Thursday, September 21, 2023
Yesterday: Greger was driving over to Inverness for his Spanish course, and I decided to go east as well, back to Chanonry Point on the off-chance I would see skuas or even the large shearwater again. I stopped at Avoch (pronounced, apparently, "Och") to use the loo and debated whether I should spend some time there, it was so lovely; there was no wind, it was warm, and the sea was as calm as the proverbial mill pond. But Chanonry would be busy on such a nice day and I didn't want to have to queue to park, so I carried on - and found a few spaces still free.
The shingle spit was very busy. Now, I know that this is a public beach and people are entitled to walk their dogs on it - but loads of owners were clearly here for the dolphins because they were loitering with the rest of us on the spit and gazing hopefully at the sea; so the dogs weren't exactly being walked, and as a result some were getting bored and tetchy. There was whining, there was barking, and one small dog yapped constantly until its owner got up and walked it around for a bit before sitting down again - whereupon the dog resumed its yapping. There are posts on Trip Advisor extolling the place for its peace and quiet. Hmmm.
A few Sandwich terns fished here and there. It was growing very warm, and the water was a lovely pinky-blue, making a nice background for a red-throated diver doing some preening and wing-flapping.
But there were no shearwaters for me today. I scrubbed up another shot of my putative Cory's from the last visit; this is no better than the other pic but at least it gives a different angle. There is a good shot of a Cory's here on highland birds.scot, so I'm reasonably confident I did see and snap it!
After just over three hours, the wind was getting up and I decided to leave. At Avoch, I pulled in and walked along one of the harbour walls; the sea was now wind-whipped and rough, and water splashed over the side as the waves broke. At the Tore Roundabout I turned onto the A835 and after a while I spotted a white Tesla in a lay-by. When it sped off ahead of me I guessed it was Greger and that he'd been tracking me on his Finder app - which is exactly what had happened. But he stopped at Silverbridge for the loo, so I got home first - just. Oh, and this time I didn't see any dolphins.
