Bird Life

On Sunday I climbed the Grey Corries .I slogged up Beinn Bhan then followed the easier slope  up to the summit ridge of Stob a Choire Claurigh.It was a warm and sunny day although cooler higher up .  Approaching the ridge  I saw a huge bird , a golden eagle soaring on the wind .We often see distant birds high up in the sky which we presume are eagles,but these sightings are debatable.On Sunday it was the real deal -I could see every feather on its outstretched wings as it turned and wheeled away. Every time I have seen an eagle close up I have been impressed not only by their breathtaking size but at the speed at which they can travel without any apparent effort, riding the air currents and manoeuvring with a twist of the wing.
Yesterday I was in Acharacle on another fine day listening to the birds singing ; willow warblers ,chiff chaffs and the occasional skylark .I heard my first cuckoo of the year! Considering that the cuckoo is such an unpleasant bird in its habits it is surprising the joy one feels on hearing its call for the first time . Most years I hear my first cuckoo whilst running in the Highland Fling Race close to Conic Hill ,this Spring it was a few days earlier.
A lady in Acharacle told me that there had been a hoopoe in the village last week; a rare and exotic visitor which trumps hearing a cuckoo!

The Sound of Mull from Lochaline

Hills on the road from Corran to Strontian

On the way back to Fort William I dropped in to the ever inspiring Resipole Studios. .The gallery owner Andrew Sinclair paints very fine figurative oils.Whenever I visit I discover more talented local artists.Yesterday  I was taken by some gouache mountain landscapes by Rodger Insh  an  artist I had never heard of before. They were tonally spot on  and beautifully detailed.Gouache lacks the transparency of watercolour so there is a danger that  the colours look dead or chalky however these pictures really glowed .There were also some large dramatic atmospheric oils by Rebbecca Collins- the sort of pictures with 'Wow factor' that stop you in your tracks from across the gallery.