Monday 7th November

Took advantage of a sunny afternoon to walk along the merse from Caerlaverock Nature Reserve to the edge of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust site before gloomier waether sets in this week.

You wouldn't think there had already been a couple of frosts from the number of insects on the wing, notably a number of whitefly around the car park and path and even a brown dragonfly.

White Mustard?

On the way to the merse I caught site of a bright male bullfinch and shortly after a fleeing jay. Otherwise there wasn't much to be seen on the way there but there was a lot of gorse around and also this stuff.  The nearest suggestion I can get from my Book of Flowers is white mustard.

In the hedgerow bordering the Wetland Trust, I was amused to identify another goldcrest, making it two in two visits. Maybe they are managing a comeback. I'm sure they were very badly hit by the extreme winters of five years ago.

On the way back there was a single buzzard moping in a tree, a quick glimpse of a couple of lapwing sailing over the distant fields, and this little brown item (pictured below).  I'm still waiting for suggestions about it's identity but the yellow beak and lack of white tail outline suggests it might just be a twite.

Twite??