Went to Pollok Estate to see if I could find any Nuthatch (they have been seen in the area recently but are a rare bird in this part of the country and I didn't really expect to see them). To my surprise within 15 mins of leaving the car I heard one calling, I went to wards the area the call came from and the bird started singing, I managed to get some distant images of the bird feeding high up in a tree. Also saw my first Swallow of the year there.

...

Stopped off for a quick visit to Hogganfield Loch at 1415 hrs and was greeted by the trilling calls of a flock of Waxwings, after a quick scan they were quickly located and I went over and took some photos. There were 57 birds present and they were very restless, managed aome record shots of these wonderfull birds before they flew off to another part of the park.

This female Merlin was hunting over the saltmarsh at Aberlady Bay in East Lothian. It was constantly hovering, a behaviour I haven't witnessed before with this species. It suddenly made a short dash and plunged into vegetation, after a short time it flew up with this unlucky Snipe securely in it's talons.



Also managed to get a poor and very hurried shot of a Jack Snipe before it dropped back down into the saltmarsh....

Would anybody like to take a guess at how many species of waders and what they are in the photo below.



cheers, John

It's time for birds to think about producing the next generation, shorebirds are under a lot of pressure through disturbance and loss of habitat. Dogs can be a particular threat as they often crush eggs by either running over them or by rolling on them (I have seen this happen and it isn't pleasant for the birds).

If you wander along our coasts, particularly with a dog please be on the look out for any distressed birds and try keeping disturbance to a minimum by altering your route...