Course

We are off to explore the River Earn Walk (Perthshire, Scotland) . . .

The walk is beautiful no matter what the season.  Different seasons allow for different sights.

The field with the standing stone (Dargill Standing Stone) in it, has to be passed at the start of the walk.  Hold your nose, if it is sunny, as you then have to pass the sewage works!  The path along the side of the standing stones often has small birds on it.  It is a good place for seeing small flowers, the white of greater stitchwort with a few bluebells and red campion.  You will often meet a robin here as well.  

At the end of this field, by the wooden bench, you will see wild flowers and in the Summer butterflies and bees.  Depending on the crop in the field, you can see many ringlet butterflies here. 

Down the slope check the river for dippers then along the path with small birds such as willow warblers, great tits, blue tits, chaffinches, wrens etc.  Keep an ear open as there are kingfishers about although harder to spot here because of the trees.  In the Summer this part of the path can be have bees, damselflies and butterflies.

Around the corner and over the slightly wobbly bridge onto the path along the farm fields.  There are lovely big old oak trees along this path.  The first big oak tree that you come to, is my favourite.  If you look down to the river at this spot you will most probably see ducks, perhaps some goosanders and maybe a heron sitting up on the tree on the other side of the river.  From now on keep a close eye out for a stunning streak of electric bluey green which would be the kingfisher flashing by.  They fly over the surface of the water, quite low down the banks and go very fast.  I was once lucky enough to see a weasel here.  It was happily trotting and bouncing along the path until it saw me.  It stopped, we both looked at each other and off it went, all far too quickly for me to get a photo. 

At this spot, you may also see smaller birds, a robin, wren, tits, chaffinches, I even saw a nuthatch here once.  Sometimes you can see a treecreeper.  The treecreeper starts at the bottom of a tree and works it’s way up spiralling round the tree then flies to the next one (a nuthatch works it’s way up or down).  If you can learn the sound of the treecreeper’s song, then you will hear them before you see them.  They can be quite well camouflaged.  The way to spot one is, usually, when they fly to the next tree. 

All along this path in the summer you can see damselflies on hot, still days especially in earlier summer.  There are bees, butterflies, ladybirds and other insects to see as well.  There are often wild flowers growing here as long as the cattle havn’t been along.  There can be cuckoo flowers here in the spring so watch out for orange tip butterflies who lay their eggs on these flowers.  One egg to a flower as their caterpillars are actually cannibals!  The orange tip butterflies have the most stunning camouflage pattern on the underside of their wings.  In the field, depending on the crop for that year, you can see heron, crows and sometimes deer.  As you walk along the path keep your ears open as it sometimes possible to hear a woodpecker.  I have even heard a cuckoo here.

The river from here, right along, can have ducks, a kingfisher, swans etc and if you are very lucky you could maybe spot an otter.  There are beavers all along this river.  Apparently it is best to see them at night but you will most definitely see the signs of them with large teeth marks in wooden stumps and the bark of large trees eaten all along this walk.

In this and the next field, look out for various moths when the grass is long.  They can be hard to find, once settled, but are worth it for their interesting markings. 

Behind you is a view of Turleum Hill and on a clear day you should be able to see Drummond Castle in the distance behind some farm buildings.  In this field, in the winter, there are often large flocks of geese.  You will hear them long before you see them on the ground.  You can also hear and spot them flying in their amazing V formations and getting ready to land and join the larger flock.

Watch a video that I took of the geese one cold winter morning.  I don't usually get to see this many but they often flock on the fields here in the winter.  They are incredible the way they move as one.
The Geese

Go through the gate and carry on through the narrow path looking out for the kingfisher at the river and many small birds in the trees.  As the path begins to widen there are brambles, gorse* etc along the top part where you will hear and see many birds such as yellowhammers.  Have a look into the farm fields when you get a chance here, as there are often heron in the fields.

*Gorse and broom have very similar yellow flowers.  Gorse has very spiny needles whereas if you think of the broom as a broom you can tell it apart easily, it’s stems have no spines.  The gorse can flower from January onwards, broom is later from about April and more an early summer flower.

The Gorse:

The Broom:

Gorse	Broom

Walk along the track, through the grass, watch out for the cows if they are about.  I’ve found the best way to deal and cope with the cattle is to walk on slowly and not look at them at all.  They are inquisitive and if you look at them, then they begin to come over to see who you are and what you are up to.

Note the dipper’s eyes, sometimes in photos you will see them white.  The dipper will disappear under water for a while then re-emerge slightly away from where it went down.  Apparently, they can stay under water for up to 30 seconds.  They have transparent eyelids which they can use like goggles to see under water. 

If sitting quietly around this stretch of the river you may get to see the ducks, mostly mallard around here, with their ducklings.  In the summer you can see swallows and swifts darting and swooping over the surface of the river catching the insects.  If you look up in the sky you may see a buzzard, listen out for their distinctive call, then you can identify it from it’s wing markings.  If you look much higher up in the sky you might be lucky enough to see a red kite, I have occasionally spotted an osprey passing, hopefully we will get more of them as time goes on.

Female Mallard with Ducklings	Buzzard

Moving on through the small section of bushes, at the stones, keep your eyes open in the Summer for the butterflies, wild flowers, ladybirds etc in this section.  The tiny small copper is often found here.  It can be difficult to spot at first, as they are much smaller than the other butterflies around.  Walking through the stones to the other side, you might pass various small birds, willow warblers and blue tits in the willows by the river, wrens, yellow hammers and goldfinches on the various shrubs.  Nearer the end of this patch are some buddleia which the birds often sit on the top of and the butterflies love.  Many butterflies can be found around here on the flowers and also resting and sunning themselves on the stones.  There are many peacock butterflies, white and small tortoiseshell butterflies. The orange tip butterflies are out earlier in the year than the buddleia.  I have also seen a few comma butterflies and red admirals. 

Goldcrest

 This short, narrow stretch of path is full of wild flowers and butterflies, gorse, bees and bumble bees.  In the winter you can often find various different birds eating the berries from the bushes here, finches, fieldfares, blackbirds etc.  There are dunnocks, wrens, yellow hammers, chaffinches and sometimes bullfinches around this area too.

Go through the gate into the next field.  There is a narrower stretch of grassy area to walk along here.  Look down at the stony areas beside the river for wagtails, ducks, goosander, in the river for swans and across to the other bank for the kingfisher.  Along the fence at the other side of this track you may see the yellowhammers again.  Look out for the heron here as well.  I once got a brief glimpse of a mouse here, there are certainly rodents among the long grass as I got a photo of a heron catching one.

In the late Summer and Autumn, when the fields have been harvested, if you look slowly and carefully you will often spot a buzzard sitting on top of one of the hay bales.  Look around the hay bales for crows, herons and buntings. 

You will soon reach a stony and shrubby area with willows.  Many of the small birds can be seen here along with, on hot days, butterflies, damselflies and even a dragonfly.  Settle down on the stony area and watch the river.  If you sit and wait quietly you might be lucky enough to see a kingfisher.  There are grey, and pied wagtails to be seen here too.  Moving to summer you can hear and see the sandpiper and if you look at the opposite banks of the river you will see the sand martins zooming and flitting in and out of their nest holes and swooping above and over the river.  In this area I have been lucky enough to see an otter.  There are many signs of the beavers here as well. 

Kingfisher

While sitting you will often hear and sometimes be lucky enough to see the large fish jumping.  The river in the Summer has swarms of midges over it in places.  At the edges of the river you will also, on warm days, see shoals of hundreds of tiny minnows that all move as one, swerving about if you move.  Look over the other side and sometimes, on that side, you may see a woodpecker, you will certainly hear it first.  Heron, oyster catchers and buzzards can be seen flying past.  The sound of the swans flying past is an amazing sound to hear, very powerful.

You can carry on the walk, following the river or following the path to the right off to Benny Beg but I will stay here and watch and listen to the wonderful and peaceful world down by the river.

Bye for now I hope you enjoyed the journey.

Here are some fun quizzes for you to try after you have finished your Virtual Walk:

References

You can see many more of my photos in my BsPhotos Facebook page and  my BsPhotos Blog:

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Disclaimer:   All the photos and text in this course are created by and belong to Blanche Haddow.