That was January!

 So one month down already. I've just a few things to wrap up for the month.

We went for another look at the Waxwings at Sighthill in Edinburgh before they move on (in fact they are still there as of yesterday) The day was very dull and they weren't about. Of course someone else had seen them earlier, but thanks to Facebook we learnt that they had relocated a few hundred yards down the road, where there were still some berries, so off we went. As I said it was dull day so not the the best photos:

This Mistle Thrush tried to drive them off from the berries and succeeded at first but gave up after a while.

Elsewhere:

Lochore Meadows ("The Meadies")

Another dull day and quite quiet, Goldeneye and Teal being the highlights;

A walk at Seafield (Kirkcaldy),

Pied Wagtail,

Long-tailed Tit

A Ukranian Patrol Boat, presumably training in the Firth of Forth,

The Tower in the sun,

Gulls and Oystercatcher,

our first Red-breasted Merganser of the year,

Redshank having a stroll,

and Redshank having a get together!

Finally a very very quiet walk at Burleigh Sands with just a Goldcrest jigging about in the pines.

A Lochore Meadows Walk

 We took a stroll around our Loch on Wednesday, so we were out a while, with a stop at the visitor centre for a coffee and to buy a butty as we hadn't planned to be out as long as we were!

It was a dullish day at first and a bit rainy so we stopped at the hide to let the drizzle clear a bit and see what was about. Sadly the first thing we saw was that some scumbags had made a fire on the bench and burnt through the wooden seating, there was just enough space for the two of us at either end.

The reeds on the pools are still quite high, so visibility across to the scrape is limited, but there were lots of Teal and Mallard, but not much else could be seen. After we left the hide a load of Redwing were seen along the pathway to the Loch, but very flighty, sadly not staying put for a photo.

Unlike the Mute Swans at the Loch itself:

Some Pink-footed Geese in the fields,

along with Greylag Geese.

Always plenty of Black-headed Gulls by the visitor centre

as well as Pied Wagtails

and Jackdaw.

Away from the visitor centre on our way back a couple of Wren were zooming around the Loch edge.

The local rowing team were out, the cox wanting them to get on with it by the look of it!

Then in the large pool at the Kelty end of the Loch a couple of Whooper Swans were found

along with some Wigeon. Another lovely walk with loads to see, just a few minutes from our front door! 

A Week in Somerset - Pastures Old

A week down in Somerset wouldn't be the same without visiting Ham Wall (twice) and Shapwick Heath, plus a more touristic jaunt to Cheddar Gorge.

So some highlights from Ham Wall:

Another Grass Snake,

A Wren having a dust bath, never seen a Wren do that before.

A Bittern in a distant (and somewhat blurry!) fly by.

Female Blackcap,

a nice if somewhat hot walk.

There is a Water Rail hidden in there, honest!

Great Crested Grebe,

Great White Egret

and a Little Grebe.

Shapwick was very quiet, as it was hot and the hides were still closed, we sat on a bench for a while having a coffee, watching the activity on and around the lagoon by the tower hide.

First up was a bit of Royal Navy action, I'm guessing from RNAS Yeovilton, a Westland Lynx, this was followed a bit later by a Navy Merlin. Sadly not of the feathered variety 😏

On the left hand side of the water an Egret roost developed, with a Grey Heron being the King of the Castle and a Cormorant being left out on a limb.

It was nice to see a Great Crested Grebe still on a nest, this must be a second brood as I would have expected to see some cute Grebe humbugs at least.

Finally on the walk back after spotting a Hobby perched on a distant bare tree, this Jay posed for a moment.

So what about Cheddar Gorge? The main purpose of the visit was to see if there were on signs of Water Vole in the ponds, we have seen them before but the last time was in 2012, so we don't know if they are still there. No sign of them this time, but we did pick a new bird for the trip, a Grey Wagtail:

We also guess the Peregrines no longer nest in the Gorge, just some goats

and people.

We took a big step in Cheddar, we actually bought a coffee and sat outside on a terrace enjoying the view! Then we had the audacity to buy an ice cream no less! We drove out of Cheddar up the gorge and just took random turns, finding another spot to pull in and have another coffee (not bought!) in the Mendips. We parked adjacent Ubley Warren NR, a Somerset Wildlife Trust reserve, there was quite a bit of distant birding activity

So that's it apart from a few more pics from the garden of our cottage: