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!!

Newcastle

A trip down to Newcastle to see the family saw us heading out into the countryside on the windiest day of our trip. The weather was nice enough and the fish and chips were a real treat! Cresswell Pond was a bit exposed so a few photos of the Common Teal...

...and the Snipe were worth the effort.

A Blackbird that just watched us wandering back to the car got the camera treatment too.

A quick trip into Amble for some sustenance and then down to the beach to watch the waders. Quite a few Turnstone and Sanderling to watch...

...and the occasional Redshank dropping in too.

After the storm

The wind blew, the rain fell and there was a fair bit of flashing and banging too but, thankfully, there was no serious damaged caused by the storm. We did get a dusting of snow on the road which gave me the chance to take the Christmas shot of a Robin.

Sadly, there was nothing interesting blown in. It's not too often that the Common Teal come to the near shore but it was fairly sheltered so a few of them took the opportunity.

This bedraggled Buzzard was perched up at the side of the road and he wasn't going to move - he's giving me a good hard look!

A nice close view of an Otter taking it's catch ashore...

...while on a shopping trip was a bit of a treat but the only other decent sighting was a male Hen Harrier and a few Curlew feeding in a field.

Threes

A day of few photos but a collection of birds seen in threes. We had three Whooper Swan, three Great Spotted Woodpecker and three Golden Eagle.

We'd started the day with good views of a WT Eagle and then another flying past us. A single Northern Wheatear was seen by the loch with a number of Meadow Pipits and a couple of Stonechat. Plenty of people say they see Golden Eagles at close quarters but this one took it to another level.

We had initially seen the birds drifting off only to see them fly towards us and circle above us. The big problem was when they disappeared again I left the camera in the motor and one of the birds did a fly past at about 10 yards!

We didn't see an Otter on the day but I gave plenty of advice to the guests and they managed to catch up with them the following day. I managed to get some sighting while out on an errand. A couple of Common Teal were nice to see with the male looking splendid.

A pair of Grey Wagtail were feeding along a burn.

A pair of Slavonian Grebe were dancing on the loch...

...while the Goosander were not going to hang around.

A Whooper Swan was a bit more obliging though.

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.

Cor, luv a duck!

The stormy weather is continuing but we are missing the worst of it down in Newcastle. A quick visit to one of my old haunts, Cresswell Pond, was just superb. It's all regular fare for the local birders but a lot of stuff is seen by us just once a year on the Christmas visit. There were plenty of Tree Sparrow on the track down to the hide (a blind for you guys in the States)...

...Moorhen is a bird that we don't see very often on Mull...

...and it was nice to find a few Common Snipe hiding in the reeds.

If you want a smart looking bird you can't beat a duck - Eurasian Teal showing off the wing pattern...

...and a smart looking head too.

Eurasian Wigeon are good lookers too.

A Curlew was probing around on the sand bar getting it's feathers ruffled by the wind.

The Redshank were coping a bit better but they are out of the wind.

The Common Snipe had a bit of a shuffle around - a walk of Snipe!

A few Reed Bunting were blending into the background.

A look across the pond was productive with Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Peregrine seen in the air, on the water were RB Merg, Little Grebe and an Otter with an Eel.

More ducks - three Wigeon on the right, a female Mallard in the water with a drake Gadwall just behind.

All of that in less an hour - superb!! A visit to Hauxley was hampered by flooded tracks but the Mute Swans came to see us...

...while the Goldeneye made off in the other direction.

There was just enough time to get some snaps of a Magpie before rain stopped play.