A busy week for Dazza back down in England for most of it called for a nice long walk along the Aberdeenshire coastline on Saturday afternoon to recharge her batteries.
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| A typical stretch of Aberdeenshire beach at Balmedie ~ Today was very busy π |
The remit was just that, a nice walk along the beach but of course, nature is always on the radar when we're out and about. The stroll beachside was enjoyable, the easterly wind keeping the temperature down and diving
Gannets,
Sandwich Terns and the odd
Seal popping their heads above the parapet is always a wonderful sight.
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| Sea Rocket |
On the return journey, we walked along the top edge of the sand dunes, which in this case runs alongside Mr Trump's loss-making golf course in the hope of encountering the odd butterfly. Here there are some large carpets of
Bird's-foot trefoil with
Wild Pansy and
Sea Rocket mingled in.
Northern Marsh Orchid and to a lesser extent
Heath Spotted Orchids appear to be abundant at the moment.
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| iPhone image of Six-spot Burnets on Northern Marsh Orchid |
It was at one such area that we came across an amazing emergence of
Six-spot Burnet Moths a few of which were still emerging from their cocoons. Most were nectaring and clinging to
Northern Marsh Orchids and the surrounding grasses were awash. It was a lovely sight, nature throwing up one of those enjoyable unexpected 'wow' moments!
An Interesting fact while researching Burnet Moths...
There are around 800 species of Burnet and Forester
moth worldwide. Only ten live in the British Isles with
seven in Scotland, (six species of Burnet and one Forester).
Five of these are subspecies that are endemic to Scotland
ie they occur nowhere else in the world!
More iPhone Images of the Day...
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| Six-spot Burnet emerging! |
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| Six-spot Burnet fully emerged & drying out |
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| Heath Spotted Orchid |
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| Wild Pansy |
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| Heath Spotted Orchid |
