Blairmount Pond Newton Stewart South West Scotland.
Mother Swan was still sitting on the eggs at 9pm on Thursday the 4th of June 2009.
This clip was recorded at 9am on Friday the 5th of June 2009,which makes these adorable cygnets no more than 12 hours old.

Swans and New Born Chicks on Blairmount Pond

Mother Swan was still sitting on the eggs at 9pm on Thursday the 4th of June 2009...
...as can be seen here.

I took the pictures below around 9am on Friday the 5th of June...
...which makes these lovely wee cygnets no more than 12 hours old.

...hang on..mums gone below !

I've taken a short video clip,which is on my YouTube channel.
Blairmount Babies

Birds of a feather

A couple of pictures i've taken this first week of June 2009.

It was fairly quiet on Glenamour Loch until i heard this whoosh above me.

Even though i was as still as a church mouse,this big fella or lassie circled the loch three times but wouldn't land.I'm thinking this is a heron-the only trouble is those great wings seemed to be moving much faster than a heron's would normally.Am i wrong ?

Meanwhile on Blairmount Pond,mother to be swan sits patiently on her nest where she's been for a few weeks now.
Mother water hen is out and about with her brood.

The Month of May in Galloway

I'm still trying out new flash presentations.This is a picture from my latest one.

The link to it is here
The Month of May in Galloway
swfcabin.com is the name of the provider,and it's certainly a no nonsense,easy to load website.The only problem with them is there's no signing up,and no way of protecting your images from full scale theft.So i'll probably not use them again.

Wigtownshire Ramblers-Creetown Circular

It's Saturday the 30th of May,and we're having a lovely dry and sunny warm spell.
Twenty two suitably attired walkers gather at Creetown's main carpark for todays walk.We welcome one new walker.Heading out of the village past Kirkmabreck Parish Church the first leg of todays walk takes us through the beautiful Balloch Wood.
Creetown Walks

There are lots of information boards covering flora and fauna throughout the woods.This particular one concerns an ancient chalybeate well with a warning not to drink the water.The path follows the Balloch Burn for much of the way...

...hand crafted benches and bridges adorn the route.Todays walk being a moderate six mile circular there's no haste.
We've come upon a wooden platform that looks like a outdoor dance floor.Anyone for a 'Hoedown'.
Looking at one of the information boards later,it seems it is or is going to be a red squirrel feeding station.

Now at the top end of Balloch wood we reach Garrochar Wildlife Ponds.This is part of the Balloch Wood Communty Project.

We take time out here.A few ramblers do a little exploration.
The wooden roundhouse situated at the Garrochar Wildlife Ponds was commissioned in 2007 by Balloch Community Woodland Project to provide an interpretation shelter and meeting point.
Back on the move again we've a short walk along the old military before turning into the track that will lead us to the summit of Knockeans Hill.


It's a steady climb,but no one's in a hurry.

The hazy sunshine today means a lack of clarity in distant views.
I blogged my last solo effort up here when there was more cloud cover.For a comparison click here.Knockeans

There's not a cloud in the sky as we enjoy the vista's all round.At the summit it's a bit breezy...

...so we drop down a little to enjoy our lunch.

Others drop down further.

Panorama of A view north from Knockeans Hill on CleVR.com

After a bite and drink,i get myself a 180 degree panorama to the north.This picture takes in the Clints of Dromore,Cairnsmore of Fleet and the Cree Estuary.It's a shame there's so much solar haze.

Lunch over we're now heading west to Larg Hill.

The summit of Larg Hill,obviously a late walkers favourite spot.


Larg Hill is thirty one metres lower than Knockeans,but has a more open vista to the west.We stop often to identify points of interest.

After a short unscheduled detour a short distance south,we're heading northward back towards Creetown.

Curly's enjoying his day out...

...while the sunshine appears to be having a different effect on some walkers.

This will be the last gate,it's downhill from here.

We saw no red squrrels as we passed Larg cottage,but blue tits and great tits were spotted.We soon get back to the cars.A few walkers call for ice cream...

...while a group of us go and enjoy coffee,tea and cake at the Gem Rock Cafe.
A most enjoyable outing.

Skyalbum

I quite like Skyalbum and will probably do more of them,but because they take a while to load,rather than let them slow down the blog pages,i'll only upload the link.
A day in May in the Machars
That way it'll be left to the blog reader to decide whether or not to click on the link.
Meanwhile here's a few sheep.

An Osprey in the Machars

Bank Holiday Monday 25th of May in the Machars in South West Scotland,i stumbled across this Osprey Nest.
It's the one shown on webcam in the County Buildings in Wigtown.
I quietly got myself out of sight for a few photograph and video.