This family of Sheldrake was a huge bonus, I watched them for quite a while.
There is a field on the machair sands on Benbecula which caught my eye last year. It was filled with Daisy, Wild pansy, Silverweed, Buttercup, Forget-me-not, Corncockle. SO beautiful. Drifts of colour, light, scent. The field was not as lush as last year, suffering from the lack of rain too, as we are on Mull. Some of the plants were tiny - Forget-me-nots smaller than Daisies!
I drove up to Balranald, and nearly ran over a Corncrake. The last time I saw one was on Barra when 2 appeared outside the cottage door, a couple of years ago. So this was a lovely unexpected surprise, and I was hugely relieved I didnt run it over - it just darted across the road right in front of the car.
I returned for another look at the machair field on my way back to Lochboisdale. Just so lovely! I met the local rabbit trapper who explained that he trapped the rabbits with a special trap which kills the rabbits instantly. I saw him carrying one away from the traps.
I saw several Short-eared owls hunting along the roadside in various places on South Uist - always a magical sight.
