Along the Beach

This morning we walked along the beach to the southwest of the village as far as Littleferry and the entrance to Loch Fleet, where the falling tide was drawing a strong current out of the loch.

Such a walk is never without interest. Male members of a small group of long-tailed ducks were fighting each other just off the beach, so engrossed in dashing and splashing and diving that they didn't see us until we were within a few yards of them, at which point they made a hasty retreat.

We saw few waders along the beach, small groups of oystercatchers and some redshanks, and this lone ringed plover - suitably named as, if you look closely at its right leg, it has a ring on it.

Fish standings included a small ray, much chewed by the gulls, a flat fish - probably a dab - which was consumed in a single gulp by a large black-backed gull, and a couple of these fry, which may explain why several gulls were paddling around in the shallows.

This isn't the first time we've come across one of these small, colourless jellyfish but I still can't find it on the internet. Perhaps they aren't jellyfish. It shouldn't bother me but I am really irritated when I can't identify something.