Where have all the geese gone?!

A solitary Ringed Plover foraged among the rocks on the West Beach near The Nairn Golf Course early this afternoon.  I don't see too many of these around Nairn: if any more are out there please let me know.

As usual there was a small flock of Eider Ducks on the waves just off shore, among the Cormorants and Gulls.

Where do all the geese go when the snow comes?  The Pinkfoot have made their way from Iceland and Greenland to avoid the cold and snow, only to struggle to find grazing lands around Nairn after our early onset of winter.  Many pass through Nairn on their way down to the central belt and lowlands; some moving on to East Anglia in England.  But with the whole of the East Coast of England swathed on snow, where do they go?  Unfortunately I don't have the answer!  Are they still grazing on the farmlands around here?  If anyone knows, please let us all know.

One last point: I'm on the look out for Snow Buntings and Purple Sandpipers - both showing themselves around this time.  The former are sparrow sized buntings, with lots of white; abundant on the Cairngorms - many to be seen in the car park.  Last year they were all over gorse around the beach, and on the harbour wall.  The Purple Sandpipers are normally seen on the rocky shores of the West Beach.  These are small upstanding and dark birds, about half the size of a Redshank.  Again, please let me know when you see them.

Seamus