It's not over until it's over.

Wednesday was a dull day but not as bad as predicted but I was busy with other stuff so it didn't matter too much.

Thursday was another tour day and the weather had cleared up too. The two Goldfinches that have been visiting the garden were quite obliging early in the morning but there wasn't enough light to get a good shot.

We had a cracking start to the day with a close Mountain Hare, a flock of Barnacle Geese, the Twite showed well, Golden Plover and a smattering of commoner stuff too including plenty of Lapwing.

A flock of gulls gave us an opportunity to see the differences between Great Black-backed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the company of Herring Gulls before we picked up our first Golden Eagle of the day and a male Hen Harrier. It wasn't too long after this that we picked up another Golden Eagle and had much better views as this one came flying overhead.

As we headed into the afternoon we had a cracking Red Deer stag minus the antlers, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Seals and my first Swallow of the year. The Grey Herons attracted a lot of attention through the day and rightly so - what a beauty!

Two White-tailed Eagles were admired as they did their usual sitting around and the raptor list was increased as we picked up Kestrel and Sparrowhawk within minutes of each other. The Otters had eluded us through most of the day but we finally caught up with two of them fishing in the same area. The day is never finished until everyone has been dropped off so it was no surprise that we added to the list on the way back with a small flock of Sand Martins and Grey Seal being the highlights of the return journey.

Better than expected.

Not a great deal of birding done over the last few day due to a combination of weather and the price of fuel. I did have my first Goldcrest of the year on Monday while I was helping out a mate.

Tuesday I was out on tour and keen to see as much as possible but the weather forecast was pretty horrendous. The decision was made to head for the high ground and hope the cloud would lift a bit before the alleged torrential rain came in. It wasn't looking good as we headed towards the WT Eagle nest but we needed have worried as we picked up one of the birds with ease. Next target was Golden Eagle and we hit lucky again - as we viewed one bird on the nest the other bird came flying over us and landed, with prey, in full sight - fantastic! Next on the hit list was to try to pick up an Otter in the choppy water - no problem. First stop 2 Great Northern Diver and 1 Otter. The Otter was distant to start with before it headed towards us and eventually hauled out just as the rain started. With the main targets in the bag the rest of the day shouldn't be affected by the weather conditions and it turned out to be better than expected. Cracking views of Stonechat, Siskin, Coal Tit, Red Deer and both types of Seal along with plenty of other stuff before lunch. A Yellowhammer posed on the fence long enough for a photo...

...while a good selection of waders when we hit the beach. Ringed Plover are always nice to see...

...a Grey Plover posed for the camera too...

...but the flock of Turnstone seemed keen to move on.

A couple of Wild Goat were a surprise find but I couldn't get both of them in the picture.

The biggest surprise of all was the rain held off until the end of the day but we still picked up more wildlife at close quarters. Mountain Hare, Shelduck, Lapwing, Wheatear, Rock Pipit and a flock of 10 Twite.

I received a delivery of mugs with a few of my photos on - nice!

Something new.

Friday was a dead loss as I kept an eye on a Red Deer carcass in the hope that something good would take an interest in it - it didn't. A decent number of Hooded Crows and three Great Black-backed Gulls were the main attendees before the tide came in and covered the dead beast and eventually carried it off. A male Hen Harrier was seen flying by and both types of eagle were spotted over the ridges so there was a bit of interest.

Saturday I was caught up with other things so Sunday morning I was up with the larks keen to see something. As soon as I set foot outside the rain started but I still headed for the hills. Plenty of Red Deer close to the road but a great lack of bird life. Four Hooded Crow and a pair of Meadow Pipits was the total sightings after 45 minutes so I thought home for breakfast was a better option. Just as I turned to get my seat belt the crows lifted in alarm, I couldn't get the camera switched on or the window open quick enough to catch this WT Eagle as it passed by not 10 yards away!!

A brief trip out after breakfast was worth the effort too as I found my first Dog Violets of the year.

A pair of Common Buzzard were calling to each other in a small piece of woodland, nothing unusual there except the strange hiccuping call that I didn't recognise. I traced it back to one of these...

There is always something new to learn when you go out.