Christine's walking & birds blog

As a very high tide ebbed at Achnahaird, the first waders I saw were a dozen curlew - followed by a couple of redshanks.

Almost unseen behind a group of sheep, two black-tailed godwits and a ruff (one of at least two present) were feeding on the salt-marsh.


A wheeling flock of dunlin, sanderling, and ringed plover carried with it five turnstone, which went down onto a sandy ridge near the sea.


As I prepared to go, a small flock came flying in towards me and landed, making their way closer until I could see that there were three knot among them.



Back at the car park I visited the colony of mining bees, which was still active and with a new area freshly "mined". This small fly which was loitering nearby appears to be a Leucophora species - which parasitises mining bees by laying its eggs in their nest-holes (info from edphillipswildlife.com).


A reed bunting was snapped for the year in bracken at Badentarbat.


Pausing at the junction lay-by before driving home, I idly snapped a large bird on a distant fence post, assuming it was a buzzard. It was quite a surprise when I uploaded it back home - to see a peregrine falcon.


Which probably explains why the waders were so nervy today!