On the way home from one trip last week we saw a wee bird sitting next to the water on a rock. We snapped a quick photo not knowing what it was. When we looked it up it was a Greenland Wheatear which is slightly larger than more common Wheatear. It has a long migration from Africa to its Arctic breeding grounds so they are just passing through when we see them. For many the return journey necessitates a 2400km non stop flight from Greenland to Western Europe. This takes around 30 hours.

Wheatears were originally called “white arses” because of the white tail feathers but reputably Queen Victoria was offended by this and the name was changed!!