Stormy skies menace and threaten, casting green and grey shadows onto the sea below. Sand creeps along the beach, and waves rear up like frightened horses. I scan the shoreline; a strong, northerly wind slapping my cheeks. Every wild weather front brings new avian arrivals to the Outer Hebrides from their breeding grounds in the Arctic north.
The cast of characters congregating on our coastlines are worth going outdoors for. Some are ever-present, many are migrants, and occasionally, there is a surprise wanderer. Our wonderful waders are a birding equivalent of Russian dolls; from the largest, the curlew, down to the diminutive dunlin. All are equipped with elegant long legs to paddle and probe at the water’s edge, while sleek wings carry them on globetrotting flights.
First to arrive are the tiny…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2023