The dreich weather of today has done little to hamper the birds - pinkies are descending on the loch in their thousands. Numbers have been steadily increasing since their arrival on Monday, with flocks shifting around the area this afternoon, looking unsettled, as they move from their feeding areas to open water.
Whooper numbers have also crept up since Monday, increasing by 100%, to 4. More to follow in the next few weeks. Other sightings have included 2 young gannets, an osprey and an arctic tern, all seen fishing over the loch. Meanwhile, on the reserve, waders continue to expolit the muddy conditions - ringed plover and dunlin are often seen scurrying around, both on the flood and in front of the Waterston hide, a flock of 240 lapwing flit between the shallow loch shore and the bare mud, with the odd greenshank dropping by to feed. A flock of 11 snipe are also doing their best to blend in to the background near the 2nd hide.
The diggers and dumpers continue to progress, gradually replacing topsoil in completed areas and creating the bunds that will help create the floodable terraces for the new-look wetland. The bogmaster has got it's work cut out and is getting stuck in to the very wet, boggy sections, to the west of the 3rd hide, where few other vehicles can get access to (and where i successfully lost both my wellies yesterday). The wet weather is making some of the work tricky, but despite a few delays, we hope to have the majority of the work finished by this time next week. Watch this space.
Bund creation - the channel was cut through the bog to excavate the peat, the void was then infilled with sand. The resulting bund will then be covered by topsoil and reseeded.