Scotland the Brave - Part VI

Unfortunately, it was time to say farewell to Jane and the wonderful

Mellon Patch

with our onward journey taking us back to the 

Morey Firth

of which we had planned to cover just about the full length before nightfall.

We did consider another crack at the King Eider, but as

"time and tide wait for no man"

we continued east along what seemed to be an everlasting string 

of tiny and mostly picturesque Fishing Villages.

First of these was Ardesier, perhaps better know for the

construction of and repair of off-shore Oil Rigs rather than delicate little chaps such as

 TREE SPARROW

 which we missed, due to the lateness of the hour, on a previous visit to the site

 when they had all gone to roost.

 As on that occasion, we were passing by anyway

 so no great discomfort to view this small little critters

now 'extinct' in Dorset!

It was no surprise either to see this

DIVE SHIP

waiting to enter harbour with her huge helicopter deck welded onto the top

of the bridge and sticking out like a huge proboscis.

In Nairn Bay we struck lucky on just a brief 'sea watch' with all of the 

3 more common Divers, and although we had recorded 

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER

 on our Cornwall trip earlier in the year, and

Red-throated Diver

on this the single addition to the Year List was

BLACK-THROATED DIVER

This neck-of-the-woods, like much of the rest of the Scottish Coast is

Eider-Ville

so it may be best to brace yourselves for some action from these

robust and stunning sea ducks.

 EIDER

 with some males displaying

and closer inshore

on the 'preening perches'.

As we had savoured the delight which is Portknockie earlier in the trip,

we gave it a wide berth settling instead for the rocky shoreline at

Burghead

where, back in 1994 my Great Britain List was blessed with the inclusion of the extremely rare

Grey-tailed Tattler.

It was thought highly unlikely that there would be any such luck today! 

However, there were a few Waders, only common fare but taking our minds off of Eider for a while.

CURLEW

CURLEW in company with REDSHANK

KNOT

and other shorebirds.

 There was also a small gathering of

COMMON SCOTER

(male)

further off-shore

(female)

Approaching Lossimouth and the Royal Air Force Station there, it was hoped that

we might get to see a few Jets buzzing about - but no!

The only aircraft open to view, and then behind a chain-link fence

was what looked every bit like a redundant

HAWKER SIDDELEY NIMROD

 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

and in a field close by a small gaggle of

PINK-FOOTED GEESE

on the ground for a change.

Closing Fraserbugh, our intended stop for the night and where the Firth meets the North Sea,

we found a few more Waders before arriving at the 

Sea Port Town.

OYSTERCATCHER

and another

REDSHANK

before commencing our search for 'White-winged Gulls' around the fish docks.

Plenty of free car parking hereabouts and nothing by way of restriction

should we have wished to drive around this 'work site', but the biggest shock for me

was the overall appearance of the harbour.

 During my many annual visits to this area it had historically been found to be,

what the locals here might describe as a 'MIDDEN' - a Rubbish Dump or Tip.

 Someone or something had certainly been brought to bear as the whole

place is now spick and span!

 During our wander a close encounter with an

ATLANTIC GREY SEAL

was a welcome experience but as is usual only the head could be seen.

TURNSTONE

also added to our delight but the light was beginning to fade as

Dave called me over from the other end of the pier.

 He had found a

GLAUCOUS GULL

 

 which certainly fitted part of the bill

 but without wishing to sound either

ungrateful or ungracious

 an Iceland Gull would have suited us both much better

having seen Glaucous during our

Norfolk Campaign

in early March.

It will doubtless have been noticed that this bird was complete with a

Darvik type 'ring' on its right leg inscribed 

T:69S

and an unreadable metal  one on the other. 

Other Gulls in attendance were a lot of immature

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS

showing at these close quarters just how big and brutish looking

they really are, but good value for all that.

We ended our day by looking over one of the bigger trawlers

registered at the port.

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