Thursday, July 31, 2025

Yesterday: I went hunting dragonflies up on the Braes - where I saw my first spotted flycatcher of the year.

There was no sign of the Scottish specials or even black darters, just a couple of common darters and a male common hawker.


A couple of days ago I'd seen several female common hawkers egg-laying - my first proof of breeding in these shallow pools, which are really little more than puddles and which do sometimes dry out.


Three days ago, despite the many adult and immature gulls present, I ventured onto the golf-course spit at low tide and found the carcass of a seal - but I only had time for a quick snap or two before a pair of adult herring gulls came swiftly towards me and wheeled above, presumably protecting chicks which were actually quite a long way away. Talk about neurotic!


The dead seal was a bit of a mess, but the muzzle can be seen resting against the large stone roughly halfway along the body - and the strip of fur above it appears to suggest injuries with a spiral or corkscrew pattern. These have in the past been attributed to boat propellors, although some at least are now thought to be caused by other seals - in particular, during the cannibalism of grey seal pups by adult males.

// posted by Christine @ 5:11 AM
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