Thursday 8th November

Malcolm was over so we did a little nature ramble on Monday, with the idea of ending up at Gretna for the starling murmuration around dusk.

A quick ferret around Dumfries for waxwings proved unsuccessful so we headed for Ae Forest.  In retrospect we might have been better taking a walk along the River Annan as there was once again precious little to see at Ae Forest itself beyond a few tits and robins.  It may just be down to bad luck

A dapper Dipper

but I still have a feeling That the Hairstanes Windfarm Project has lead to a decrease of brid sightings in the forest.

However we did see a few redwings and thrushes in the village itself and, just as we were on the way back to the car there were nice views of two individual dippers on the Water of Ae.

Unsure of timing, we abandoned the idea of a coffee break and headed straight across to Gretna, arriving around 3.15 p.m.  We could have sneaked a coffee as the first birds started to turn up about 4.05 p.m., 20 minutes after sunset.  The location was just South of the Gretna turnoff from the M6 north, on the service road to Metal Bridge.

The birds were still circling the area as 4.40 p.m. when the dark and cold finally drove us off in search of a cafe.  Without any real evidence we felt the display stopped almost immediately afterwards.

Here's a video from the later stages of the murmuration: