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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JWN Andrewes" data-source="post: 3706357" data-attributes="member: 7131">6th AprilWe picked up some bacon baps from a café in Aviemore for a quick breakfast before heading south. Had we been more successful with the Scoter on the way up the plan had been to go home via Glenshee for Ptarmigan & Mountain Hare with a stop in at Loch of the Lowes too, but as it turned out we had business to conclude down Musselburgh way, so we made that our one and only stop on the way home. Conditions were markedly better that on our last visit, and it wasn’t long before we were year ticking Velvet Scoter and getting distant views of our second Surfie of the year. White-winged proved a trickier proposition, with many Velvets a looooong way off and annoyingly prone to napping. A bimble along the shore soon revealed plenty of Velvets a lot closer in, but no decent contenders amongst them, although we did pick up Long-tailed Duck & Slavonian Grebe for the year, as well as some nice looks at Bar-tailed Godwits down on the mud, and a few Sand Martins buzzing up and down. On our return walk back towards the car our luck changed, with the group of birders gathered along the way on the bird. It still took a while to get properly on it, and swap eyes at the scope so the boys could get looks at the right bird. Relief all round in the end though, with White-winged Scoter in the bag at last! I confess I lacked the stamina at this stage to battle through Edinburgh traffic on the off chance the Ring-necked Duck was hanging around in one place long enough to connect with. Long drive home then, with another fine Scotland trip under the belt.</blockquote>

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