Tuesday, April 09, 2024
Alone, alone, all, all alone,
Alone on a wide wide sea!
The lines (from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge) came to me as I spotted a long-tailed duck on the wind-ruffled water in Achnahaird Bay.
And concerning my attempts to snap it, the duck might as well have been in the middle of the ocean! But it wasn't alone; also diving in the waves were a pair of mergansers, two great northern divers, and a red-throated diver, while two black-backed gulls were having a tug-of-war over an item of prey both wanted - I've no idea what it was, but it looked quite large.
On the beach and the machair I disturbed good numbers of skylarks and meadow pipits as I walked, and several wheatears were spotted among the dunes.
On the far side of the headland, a male wheatear was singing from the sheep pen, flying up briefly in display. He didn't sound very convinced, and I couldn't blame him; despite the brightness of the day, there was an iciness in the wind. Five common scoters were the best birds on the sea, but I was always looking into the sun.
Also seen: a male stonechat, two shelduck, and a solitary greenshank.
// posted by Christine @ 1:55 PM 
