Alpine Swift over Star Castle

This Female Garganey was at Lower Moors on the day I returned home, 22nd, after traveling for five months and it was still present on Shooters Pool two days later

  This morning at 11.00, I had just finished talking to Tony and Cath at the entrance of Star Castle, turned around to climb the steps and as always. looked up to see if Dave was sitting on one of the guardhouses. At the top of my lungs I shouted 'Alpine swift!' to get Tony's intention. The bird zoomed through just above me. Lower than the castle, just above the ramparts heading east. Brief but cracking view of it's underparts. We both observed it fly south towards the campsite being blowing all over the shop by the strong easterlies climbing higher until it disappeared. There was no sign of it all day but Will Scott went and found a Vagrant Emperor at Carreh Dhu. The first of many hopefully as there are 1000's on the North African coast ready to hit our shores pushed up by the southerlies in the next few days. I dipped out on the dragonfly but got my first Comma of the year and at Bants Carn I also had a Painted Lady.
  A brief visit to Porth Hellick produced 15 Sand Martin, lots of chiffchaff and a single Willow Warbler. 

My first Painted Lady of the year was at Bants carn

Male Stonechat

Herring Gull with rather long deformed bill

Wood Pigeon

Male Gadwall

Female Garganey

Male Peregrine

Martyn Bennett (17 February 1971 – 30 January 2005) was a Canadian-Scottish musician who was influential in the evolution of modern Celtic fusion, a blending of traditional Celtic and modern music. He was a piper, violinist, composer and producer. He was an innovator and his compositions crossed musical and cultural divides. Sporting dreadlocks at the height of his performing career, his energetic displays led to descriptions such as "the techno piper". Diagnosis of serious illness at the age of thirty curtailed his live performances, although he completed a further two albums in the studio. He died fifteen months after release of his fifth album Grit.