Staying warm

Our Blackbird again in song for 10 minutes before dawn this morning (calm, drizzle and 8C), unprecedented in my experience for October. Shortly afterwards a lingering juv Swallow feeding over Cockenzie Primary School. A Red Admiral also flew down the road ystdy.

Continued Tuesday with Blackbird in song at least 07:00-07:25hrs, briefly joined by another to west providing a "dawn chorus" (together with Robin, Wren and House Sparrow).

A bright afternoon on Friday saw the orange darvic Herring Gull (1787) again on the Seton Burn, plus at least 18 Slavonian and 4 Red-necked Grebes off Ferny Ness, together with 32+ LTD; pr Stonechat still present.

Had a shot at vis mig Sunday morning but in strong wind it was more of seawatch, not a great deal moving (full count) but divers in double figures and a fluttering RNG. Where are the Little Gulls this year?!

Late afternoon saw a metal-ringed adult Sandwich Tern on Seton Sands shore, together with an unringed adult Med Gull (photo), with 2 further unringed adults on rocks by the Seton Burn.



Concluding this wk with a dusk shot of Arthur's Seat/Duddingston, no birds visible but corvids were flocking in at the time.