More Firsts for the Season

I spent some minutes this morning leaning on the rail of the footbridge across the Golspie Burn looking, mostly, for the dippers. We've seen no sign of them this winter - signs including their very distinctive white faeces deposited on the tops of some of the larger stones in the burn - and this is about the time they usually begin to put in an appearance. 

On a more positive note, I did see a first for the season, a brief sighting of a grey wagtail flipping around between the boulders, one of the birds which moves south every winter. Sadly, it was no more than a glimpse, so no photo.

This isn't really a first for this season as we've seen, and heard, several song thrushes already, but this one was in the small field just the other side of the burn and singing beautifully. What was odd was that he was buried deep in a low bush. It was as if he was practising his songs preparatory to venturing into the tops of the trees to commence the real thing.

Here are two firsts, the first dandelion and the first big hoverfly. It always seems that the first dandelion, like the first daisy the other day, is perfect.

Again, this isn't a first for the season but we've relatively few curlews around at the moment so I was please to get a photo of this one, particularly as it was so well camouflaged amid the seaweed-encrusted rocks exposed by the falling tide and, from the way its looking over its shoulder, well aware of my presence.