Sunday, 11 March 2012

High Street, Golden Eagle and Common Frogs

It's very difficult to put into words what a gloriously beautiful day it was on Riggindale Crag and High Street in the Lake District today. Absolutely ideal for walking, there wasn't a breath of wind until we reached the very summit of High Street, it was cloudless and warm enough to walk in a T-shirt. I don't think I've ever experienced a more perfect day in the Lake District.
According to the Met Office, the weather on the peaks was the result of a "significant temperature inversion", which basically means that it got warmer the higher you climbed rather than colder which is the norm.
We were lucky enough to see the resident Golden Eagle, but perhaps the stars of the day were the hundreds of spawning Common Frogs, some of them on Riggindale Crag itself.
After our walk we headed to a pub at Askham and then had a walk along the River Lowther, where we saw three Dippers and a Goosander.




Riggindale Crag and High Street. It was cloudless, and so still that the water was like a mirror.


Looking up Riggindale Crag towards High Street.


Looking towards Helvelyn from the summit of High Street.


There were lots of Ravens today, with one soaring flock consisting of 15 birds.


Common Frogs in a pool on Riggindale Crag at a height of about 600m.


How do they survive in this place, 600m up and surrounded by cliffs on all sides? Goodness knows what the temperature might fall to in the winter.

1 comment:

  1. Nice one Colin, good to see you had a good day, unfortunatly I made the wrong decision and went over to the coast. There as no sun and a bitter wind, and I didn't get the Glaucous Gull I went for. You are one up on me as I haven't been over to the Eagle yet this year.
    All the best Gordon.

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