An early start today meant there were few people about on arrival at Hogganfield Loch. Unusually, the birds were not concentrated near the car park, but scattered over the entire loch. No sign of the Black Tern (too early?) but lots of other highlights including several pairs of Gadwall, two male Ruddy Ducks, Little and Great crested Grebes with young, small numbers of both Teal and Shoveler, and a single Pochard. Walked three quarters of the way round the loch before noticing a small, grey-backed tern dipping repeatedly to pick at the loch surface - a smashing juvenile Black Tern [162]. The bird patrolled up and down a short section of bank, giving excellent views of its black cap and the characteristic dark smudge near the neck, Most notable was its jiz - quite different from the usual sea-going species.
The rest of the day was always going to play second fiddle to that, but a walk (in surprisingly sunny weather) through Dalmeny Estate produced a single Wheatear just east of Barnbougle Castle, all three common hirundines, 4 Bar tailed Godwits, a Sanderling and plenty of Gannets (but no skuas) offshore [26,347].