Duck weather

It's the usual January weather - mostly overcast. The sunny days do make up for it though. A quick trip out in the sunshine didn't produce a great deal but it was nice to see the Oystercatchers wandering around protecting their mates and making a lot of noise.

The local WT Eagles were sitting out on an island too far away for a decent shot but still an impressive sight.

The usual signs that spring is approaching Robins singing, Starlings in subsong...

...and the RB Mergs doing a lot of displaying.

The rainy days have been good for the ducks like this Common Teal standing in a slightly sheltered spot.

Just to make sure that you know that winter isn't over yet we get another covering of snow - it'll soon be spring!!

New Family

I had a nice start to the day when a male Hen Harrier was flying around outside the shop...

...then a few Red Deer wandered across the road.

A bit later in the morning I had a superb encounter with a family of Otters. They were just hauling out of the water when I caught sight of them. One of the cubs looked like it was suckling at one point but seeing them trying to sleep on mum was a bit special.

They were almost scared off when a Shag surfaced nearby then took off with a clatter but they soon settled down again.

A bit chilly

We had an early run out and found a few Red Deer sleeping at the side of the road in the snow. The sun wasn't up so it was a bit dark at the time.

The sun did come out a bit later on which gave us a chance to get a few more snaps. The Common Crossbills are present every day at Pennyghael Stores.

There are loads of Grey Heron as usual so getting one with a fish is something different so worth getting the camera out.

We were watching an Otter feeding just offshore and this Greenshank came wandering past.

The views were just awesome too...

 ...but you have to be quick because the snow won't stay too long beside the sea.

It's not that often that you get ice in the sea - brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

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Stormy

The weather over the last few days has been stormy to say the least. It does nothing for the amount of sightings that you get unless there is a hard weather movement - there hasn't been! It has pushed some of the commoner birds into the open though. Redshank feeding at the side of the road...

...Little Grebe feeding in the shallows near the road...

...Meadow Pipits can be difficult to find in the winter months as they stay in cover.

Stonechats have been hard to come by since the wind picked up but four birds in the same area just shows that they are sticking together.

Reed Buntings are usually easy to find in hard conditions but I can't find any at the moment but there does seem to be a few Skylarks on show.

I got a fleeting view of a Snow Bunting on the side of the road but I couldn't relocate it after getting out of the motor - the Red Deer were keen to see what I was doing though!

Bliss

I saved a couple of photos of the Otter for this post. It had a good look round...

...before rolling about in the seaweed - bliss.

I took a photograph of the view as we were forecast to get some snow...

...and they were right - not as much snow as I thought though.

Out on an errand I picked up a few more year ticks. Shelduck was a nice one to see as were a few Wigeon.

Find of the day had to be the Glaucous Gull as it doesn't hang around for long.

Lilo

The wild weather is not the best for birding but it has to blow something interesting in! I'll settle for the common stuff to keep me going for now. A Lapwing was a first for the year...

...as was this Meadow Pipit. No wonder they are hard to see!

Any bird that is snorkeling makes you look twice in case it's an Otter. This Red-breasted Merganser...

...just happened to have an Otter fishing just behind it.

Always nice to get on the lilo too.

Most of the birds I saw flying were going backwards in the wind so this Buzzard is just about to join the backward club!

White out

There were 4 Crossbills hanging around the shop in the morning. I could hear a bird singing but I couldn't see it until I looked through the binoculars. You can see the open beak as it lets fly with another burst of song.

I nipped out for an hour in the morning and picked up a few year ticks - Pheasant, Stonechat, Black-headed Gull - but best of all was a White-tailed Eagle perched in a conifer.

It was a spectacular sight when it took off and put all the gulls up.

I had a quick look through the crowd of gulls and picked up a bird with white wings! I followed the bird until it landed then set off in pursuit. It was nice to find this bird still on the shore - a cracking Iceland Gull.

2015

A steady start to the year with a bit of birding from the garden. White-tailed Eagle was the highlight but it was distant while in the garden there were plenty of Goldfinch...

...and a few Blackbirds too.

It was a bit dull today but as I was sent on an errand I took the birding equipment with me too. A cracking Golden Eagle was seen hunting by the road.

It's not too often that you see them perched on a post but it does happen...

...and if you are going to get yourself noticed you will get some unwanted attention!

No sign of the WF geese today but there was a 200 strong flock of Barnacle Geese.

Plenty of Rock Doves on show...

...plus lots of Rooks and a few Jackdaws.

I had driven past these Common Seals in the morning but I gave them a closer look on my way back.