The Dawn Patroller has returned from his jaunt to Edinburgh. Seeing the three daughters who live there and lots of happenings at the Edinburgh Festival. Possibly, nay definitely, another post.
Not doing
much Dawn Patrolling as he has a trapped nerve in his back he still
manages the odd foray out to capture the wild life hereabouts.
Cairnbulg Harbour, with Fraserburgh in the distance, a Heron surveys.
Watching the comings and goings.
As does the Buzzard from a fence post inland.
Returning home, yet another caterpillar moving up the front door. Presumably the fairly frequent opening and closing of said door deters them from making a chrysallis. But on the window frames which dont have much movement we are hoping to do our bit for the future of the butterfly as they do spin themselves a jacket.
Our Basking Shark has not made an appearance the last two days, but here is one more photograph of our star of the week.
I have been busy closing down the Sea Bird Exhibition at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses. Doing lots of tedious jobs, counting up the Visitors Votes for Best in Show. Which is going to one young 8 year old whose entire extended family came in and voted for him....... Trying to work out who exactly bought all the sold pictures as there they hang with red dots, there is no money in the till, and no details of who has actually said ,
"I want to buy that one."
Think I will stick to just doing my own thing, so back in action down the shedudio.
Bask - to lie in the warmth or sunshine is one meaning, another from the Viking language is to bathe.
The DP had not ever seen a Basking Shark. Well I did ! From the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses Cafe. So - along he came and got this picture.
Wikepedia:
The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark, and the second of three plankton-eating sharks, the other two being the whale shark and megamouth shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations to filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged mouth and highly developed gill rakers.
The shape of its snout is conical and the gill slits extend around the
top and bottom of its head. The gill rakers are dark and bristle-like
and are used to catch plankton as water filters through the mouth and
over the gills. The basking shark is usually greyish-brown in color with
mottled skin. The caudal (tail) fin has a strong lateral keel and a
crescent shape. The teeth of the basking shark are very small and
numerous and often number one hundred per row. The teeth themselves have
a single conical cusp, are curved backwards and are the same on both
the upper and lower jaws.
Basking sharks are a migrating species and are believed to overwinter
in deep waters. They may occur in either small schools or alone. Small
schools in the Bay of Fundy and the Hebrides
have been seen swimming nose to tail in circles in what may be a form
of mating behavior. Despite their large size and threatening appearance,
basking sharks are not aggressive and are harmless to people.
It has long been a commercially important fish, as a source of food, shark fin, animal feed, and shark liver oil. Overexploitation has reduced its populations to the point where some have disappeared and others need protection.
The DP then went off to Edinburgh for a few days.
While he was gone we watched from the Lighthouse Cafe and SEVEN Basking Sharks appeared.
We had so many sight seers inside the cafe and down on the shoreline, including the Police, as some idiot decided to swim out to them, which is really not on, but he did get some amazing pictures.
It has really been amazing to see these creatures.
My trustee meetings with the Business Manager this week have taken place sitting on a bench looking out to the sea and watching these fish. Everyone is talking about this, sharing, we are all basking in the glory of nature.
