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Message: <blockquote data-quote="choughed2bits" data-source="post: 1553529" data-attributes="member: 58712">Went for a bit of a stroll along the shore yesterday evening with the prime idea of seeing how many Sandwich Terns had rings on. None, according to my best efforts, but they have short stubby legs and seemed very reluctant to can-can on request. Sorry Ken, but if any do show a bit of leg, i'll be sure to let you know. Other than that, a sparrowhawk flew over the scrub and landed in a tree up the hill, perched for a minute or two, and then flew off for more substantial cover from the smirr. The main focus of my attention thereafter were the small berry bushes up the hill which were showing a bit of Willow Warbler and Common Whitethroat activity. There were also a couple Sedge Warblers, which by all accounts seemed rather tame and were showing pretty well. Elsewhere in the shrubbery there were good numbers of Linnet and House Sparrow taking shelter.Back out on the seaside of the path there were plenty of Sandwich Terns flying around. A bit hard t count but i'd reckon my initial estimate of around 50 is quite conservative, so there are loads. There were some juvenile Kittiwakes flying past and all the usual gulls - including 3 lesser black-backed gulls - a new record for my local patch but no, i do not intend to start keeping a totaliser. Good numbers of Curlew, again too numerous and flighty to count. Other than that, a pretty miserable outing on account of the rain. Out of area: Yes I've been skulking around in other people's patches getting decent ticks. Made it to Coquet Island to see Roseate Tern on Friday. Very nice, but could have done with a little longer just to get my eye in on them. Unfortunately the boat was a bit noisy and perhaps too close, so all the terns took to the air making it practically impossible to pick one from the other. But i was lucky enough to see one fishing so that helped. On Saturday, on the way off the coast i stopped off at Aberlady and got the scope out while June devoted her time in the car to reading yet more trashy mags. I set up the scope and was scanning the mudflats when I was approached by an older gentleman who asked, "Have ye got the legs?". Without any further enquiry on my part, I was at once relieved to know that he was talking about a Lesser Yellowlegs which had been frequenting the area - one can never be too sure when hanging about near public lavatories these days tho! Within a couple of minutes some other birder had located it and bob's yer uncle, etc, and another great tick for the list. On the way home, i stopped off at my mum's in Lanarkshire to wish her a happy birthday. She mentioned that her neighbours had been talking about hearing a strange sounding owl in the area. The couple had heard it's call when putting their chickens away for the night. They know that in that area we have Long and Short Eared Owls, Tawny and Barn, but on listening back to some recordings they had on a cd they purchased were pretty certain that this was a Tengmalm's Owl. They contacted someone at SWT who said that this was very unlikely as it is sooo rare, but rare's have to pop up somewhere - don't they?I don't know if anyone else has opinions on this, but sometimes i think that potential rarities can be discounted by people in "authority" who are either jealous or working on the statistical probablities. Just a thought but comments are welcome. Anyway, it's amazing how much i can type when i'm really busy at work so i better get on. Happy birding, k</blockquote>

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