Sometimes as a birder, you just have to grin and bear it....
I've realised I need to stop listening to my mate Bill. Sure, he's a repository of a lifetime's worth of birding knowledge, and is damned good company to boot, but his other- worldly luck with birding sets an exceptionally high bar, and an unrealistic expectation of "well, my mate Bill can do it, so can I...." This is a chap, remember, who birds go to see.
My trip to Fairlie, as challenging as it had been, was still good enough to reignite the warm, happy birding glow, after my January stutters. I resisted the urge to do a comparison with January 2023, and instead focused on my next adventure. Bill had happily let me know he had had an excellent day in Dumbartonshire...