Stil Preoccupied by Iceland Gulls

I got up at 6ish this morning. A sore head after several Laphroigs & Glenfiddichs and 2 cans of Stella consumed the previous evening. The living room still smelt of smoke from the log that rolled out the fireplace last night. Outside it was still dark (obviously) although I could hear a Song Thrush singing. Still far too early to do the big garden birdwatch.

By 8:20 it was light enough to see. I was aware of birds in the garden. A Coal tit was flitting around, a couple of Dunnocks, a Jackdaw. It seemed as good a time as any to sit and watch for an hour. During the first half hour, most of the garden regulars were logged albeit in very small numbers. A female Bullfinch appeared. I get them quite regularly, but this was the first for a while. Suddenly, a Sparrowhawk shot down the garden and scattered everything. For 5 minutes nothing. Then gradually things started to return, including a cracking Goldcrest on the fat balls. A mega in my garden ! Final total was 15, no Magpies that are regular or Collared Doves (occasional) or House Sparrow (1 or 2 from time to time). Nonetheless, I was quite proud of my final score. I eagerly filed my results online.

After a trip into town, I checked the Heritage Loch mid afternoon. It was largely frozen and all the Tufted Duck had departed. 120 Wood Pigeon & 39 Lapwing were in fields just West of the loch. Lots of gulls on the ice including an Argentatus Herring Gull, several Great Black Backs and a 1st Winter Iceland. Looked like the same one I photographed 2 weeks ago: