Brent geese are appearing with increasing frequency around the Moray Firth either as migrants or occasional winter visitors. Historically a flock of up to 4000 wintered in Nigg Bay on the Cromarty Firth. They decline rapidly during the 1930s and finally left when their roosting site became a practice bombing range during the Second World War. One goose of a small flock that I found this month had been colour ringed earlier this year as part of the Irish Brent Goose Research Project on spring migration through Iceland on its way to breeding grounds in Greenland or Northern Canada.

Whooper Swans migrate through the Highlands large numbers each autumn, a few over-winter, mainly in the east. The return north in spring is a more leisurely affair. Small groups may turn up almost anywhere, often on remote hill lochans, for a short stay.

Whooper Swan drinking