August 17th

There is no denying that it felt like autumn this morning with the cool temperatures and the westerly gale. A characteristic of this summer has been the lack of wind, making it feel much more summery. It feels back to “normal” now, although with the climate changes predicted over the next few years what normal is, is hard to say. I found another two of my colour-ringed redshanks back this morning, making 12 back out of the 22 that were still alive in February this year. I don’t give up hope until the middle of October – some come back early straight from wherever they breed (Orkney? The Hebrides?), whereas other take a more leisurely return and stopover at Montrose (I get regular sightings of the Crail birds from there in August and September).

A redshank born this summer and spending its first winter (and probably all subsequent ones) with us at Crail