Pheasant chicks.

Mother pheasant has been a regular visitor proudly showing off her chicks as they eat under the bird table and run around the ornaments. There were originally 11 of them but at the last count this morning there were still 8 left alive and very frisky. Mother is very watchful of them and clucks quietly to round them all up while they give off high pitched squeaks. Needless to say father is nowhere in sight and one of two of them are real independent little souls and she has to patiently go after them.

Beautiful sunset on Loch Ness.

Glorious weather all week plus a beautiful sunset....say no more !

Where have all the sunflowers gone ?

Every morning lately we are greeted with the high pitched squeaking noise of a swarm of siskin finches waiting for the sunflower heart feeders to be topped up. They wait noisily in the nearby trees until I replenish the feeders and then they attach themselves for dear life to the roundabout nearly biting my hand off in the process. The rather scraggy speckled youngsters make the highest pitched noise. We've had to buy another feeder as our regular popular visitor is Cyril the squirrel who scares the birds away by his sheer size and acrobatic skills. We have a stream of squirrels visit during the day but they all go by the name of Cyril. As you can see the red squirrels shed their lovely long ear tufts once a year in early Summer. In late Autumn they grow a thicker darker Winter coat and grow their characteristic long ear tufts to help keep the warmth in. The squirrels are very impatient and will try the nut feeders as well as the bird table for anything else to eat until the catering service is open for business.
Fascinating red squirrel facts

Great spotted woodpecker.

The male Great spotted woodpecker has been a frequent visitor to the nut feeders cramming its beak full of food before taking it back to the nest somewhere nearby in Farigaig Forest. Only realised just how large it is compared to the smaller female siskin feeding nearby.

Bullfinch.

On Saturday as we were working at the cottage we suddenly saw the unmistakable brilliant flash of a male bullfinch by the car port. He was soon joined by a rather dull coloured female and was very protective of his partner, even fiercely chasing off another admirer before returning to her side and watching over her. We watched fascinated as they collected the soft remains from the dandelion flowers for their nest.

'Contrast' Restaurant.

Enjoyed a second visit to the 'Contrast' restaurant situated on Ness Bank on the south side of the River Ness in Inverness.Weather not so good today so nobody at the outside tables although last time we visited it was quite busy. This restaurant serves a very good lunch and is part of the Glenmoriston House Hotel which also encompasses the 'Abstract' restaurant adjacent-evening meals only. It has large windows looking onto the River Ness ensuring a light and airy atmosphere. The service is friendly and the choice of dishes is very tempting. We both chose the Highland Red Deer Fillet and it was absolutely delicious. As it is opposite the Eden Court Theatre they also do a pre-theatre meal from 5-6.30.