catcher in the sky

 

05-01-26  Another cheesy Salinger-based title to start one of the best days so far this year. A positive forecast saw me force myself out of bed while still dark outside and up the road to catch the 9.39am train to Longniddry. It was such a shock to the system I felt a bit giddy all day. Another joy of getting older: I'd have shaken that off in minutes as a 40-year-old. As a 60-year-old it hangs about for the following 48hrs. 

The plan was to run the boring bits and take photos where there was wildlife. How to dress was tricky: too many warm clothes and the base layers would get drenched while running, too few and I'd freeze on the windswept exposed beaches. I settled for two warm long sleeved running tops and a thin jacket; running tights, not shorts (although my legs rarely suffer like my face, hands and ears.) Thin running gloves under warmer gloves. Buff under woolly hat. I also had the camera harness on and a full backpack. I'd turfed out all extraneous backpack kit that wasn't absolutely necessary (flash-gun, extra birdfood, fluids reservoir, knee pads) and jammed in a spare set of clothes and puffer jacket to change into at the far end in case there was a wait on the return transport. Either the bus in Gullane (if plenty wildlife) or return train in North Berwick (if more running than photos.)

When I stepped off the train in Longniddry I wondered if I'd got it wrong. It was really cold and the wind was horribly penetrating. If I'd been thinking properly I'd have got out and worn the old puffer jacket that was compressed as small as possible in my backpack. However I did some running to warm up and that nearly fixed it. At the end of the day I was under the impression I ran lots but my gps output suggests the pace was either pretty slow or I walked more than I remembered. I think it was more the pace was very relaxed while I scanned the beaches for seabirds. Up to Aberlady (3miles) there was heehaw, although I was enjoying the brighter than usual light.

a clan of juv pheasants in the fields before Aberlady

At the SOC, Waterston House I lifted their bin lid to dispose of my chewing gum and was amused to see they had binned their 2025 calendar of bees and butterflies. I was about to flip it open to photo the best pics but a quick examination of the cover suggested it was dull stock photos of non-UK butterflies and not as classy as that building usually exhibits. It reminded me to replace last year's less than brilliant calendar at home with the new Iain C version which is a cracker.

mistle thrush in Aberlady

The thrush was in Aberlady Parish Church grounds and the church was looking great in the warm sunlight but the long lens meant I couldn't stand back far enough to get it all in the frame. You'll have to make do with this small section. I did have the DJI Pocket but I couldn't reach it without taking the pack off which is a deal breaker. I must get out the lapel mount for it.

frosty business at Aberlady

I felt sorry for those out all night in the cold

heavy frost on grass blades

lots of wigeon beside the bridge to enchantment

video of wigeon and teal
soundtrack: Chasing the present by Snorri Hallgrimsson

wigeon (m & f)

teal

I bumped into Alan Brown just before Marl Loch. I knew he was keen on dragonflies but didn't know he was a bit of a birder as well. He does the flip side of the socials to me. I do facebook, he does X. I have an X account but until he follows me I can't send him a personal message. He is unlikely to follow me as I haven't ever posted anything on X. If you know an email for him drop me a note of it, thanks. We discussed lots of stuff about cameras, dragonflies and wildlife, and although he asked me the name of this blog, I bet he'd forgotten it by the time he got home. He uses a Sony RX10. The best of the bridge cameras, and was interested to see I'd gone to an interchangeable lens camera.

blackbird in the buckthorn

curlews on the golf course

One of the prime targets today (as ever at Aberlady) was sanderlings. Very cute, very small birds that tend to peck and hunt along the tideline. The tide was so far out I couldn't see if they were there and was halfway to the sea (navigating around long seawater ponds in the sand) before I saw their small white forms sprinting back and forth. They were mainly going East to West so I snuck over West to keep the light behind me and the birds in front. It was bitterly cold but the challenge of getting shots and video kept me focussed and I didn't really suffer too much. That said, I didn't hang about as long as last time. There were dozens of birds as well so I found a spot and knelt down on the wet sand letting the birds come to me.

sanderlings on the beach, click twice

soundtrack: Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

lots of birds along the tideline

All that worked well and I was glad to be running again to get the heart-rate up a bit. I wondered if it was safe to follow the tide-line. There were many lagoons of 6"~12" deep water on the wide beach. If you went the wrong way it might either force a long retreat or a wade through sock-soaking frigid water. While I was prepared to make sacrifices for photos and video I was less thrilled about wet feet due to carelessness and nearly did a massive retreat at one point. But then gambled the long oval of water would be shallow enough at the far end to avoid a soaking. It was and I tip-toed over with relief and nearly dry feet.

oystercatcher of the title

from the East end of the nearly deserted beach

Since the tide was out I went along the sand and rocks at the front into Gullane Bay, rather than follow the golf course path up the coast at Gullane Point. I regretted this decision as the route I took involved clambering over a number of large rocks, green with seaweed and wet slime and potentially slippery as fck. I was nervous the whole clamber as a slip and fall could easily damage my camera. I wasn't bothered about breaking an ankle so much as cracking a lens. Glad to get past that bit.

probably a rock pipit

okay lads, we're all going over there by the sea until this arsehole leaves

I had hoped to bump into purple sandpipers or golden plovers or anything in fact to photograph near Gullane Point but there were only oystercatchers. It did make me want to continue down the coast to North Berwick but the light was fading and it becomes harder running when there's nothing left to photograph.

There was a guy burying a seal-pup corpse at the West end of Gullane Bay. Which is a bit of a waste of a food resource for many of the creatures that don't live under the sand. But yes it would get a bit stinky for the locals. 

greenfinch

I was now at the junction of the Gullane vs NB option. Catch a bus back from Gullane or run to North Berwick and get the train. It wasn't yet 1pm and I felt fit enough, although I wasn't that keen on maybe finishing in the dark. That there probably wasn't many photos to be gained further down the coast.

I compromised and decided to go into the sea buckthorn woods beyond Gullane Bay and check out that area for wildlife. Mary and I hadn't seen any fieldfares last visit and I had the feeling there'd be none there today, but often there are other birds drawn to the berry bushes, and that turned out to be the case. In fact right from the word go there were several species I hadn't thought would be hanging about. Some of the photos were little better than record shots. The birds enjoy the thorny mass of bushes and trees knowing humans can't follow them in.

species highlight of the day: blackcap

song thrush

LTT

long-tailed tit

There was a small gang of LTTs around the buckthorn and I was busy trying to photograph them when I saw a goldcrest there. Possibly taking a break from the nearby pine trees. It didn't hang about but I got a photo of both the goldcrest and LTT in the same frame, no mean feat! And almost impossible to go out and find - just one of those right-place-right-time things you couldn't plan. I can't take credit for organising it, just for not fluffing the shot in the excitement of realising what was in front of me. 

I followed the goldcrest who flew back over to the pine trees. I clambered off-trail under the pines and although I got a few more pics, they were not well lit nor show the bird off particularly well.

video of goldcrest
(demonstrating why they are not the easiest birds to capture)

I eventually gave up and walked back towards Gullane car park. On the way a tiny stream comes off the hilly bit and nearby was lots of birdsong. I hung about for a while and sure enough a few finches and tits were around the place enjoying the unfrozen stream. A coal tit came and sat on a branch before hopping into the burn, as did a blue tit. I could hear and see bullfinches although I struggled to get shots through the crisscross of branches. However the sun was lighting the place nicely and I even caught glimpses of the/a goldcrest doing a more traditional round of the higher pine tops, which I video-ed.

wood pigeon

coal tit

maybe trying to rinse away the bitter taste of buckthorn berries?

bullfinch (m)

goldcrest in its more usual surroundings

chaffinch

blue tit

carrion crow

bullfinch (f)

As I walked back to the car park this robin made a late attempt to get into the blog. I usually try to throw some seeds near where a bird has earned them though I think this one flew off or didn't recognise the interaction. 

It was after 2 (pretty much the witching hour in January) when I got into Gullane and after buying a sandwich at the coop I walked up and down the road waiting for the bus to appear (and getting my gps up to 10miles). Too cold to stand still at the stop. I think it took about 10~15 to arrive which felt like an hour. However it was the X5 express and had me warmed up and then home in no time - ya beauty!

10miles in 4hrs