Friday, November 24, 2023
Today was rainier than it was supposed to be, and the tides were wrong for finding dip-feeding gulls again. Yesterday's pics were taken an hour before high tide, but high tide today was either at 4.30 am or 4.30 pm, both occurring in the dark. At lowish tide today, most gulls were resting far away. However, I did see three red-throated divers on the sea (one calling) while a fourth bird flew over; and a ringed plover alarm calling from the beach alerted me to a small raptor flying over. Its fast wing-beats and speedy flight suggested merlin - but I'm not sure.
Returning to the village I remembered the new 20 mph speed limit, and as I approached the pedestrian crossing I saw a small boy on the other side of the road looking as though he was about to cross. As I slowed to a halt, a car came from the opposite direction and drove straight on. If the boy hadn't been watching, he might have walked into the path of the car. I don't know what the law is now in England (it used to be a Russian roulette sort of affair, with pedestrians unsure whether cars were prepared to stop or not because they weren't legally obliged to) but here in Scotland it has been unlawful for motorists not to stop at least all the time we've lived here. It's the second time I've seen this happen; on the first occasion, I was walking up the road, and a young boy had actually started to cross from the other side in front of a halted car when a camper van came up the road - and kept on going.
I parked on Shore Street and almost immediately noticed a white winger flying around the ferry. It flew in towards the buildings and landed on the roof of the Captain's Cabin.
As I couldn't see the entire bird I walked round to the Seaforth for a better look.
