Puffins

It was a slightly foggier start to our day yesterday, but it didn't rain and the sun did eventually come out.  The plan was to do some more birding - this time along the Ythan Estuary, a long, open tidal estuary just a few minutes north of the city.  We had expectations of ducks and terns, as well as several smaller song birds and possibly some sea mammals.  The trip had started poorly, as we were cut off by a large lorry and forced to take a detour.  But even this turned out OK as it led us straight to a new species for everyone - the yellowhammer (much less intimidating than its name suggests!).

We soon came upon a large group of Eider ducks - about a dozen males all assembled around a single female.  Their "oooo...ooo" calls were quite humourous.  The ducks had also caught the attention of some seals.  It appeared to be a couple of immature seals, not because of their size or coat, but because of their attitude - flipping around and splashing each other.  Our resident nature photographer Fiona set up camp and ended up getting some good shots.  The rest of us wandered further into the dunes towards the area where the terns were nesting.  We couldn't get too close as the area was roped off (good), but we think we saw several uncommon tern species.  Regardless of the wildlife, the views were spectacular.  After lunch we went around to the other side of the estuary and got a better view of it all, including a large seal colony sunning themselves on the beach.

Lunch is well worth mentioning on its own.  We went to the Cock and Bull based on the recommendation of our friend Jim in Houston.  It was a little out of the way but well worth it.  Jul and I had the fish and chips.  It showed up as an artistic tower, which made me think it might be style over substance, but they were some of the best fish and chips I've had here.  Even the mushy peas were good.  Fiona scored best, though, with her chicken and leek pie.  Mad props to Jimmy Law!

We met up with Jul's local birding contact who gave us some hints on where we might find some puffins.  We ended up taking some back roads and 4x4'ing over roads that looked like driveways.  The little Honda was taxed.  But the results were spectacular.  We ended up at the Mains of Slains, where the sea was crashing against the rocks and the wind was whipping around.  An outcropping in the ocean had several puffins on it, standing outside their burrows and flying out to sea.  We even saw a fox scrambling across the rocks - possibly looking for a puffin that was not as alert as it should be.

We put some steak on the BBQ at home and had a nice dinner.  The cards afterwards, however, was a slightly different matter.  In an all-encompassing slaughter of epic proportions, the hosts were repaid for their kindness with a 400+ point whooping at back-alley bridge by the visitors (who had never played the game).