A night of snow showers and clear intervals which left slicks of ice on the roads gave way to a cloudless morning which we enjoyed on the beach at Littleferry meeting only one other couple and their small dog. We saw few shore birds, just gulls, a dozen cormorants, some oystercatchers, and three redshanks, until we reached....
....the mouth of Loch Fleet where, although there was a similar paucity of wildlife, at least it had more variety, with a few eider and what might have been a common scoter to add to the mix.
The mudflats of the inner basin of Loch Fleet were as deserted save for a single shelduck, a few widgeon, the usual gulls and crows, and some oystercatchers. We're becoming used to these deserted landscapes though we cannot work out why these rich feeding grounds aren't crowded with birds.
It is a very quiet time of year, as if everything is waiting breathlessly for the temperatures to rise. Even the fungi are dormant: this yellow brain fungus, growing as usual on a dead gorse branch, was the only one we found.
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