Friday 9 December 2016

Continuing the "white theme", a Stoat called patch

On a miserable day for even just looking for birds I managed to get something worth posting with the photo below when this Stoat in ermine ran down the Lurgies path towards me before disappearing into a hole in the sea wall.


A Stoat not quite all of the way in ermine with the patches around each eye still to go white. I can't imagine why a Stoat at Montrose Basin would turn this early or even at all, and it must have been going through the process for a while now



On arrival home the Leucistic Tree Sparrow had re-appeared in my garden, or had it been there and just not seen. It was almost dark when this photo was taken from my car and at a shutter speed of 1/30 of a second this was the only one without any blur



The Redshank which can almost always be found at the Old Harbour, lucky to get anything let alone read the metal ring! Almost looks sinister or like a flasher!



Even in the gloom, if it's big and moves slowly and many tweaks are done on the PC it's still possible to get something. I look forward to the sun returning



Shine a light - briefly at Lunan Bay

We did get a bit of sunshine on Thursday after a dull start and I managed to get out to Lunan Bay where I saw Long-tailed Ducks, Red-throated Divers, Common and Velvet Scoters, Shags, a large flock of Common Gulls, Sanderlings and Stonechats.


Shine a light on me! The low winter sun lighting up this Sanderling as it fed along the tide line



A smaller bird than you'd first think, especially when you see one fly along the beach at sand level



If the Sanderlings are "the little" then this guy is "the large". A Great Black-backed Gull, a beast of a gull no doubt



One of a pair of Stonechats seen along the dunes to the south of the Lunan. Even in early afternoon the sun is giving the Stonechat an orange glow, an hour later the light gave the gulls a similar hue



This Stonechat again one of a pair was near the hide



Earlier in the day just after sunrise there were a number of Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits feeding at the beach side of Chalmers night club at West Links, Arbroath. No sign of the Med Gull but the tide was high and it had surely gone looking for breakfast inland.



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