Cottasgarth

I was volunteering with the RSPB in the morning. We were putting a coat of varnish on Anne Bignall's mural in Cottasgarth hide. We got on pretty well ( a lot of the work was done yesterday)  and I got dropped off at Scapa beach. I went there because c150 little auks were reported the other day but I was working. There were only 100 or so there today- but I have only ever seen 3-4 together so that was good. I actually saw more species there today than ever before, partly because a very rare bird had been found by Keith Hague- a Brunnich's guillemot. This resulted in lots of the local birders turning up and spotting what was around. We could see the BG from afar. The bird list included: bar-tailed and black-tailed godwit, guillemots, black guillemots, little auks, razorbills, 2 puffins, 1 great skua, slavonian grebe, gannet, grey heron, kittiwakes, eiders, red-breasted merganser, shags etc. I only had my wee camera so myphotos aren't great but I will go again tomorrow in hope of closer views of the Brunnich's. One shot of  l. auks as my extra