The year is moving on again. Balcomie Beach was empty of waders this afternoon and there was only a flock of oystercatchers roosting on the nearby rocks. The first two goosanders of the year were back for their post-breeding moult. I watched a male already in eclipse (female type) plumage fishing off the beach. They swim along with their head below the water looking for fish before they dive after them. The eiders are forming post breeding flocks too. The males have begun to look dark and patchy and there are many females around now, presumably non-breeders and the ones that have lost all of their chicks (which are quite scarce now). The young starlings are now on the beach feeding on the seaweed piles at the high tide line. Most are still associating with their parents and the large post-breeding almost all juvenile flocks haven’t formed quite yet. At sea almost every auk was flying by with a bill full of sandeels. At a distance the guillemots look like they have white faces like the puffins as the fish catch the light.
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