Enough education for one year...here comes the summer!!

Allot has happened since my last post. I have been on the much planned and awaited Scotland expedition to Ardnamurchan, famously known for being the most westerly point on the British mainland. It was absolutely brilliant, completely worth the wait of a year in the planning and the footage we as group managed to film I personally feel very pleased with and certainly made a good wildlife documentary once it had all been edited together. Highlights included otters, mink, sea eagles, pine marten and many more besides. The blog we kept during our stay http://www.expeditionardnamurchan.blogspot.com/ for those that never followed our posts live as it were remains a great record of our experiences.
Assignments flowed in fast after we had returned and everyone was feeling the pressure by the end of it. I have been presenting, recording, writing, filming and editing my way through this past month nonstop. One of those times when it feels like there's never enough hours in a day, until now at least. All my assignments are finished, done and dusted, another year over. The change in tempo from 70mph sleep is for wimps now finish this assignment speed suddenly breaking into a 5mph amble you have no assignments left is a little strange. But now I am a man with time on my hands, what to do...what to do? I'll find something...

Drigg dunes, West Cumbrian coast, a fall on your feet film location.

As part of a final media assignment we were given the brief to create a 10minute documentary. With the idea of coastal sites in mind I first found myself at North Walney as the South end was not served by public transport. A good day for Wind surfers it seemed with so many out on the waves it was beginning to look like a kite festival out there. The site was perfect to illustrate my film ideas. Skylark, stone chat, meadow pipits and a great view of a male linnet showing off its crimson chest. Two family's of Canada geese both with six or so goslings in formation also provided welcome film subjects.

Drigg dunes however was the star location. Kept fairly undisturbed by its remoteness well for England in any case, its sands and habitats were much more defined and cinematic shall we say. Northern dune tiger beetle populations looked to be very good over all the sandy areas of the site. I also found better areas of flowering plants that attracted various species of blues butterfly's. The site supported better numbers of skylark with their song filling the air regularly. I can see this site growing on me as it's such a fine location.