There was something quite sinister about the way the rooks rose from Slains Castle as I approached.  A ruined castle with associations with Dracula and memories of Hitchcock’s chilling film.  The Birds certainly added to the atmosphere.   There was no one else around, just me and the birds.

I am just back from a few days holiday in the Black Isle.   One day I went for a walk with Lily the dog along the shore, near Cromarty.  There was a strong wind blowing, whipping up the usually sheltered waters of the Cromarty Firth.   A flock of rooks had settled in a nearby field. They saw us coming, and rose up over the water, just like at Slains.  it had been raining quite hard as I set out and I did not have my camera with me, but my phone came into its own and I captured this shot of the mouth of the firth with a oil supply boat running for shelter at Invergordon as the rooks circled.

It was gulls that suddenly rose up at Muir of Ord.   We were at a dog agility fun day, and all of a sudden the gulls took off.  I have no idea where they came from or what had stirred them up, but they certainly made an interesting picture with the hills of Sutherland behind.

But it was not just flocks of birds that drew my attention during our autumn holiday.  I was focussing on a dawn picture of the headland (called North Soutor) at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth.   The colours were delightful and I found the little tree interesting.  It was then that a bird, one of the bigger gulls, I think, flew into the picture – and added somewhat to the composition.

For several days I had been watching a grey heron who clearly claimed our part of the seashore at Cromarty as his own.  In the end, I caught him against the rising sun, standing on a weed covered sewage pipe.

I have been reading that there is a decline in the Oystercatcher population.  Certainly there were not all that many on the Cromarty beach that October week,  just three that I saw.  Here are two of them.

Perhaps it’s cheating, but I could not resist this bird photograph!   The Beach Cafe at Rosemarkie is well worth a visit.  On the  tables outside you will find these “birds of prey” watching over the beach.

If you would like to see more of my photographs from my Black isle holiday, have a look here.