Once again, I had the opportunity to get out birding with Nat this Sunday. Having had the weather put paid to our usual Wednesday outing mid-week there were concerns that the weather could also scupper our plans to try and see something interesting with heavy rain forecast all over the country from late morning. One option had been to head for East Lothian where 2 potential lifers had been seen over the past few days - American Golden Plover and Water Pipit (2 other birds I 'need' for the year were seen today in the area - Black Throated Diver and Black Guillemot, though neither of the original pair were seen today), but with the rain due it would be a very hurried visit and a long journey back in poor conditions. Another option was to head for Pitlochry where a Ring Necked Duck had been present for at least a week. An 0800 start would give us time to get there, find the bird and head for home again ahead of the bad weather. At least that was the theory.
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| Ring Necked Duck |
I hadn't counted on sleeping in (thought I'd snoozed the alarm - I hadn't), but I made it out the door for 0800. A flock of Redwings overflew as I stepped outside. There was no sign of Nat however, though she did arrive a minute later. She too had slept in. Hopefully our luck would improve. We set off for Tescos for a fuel stop. Carrion Crow, Blackbird and Woodpigeon were all seen on Clepington Road on the way. A Black Headed Gull and another Carrion Crow were perched on lamp posts by the Kingsway as Nat filled up the car, and we were off again. We added Feral Pigeon, and then 2 Magpies by the side of B&Q before we headed out past Camperdown Park heading for Coupar Angus.
The sky was very grey and didn't look very promising, especially as we were headed in the direction the b weather was to come from. A few Starlings were on the roofs in Birkhill, and just outside the village we saw our first Pheasant of the day, stood in a stubble field. Descending downhill towards Coupar Angus, Nat had to slow down to avoid 5 Red Legged Partridges stood on the road. Not the smartest place to stand. After Coupar Angus we turned off towards Meiklour and Nat spotted a Buzzard on the ground in another stubble field. A flock of Jackdaws overflew, and a pair of House Sparrows flew across the road in front of us at Caputh. I spotted a Roe Deer in a field by the river near here. A Jay overflew as we neared Dunkeld.
A skein of Pink Footed Geese could be seen tracking south beyond the A9, and a young Herring Gull was seen as we crossed the bridge over the Tay at Dunkeld to reach the dual carriageway. It didn't take too long to reach Pitlochry and with Google Maps app being utilised we found the spot we were looking for easily. A small lochan known as the Cuilc. There were a few Mute Swans tucked in by the corner below the trees at the roadside. Beyond them were a number of Mallards. As we got out of the car, I spotted a few Tufted Ducks beyond the Mallards, and initially found myself tracking one of these rather than the hoped for American visitor.
However, just beyond the Tufties and just visible through the branches of the trees between the road and the lochan, I could see something altogether more promising. Superficially it looked like a drake Tufted Duck, but the body seemed proportionally smaller and more rounded. The head seemed much too big for such a small body and was a different shape to the more rounded head of the Tufties. Also the dark bill had a white band near the tip and where it met the face there was a narrow white edging. A
Ring Necked Duck it was, and a very smart looking drake at that. My only previous sighting of the species had been in Fife a few years ago. That bird was further away and less obviously different than this particular specimen. I checked with Nat that she also had the bird. She had. Another lifer for her, and the bird that gave me a new personal best for my year-listing. Species number 206.
A few Blue Tits flitted round in the trees by the road and a rather pale Little Grebe was across the far side of the Lochan. The Ring Necked Duck seemed very wary compared to the Mallards and Tufted Ducks and stayed well back from where we were, swimming off when I tried to get a better view from further around the Lochan, near where it was diving for food. Despite the poor light I took plenty of photos, and was quite pleased with the results. I had packed the P900 in the hope of grabbing some video footage of the bird and managed a few short clips. We decided as we were in the area we may as well pop along to Killiecrankie visitor centre and see if there were any birds on the feeders.
Driving downhill from the Lochan we added Coal Tit and a pair of Wrens in bushes by the road. Unfortunately the feeders at Killiecrankie were almost empty and we only added Chaffinch and Great Tit during our brief visit. There were also Coal Tit and Blue Tit seen here, though a Robin was heard and a distant Jay called from across the road somewhere. We headed back to Pitlochry and took the Moulin road up and across the moors, rather than head back down the less interesting A9.
There were few birds to be seen as we headed uphill, though once the road levelled out a bit, Nat spotted a hovering Kestrel by the side of the road. Further on a large flock of Fieldfares fed along the edge of a field by the road. A large flock of Goldfinches added some welcome bright colours to the increasingly drab atmosphere as they flew off, their yellow wing markings seeming to glow in the gloomy conditions. Rooks, Jackdaws, Woodpigeons, Pheasants, a Buzzard or two and more thrushes were seen before we reached Blairgowrie where a Grey Heron was stood on a rock in the faster flowing section of the Ericht visible from the road. It was more of the same on the way back to Dundee but we somehow managed to stay ahead of the rain, arriving back in Dundee sometime after 1100. Mission accomplished.
Only 31 species seen (year-tick in bold) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Red Legged Partridge, Redwing,
Ring Necked Duck, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Ring Necked Duck |
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| Mallard |
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Ring Necked Duck
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