Today's short expedition (but it felt like a large one!) was to Nairn's beautiful East Beach. My first time on it as the soft sand was frozen to enable access to the firmer sand. Temperatures dropped to minus 4 degrees centigrade at 2:15pm and 3" of ice on the pavements and road.
There were very busy mixed flocks braving the cold and the footsteps of walkers, as they brave the close proximity of the disturbances and continue their feeding in the tall grasses (the only grass available)on the edge of the sand.
The flocks included: up to 30 Yellowhammers (a few of them jumping up and down on the ice covered grass!); a few Linnet and one Twite that I could pick out. Fieldfare and Redwing rushed around the grasses too and a Song Thrush sat huddled under a bush. One Snipe flew overhead.
Plenty of Knot on the sandbar east of the harbour wall. One solitary Rook trying to break through the ice.
An enjoyable jaunt - but very, very cold with a biting and cutting wind that really knew where it was going! But, the cold does bring the birds out to view, but they really are struggling to cope.
No comments:
Post a Comment