On Sunday 10th October Dean MacAskill led a group of 12 SOC members to some of the hot birding spots on the east coast of Sutherland, beginning with a walk along the beautiful sands of Dornoch Beach towards Dornoch Point. We had several species of note including 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Common Tern, a growing flock of Linnet, 8 Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Divers and 2 Reed-bunting. The two highlights, however, were the enormous number of juvenile Gannets just off-shore, and 1 adult, dark phase Pomarine Skua which was harassing the gulls for a free lunch.
Dornoch Beach (Sue Seright)
Next stop was Embo near the pier where we had wonderful views of a flock of Sanderling along with Turnstone, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Pied and White Wagtail and a cheery flock of Starling.
On to Loch Fleet to be greeted by 2 pale-bellied Brent Geese, a Red Kite and a gorgeous rainbow.
Next stop was Embo near the pier where we had wonderful views of a flock of Sanderling along with Turnstone, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Pied and White Wagtail and a cheery flock of Starling.
On to Loch Fleet to be greeted by 2 pale-bellied Brent Geese, a Red Kite and a gorgeous rainbow.
Our final stop was Brora where we battled with the increasing wind to see a small, but delightful, flock of 8 Little Gulls bouncing about over the choppy waters.
Our count for the day was about 43 species. It was lovely to welcome 2 new birders to our outings – Fiona and Caroline. We all owe a huge thank you to Dean for generously sharing his local patch with us, and finding some very special birds for us to see.
Our count for the day was about 43 species. It was lovely to welcome 2 new birders to our outings – Fiona and Caroline. We all owe a huge thank you to Dean for generously sharing his local patch with us, and finding some very special birds for us to see.
Loch Fleet (Carol Miller)
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