Stormy Weather

Red sky in the morning seen through the trees in Lundin Links.

Stormy seas - the waves crash on to the rocks opposite the pier in Lower Largo

Female Sisken

A female sisken has been visiting our garden in recent days.

A Mossy Bank

A mossy bank - Dumbarnie Links Wildlife Reserve

In the winter, when so much of the vegetation is drab and brown, the brilliant green of the mosses stands out.

Close-up picture of the moss. (Click on photo for larger image)

First Snowdrops

The first snowdrops on a piece of rough ground in exactly the same spot as last year and at roughly the same time. Snowdrops are beginning to show in the garden but they are not fully out yet.

Big Garden Birdwatch

For some years the RSPB have been running a garden birdwatch on the last weekend in January. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or online. My results for this year were

Blackbird : 2
Blue tit : 2
Coal tit : 1
Great tit : 2
Chaffinch : 1
House sparrow : 3
Robin : 1
Woodpigeon : 1
Starling: 3
Crow: 2

For the last couple of days we had long-tailed tits, goldfinches, apair of collared doves and a female sisken visiting, But of course they were nowhere to be seen today. As we were watching two swans flew overhead, something I've never see from the garden before. Can't be counted of course because they didn't land.

Oyster catchers, Dunlin

Oyster catchers and Dunlin on the rocks opposite Lower Largo Pier. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Long-tailed Tits

Long-tailed tits on the bird feeder. (Click on photo to enlarge)

In the past long-tailed tits have occasionally flitted through our Lundin Links garden. However, for the last month or so, they have been coming almost every-day and have been feeding on peanuts, fat-balls and sunflower seeds. Have also seen increased numbers of blue tits and coal tits. Also saw a tree-creeper a few days ago.

Dumbarnie Links - Land Snails

Land snail shells from Dumbarnie Links (Click on Photo to see larger image)

Dumbarnie Links Reserve is a small area of calcareous dune grassland in the centre of Largo Bay and according to the information board there are 25 species of land snail living amongst the dune grassland. This includes two rare species, the colourfully patterned heath snail and the tiny cylindrical whorl snail.

The photo shows the shells of just a few that I came across on the sandy path through the reserve. Most numerous was the brown-lipped banded snail (top left). The number and spacing of bands is very varied and they are sometimes absent. Top middle is the common or garden snail. I'm not sure about the identification of the others. Some may be variants of the banded snail. The small snail bottom left is the only one to have a hollow - the umbilicus - on its underside.

Grey Seal

This grey seal was basking on a rock close to the shore in Lundin Links today, and semed to be looking straight at me.