Christine's walking & birds blog

Yesterday: I couldn't get to Achnahaird to see the highest tide of the supermoon, but we drove out there today, arriving about an hour after high tide.  The water almost covered most of the salt-marsh, overflowing the river that runs down this side of the beach to make one large lake.



On the drive here, we had gone into cloud where the road rises above the lochs; and sleet had rapidly turned to snow. The road was soon white, and we met the school bus creeping through the gloom, taking children from outlying areas into Ullapool. But down at sea level there was just a sprinkling of slushy snow.

From the car park we waited out a heavy shower, and I snapped what I thought were just more geese. It wasn't until I'd uploaded the picture that I realised they were shelduck. These ducks are usually beautiful and unmistakeable in flight, but today through the sleet, their brilliant black and white plumage was muted to two shades of grey.


Across the beach on the headland (about a kilometre away) a bird sat on the skyline near a cairn. I said golden eagle but Greger said white-tailed; and I think he was right. When I really zoom in, I can just make out the white tail, so it was an adult bird.


We walked across the cliffs for the exercise, but were glad to get back to the car. It was very cold. Back home, the waxwings were still around and there were many more redwings now, far fewer fieldfare.