The day was dominated by heavy rain showers, grey skies and winds which increased throughout the afternoon. I spent the morning photographing the Tystie, still in North Haven. Heading south, I was lucky enough to trap a very smart Greenland Wheatear. That was a good start but shortly thereafter the heavens opened and I had to run for cover to the shop garage. 2 mugs of coffee & half a bag of chocolate raisins later, the skies cleared. After a brief sortie outside where I flushed a Waterrail from Meadow Burn, I learned that there were 2 Grey Phalaropes showing well in the Havens. I was soon enjoying crippling views of these stunning 1st year birds. Frantically feeding just a few feet off shore, the birds seemed oblivious to the assembled crowd. Other birds I noted today included 3 Wheatear, 1 Siskin, 1 Common Guillemot, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, several Brambling & noticeably larger numbers of Redwing & Skylark moving through.
