A Dreich Loch Fleet

Anyone who dreams of living in the Scottish Highlands needs a regular reminder that a fair proportion of days look like this, grey, wet, windy, cold, miserable - the Scots word dreich describes them perfectly - except....

....the Highlands' saving grace is that, if you're prepared to go out in all weathers, there's almost always something of interest to find, as on today's walk along the north shore of Loch Fleet. There, with the tide falling, a hundred or so waders were working the mud along the tideline.

It's difficult to identify them as the pictures were taken against the light (such as there was) but the length and shape of the bill and the suggestion of colour in their legs leads me to think they were redshanks - which are a welcome sight as we've spotted very few of them along the shore in recent weeks.

We also found a couple of interesting fungi, this one noted for its sturdy stalk and pores instead of gills, which suggest that it's one of the boletes. Although I can't identify it any further, not with any certainty, it may be a penny bun.

More impressive in scale was this group, the largest being almost six inches across. Impressive it may be but I've been unable to identify it, though it may be one of the funnels.

We walked along the loch side for an hour or so, the wind and rain blowing into our faces. Stopping for a few moments at our furthest point and looking up the loch towards the Mound it seemed as if the sky might clear but the few minutes of watery sunshine were merely a brief reminder of how this place can, occasionally, be: the rain returned.