Despite a rather poor weather forecast which included strong winds, heavy rain and rather chilly temperatures, Nat was keen that we tried to see the Green Winged Teal which Stuart Green had (re-?)discovered at Loch of Kinnordy. With the forecast for the rain to get heavier around 1100 we settled on an earlier departure than our recent outings, going for an 0830 departure.
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| Teal & Wigeon |
As I headed out to meet Nat, a Collared Dove flew up and over the car and landed on a lamp post. By the time I got into the car and pointed it out to Nat, a Woodpigeon had joined it. Carrion Crow and Herring Gull were added to the list before we set off. It was still dry and there was even some blue sky still showing though it was greyer to the north. We turned off the dual carriageway to take the road via Glamis. We added the first Buzzard of the day stood in a field, before seeing a pair of Mallards on the pool where the road zig-zags up behind the Sidlaws. Pheasants were numerous on the next stretch with plenty, mostly males, in the fields and by the roadside.
With a White Fronted Goose or two having been seen in a flock of geese near Eassie a few days earlier I suggested it was maybe worth a detour to see if the flock and the rarer birds among them were still around. Turning off the main road we found a flock of Pink Footed Geese in fields on both sides of the road. By now, it had started raining and the wind was blowing the rain in the window as I attempted to check through the gaggle on my side of the car. We had seen a number on the other side too, but there were even more out of sight, though they were a whole lot more visible when that particular flock took flight and flew off to a field a bit further away. No White Fronts for us. We continued on to Kinnordy.
As it wasn't yet raining at the reserve when we arrived we headed along to check out the feeders first just in case there were any Bramblings around. There were plenty of Chaffinches and a Wren flew across the path as we walked along. Great Tits and Blue Tits and at least 4 Red Squirrels were also seen, with a few Blackbirds feeding below the feeders. With the rain seemingly starting we hurried back along the the Gullery hide. There were a couple of folk in but no sign of the Green Winged Teal. Out on the water there were plenty of Teal, a few Goldeneye, Mallards, Mute Swans, a few Wigeon pairs and up the far end of the Loch some Greylags. There were a couple of Oystercatchers asleep on the bogbean and there were still plenty of Snipe around.
I scanned through all the Teal checking and re-checking. I did likewise with the Snipe hoping for a Jack Snipe somewhere among them. I did spot a trio of Whooper Swans half-hidden by reeds off to our left near the pines. The Rooks at the rookery were very vocal, sometimes flying out over the Loch. A Cormorant was perched atop the large wooden pole and when it eventually flew in it looked a decent candidate for a Sinensis bird in breeding plumage, though the photos weren't great for detail given the light conditions. A drake Goosander with a strong pink flush to the breast and flanks landed near the bogbean islands.
A Grey Heron flew in and landed nearby, close to where the Water Rail sometimes appears. A few minutes later a second bird flew in and chased it out over the water. Around 15 minutes later I happened to glance over towards the pines and spotted a large bird gliding in towards the reeds. I alerted Nat with a quick call of "Bittern!" and grabbed 2 poor photos as it disappeared into the depths of the reedbed. As this was the same spot I'd seen an unidentified bird doing likewise on our last visit, I'm fairly confident it was actually the same bird after all.
I kept checking through the Teal, just in case the Green Winged Teal had somehow slipped in unnoticed but to no avail. I did hear a Redwing calling and caught sight of it heading eastwards. A flock of Tufted Ducks were seen off to the right but it was more or less a similar story to the rest of the visit. It did seem to be getting colder so around 1140 I suggested we give up and go somewhere a bit warmer. Montrose Basin visitor centre seemed to be the best bet. Warm and with a rather unique possibility to tempt us. A second Bittern sighting at a different site in Angus on the same day. Before heading to the car we detoured again along to the feeders. Red Squirrels, Chaffinches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Robin, Coal Tit and a Goldfinch were all seen, but again, no Brambling. It was however, absolutely freezing and we were both shivering, so we gave up and hurried to the car and some much needed heat.
We headed up the A90 cutting in at Brechin where Feral Pigeon and Black Headed ull were both added to the list. Curlews were seen near Bridge of Dun and a short visit to The Lurgies for a quick spot of lunch produced a few distant birds out on the basin - Great Black Backed Gull and an overflying Meadow Pipit being the only new species. Greenfinches and Tree Sparrows greeted us at the car park, along with Goldfinches as we walked down to the visitor centre. Once into the center we found a couple of free scopes and scanned out across the basin, having first checked to see if the Bittern had been seen at all. It hadn't.
There was a very distant string of Eiders across the north side of the basin and I found a Little Grebe a good bit closer but I lost it again when it dived. A Moorhen below the feeders had a bit of a stand-off with a female Pheasant before both appeared to get bored and moved on. A small group of Red Breasted Mergansers swam past. I scanned through the wader flock along at Rossie Spit.
Black Tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, Knot, Redshanks and a few Dunlin as well as a few Shelduck were all picked out. I chatted to a lady from the Kinross area who was on holiday in the area for a week and who was interested in finding where the best spots were. In exchange I got a tip off for a new butterfly species for me and a bird I'd like better photos of.
A Common Gull glided by and I found a single female Long Tailed Duck out on the basin while searching for Scaup. A Dunnock was seen below the feeders. The Kingfisher flew in to one of the pools and proceeded to hover a couple of times before perching on the reeds. Still no Bittern though. A group of Black Tailed Godwits flew by, their long legs trailing behind them. I had a chat to Scott O'Hara about various good birds that have been around this winter locally. A flock of Pintail were spotted off to the west a bit. With time getting on I suggested a change of viewpoint, in case the Bittern was sheltering in the reeds, out of sight from the centre, so we headed down to the hide.
Once I eventually managed to get the door open we found only Neil Black inside. He confirmed that the Bittern hadn't been seen from the hide either. Despite lots of scanning of the reeds we drew a blank. Nat did manage to catch a glimpse of a Water Rail sprinting across a short stretch of open ground but I managed to miss it. A large-ish flock of Pintail crossed the basin. Around 1600 we called it a day and headed for home, adding a small murmuration of Starlings as we passed through Arbroath to give me a total of 54 species for the day, including just 1 new year-tick for me (in bold). Despite the weather forecast it had been a good day out, with the weather not quite as bad as forecast.
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| Mute Swan |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Snipe |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Teal |
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| Bittern |
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| Teal & Wigeon |
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| Cormorant |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Teal & Wigeon |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Snipe |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Pintail |
Species seen - Bittern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull,
Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Kingfisher, Knot, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
