Cormorant

There's something sinister-looking about cormorants, particularly when they're perched on some crooked old tree. Today's blip was going to be a flower until I saw this quite late on when walking the dogs.

Cormorants are persona non grata among many anglers because they eat lots of fish. This was fine when they did most of their fishing in the sea but since we came along and netted out much of their food, they have come inland and prey heavily now on freshwater species. Yes, the poor birds get blamed again for things that people do.

Well cormorants have to live too and I can't get too stressed about them hanging around the canal. But they're risking things when they come near salmon waters. A few ghillies I know have their own views on conservation, not the sort you hear about or see on Countryfile.

So be careful Mr Cormorant, you are being watched.

I'm keeping an eye on the weather on Deeside and think it might be raining (hooray! Sorry Deeside blippers) for the next few days. The water levels need to go up and that should help bring the fish up next week. The conditions are rarely perfect for fishing, but we live in hope.