Some of the most notable sightings during a walk from Lossiemouth to Elgin this afternoon consisted of singing Skylark, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting in cereal fields (with Linnet, Swallow and House Sparrow also present), Herring Gulls nesting on a supermarket and a school in Lossiemouth, flocks of 38 and eight Swifts gathering to feed over cereal fields between rain showers, a colony of Common Gulls breeding in a forgotten cemetery and plenty of common warblers (Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Sedge Warbler) in song. Later in the afternoon, highlights of a visit to Loch Spynie were Red Squirrel, Otter, breeding evidence for Coot, Little Grebe and Black-headed Gull, a group of three Common Terns resting on a partially submerged tree and at least two Gadwall (possibly up to seven). Perhaps the most surprising sighting of the day concerned a Polecat being walked on a leash near St Gerardine’s Corner in Lossiemouth.