Balblair Bird Hide

With the weather grey and wet, and strong winds forecast, we walked in Balblair Woods this morning with the intention of stopping off at the NatureScot bird hide in the hope of seeing some of the migrants, particularly the bar-tailed godwits, which should be passing through around now.

The hide is set well back from Loch Fleet's water's edge, and with....

....such sun as there was low in our faces, the birds far away, and the light poor across the water, it was difficult to identify the species out on the loch. Geese, I think pink-footed, were constantly rising to set off for their morning's foraging but, looking at the view above, there were plenty of other birds on the water - they're visible at bottom right.

Distinguishing what was out there proved difficult. The birds in the middle distance are geese, the nearer mass of smaller birds are mainly widgeon, and....

....this shot includes geese, widgeon, oystercatchers and curlews.

We need to come at a time when the rising tide forces the birds to feed much closer to the hide. This morning we were there some two-and-a-half hours after low water, so we need to time our rival about an hour later.

Perhaps, too, I should invest in a massive telephoto lens.