Winter sunlight is often at a premium in the north of Scotland. During a six hour stint in a hide at a high tide roost on the Moray Firth the sun only broke through in the last hour after the tide had turned. I had only a few minutes to get some pictures before the birds followed the ebbing tide back out onto the foreshore well out of camera range. As the tide drops back the birds once more become active. This curlew took the opportunity for a quick wash and brush up.

Redshank

Grey Heron keeping its head down. Herons aggressively defend their feeding territories and even find the time to bicker over roosting space on the saltings at high tide.

Grey Heron

Wigeon feeding on the rising tide.

Earlier this month a young White-tailed Eagle spent several days perched high in a row of beech trees on the loch shore close to home. It was presumably on the lookout for spawning trout in the shallow water below. It was unperturbed by dog-walkers on the path below the trees. A couple of Cairn Terriers barking madly at an enormous bird peering down at them had no effect on it at all.