Up and at ’em, I thought. It was damned chilly out there and a good breeze blowing right up the firth; ach well, you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth eh?
It was 08:59 when I parked the car and walked to the shore.
Hats, coats, gloves on….. that breeze was COLD!
There’s a greenish area either side of the path as you walk towards the fort, Gorse, Broom and various small shrubs and trees and there I spotted the Stonechat!
The sun was rising behind me, over the village and trying to make an impression on the day.
On down the ramp and onto the grass, I could see a few Oystercatchers having a doze along the shoreline; this seems to be a favourite area for waders to roost.
I carried on along the shore as usual. The light was still quite low and I tried to keep adjusting the camera to suit.
A small flock of Redshank stood and watched me sneak by 🙂
I’m constantly looking up, down, and all around, who knows what you could miss? I often do!
I do love a wild sky, my favourite is sunshine and dark stormy clouds. I was out onto the point and there really wasn’t a great deal going on AND, it was wild, windy and cold….
The point is a great spot for fly by, I just wish I was better at tracking them, did ok with these Eider though.
A moment later …
A small flock of Godwit whizzed by. I also noticed as I turned, the sky was looking huge, big cloud patterns.
There’s a couple sitting on a bench to the left of the lighthouse!
I took a set of shots to show the full width of the water here and the weather variation.
I spotted a flock of birds whizzing by in the distance and recorded them at the time are Red-breasted Merganser; in editing the photos however, they are actually Wigeon!
There was a small group of Long-tailed ducks, four males feeding just off the shore.
And, I actually managed to get a reasonable shot of another flying by.
It was way too cold and windy out there so I started heading back, no wonder the birds were in hiding.
The view along the shore to the fort and the lighthouse across the channel was fabulous, the light constantly changing.
There was a lurker on the grass area as I headed that way, in fact, I think there’s almost always a Curlew there.
You can also see a red flag in the distant background. Stay out of the ranges!
I’d love to find out more about the recent history of the fort and surrounds, there was a WW1 seaplane base here for a short while!
As I strode along the shoreline, I wasn’t really keeping my eyes on the shore, I really ought to know better by now but …..
A large flock of mixed waders flew up from the shore and proceeded to fly round the bay, trying to get back to their roost!
I’m not great at waders but they look like Godwit, Knot and Oystercatcher to me. I always hope to see something a bit special among them all but I probably wouldn’t know if I did!
They flew around for at least 11 minutes, a good long time to stand in that wind, watching and photographing.
There was a pretty amazing number of birds in thee or four large flocks, beautiful to watch but, I was freezing now. So, I started on again, no more distant flock shots 🙂
But, this happened next.
The Hooded Crow was getting a blasting from the wind then took off and flew right by me! Bargain.
I think they’re gorgeous birds and so clever!
A Curlew then chose to fly by…
Then a couple of young gulls, look like two different types to me, maybe Herring and Common, anyone care to let me know their thoughts?
Then, a reasonably rare event.
You may notice, a flock of birds low to the left! OK, a couple more, but that’s it!
And that must have been enough, my last shots of that session, back to the car and back to the village I guess.
OK, I did go out again but only for a quick walk with mum.
Some great clouds stacking over the Black Isle and a deep glowing sunset followed.
So that was the 15th, windy, not a huge amount going on but, enough to keep me busy and smiling, mostly 😉
See you tomorrow?
Scozmo's Photery 