campfire notebook.

Usually I find shorebirds in massive flocks – so I was concerned that this little fellow was foraging solo along the shores of the Nerepis River. Turns out, that’s just their nature.

Lifer #158 – Solitary Sandpiper

A monarch butterfly resting on thistle in Lorneville before setting off for wintering grounds.

A red-breasted nuthatch stretches out to inspect a visitor (yours truly) in between foraging sessions on a white birch.

An Eastern kingbird stands guard at their nest while their mate searches for another meal.

No matter how demure they may appear, there’s a feistiness about them.

When “just a noisy blackbird” is something to behold with the right perspective.

A new lifer: This large plover (one of three!) found in St. Andrews on the weekend. Against the shoreline, its’ plumage allows the killdeer to disappear.

It was a beautiful first full day of summer, friends.

This is what I am like around nachos, so I understand their enthusiasm.

An Isabelline Wheatear judges the humans plodding through the mist at Coral Beach, Isle of Skye, August 7, 2024. A fascinating cove made of fossilized algae instead of the usual sand.