Shetland - Continued!

 The wind is still blowing a gale, but Shetland is the windiest part of the UK, just don't remember it being this bad last time.

Another days saw us up the north west of the mainland a visit to Hillswick, where there were plenty of Red-breasted Merganser, performing reasonably close:

As well as Red-throated Divers:

Shame it wasn't sunny to bring out the colours, never mind! There's some great scenery up there too:

Eshaness.

We had a lunch stop at Heylor, where there were plenty of Mergansers;

Common and Arctic Terns

and Ringed Plover, Turnstone, All the Gulls, Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Skua and even the odd Puffin on the water.

Not far from Sandwick where we were staying, we came across Curlew, with some youngsters 😀

Next day we checked on 'our' Phalaropes again, but sadly they were not visible or had moved elsewhere. So we did some more exploring and found:

A pair of Whoopers with Cygnets at Clumlie Loch,

along with an Arctic Skua

and Snipe.

Whooper cygnets were a first for us.

Down at Grutness on the way toSumburgh Head we stopped at the pool..

Mallard with a single Duckling,

Arctic Tern,

Oystercatcher,

Arctic Terns,

Common Gull having a bath,

and a Dunlin.

I'll leave Sumburgh Head for another post, it will be a Puffin fest!

January 2024 in Fife and over the borders into Perthshire and West Lothian

 So It's a new year and it's already February before I have got around to posting anything!!

So a quick summary, in the first weeks of the year we have stayed very local and brought the species count up to 43 by the last week of the month, visiting Kinghorn, Lochore, Kinghorn, Loch of the Lowes, Loch Leven and Musselburgh.

Not many photo opportunities but here's the best of the bunch in some rather dodgy weather at times!

The wind was up at Fife Ness,

Fulmars claiming their nesting spots at Kinghorn,

The sun breaking through at Kinghorn,

Red Squirrel at Loch of the Lowes,

along with plenty of Goldeneye.

Pheasant on the run at Musselburgh Lagoons,

where there were plenty of Wigeon

and Oystercatchers.

The Wigeon were spooked by something, but couldn't see what.

The finally a Godwit fly by as the weather closed in yet again.

Fife Ness & Kilminning NR

 Just a few shots from a trip out to Crail and Fife Ness:

Curlew keeping an eye on an Oystercatcher,

Dunnock,

Goldfinches,

A Buzzard posed nicely for us,

Kestrel over the golf course,

Curlew again

and Oystercatchers.

Sparrowhawk having a rest after chasing some Redshank and Turnstone around the rocks, sadly for him no lunch!

Finally a nice shot of the Isle of May from the hide.

Crail & Fife Ness

 What can I say! It's been a while since the last post, it's just we are so busy getting out (and of course that's the beauty of living up here!) and about, there doesn't seem much time to sort photos out and then do the blog. So here we go with a bit of a catch up again.

We had a great day out at Crail and Fife Ness.

Crail beach and harbour....

Fife Ness,

Cormorants,

Lesser Black-backed Gulls,

Gannet,

Oystercatchers 

and Goosander.

In addition, Curlew, Shelduck, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar and Kittiwake were seen as well as the common gulls. We popped to Kilminning NR as we left and added Linnet, Yellowhammer, Whitethroat and Meadow Pipit. A good day!