Migration

With a nice spell of settled conditions coming in from the north it was guaranteed to bring some of our winter birds with it. First stop of the day and we picked up a flock of 40 Barnacle Geese - excellent!

A bit of a look around gave us some of the commoner species- Linnet, Snipe, Greylag Goose, Common Seal - and then we bumped into another four Barnies but this time a bit closer and not flying...

...and just off to one side was a Mountain Hare.

A small flock of Whooper Swans were seen heading south but they were moving too quick to try for better views as was the Sparrowhawk that flew along the road in front of the motor. A visit to the beach threw up a couple of Northern Wheatear but the light wasn't great...

...and then I found the bird of the day. A flock of Chaffinch were feeding along the edge of the road, they started flying as we edged closer, a flash of white caught my eye because it wasn't on a Chaffinch wing. We waited for the flock to settle again and all of a sudden there was a Brambling sitting on the fence next to the motor! Nobody got a great view of it so we waited patiently for the bird to appear on the edge of the road - superb views.

With the sun shining we had a look for Adders but there was no sign of them but we did see a couple of Red Deer. A couple of GN Diver were seen at our next stop closely followed by Golden Plover, Greenshank, Redshank and Teal. A cracking female Hen Harrier was seen hunting.

The WT Eagles were playing hard to get but we eventually found one perched in a tree and it was soon joined by it's mate.

A Golden Eagle was seen soon after that and a second attempt for Adder produced a single one at their hibernating area. Five Whooper Swans were found as we headed back to base - cracking!

Winter or spring?

A day of two halves so I'll split this into two posts.
It was a calm and sunny morning so I thought it might turn up some singing migrant birds. First stop didn't produce any migrants at all but this Buzzard was keen to be the centre of attention!

I could see a couple of Otter back along the way so a bit of a leg stretch was called for. I was hiding behind a rock waiting for them to appear but it seemed to be taking a bit too long so they must be on the shore. I stuck my head up for a better view just as the two of them came trotting to the top of the rock. I had to stay down until I was sure they were back in the water before grabbing a few shots.

On my way to sunnier spot for migrants I saw a mostly white Mountain Hare at the side of the road. The Common Seal seemed to be enjoying themselves - do they ever look any different?

The trees were bursting into leaf and I caught a couple of glimpses of what was certainly a Willow Warbler but it was right in line with the sun, 'It's bound to sing in a minute' thought I. I walked a reasonable way down the path then turned back so the sun was behind me - not a sign of the Willow Warbler. A few Goldfinch were flitting about and one perched in the open briefly.

Next up was another winter visitor - I heard the bird call a couple of times but I couldn't see it. A bird flicked into view and I saw a male Brambling just before it flicked further up into a Larch tree. As you can see from the photograph, unmistakably a male Brambling!

Another winter bird is the Great Northern Diver but at least do they stay here long enough to get their summer plumage.

Just after photographing that bird I had a touch of spring when the Willow Warbler burst into song and a lone Barn Swallow flew around. The local Robins seem to have paired up and were keen to do some fly catching and display on a wall.

Half a dozen Wild Goats were seen enjoying the sunshine and eating the seaweed...

...and a final sign that spring isn't totally here was the sighting of a couple of Red Deer stags with antlers. Winter or spring? Make up your own mind.