Firth of Forth and Laurie Campbell......

Mar 8 - A morning look at the Firth of Forth, then a photography day with Wildlife photographer Laurie Campbell. Early morning saw me at Musselburgh, still windy but the overnight rain had moved on. It was difficult to pick out the sea duck on the choppy water, but 10+ Velvet Scoter included several smart drakes, and Long-tailed Ducks totalled half a dozen, mostly in flight. Goldeneye and Red-breasted Mergansers complemented the numerous Eider. Waders at the Esk mouth included good numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit and Oystercatcher, along with Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew, Turnstone and 5 Grey Plover. Further east, Gosford Bay and Gullane gave more views of Long-tailed Duck, this time closer drakes, also more Velvet and then Common Scoter. I managed to pick out a Slavonian Grebe and later a Red-throated Diver on the choppy water. Laurie Campbell had a photography day limited to 6 participants, concentrating on technical issues such as white balance and manual exposure. He also gave us a talk including some breathtaking shots of Golden Eagles in the Hebrides. An inspiration! A full weekend.......well worthwhile. Photos to follow.