Back on line!

More problems with the internet have caused a bit of frustration but hopefully all is well now.  The weather hasn't been that good and with Christmas looming there have been other things to do. A small, dark wader had me grabbing the camera on Tuesday. The weather was filthy so I'm surprised the photo is as good as it is - it's a nicely marked Purple Sandpiper.

I've not really seen them away from their usual rocky shoreline habitat so it was interesting to see this one paddling around with the Ringed Plover flock. It wasn't going to get any brighter but I had a run out anyway. A young Common Seal looked more like a carcase from a distance but you can see it's a lively little cutie.

Next up was a Kestrel with it's lunch. I couldn't get near it but the distant shots were good enough and there was rain approaching.

I'm not sure when the next blog post will be so I'll take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Predictably, I'll leave you with a Robin. Good times.

Mixed up.

Thursday - what can I say? LOOK.......AT........THAT!!!

I'm not sure what's happening in that photo - what is that blue stuff? The white stuff came from the grey stuff that's normally where the blue stuff is now and someone has polished the grey choppy stuff at the bottom to make it look like a mirror! I might be confused about it but I think I like it. It was that calm you could see the birds on the loch a mile away but something a bit closer would be nice. A search for an Otter was an easy one but despite getting well in front of it, it never came close. A Raven perched in a tree was keeping an eye on the attempt.

With the better light another attempt was made on the Dipper. A bit frustrating to start with as the Dipper stayed in the shaded areas but it got into the sun eventually.

A WT Eagle flew past while waiting for the Dipper to perform.

Surprisingly the weather turned quickly, the cloud rolled in and the threat of rain was there. Three Otters were seen sleeping on a rock so a change of plan was in order. Chasing the light seemed a good idea but it didn't help with the sightings. Another hour closer to sunset and the only poser was a Red Deer stag.

A site for Golden Eagle might have been worth a go but checking on where the three Otters were was a good call as they were on the move. A quick dash down to the waters edge gave some excellent views and some photos too. Here they are watching the traffic go by.

The Red-breasted Mergansers were not too far away and the males were displaying.

The Otters were feeding well - I like the spray of water as this one chomps down on the fish. 

One last effort for the day was to get a look at three Golden Eagles (cheers Janis). The birds were found easy enough but a combination of the rain starting and the late hour had the birds heading off before too long.

Passenger.

Wednesday wasn't too bad a day so a run out was in order. Just for a change I was the passenger as Steve had offered to take me out. First in front of the camera was a Greenshank - as you can see there wasn't enough light yet.

It was getting brighter by the minute so the Great Northern Diver didn't come out too bad.

We did locate an Otter but it was heading away from us so we pressed on. A bit of time was spent looking at a Dipper before we headed off for the Iceland Gull - a new bird for Steve.

Another stop had us viewing a couple of distant WT Eagle. We finally got close to some eagles at our next stop. Initially there didn't seem to be anything happening but as we got to a place to park a large bird could be seen on the rocks. A quick look through the bins revealed a bit more - an adult WT Eagle plus two young birds. It wasn't too long before we found the reason for the gathering as three Otters broke the surface in front of the raptors. One of the young birds found something tasty to eat and took off. It showed great skill as it picked away at it's prize in mid air.

The eagles followed the Otters around often hovering above them when they caught a fish that was big enough to be brought ashore.

As the Otters moved off things settled down but we did have one more piece of action as we were leaving. A couple of eagles appeared in the air just as we pulled away, a bit of interaction as they touched talons and then moved off. I managed a couple of blurry shots and found that it had been a Golden Eagle chasing off one of the young WT Eagles - awesome stuff. The light was fading fast as the clouds started to roll in and the sun (what sun?!) was sinking towards the horizon. A juvenile Hen Harrier graced us with it's presence as we were heading back. A cracking way to finish the day - cheers Steve.