Superb weather again today – barely a cloud in the sky, warm, sunny and a light breeze at times – but still possibly the hottest day this year?
Up at Kilchoman Margaret Brooke sent in a note of some fascinating Chough behaviour she witnessed today: “Just had a great encounter with 2 Chough chasing a stoat between the house and church wall. The Chough who were very cross landed on the ground just outside my door. As the top half of the door was open I went to see why they were on the ground and saw the stoat hiding under my post box. When it ran out they chased it along the path out to the road”
There was a sub-adult White-tailed Eagle sat on the sand at the top of Loch Gruinart at lunchtime, which eventually flew off in the direction of Gortantaoid where a Golden Eagle was circling high.
At the North Hide this afternoon a white-ruffed male Ruff was new in and a pleasant surprise. The slowly drying out floods there are exposing more mud and presumably providing lots of worms and wigglies for the ever-present Dunlin and Ringed Plovers to feed on: There were 124 Dunlin and 66 Ringed Plover today.
The “mystery egret” of yesterday was relocated at the South hide in the late afternoon and is a mystery no more. After a long period of sitting with its head tucked under its wings, it showed good views of the head and bill colour, stretched an enormously long neck and flew off showing its legs at last – definitely a Great Egret in breeding plumage and possibly the same bird that was reported on Mull two days ago. Below is a truly awful digi-scoped attempt of a photo: not much good but “better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick”.
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