Wader time soon at Montrose

The wader numbers at Montrose Basin are building up just now with large numbers of Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Dunlin and today 29 Black-tailed Godwits, a few Knot, Greenshanks, Ringed Plover, Curlews and a few days ago the Water Rail below.

Water Rail adult, Montrose Basin

Same bird in even less light

Greenshank in the mist on Tuesday at Tayock, Montrose Basin

Redshank at Tayock showing a moult yet to be completed

One of 29 Black-tailed Godwits at Tayock near high tide

There are around 600 Canada Geese on Montrose Basin just now

I can't find a Roseate Tern so this Common Tern with the reflected pink light from the buoy will do

Little Gull, Wheatears and more Skua action

Some days I think it's a conspiracy against birders and photographers. There I was sitting on the rock armour at Inchcape Park in Arbroath trying to get closer to a Little Gull, Terns and Wheatears, then and I believe it was on purpose, some lunatic from the nearest camper van starts flying a bright and noisy kite above my head! The two photos below were before the Little Gull and the terns departed.

Earlier I'd taken Olive for a walk along the beach at Kinnaber Links and despite it being near high tide when the Skuas aren't so active we still saw a few around and the photo below although distant shows three of them chasing a young gull.

An earlier video of a young Grey Heron, click here,

Adult Little Gull, Inchcape

This one shows part of the black underwing

One of two Wheatears which also fled the kite

I'm surprised I got this much of a photo as they were about half a mile out to sea, three on one

A dark form Arctic Skua, none came near the beach today, probably as there wasn't many targets to chase

Rainy Day Rail

I can't wait for summer, or is it already past. Yet another day when the forecast wasn't very accurate, at least time-wise and I got caught out again by heavy rain and had to take shelter in the Bank of Scotland Hide at Montrose Basin SWT Centre. If this goes on I might have to invest in waterproofing for my camera and get used to having poor light, moan, moan, moan....

A juvenile Water Rail still with feathers in pin which ran across a small gap jumping about in the same way as a Stoat might, very weird and difficult to get a photo in the rain when a bird is so erratic

It paused for a second

There were 19 Grey Herons in front of the hide sheltering from the weather and despite it being a large area they still disputed which one would get the best spot out of the wind

This Sand Martin at Murton on 17/8/2017 was one of a few still in the nest holes and some of these late broods had managed three chicks all about to fledge