July 10th

More change at Balcomie today. There are now over 100 dunlin present with the first juvenile of the year. More redshanks and the first turnstones back. Other new birds were a couple of common sandpipers, another knot and best of all two black-tailed godwits – always a good bird for the Crail list. They are common on the Eden Estuary but only a few pass through Crail in July or August. One of the godwits, at least, looked like an Icelandic bird with strongly barred chestnut flanks. They breed in Europe generally to the south of us and then winter even further south and only breed to the north of us in Iceland so this makes sense. Most of the waders were gathered into the main high tide roost on the large rock by stinky pool (this is the one where all the shags and cormorants sit regardless of tide), with half the dunlins feeding with the many gulls and eiders on the tideline of Balcomie Beach.

The two black-tailed godwits at Balcomie today