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!

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!

No photoghrapher

A better day for sightings on a day with no photographer but we did miss out on Mountain Hare. The first decent sighting of the day was a summer plumaged RT Diver.

The Meadow Pipits were busy feeding young.

A couple of Golden Eagle flew around giving decent views before drifting off.

An Adder was seen sliding through the heather...

...but then one of the Golden Eagles put in another appearance and a bit of display too.

The bird disappeared again and then returned for one last close up of us while being mobbed by a couple of Swift!

The usual sightings round the loch - Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing, Stonechat and the inevitable Grey Heron.

Two Otters were seen on the day...

...WT Eagle and a posing Whinchat.

Not quite

A couple of tours in this post with some of the birds just not quite in range. The Golden Eagle we saw just never came close enough for a decent shot...

...unlike the mating Golden-ringed Dragonflies that were quite approachable.

A WT Eagle showed very well but I managed to get the camera strap caught up so the best I managed was a quick snap as the bird disappeared behind the trees!

The first tour we managed to see an Otter but we probably didn't devoted enough time for the furry beast on the second day so we missed out. We did photograph lots of stuff on the second day though starting with a nice Golden Plover.

There were a couple of Common Gull chicks on the shore too.

It wasn't just the birds and mammals that we covered as the plants are of interest too - Greater Butterfly Orchid seem to do quite well despite the constant grazing that goes happens along the verges.

We saw an Adder at a new site and got another at my usual site.

Most of the Red Deer are seen at a distance so it was nice to get this stag close to the road.

Meadow Pipit might be a common bird but it's worth having a closer look at this attractive bird.

You wouldn't give it a second look if it was next to a male Stonechat though!

I mentioned that Whinchat seemed to be in short supply this year but there seems to have been a late arrival of these birds as they are in all the regular spots now.

Little brown job

On turning up at the WT Eagle site we were lucky enough to catch one of the adults in flight.

There are always plenty of Meadow Pipits flicking up from the side of the road so I always try to get a view of a close one perched up somewhere - not just a little brown job.

All of a sudden the Northern Wheatears seem to be popping out again - they must be feeding young now...

...but I would have expected all of the remaining RB Mergs to be on the nest now.

I have seen one Red Deer calf recently but this hind looks like it's still waiting for the event to occur.

No sooner said than done - Northern Wheatear chicks being fed by their parents...

...and an awesome background that they will never take much notice of!

Nice weather for ducks

The weather was a bit changeable as I headed out to hunt down a certain pair of WT Eagles. A female Hen Harrier was hunting along the road so I stopped to get a few snaps - they never stay close for long but they are always nice to see.

A GN Diver was loafing near the shore so I gave it five minutes of my time. It was nice to see the bird is starting to change it's plumage - you can see the spots on the wing in this photo.

As you can see it was nice weather for ducks. The colours on this Mallard stand out well even in dull conditions.

I was kept amused by the Meadow Pipits that came quite close at times.

After about an hour of waiting a WT Eagle finally put in an appearance. This eagles closest species relative is the vulture - short tail, long broad wings, hatchet bill and a droopy neck.

I watched the bird disappear and then went looking for where it was. I wasn't expecting to find it straight away but when I got to the right area there were two birds on show. One bird changed it's perch and struggled to find a decent place to land - it's a withering look it's getting from it's mate!

A couple of Crossbills were making a bit of noise behind me so after a bit of searching I caught sight of one of them through the tangle of branches.

A pile of poop

A nice run out to put some fuel in the motor was quite productive as I picked up a few year ticks. A Great Northern Diver was fishing close to the shore and I managed to catch it just as it was diving.

The first place I picked up a few year ticks was a pile of poop (or maybe it's a reference to the photos). A few Reed Buntings were dotted about with this female bird standing proud.

A small flock of Meadow Pipit were present...

...along with a single Rock Pipit - a good comparison.

I noticed a pair of Reed Bunting feeding on the ground - the male has the black bib and the head will darken soon.

Most of our Pied Wagtails disappear in the winter so it was nice to see this male bird back on the island.

A flock of 18 Tufted Duck on a loch had a drake Scaup with them - a good find.

A decent amount of Lapwings were back to their home ground but the flock of 300 Starling was quite impressive. A couple of Shelduck were swimming across the bay in front of these Common Seals - if you look at the back of the rock you can see the head of a Grey Seal too.

Back on home turf I delayed having lunch while I took a few snaps of this Otter cleaning himself up...

...and a Common Crossbill was in full song back at the shop - never a dull moment!