Looking west across the Nith from Powfoot.
Mrs. B. and I were very pleased to accept a kind invitation from Chris and Pat Baines to stay for a couple of days this past weekend. On our way to the Solway our first stop was Seafield Bay at Annan where the tide was in and there were a few Oystercatchers, Lapwings and a couple of Snipe roosting on the saltings. A passing Kingfisher was an incentive to get out of the car but the drizzle and chilly conditions were enough to induce a "southern softy retreat". After a quick breakfast we headed west towards the Nith stopping at Powfoot for Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plover on the exposed mud before scanning the mosses near Ruthwell where we found a good herd of 40+ Whooper Swans.
The 'usual' congregation of Barnacles was present between Ruthwell and Bankend and a quick scan revealed a single Pale-bellied Brent Goose. We drove along the Nith to Glencaple where there was another flock of Barnacles on the merse and a couple of hundred Wigeon on the mud. With a couple of hours of light to spare we decided to head to the other side of the estuary and do a spot of birding at Southerness. We couldn't resist a quick stop at the Drumburn viewpoint but it was getting darker by the minute as the weather appeared to be getting worse. This was a lucky stop though as a Little Egret could be seen in the murky conditions - an overdue D&G tick no less.
By the time we reached Southerness the tide was low so there was little of note on view on the sea. A nice flock of 220 Pink-footed Geese at Arbigland kept us busy for a while and the small gathering of Barnacles held the albino that we'd been seeing all winter I guess. We called it a day and drove to Wigtown where Pat was waiting for us.
Chris was spot-on with his weather forecast for the 21st. Utterly miserable! Nevertheless we headed out west with a lot of "birding from the car" in mind. A brief stop at Stairhaven produced 150+ Common Scoter in Luce Bay plus the usual Mergs, Goldeneye, etc. The visibility at Loch Ryan (above) was pretty bad but we still managed to find a few Black Guillemots near Cairn Ryan plus the usual huge rafts of Scaup and Wigeon. The west shore near Wig Bay was little better and we were looking into the rain as well. Only 9 Pale-bellied Brents near Soleburn but a sizeable flock of 750+ Pink-feet in the fields above Wig Bay was noteworthy. A female Merlin surprised some Starlings but no sign of any Twite at the Wig.
Feeling that Loch Ryan was not going to be kind to us today, we decided to drive to West Freugh to look for geese. It was some time before we found anything but a few Greylags though. A scattering of Greenland White-fronted Geese (83 in total) were well spread out and only one Pink-foot was a little disappointing but spirits were lifted when we found a ringtail Hen Harrier and a Peregrine darted past the car.
We left the Wigtown area on 22nd, saying goodbye to Chris and Pat after unrivalled hospitality at their home overlooking Carsegowan Moss. We drove to Monreith where we picked up a few "D&G year ticks" like Fulmar, Stonechat and Rock Pipit. There were quite a few Jackdaws about and having read about birds in Lancs showing characteristics of Nordic Jackdaws on the internet I decided to check some. Surprisingly I found quite a good example of a Nordic Jackdaw with a dark throat and pale greyish-white collar and pale grey underparts. We watched this bird through the 'scope but failed to get a picture due to the bad light and rain that had now started. We headed back south in dreadful weather after a nice break on the Solway once again. If the birding wasn't outstanding, Chris and Pat's company was worth the journey alone - thanks to you both once again.
