Two walks?!

I had waited in for a delivery for over a day and a half, with no sign or word of a change of plan. Whilst I had plenty of admin to keep me occupied and fend off cabin fever, I was beginning to get a little fractious. A phone call to the firm in question revealed that, indeed, my wait had been fruitless, as the delivery was now going to be in a few days' time instead. Gah!

Oh well, as there's been a slight relaxation of the lockdown rules, and all the more slight here in Scotland, I did have the option of more than one walk per day. So, mid afternoon, I pottered around the usual kirk loop, wrapped up against the wintry wind, and then after our evening meal, I went round again with Our Lass.

In a field beside the Tieve Road, three Brown Hares were sat. After watching their behaviour for a while, I realised that the one on the right was a female, the centre one was a male and her prospective mate, whilst the one on the left was another male, an interloper.

There was plenty of mate-guarding happening, and for good reason!

Down by the shore, a pair of Hooded Crows were trying to break open shellfish. I'm afraid my film of their antics is very unsteady and blustery, but here's a short clip, followed by stills from a different part of the video.

In the bay, there was a pair of terns, but they were some way off and sat with their backs to me, so I couldn't ID them beyond 'terns'.

Flying along the strand line, hoovering up insects above the piles of seaweed was a small flock of hirundines. They were mostly Swallows, but I managed to spot at least one Sand Martin, my first of the year.

Over in the pastures, the usual suspects were foraging, and I couldn't resist yet more photos of Wheatear and Lapwing.

Then, later in the evening, during the walk with Our Lass, the hares by the Tieve Road were sat in some lovely light, and a bit nearer too. Yay!