Disappointments

I took our most usual walk this morning, north along the coast path towards Dunrobin Castle but stopping to sit on the bench which overlooks this shallow bay with its long-disused stone pier. Much of the shore bird population, as with our garden birds, seems to have disappeared with, for example, not a redshank nor a ringed plover in sight, the only....

....birds in any numbers being gulls, like this pair of herring gulls, cormorants and the usual chatty oystercatchers.

As time progressed the sky cleared so I was sitting with nothing to do but enjoy the warm sunshine and wish the occasional passer-by a good day, looking out across the firth....

....to where some impressive cumulus was building over Ross-shire when....

....something disturbed the sea's smooth surface. It was a small pod of half-a-dozen dolphins but their surfacing and the click of my camera shutter simply refused to coincide so all I have is pictures of patches of disturbed water. It was frustrating, as was the next moment of potential excitement when.....

....what might have been our long-sought otter surfaced close inshore. It wasn't an otter but a seal, which swam slowly away from me, as if disappointed in my lack of enthusiasm.