Christine's walking & birds blog

The tree sparrow was at Alness, one of several species making the lovely small wooded area a delight to walk through.


Chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, and song thrush were singing; blue and coal tits were heard, a probable dunnock vanished into a thicket, a wren blasted out its song, and a pair of buzzards mewed overhead. Back out in the open, a wheatear was seen on the pebble bank; but we saw no terns.

Yesterday: The few pectoral sandpipers I've seen in the past were frequenting muddy, rutty areas and pools; I think that's why this one, feeding in the open on sandy sheep pasture with sparse grass cover, posed an ID problem! The wader was plunging its bill right into the sand, and three poor pictures show it once with a probable worm in its bill, and twice with segmented larvae - probably leatherjackets. Other foragers in the same area were meadow pipits, skylarks, and a wheatear.