Oystercatchers

It seems more that we are suffering Global Wobbling than Global Warming for, after two grey, chilling days, today dawned almost as warm as Monday. In bright sunshine, we took a long walk through the village as a flock of greylag geese wheeled noisily over the marshes at the back of Kilchoan Bay.

A group of oystercatchers were feeding in the field below Griannan, sharing the turf with a small herd of highland cattle and a plover. The oystercatchers were quite happy to ignore us until we stopped, when they rose and, emitting their high, piping cry, flew away from us.

The oystercatchers were in the field because the mudflats where they usually forage for worms and shellfish such as cockles were covered by a high tide. Grass can't be their favourite place to feed: look carefully and notice the dirt on their usually spotless orange bills.

The European oystercatcher is reported to be a migratory species but we have them here all the year round, and very welcome they are. Whatever the season, their plumage is immaculate, their bills always bright, their legs a smart pink, and they move in cheerful chattering groups in fast, low flight. In spring they split into pairs. If we approach the spot where they have chosen to lay their eggs, usually no more than a crude scrape in the shingle just above the tide line, they are fierce in its defence. More than once, despite our care, we have almost trodden on the two, beautifully camouflaged eggs.