First off, well after breakfast anyway, was to get the shopping. As well as going to supermarkets I always go the Ian McIntosh the butchers in Fraserburgh. I have to say it is the finest butchers for miles around. Ian is a fiddler. Not about the meat or the prices but with a violin. Recently the group he is in have been preforming at Burns Suppers. Ian is often asked to be one of the main speakers as well. So you get some good chat and learn a bit more about the area when you go there, and you get excellent meat.
Then a bit of packing, I am going to Edinburgh for a few days to see children and grandchildren.
Lunch and then to the vets, our cat has developed a dry cough and has an infected ear.
Then follow up two bird leads. One from Alex told me about a Black Redstart in Peterhead which I found and photographed.
It is not black, its tail or 'start' (derived I think from the Anglo Saxon word 'Arse') is not really red The books tell you that although relatively common in mainland Europe it is scarce in the UK and confined to urban areas in the South. It is about the size of the more familiar Robin.
The good thing about chasing up these leads is that you get to places that you don't normally visit and have the opportunity to see the birds that live there. I recorded 18 different species around the Ugie estuary today. I also got an opportunity for some fairly close up images of more common birds.
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| Redshank |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Male Eider |
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| Wren |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Little Grebe |
The second lead was a day old and I didn't hold out much hope for seeing the Brent Geese that Kenny had seen at the South end of the Loch of Strathbeg. But as it was sort of on my way home I went to have a look. There were plenty of geese at the location but very distant. I could only see Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese. The ruin of St Mary's Chapel are there as well. I took this photo of it a few years ago.
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| St Mary's Chapel |
Total on list 117
Do you need to spot the bad for it to count or do you have to record it on the camera? Mark
ReplyDeleteBasicly you make up your own rules. My rules are that bird must be clearly identified and logged into the BTO Birdtrack data base. The BTO accept identifcation by sight and by sound so even if you here a bird and know what it is you can count it. A Cuckoo is a good example of a bird you might hear but not see and still be certain that it is a Cuckoo. I do not have to have a photo for it to count. For this list I have restricted myself to Scotland. Other people work on UK or even a world basis. I know somewhere that keeps a list of birds seen from the toilet! Good luck with your listing.
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