The number of house martins nesting under the eaves of our house has been the lowest we have recorded in the 28 years we have lived here. The peak of 24 occupied nests was in 1988, and there has been a steady decline since. Last year there were seven pairs but this year just one, despite the fact that there are 12 artificial nestboxes to save the birds the trouble of building their own.
So on the trip to Tarbat Ness I wondered if some might still be nesting under the cliffs near the lighthouse. Cliff nests of house martins, whether inland or on the coast, are now rare, but were commonplace before the eaves of houses became so widespread. I walked to a vantage point above the enticing shoreline to look at the cliffs, and there was that thrill of seeing house martins swooping up from the sea to their nests. Why do they seem so dramatic compared with the ones at home?
As ever the lighthouse, built in 1830, dominated the seascape, with its two red bands, painted there to help to distinguish it from other lighthouses along the east coast. It flashes white every 30 seconds and in the right conditions can be seen as far away as 24 nautical miles.
Before I left, I could not resist dropping down to the shoreline to look for cowrie shells. They have always fascinated me, partly because of their characteristic shape and partly because they can be very difficult to find.
Glossy and lemon-shaped with many transverse ridges, and no bigger than 14mm, they are all that is left of small sea snails. There are only two species found in the UK: the Arctic or northern cowrie and the European or spotted cowrie. They fall into the attractively named genera of Trivia, and local names include groatie buckies, nuns, guinea money and sea cradles.
It took me about half an hour to find one and I pounced on it as if someone else would take it, although I was alone on the shoreline.
