Opposite Bannerfield housing estate is a shingle island in the middle of the river and it is a favourite place for gulls to rest and preen. They were mostly black-headed gulls (their black heads reduced to just a spot behind the eye for the winter), but I did spot one common gull in their midst. More surprising was a solitary oystercatcher, which should have left for the coast long ago. However, it seemed quite happy in the company of the gulls. Perhaps it had an identity problem.

In most of the slower-running pools, goosanders were busy fishing. It was fascinating to watch them "snorkelling" – their heads underwater, looking for small fish, which they would dive after and try to grasp in their purpose-built serrated bills. The males are predominantly creamy white with dark green heads and black backs, while the females have grey bodies and chestnut brown heads.

Further downstream below the footbridge, I was lucky to capture an image of a female goosander with a wily old heron looking on – two for the price of one!

On the edge of town, I paused on the lower footbridge to peer down into the crystal-clear water, to see what fish were about. Helpfully the sun came out, making visibility just perfect and I was able to watch a large salmon keeping pace with the fast-flowing current. It had picked up some white fungus around its head – whether the result of an injury or the rigours of spawning, it was hard to say.

As I followed the river, other familiar birds were observed – mallard, moorhen and dipper, but the illusive kingfisher remained true to form and was not spotted.

It must have been more than a year since I last walked the area of riverbank near Bridgeheugh and I was amazed at how much it had changed. Large areas of the woodland had succumbed to erosion and huge new gravel banks have been formed. Left to its own devices, the Ettrick is constantly changing course, which is perfectly natural, but is no comfort to those of us living on its flood plain.

I got home just as the weather broke and the rains returned. Totting up, I reckoned I had seen around 25 bird species, which wasn't great – but the fresh air and exercise had to be beneficial.

z I am getting sporadic reports of waxwings in the area. There doesn't seem to be a huge influx yet, but keep your eyes open, especially if you are near a good crop of berries. Let me know if you see any (number, location and date if possible) and we will try to keep track of their movements. E-mail corbie@homecall.co.uk or drop me a note at TheSouthern.