A fresh Tawny casualty, Edinburgh bypass, aged as an adult (4cy+) so likely part of a pair breeding nearby, perhaps in Dalkeith country park? A rufous morph, easiest clue on age is the smooth bands towards ends of flight feathers, well spaced near tips, contrast the narrower spacing and distinctive wavy subterminal band on juv, some of which are retained into 2nd-winter (see earlier post on 2nd-sum grey morph). Made a trap for heffalumps when I went to get camera to take these photos; a while later heard Jackdaw alarms outside and a growing crescendo of calls; thinking perhaps a good raptor was around dashed out only to find nearly 30+ corvids swirling high over the Tawny laid out of the grass - well spotted!
5 Waxwings flew low over house 10:30hrs Sunday, first for a while, and Mipit passage well underway SW over.A look at Gullane Bay in the afternoon eventually produced 28 Red-throated Divers, also 15 Slav Grebes in mixture of winter/breeding plumages, 255 Common Scoter, and just 2 drake Long-tailed Ducks. A wood mouse came out to forage in the dunes - extremely tame but still a challenge to photograph!
At Seton, the roost totals were way down and most of the adult gulls, Meds included presumably, have clearly now gone throo - the end of another season!
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