Nigel's Nature

 Rain clouds gathering from the east on a chilly breeze, brief glimpses of the sun. The tide was at its lowest ebb when I arrived at 2.40pm. I headed upstream first as no dog-walkers were visible in that direction. As usual, several Redshank tiptoed enthusiastically on the riverine mud as they pecked at food items, while a single diminutive Dunlin scampered about among them. More redshank were in the shallows, along with a couple of Greenshank and Little Egrets. Some Curlew used their longer legs and bills to hunt in deeper water, where a few Red-breasted Mergansers waited for the current to reverse and bring them some fish from the open sea. A small flock of starling rose from the strandline where heaps of decaying seaweed grow ever larger each time I visit. There were smaller birds with them, about 15 of which were Greenfinches. When three others alighted on a fence I could see they were Twite. This is a scarce but regular species along the Wigtownshire coast outside the bree...

 Sunny spells and showers, much cooler than recent days, medium north-westerly, low tide 16.56. On arrival at the beach mid-afternoon, I could see the amount of seaweed heaped on the foreshore had increased since last time and was attracting a variety of song-birds. Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were not unexpected but a late Wheatear was a pleasant surprise, most of them having already departed for warmer climes. It seemed to associate loosely with the resident pair of Stonechats as they hunted insects along the edge of the dunes, whirring out from the marram to the nearest clumps of wrack. The Greenfinch flock that has been present since mid-August was still in evidence; I counted 26 of them today. With a dog-walker heading seaward, I went the other way to view the riverine muddy margins where apparently a Spotted Redshank had been seen recently. I failed to locate the spotshank, but was rewarded with a Grey Plover, the first I’ve seen here this autumn. Several Common Redsh...

 My late afternoon visit began about an hour past low tide and the expanse of exposed mud in the south-east corner of the loch was busy with feeding birds. But they would have to wait, for even as I pulled into the parking area by the Ryan Bay Holiday Park my eager eyes had distinguished a small group of Whooper Swans in amongst the Mutes. There were just four of them, a pair with one youngster and another adult. Perhaps newly arrived from Iceland, they seemed keen to rest with head tucked under a wing rather than dipping for weed as their plentiful resident cousins were doing. A little later, the single adult perked up a bit, gave a couple of whooping calls and began to feed. It was an excellent start to what proved to be a very productive hour before I had to get to the supermarket. Surrounding hills were lost to view in the foggy conditions but visibility across the loch was surprisingly good. In fact, the flat light seemed somehow to enhance the performance of my decidedly av...

  K illantringan lies on the west coast of the Rhins peninsula, Wigtownshire; the southern-most county of Scotland. This first day of October was  warm  and  sunny  with good visibility. From the cliffs of Black Head I could discern clearly the coastal hills of Antrim in Ireland across the North Channel. Decommissioned some years ago, the Killantringan lighthouse is now in private ownership and what glorious sea views the occupants have, although it must be a very exposed position when storms roll across. The public car-park is on the cliff-top facing north up the Scottish coast and I set out from there to explore scrubby slopes above a rocky shore.  My attention was immediately drawn to the sound of cascading water where a burn plunged over the edge.     Following upstream, I disturbed a Grey Wagtail that flew off with a sharp call and a flash of rich yellow underparts. Further up I came to a swampy area where run-off from surrounding slopes...