Marwick

I went up to the hide at The Loons. A 'ringtail' hen harrier (ie a female or juvenile, which are alike in appearance) soon appeared and hunted over the reed-beds. Then a male appeared but behaved very differently. He sat in some rushes for about an hour, rising occasionally to hunt over the same small area. Mallards and curlew stayed on the ground below- they are too large for him, but still looked a bit nervous. I glimpsed a water rail at the spot- maybe that was what the harrier was after. About a hundred Greenland race white-fronted geese were nearby. I walked to Marwick and along the shore. On the way back I spotted something in the water. I thought it a common seal but, once I got the binoculars on it, saw that it was a beautiful, sinuous otter. More here.