Panic

Having just commented with a passing birder that the Barnacle Geese had not arrived back in force yet, I then came across a flock of almost a thousand that had clearly freshly arrived and were very twitchy. Just as I was settling to look through the flock, a passing White-tailed Eagle scattered them to the four corners of Baleshare.
With ducks and geese everywhere in the air, all that was left was a Mute Swan with its cygnet. The White-tailed Eagle thought it worth a pop and swooped several times, much to the consternation and annoyance of the adult swan. After several attempts, needless to say the eagle - a young inexperienced bird looking at its plumage - went away hungry, probably looking for the easier picking of a rabbit carcase - or a full grown sheep if you believe some of the local crofters!
In the calm of the afternoon, I then put up my mist nets and caught all of nine birds. First of the year and hopefully not the last.