The last couple of days have been really miserable weather-wise with lots (and lots) of rain. Today it had brightened up a bit so I decided to head out to Ferry Point for a couple hours and take a walk along the water's edge back towards the mouth of the Conon River.
The geese were in the fields again as they have been for the last few days. Hundreds of Greylags on show in the field nearest the houses on the waterfront. All the fields were heavily flooded with some deep enough for the geese to swim around. I spent a good while analysing the flock again for anything different but I couldn't see anything just hundreds of Greylags (which are still fun to watch).
I headed West along the "Round Dingwall Walk" keeping an eye on the shoreline and the adjacent fields. 3 Buzzards were circling overhead and calling and plenty of Black-headed Gulls flying about. Getting closer to the river mouth and the "islands" that it creates revealed produced hundreds of gulls included quite a few common which let me test my gull ID and I had fun being able to pick out some 1st-winters. There were also plenty Herring Gulls a few Great Black-backed Gulls and c200 Lapwing. A cormorant also flew West further inland. I kept walking West until the first of the stormy showers rolled in. Just before turning back I spotted a Little Grebe and a Reed Bunting, with the Reed Bunting being a tick for the area.
On my way back I spotted a couple of Goldeneyes and plenty of Redshank. One of the fields also held good numbers of Curlew. The highlight of the walk was found in one of the fields closer to the start of the walk which was a small group of Pink-footed Geese. 7 of them on their own in clear view which was great to be able to watch them without my eyes having to fight through the masses of Greylags.
A quick check at the point produced the usual suspects, plenty of Wigeon, but also a Cormorant giving good views only a few metres off shore on a sandbank drying off. The next stormy shower came in at that point even harder this time so I called it a day.
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