Grey partridges and other birds

At the beginning of this year there were 17 grey partridges at Musselburgh Lagoons. Recently though I've only seen four of them at any one time. They are elusive birds but I'm not sure whether they're there and I'm just not seeing them or whether they've dispersed to other areas or if they've just sadly disappeared. They're lovely little birds and they're struggling in the UK, so I hope that the Lagoons partridges have safely found a new home nearby. The photo above and all the photos in this blog post were taken by Crafty Green Boyfriend yesterday when we visited the Lagoons.

It's winter, but some ducks are already practicising their courtship displays, like this male goldeneye (he's throwing his head back to rest on his back)

 Though these wigeons and rhe mute swan seem more interested in eating

 Also lovely to get great views of short eared owls (which are day hunting owls)