Christine's walking & birds blog

We took the scenic route to Tesco, along the river paths and out around the spit. The river was running fast and high - and had been higher, judging by the flattened grass on the banks and the waterlogged appearance of the island vegetation below the boardwalk.

Oystercatcher, turnstone, ringed plover, and curlew were on the shingle spits; and black guillemots and a great northern diver were far out in the middle of the loch. Having shopped, we wandered down to the harbour and found two large gulls on the roof - evidently not on speaking terms.


I think the great black-backed is a 3rd winter bird, and the glaucous possibly a 2nd winter. But just as I start to study gull plumages (something I never thought I would do!), I learn that there is such a thing as a glaucous/herring gull hybrid. And elsewhere in the Highlands, just as I get to grips with Iceland gulls, there is a Kumlien's gull floating about. It never ends.

With regard to my muddle over how many white-wingers I was seeing the other day - apparently there were two glaucs in Ullapool, in addition to three Icelands at Ardmair. So maybe I did see two of each!