Loch Leven - Burleigh Sands

 We hadn't been to Loch Leven for about a month, Fife is just so good with places to go that we can't get around to them all! Especially with going up to Caithness for a week as well.

Actually it was very quiet around the Loch so there's not that much to report, hundreds of Mute Swans of course along with new additions:

We did see our first Swifts of the year which was very nice:

With the nice weather it was good to see Butterflies about:

Small White:

and Small Tortoiseshell

We also saw some Orange Tip, but Didn't get a photo.

Apart from that a male Reed Bunting showed very well on the Broom;

We had a very brief glimpse of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, some House Martin, Chaffinch, Great Tits and Blue Tits, Lots of Mallard, Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a couple of Gadwall. But that was pretty much it apart from a gaggle of Greylag Geese as we arrived back at the car park.

Still the Swift brought us up to 121 for the year!

Secret Ospreys

 On our way home from Caithness we popped in for lunch at an Osprey site that we know hoping that the Ospreys had returned and were nesting. We weren't disappointed. We of course kept our distance and we careful not to disturb them.

Also picked up a Willow Warbler:

The Rest of Our Time in Caithness

To conclude our time in Caithness I'll start with what we saw from our cottage in Huna;

Dunlin,

Turnstone,

Mixed flocks of Turnstone, Dunlin & Ringed Plover,

Oystercatcher,

Grey Seals & Eider,

Herring Gull & Eider,

Pied Wagtail,

Goldfinch,

House Sparrow,

Great Skua (Bonxie)

Grey Seal,

Starling,

Always more Seals,

and Shelduck.

We also went for a great walk in Dunnet Forest, but the weather was shall we say 'wet' and we didn't see a lot.

A favourite pop in spot was Dwarwick Pier on Dunnet Bay. This was great for Divers, Black Guillemot and Gannet. Although with the weather being very dull most of the time and the birds being distant the photography was difficult;

Gannets!

Wheatear,

Diver

Gannet

Great Northern Diver,

Red-throated Diver

That about wraps it up for Caithness although we did manage a foray into Sutherland, where we saw our first Cuckoo of the year:

Another highlight while exploring the back roads was a male Hen Harrier on the B870 heading north towards Thurso. So a total of 79 Species for the trip. Respectable!

Dunnet & Duncansby Heads, Caithness

 We also took walks around Dunnet Head and from the Lighthouse to Ducansby Head, plenty of Seabirds about, but no Puffins on our walks, never mind!

Duncansby;

Dunnet:

No apologies for all the Fulmar photos, one of my favourite birds!