Loadsa ducks...

Woke up to a beautiful sunny frosty morning today (26th) so I decided to do a bit of birding in Inverness before college in the afternoon. I headed to the Longman Hide at the Outfall first. The layby was very full with a burger van and 3 customers that had stopped so I didnt stay long. There were small numbers of Teal, Wigeon and Goldeneye on the very calm water. There was also small groups of Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatcher with a handful of Great Black-backed, Black-headed and Herring Gulls. Four Cormorants were sat out on one of the markers.

I then made my way around to the small bay opposite the football ground carpark. Again some Wigeon were present on the far side with some Mallard and some Redshank also. Then a dark looking duck caught my eye over in a shaded corner. I watched closely and then noticed there was 2! I watched them for about 20 minutes getting decent views, they slowly drifted towards me and I was confident now, Scaup! A life tick for me, brilliant.

I now headed round the corner to Milton of Culloden where c50 Shelduck were just off the shore. There were again good numbers of Wigeon and Teal a bit further out. Plenty of Mallard and group of 20 Goldeneye were also present. As I walked along the shore and rounded a small corner I saw Scaup everywhere, 46 in total. It was getting close to leaving time now and I wanted to check further around nearer the point before college so I headed back. Whilst heading back to the car a distant Great Crested Grebe, my first of the year, was seen.

Scaup - Aythya marila

I moved around to Arturlie Point to have a quick check which produced similar species that had been seen so far but with the added bonus of 4 Rock Pipits that landed on the shore just as I was leaving.

Rock Pipit