Friday, April 24, 2026
Yesterday: I walked the crag for the umpteenth time this year, hoping for a ring ouzel. The lovely calls of black-throated divers rose from the lochan below, and from the top of the trail I could just make out two individuals, preening and diving. This is not a breeding loch.
On other visits I noticed that the crowberry was in flower; but the flowers are extremely small and difficult to make out. There are a few in the photo, with long stamens(I think) sticking out, and a few buds.
22nd April: On a bright but windy day I took a walk along the beach at Ardmair and saw two wheatears and a possible white wagtail.
21st April: We walked up the quarry road (10+ willow warblers heard singing) and back over Ullapool Hill. There were still a few newts in the puddle on the high track, and when we arrived back at the car a sand martin flew over - not our first this year as we saw at least ten birds around the Ledmore nesting site on 14th April, but our first in Ullapool. We then called in at the garage for ice creams, and drove round to West Terrace to eat them. Having had quite enough of the wind during our walk we sat in the car - and as soon as we had unwrapped and started to eat our ice creams, a herring gull landed on the grass verge next to us. A second bird joined it. I thought they would walk about on the verge "worming" as they sometimes do here - but the first gull then flew up onto the bonnet and glared at us through the windscreen.
Have tourists parking along the road begun to feed the gulls so that they've come to see any car as a potential source of food - or did this gull just happen to cruise by and see us eating? It seems that herring gulls are growing more skilled at spotting food and bolder in their pursuit of it; but their attempts to snatch food from people eating outdoors are somewhat different to the deliberate attacks made on us when chicks are being protected in the breeding season.
Oh, and I still haven't seen a ring ouzel!
// posted by Christine @ 2:22 AM 
