Whooper Swans at Strathbeg

From the Tower Pool Hide at Strathbeg this afternoon we were able to watch thousands of whooper swans (wintering here from Iceland) and lapwings, smaller numbers of shellduck, mallards and greenshanks on the water. Several herons stalked the pools. Two  huge skeins of pink footed geese arrived noisily just as we approached the hide and settled in a field on the far side of the water. The whole area was as busy as an avian airport: there were constant arrivals and departures of plangently trumpeting swans. The lapwings grew restless and wheeled and tumbled in the air, the low afternoon sun catching their wings.

A small skein of geese approaching  Strathbeg from the North

In the wildlife garden near the visitor centre we saw a large flock of tree sparrows, one of the reserve's 'star species'. Alas, there was no sign, on the apples hung out for their delectation, of the waxwings we particularly wanted to see. It appears that almost the whole  contingent of migrants to Scotland is feasting on berries in Portsoy.