Australian connection

For two weeks I am privileged to welcome my mate Simon from Australia to stay in Maalie Court, from where we can explore the English Lake District by birding and hiking expeditions. (You can read accounts of my own visits to Simon in Australia here).

Easter dinner to welcome Simon to Maalie Court: pot-roast joint of silverside beef (at the back) with roast vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and dumplings

One of our first excursions was to visit the RSPB bird reserve at St Bees Head, where towering sea cliffs are breeding sites for thousands of sea birds.

Simon in "birdwatching mode"

Simon explores the tide line of Fleswick Bay at the foot of the towering cliffs of St Bees Head

From the top of the cliffs we observe a pair of Razorbills engaged in courtship behaviour.

Groups of Guillemots occupy cliff ledges...

...whilst a Fulmar (the eponymous Maalie) flies past to see if we are up to no good

And to finish the day, what better than afternoon coffee in a tea room... (Or was it a couple of pints in the Black Dog? Maybe I got the pictures mixed up ;-)