May 16th

The easterly winds are back with some rain forecast for the weekend. But nothing was happening yet except at Fife Ness and Balcomie. A flock of at least 100 arctic terns were feeding about a kilometre out with another 40 or so on the rocks to the north of the beach. It was the first day this year that there were arctic, common and sandwich terns present. There were manx shearwater too. A great northern diver passed heading north looking like a cormorant but with huge feet trailing behind.

A great northern diver heading north past Fife Ness – equally credible if you imagine it flying backwards because of its huge feet, a really useful feature at a distance (JA)