Another Welcome Return

I first heard one about ten days ago, far out across the waters of the firth, a series of short, grating cries quite different to the coo-coo of the rafts of eider trying to sort out their mating preferences. They were far too far out to see, even with binoculars, but....

....although they were closer in on Saturday, just off the mouth of Loch Fleet, they are so frailly built that spotting them against the brightness of the sky is a lottery, so it wasn't until this morning as we were walking along Golspie's promenade looking for the dog otter that's supposed to be there - we still haven't seen an otter since coming to Golspie - that....

....I saw one.... and then another, and.... when I had dragged the camera out of its case, yet another.

They're terns, most likely Sandwich terns, back from their winter holidays along the coasts of north, west and southwest Africa - see post about them here. Welcome back, terns!