A bit of spring in the snow.

The weatherman said Saturday would be quite blustery with snow showers later in the day - he wasn't wrong. On Sunday enough snow had fell overnight to cover the higher ground but the roads were fairly clear. We had a quick look for the adult type Iceland Gull I'd seen on Friday but we only connected with the 2nd winter bird again along with 20 White-fronted Geese. A flock of 20 Lapwing were a nice find as this Song Thrush added some music to the scene.

The temperature peaked at 8 degrees on lower ground but a bit colder near the higher ground. The Red Deer seemed to be round every corner in the morning but as the snow disappeared they were heading back to their usual grazing areas.

A walk on the beach next to try for better photos of the Glaucous Gulls. We passed a small flock of Greylag Geese that gave us a fly past about 10 minutes later.

We could see one Glaucous Gull in fields too distant for photos and another on the beach. As we approached the bird on the beach another Glauc came flying in and another flew over the top - four birds in total. Of the two on the beach, one swam off and the other perched on a rock to bring up a pellet.

Another change of location and another walk gave up a few more treats. First off was a nosey Great Tit.

There were plenty more Red Deer and a Golden Eagle perched on top of a very thin looking Larch. Best of all was to see an Adder out in the snow - I know it's not a lot of snow but it's not often you get both together!

We found our first lump of Frog spawn this year and, just so you can see how cold it is, this is covered in ice.

We had a nice view of a female Hen Harrier on the way home but I was hoping to catch up with an Otter. We checked a few places with no luck but finally we picked up a distant one. A bit of a wait as it made it's way towards me and eventually up on the shore.

Gulls.

Friday was supposed to be a real stinker from the off but with no sign of rain it would be silly to waste it. A bit of a random journey with nothing in particular in mind but it just happened to turn into a gull day. First up was an Iceland Gull that flew in front of the motor and off into the distance. It looked grey on the wings so certainly near adult and one I will have to find again soon for a better look. It did leave a friend behind - another Iceland Gull, 2nd winter bird.

Good numbers of Herring Gull waiting for the Sheep to be fed.

The Common Gulls seemed a bit flighty today and always on the move so no photos of them. Next up was a particularly menacing Great Black-backed Gull that had just finished it's lunch.

It was just starting to rain by now and the light was going fast but I could see another white-winged gull in the distance. This bird wasn't happy with the approach of other gulls so it took flight a couple of times and settled on the beach before it was close enough for a photo.

It wasn't long before the bird was flying again.

The rain was fairly steady by now so I didn't try to get any closer to a second Glaucous Gull that was lingering in the fields.

a good haul of gulls for the day.

Stuck in the mud.

Wednesday started off with plenty of rain but it soon broke up into occasional showers. I stood and watched this Raven for a good half an hour as it paraded around the tree displaying and calling.

The bird certainly looked very smart in the sunshine but I couldn't find the bird that this one was displaying to. I guess the other bird was on the nest not too far away. The Red-breasted Mergansers are fairly well paired up now but this just increases the displaying as the males try to keep their females. Plenty of splashing about too...

...but it's worth it when you look this good.

Thursday was a bit gloomy but just bright enough to get some photos. First off was a WT Eagle perched in a tree - I could see a wing tag on this one so a closer look was required. It turned out to be one of the East coast re-introduction birds but I'd seen this one before in April 2010. I needed to find a closer spot for a photograph and I knew just the place - through the wood. I made a great error going into the wood as I didn't have my laces tied properly and as I sunk into the first bit of soft ground, off came the first boot, a bit of forward momentum and off came the second boot. I'm not a small bloke and I sink fast in boggy ground so I just had to keep going to the other side!! My boots were stuck so I just carried on to take a couple of shots.

I did manage to find an easier way out of the wood and I rescued my boots. I kept an eye on the bird for an hour or so and as soon as I took my eye off it, it disappeared! I could hear the shore birds calling so something was unsettling them and as I turned to look a Grey Heron was cruising over the shore and another, different kind of bird was breaking the sky line. I could see this was another, younger, WT Eagle and it was heading my way and off towards where the other bird had been.

After a change of clothes and some clean boots I was back out in the afternoon taking a few photographs of the pale Common Buzzard...

...and a cracking Great Northern Diver.

The Black-throated and Red-Throated Divers were both on show but way too far away for the camera. Not a lot else to crow about apart from the very dodgy internet connection I have at the moment hence the lack of posts. I'll leave the Hoodie to do the crowing for me.