Vitamin 'C' Buckthorn

I grew up in Ayrshire and go back there each Christmas holiday. National Cycle Network route 7 runs through my hometown along the coast, at points giving fine views of Arran and Ailsa Craig, then changing to a narrower path lined with thick scrubby sea buckthorn - an ocean of orange berries buffering the prom and the sand, from which countless different bird songs can be heard without ever seeing their singers. I headed out with the binoculars at first light one morning to get there before all the families on Christmas walks - robins and wrens flitted around the edges; the 'pink' of the chaffinch and the squeaky-wheel call of the bullfinch led me to spot them deeper in the branches; a yellow side flash and bruiser beak gave away a greenfinch, and I had a fleeting but unmistakable brief encounter with a goldcrest too. Sea buckthorn is not only great bird habitat but the berries are edible and sea buckthorn juice is high in vitamin C and immunity-boosting antioxidants. With the family suffering a domino-effect of coughs, colds and sneezes, perhaps I should have brought back more than just wildlife sightings from the beach. Maybe next Christmas...