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...

Sunny spells, sharp showers, strong north-westerly, high tide 16.52. I headed seaward at first because a dog-walker had just returned from the upstream end of the beach and would have disturbed everything there. The rising tide worked to my advantage and drove a mixed flock of waders towards me. They landed on the stony fringe of the rapidly filling creek and I counted about 90 Turnstone as they began to feed in a frantic manner. Among them were seven Dunlin, five Golden Plover and a single Ruff, possibly the same one as last week. No sign of the Curlew-Sandpipers nor did I spot any Ringed Plover or Redshank, which was surprising. Curlew and Oystercatcher were present of course, although numbers of both appeared to be reduced, with counts of about 40 and 70 respectively. As usual on a rising tide, a few Cormorants and Mergansers swam up the creek, presumably following fish. Today they were joined by a Common Seal, which hauled itself out onto a sand-bank. I could clearly discern it...

 Bands of rain, strong south-westerly, high tide 15.23. There were five Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Bishop Burn late afternoon among about 120 Mute Swans. The Brents always remind me of Dublin where I grew up. A thousand or so Pale-bellies used to winter in Dublin Bay at that time, especially on the north-side near my home. The Bull Island provided high tide sanctuary and the surrounding mudflats had plentiful Zostera seagrass for feeding. In more recent years, they have taken to cropping amenity grasslands in local urban parks, seemingly unphased by human activity. They have even become an argument against the development of parkland for housing. I know that Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland also hosts a flock and that’s just a short hop across the North Channel from Wigtownshire, so I will be interested to see how many turn up here. Recent D&G Annual Bird Reports give counts over 300 for Loch Ryan. Today’s gathering of swans seems to be a pretty high count for this site, ...

  Sunny spells, moderate westerly, low tide 18.33. On arrival at the parking area mid-afternoon, it was immediately obvious from tracks in the sand that joy-riders had been at the site recently. They had crisscrossed the foreshore several times before their escapade came to an inglorious end in the middle of the tidal channel. For there was the vehicle, a Mitsubishi pick-up, abandoned mid-stream to leak its noxious fluids into the water. Whomever was to blame, juvenile delinquents high on drink and drugs or otherwise, they may have had a lengthy walk home during which to contemplate their folly. With dog-walkers away to the east, I headed upstream first to see what was utilizing the freshly exposed riverine mudflats. A dozen Lapwing was the answer, along with some Curlew, Oystercatcher and Redshank, plus a pair of Little Egrets and a Grey Heron. A flock of loafing gulls included Common, Black-headed and a couple of young Herring. On the upper shore, there were a few Skylark l...