Not even a fleeting glimpse

Dec 12th 2012

     The atmospherics on the top of Pendle Hill yesterday were wonderful on this early winters day. This was our second climb to the top in the last 2 weeks to view the Snow Buntings which periodically visit Pendle Hill during the winter months, we've only ever seen them on the Cairngorm Plateau up in Scotland during the summer months. A telephone message from Terry, a keen ornithologist informed us of their location and numbers, so it was up and over Pendle again to see this winter visitor. We arrived at the right location but nothing, not even a fleeting glimpse, they'd  moved on, we'd only just missed them, so nothing remains but to go again another day.

            Even though we missed the birds we were rewarded by clear distant views on our first visit and atmospheric mists yesterday which always makes the effort worthwhile.

     A few shots from our first walk over Pendle

                                     The distant Lakeland fells

               Pendleside towns with the Pennine hills in the distance

Yesterday's visit

                       Across the Ribble Valley to Ingleborough

A mixture of valley mist and the smoke from the Clitheroe Cement Works atmospheric, but polluting.

                                         The wider scene

The late afternoon sun and the calm air made this an outing that was well worth the effort

Various shots along the east edge of Pendle hill looking south into the Calder Valley

Spawning Time Again

Wed, 5th Dec, 2012
                    In the last week in Nov.we always explore along the banks of the River Ribble and some of it's many tributaries up here in Lancashire.
          I've always been fascinated by the return of the Salmon to the rivers of their birth from as far away as the seas around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, it's something of a miracle that these fish have the ability to find their way back through the vast oceans.