We parked this morning at a point along the Littleferry road where a short walk gave us this view across Loch Fleet. From here we could watch the a scattering of birds working the mudflats - mallard, shelduck, widgeon, oystercatcher, curlew, and half-a-dozen gulls - before crossing the road and plunging....
....into the plantation, parts of which were badly hit by the storms of the early winter.
Walking through this woodland we identified wren, crow, woodpecker and blackbird but the place was eerily silent, so we were quite pleased to emerge on the far side onto....
....a sandy beach reappearing after the 8am high tide, with something dark lying on it - visible at very centre of this picture - which turned out to be....
....a seal, minding its own business while it enjoyed the sun.
We skirted widely round it but it didn't enjoy our presence so....
....made its way down the beach and, reluctantly....
....out to sea, from where it lay watching us until we had passed.
We walked a little further along the beach, seeing just three oystercatcher, three sanderling and a single gull, until we found a spot where we could sit and watch the view and the occasional passing humans - in the event, just one small group of three people with three dogs.
It was a beautiful morning for a walk, if a little chilly, but the lack of wildlife - even allowing that many species may already be involved in pairing up and nest-building - remains a real worry.
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