Close encounters of the furry kind

A trip out to look for Otters in decent light was reasonably productive. Riding shotgun with Doc it wasn't too long before we came across our first Otter. A squad of Oystercatchers kept their distance...

...and a Shag kept it's eye on us...

...as the Otter swam by.

Another otter was seen in the distance and heading our way - it wasn't too long before they were together and they headed for the holt.

Another Otter was seen a bit further along and this one had an obvious kink in it's tail. With high tide fast approaching it was no surprise that this one headed into a holt too. A well marked Rock Pipit was flitting along the shore as we headed back to the car.

A few Slavonian Grebe were seen on the loch with just one of them coming close enough for a shot.

A Dipper was seen keeping a low profile behind a rock...

...and a flock of Teal were hugging the shoreline on the high tide.

We had lunch beside a 30 strong flock of Curlew...

...a Sparrowhawk landed on a post right next to the car so there was no chance of getting a photo of that while the Golden Eagle was a bit too far!

White-tailed Eagle, another Sparrowhawk, two more Otters that were a bit distant were all seen before we managed some close encounters of the furry kind. We spotted an Otter heading for shore with a crab but it hid itself away in the rocks to eat it's catch. A bit of patience and it was back out fishing again then back to shore and into the rocks. Back into the water again and then it brought a crab onto a rock - much better!

It certainly had a good spot for catching crabs.