Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay.

Osprey Sculpture at Spey Bay.
On our recent holiday on Speyside paid a visit to the Scottish Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay. Unfortunately, it was cold and windy and not a great day for wild life watching. However, the centre was still well worth a visit, with a good exhibition area, shop and café.

I particularly liked the sculptures and art-work surrounding the centre.

Scallop shells decorating a wall.

Couldn't resist this little dolphin wood carving in the shop. The base is particularly interesting, as it is formed from a parasitic plant, a mushroom-like growth that imbeds itself into the bark of a chinaberry tree and gets its nourishment from the sap. The tree is native to Asia. These parasitic growths are so hard and dense that they don't decay when the tree is dead and rots away. The growths can be picked up and carved. Bali is well-known for these carvings.

The underside of the base showing the mushroom-like structure.