Snow for the hinds calving

What did I tell you? (see 5th May below) OK, it's a week early but we surely now have the 'Snow for the hinds calving' ** - Ben Rinnes was pictured today at lunchtime.



Bad news for birds sitting on eggs, or those that rely on hatches of insects on warm sunny days to feed chicks. Traditionally, though, this is winter's parting shot and hopefully summer may
soon follow.

** The 'snow for the hinds calving' is an expression you are most likely to hear in the West Highlands of Scotland where I worked for a number of years - in Gaelic it's 'Sneachda laogh na fiadh' - thanks to my colleague John Morrison from Harris for the Gaelic version!

Be prepared!

Should be our motto. I had a sparrowhawk swoop down and settle on my front garden wall last night. I was on the phone and just happened to be looking out of the window when it happened....now descision time, do i hang up on my mum or roam around my house to find the camera whilst trying to sound interested at the same time, as luck would have it (or not ) it shot off before i could do either.

Well i'm hoping that it will visit again as the wrath of one's mother is a thing not to be trifled with.

So be prepared for nature sightings anytime, anyhow and any place. If you do see anything, flying, scurrying, crawling, hopping, hovering etc then somebody needs to know. These chaps especially.....www.nesbrec.org.uk the North East Scotland Biological Recording Centre. Check out their website on how to input sightings yourself on-line, paper or via the phone. Whether its casual sightings as you're on the way to work or an indepth survey for a school or college project, let others share your finds and help us put together a picture of what wildlife and habitats we have in the NE, you never know it may help preserve some of our most threatened habitats.

Spring is here and change is a foot!

Its been a wee while since i've posted on here....thank the snow and crazy weather for that...pictures of my commute to work will follow (just can't bring myself to look at them now we have sun and green grass).

As Jim has said spring is sort of here....its taken its time thats for sure. We're probably looking a being a month or so behing schedule, but do not frown...things are growing and have truely been reborn.

Not unlike our selves here in Aberlour central. Although still repsonsible for the Speyside Way within Moray we now have a wider county remit. You can watch this space for tales of daring do's, wildlife intrigue and more ranger events. We're still finding our feet with our new role, checking out what the far flung reaches of the county have to offer us rangers, so bare with us and keep tuned for events and works that we will be doing in the future.

Here's a picture of the massed daffodils that can been seen throughout the county....gauranteed to bring a warm spring glow to anyone.

The Gab o' May

Hold that last post! Spring has disappeared again, temperatures are back into single figures and there's snow on the hills!
But don't worry, it's only the 'Gab o' May', that evocative Scots name for what is often poor weather at the start of May (you know, that bit of poor weather between the 'Teuchat's storm' in early April and the 'Snow for the hinds calving' in early June!) After we've had all these it might just be summer!!