Wednesday 26 June 2013

Rathlin Island Visited Part 5

Rise and shine!  It is 5.00am!!  Today I am walking to the East Lighthouse and because this took longer than I expected, due to stopping so many times to take photos and video. 
I am showing you part 1 of this post today and hopefully the other half tomorrow.

This  photo above I am showing you now (although it should be the last one today) because this is the path I am taking on the walk.  If you look in the distance to the last gable house on the left of the road, that is the hostel.

  
I decided, rightly or wrongly to mainly take short clips of video and discovered that I had taken about 30 of these on this walk, so it has taken a long time to process and today's video is slightly shorter than tomorrow's one.  I wanted to try and give you a feel for the island, to take in its beauty and to see what birds we can see along the way.  I have videoed a Wren and although it is out of focus, I know you would love hearing him sing.


Above is a House Martin building its nest and there were quite a number I saw being very industrious early in the morning.

On this fence post below, I had a very cooperative Meadow Pipit who I think was surprised to see me and seemed to be saying, 'Stand and deliver'!



 

 Then I came to this building where I stood for at least 10 minutes watching this Starling with food in its mouth, fly up to the gable and cling to the wall each time just missing the eves where I think the chicks were.  The amount of energy he/she used in doing this was incredible. On my way back from the walk, he/she was still doing the same thing.



Below is a very handsome Lesser Black backed Gull that obviously used that perch before, by the looks of the droppings.


 I think this lovely bright white flower below is a wild rose.  They were just starting to bloom now.


Although some of the letters have disappeared from this sign I think you can read it.  You can hire bicycles on the island from John and Jennifer at the hostel.


 There are lovely stone walls all over the isladn and on one of these I found this snail.


 Over the wall I was greeted by these cows and caves. 
This calf below seemed to be saying, 
"What is this lady doing pointing a camera at me so early in the morning, before I even get me eyes open''!



As you will hear on the video, I turn right and am now climbing up a hilly road and looking back to this idyllic peaceful view.  No one else but me is up so it feels like this is my very own island.


This is as far as I am taking you today but will leave you with the video of this walk.   It can be accessed at



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We will continue the walk tomorrow, when we will see more birds, the Irish Hare and wild Orchids. 

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Very many thanks to ALL of you who left comments yesterday. I appreciate every one and am disappointed that my replies are still disappearing.

You can find more bird posts at Wild Bird Wednesday. WBW

19 comments:

  1. especially like the Pipit Margaret and the beautiful scenery; I enjoyed your video also and the eiders out in the water etc.

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  2. Hi Carole I am so glad you joined me on the walk and enjoyed it as much as me. Thanks you for commenting. Margaret

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  3. Lovely scenery and the Pipit is pretty. I also love the snail and the cute cows. Great photos, have a happy day!

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  4. The meadow pipit was lovely and also the cow pic. There is something magical about being up so early in summer, the land feels different, especially if you are the only one up and about.

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  5. Beautiful scenery and a great series of birds. The Pipit on the fence post is my favorite too.

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  6. I am partial to your sleepy cow shot, though they are all lovely photos, I enjoyed the video, such a gorgeous place.

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  7. Great to see someone else use video as part of a hike. I've just started. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  8. Such a lovely place for birding and walking. I always appreciate hearing the song of the birds.

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  9. i love the stone walls. the pipit is cute! and you have some serious barbed wire, there! wow!

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  10. It's a place I've never been (Rathlin) Margaret but it looks like I should put it on my "To Go To" list, especially for that idyllic view.

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  11. Hello Margaret, it's lovely meeting you and I've enjoyed this visit. You have a lovely blog and I have also enjoyed this one on your trip around the island. Great video too.
    Thank you for visiting my blog and I look forward to coming back.
    Happy day to you.
    Denise
    An English Girl Rambles

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  12. Beautiful photos. I love the starling hanging on the wall.

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  13. I love your video, it is a beauty.

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  14. Such a wonderful place with nature to stimulate the senses! I like how the starling hung on the edge of the wall..

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  15. Lovely pictures and video.It would be so enjoyable to walk along beside you and get a personal tour of the area.

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  16. Nice. You have spotted beautiful birds on your way.

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  17. That was a lovely walk!
    Love the Pipit on the fence post with the barbed wire. He knew where to pose.
    Awesome snail shot - what a gorgeous shell!
    The expression on the cow is priceless. :)
    Lovely post!

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  18. What a beautiful place to spend time in. The descriptions of your walks and the videos make very interesting viewing. I love the shots of the meadow pipit in this posting. Thank you for sharing.

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