Unfortunately November was a pretty uneventful month with a lot of mild weather – therefore not bringing in a lot of winter migrants. However there were a few highlights towards the end of the month when weather conditions began to get a bit wild.
8-18th November…. Had a trip up to Scotland, managed a few days out birding; the highlights been a gorgeous juvenile Red Kite off the main road between Dunkeld and Aberfeldy i.e the Old Military road (A822).
I also managed a trip up to the Loch of Lowes again, for the resident Red Squirrels … brilliant to see them out in the Autumn colours.
20th November …The weather has turned cold and there was a slight covering of snow overnight. So it was great to get out in the garden this morning and photograph some Dunnocks that were visiting the garden.The snow didn’t last long and it quickly melted!! Dunnocks have such subtle colours of browns and greys… Thankfully this bird was quite happy for a close approach and was completely unconcerned.
22nd November… There was a big ‘Blow’ yesterday along the East Coast … Today was like a mill pond. However, the consequence of that storm were numerous sightings of Little Auks being seen along the coast.
Today, a rather tired Little Auk was found just off Marine Drive. So the ‘Twitch’ was on!! It was one of those occasions when everything just clicks; the Little Auk was found within 10 minutes of arriving …. brilliant to see these small seabirds so close. Little Auks are synonymous with the high Arctic and when the conditions are right huge numbers are blown into the North Sea during Autumn gales.
An added bonus to the Little Auk, were some close sightings of Bottlenose Dolphins …What a Day!!!
