Loch Fleet

After another wet and windy night and little prospect of improvement in the weather we walked in woodland this morning along the northern shore of Loch Fleet, pelted by the occasional wintery shower but mercifully sheltered from the strong wind, stopping for a few chilly minutes at....

....the bird hide to inspect the bird life out on the edge of the marshland.

Most of the birds there were waders but we were surprised by the number of shelduck, at least twenty. Also surprising was that, of the waders, curlew seemed to be there in large numbers, mixed in with smaller waders, perhaps knots, a good dose of oystercatchers, and a few ducks.

The vast majority seemed very content to sleep, heads tucked under wings, while a more energetic few stalked the mudflats as they were exposed by the falling tide.

As we walked further along the banks of the loch we came across a small flock of redshanks, a dozen or so, feeding amongst the seaweed.

When we came out of the forestry onto the beach another heavy shower was advancing from the west. We seem to be stuck in this weather system, a strong low pressure area to the north of us drawing wet Atlantic air from the west. It's time for a change but, please, no more snow: it's very pretty and photogenic but for days afterwards we teeter around on compacted ice.