Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Two Slavonian grebes were at Ardmair, closer to Isle Martin than to the campsite spit - although later they drifted slowly into Loch Kanaird past the fish farm.
A growing, familiar clamour made me look up - to see a skein of 47 pink-footed geese, followed soon after by a skein of 107, flying on a south-easterly bearing.
On Sunday I made a second attempt to access Tom Ban Mor via the smaller hill, Meall an Torcain. The cloud was down over the higher hills and I'd forgotten my compass! I hate to be a scaredy cat but it's easy to become confused when you can't see far all around you - and I went down again. I found myself following a rib of resistant rock, which reminded me of the day in June 2016 when, coming down from the Fannichs, Greger pointed out something similar on the Beinn Dearg group.
Both features seem to run north-west to south-east. Down on the hydro track, I heard pink-footed geese in the distance and around 130 of them flew over me - also going south-east.
A couple of days before that, a visit to Achnahaird brought nothing on beach and machair. At Badentarbat, I at least saw some distant common dolphins - a small pod of six or so individuals, far out over the sparkling sea.
A bird flying past and landing on rocks nearby didn't strike me as a curlew....
.....and if I was in any doubt, the lovely stuttering trill as it flew off again confirmed that this was a whimbrel.
// posted by Christine @ 11:23 AM 
