Christine's walking & birds blog

Everything is blooming awful. I feel especially sorry for everyone in the south-east of England because that's where I come from, and I feel slightly guilty that I happen to be living here in one of the least Covid-hit areas of the UK. But Scotland will also be facing another lockdown; it just won't happen until Boxing Day for us - we have a week's grace.

I spent today at home, so the fleeting visit of a brambling to the feeders was a treat.

Yesterday we had a short walk near Loch Glascarnoch, and saw two pairs of stonechats and two redpolls.

I was surprised at the length of this redpoll's hind claws, but perhaps they're more noticeable than usual because the bird's perching on thin wire. It was nice to record redpolls here - they've been a bit thin on the ground so far this winter. However, there was no sign of the dipper today.