Beady Eye

Well it was almost like Spring today. The sun actually came out for a few hours and it was relatively mild. We headed down to Campbeltown in the morning for the weeks shopping and while Mrs B did her thing in Tesco I headed off for a blip!

With the brighter light I thought I would try my luck with whatever birds were about the harbour area. However, the tide was out and there were few birds to be seen. It may have something to do with the breeding season, but the Eider Ducks have gone elsewhere. There were, however, a couple of Curlews feeding in the seaweed, although they kept at range and were quite camera shy. A couple of Herons were standing together and made a nice blip other than the empty space between them.

I settled instead for the Oyster Catchers, which were wading amongst the mussel beds in search of their breakfast. Like the Curlews they kept their distance from the camera and darted away when I approached. They are certainly in my top ten favourite birds, probably because I associate the song of the Oyster Catcher with being by the sea. There is also something about its orangey red beady eye, which although maybe a bit unnerving is also very attractive.