With rain forecast for most of Tayside and Fife on Monday morning, it looked unlikely that I would get out birding at all, though there was a good chance that the weather would clear late morning meaning I could get out for the afternoon, all going well. What I wasn't expecting was the offer to get out in the morning to try for a Yellow Wagtail which had been seen on Sunday afternoon and evening. My birding pal, Jacqui, needed the species for her Scottish list and I needed the bird for my year-list, so I readily agreed to an early start in the hope that the wet weather overnight would mean that the bird would stay put at Loch of Kinnordy where it had been seen. Interestingly, it was the second Yellow Wagtail to be seen there in just a few days. The first was a hybrid bird - a mix of the UK race and the Blue Headed Wagtail race - known now as a Channel Wagtail, but the second bird was a 'pure' UK Yellow Wagtail.
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| Shoveler |
Jacqui arranged to pick me up at 0800 but actually arrived a bit early, she phoned to let me know just as I was about to leave the house. It was raining quite heavily so Jacqui drove closer than our arranged rendezvous point and we got on the road a bit earlier than planned. I spotted Woodpigeon and Herring Gull, followed by Feral Pigeon and Starling as we headed out of Dundee. A Mallard was in a roadside pond, and between the A90 and Glamis we spotted Black Headed Gulls, Pheasant and Curlews. Blackbird was seen as we drove through Kirriemuir and there were Oystercatchers in the field near the reserve.
We had the Gullery hide to ourselves, so settled down to scan around and see what we could find. In addition to Mallard, we could also see a drake Shoveler, a couple of Moorhens and Mute Swan. Further out on the Loch we could see Tufted Ducks and there were Greylag Geese around. In addition there was a Redshank on the bogbean island in front of the hide, with a pair of Teal a little further back. A pair of Wigeon flew in and landed nearby. A Reed Bunting flew by. We could see an Osprey up in the trees at the back of the reserve. A few Lapwings were on some of the bogbean islands. A Great Tit flew past the window and was joined in a small bush by a pair of Blue Tits.
Surprisingly, out on the bogbean we spotted a pair of Meadow Pipits, though they looked streakier and more contrasting on their backs, possibly as a result of the wet weather making the feathers look darker. Sand Martins swooped low across the water. A Snipe was near the Meadow Pipits on the bogbean, and a Lesser Black Backed Gull. Jacqui spotted a pair of Long Tailed Tits in the bushes off to the side. A minute or two later, we spotted the female Marsh Harrier above the reeds. The local Carrion Crows made a half-hearted attempt at mobbing her but she lost them easily. A Stock Dove in the company of a Woodpigeon flew by. A male Blackcap was spotted in the trees off to the right of the hide.
Out on the bogbean islands we could see a few wagtails beginning to appear. These were mostly Pied Wagtails though there were a few of their European cousins -
White Wagtails, the differences between the two quite subtle. A Swallow zipped by. Common Gull was next onto our list with a pair flying across the Loch. A few more folk had joined us in the hide including Bob McCurley and Graham Ewen. Graham discovered a wallet on the hide floor (with contents) and as luck would have it Bob had contact details for the owner and he got in touch to let him know his wallet had been found. The Rooks at the rookery were making a racket as usual. A Siskin called and I spotted it as it flew towards the lone pine across the Loch.
Another call caught my attention. It was vaguely familiar but it took me a few seconds for it to register what I was hearing and I looked upwards trying to find the culprits. A flock of 14 Golden Plover mostly in summer plumage headed westwards at medium level. A nice bonus species. A Sedge Warbler had been singing loudly from the reeds off to our left and I spotted it perched between reeds and managed to get everyone onto it. Jacqui spotted a Snipe preening in a channel close to the hide which gave us decent views. Our first flypast Jackdaws passed over. A Wren pottered around among the reeds and bogbean below the hide, and a Robin shuttled back and forth from the side of the hide to the reeds out front.
With no sign of any Yellow Wagtail we decided to try the other hides. We picked up Chaffinch and Goldfinch outside the hide on our way to the swamp hide and a singing Willow Warbler in the trees near that hide. One of the others in that hide spotted a few Pink Footed Geese among the Greylags way off to the left. As there wasn't too much else happening we headed for the east hide, stopping at the feeders to look for other species. Chaffinches were the main birds around at the feeders but we found a few Tree Sparrows as well. After a short while without adding anything we decided to try Murton in the hope of Jacqui getting decent views of Lesser Redpoll, and a few photos - it being a bird that she rarely encounters well enough to get a good photo.
House Sparrows were seen as we passed through Maryton just outside Kirriemuir and we headed for Forfar and onwards to Murton, around a mile or so on the east side of the town. Arriving at the reserve, we headed into the hide by the car park. Out front we could see a number of Coots as well as Tufted Ducks. With not much else to see we decided to walk down to the lower hide. A pair of Lesser Redpolls flew over as we wandered down the track. A Magpie flew across the track and a Willow Warbler sang loudly from a small tree. Among the other birds on the water out front from the hide was a single young Great Black Backed Gull. High above the reserve, a Buzzard circled.
We decided to do a circuit of the reserve and soon added a nice male Yellowhammer and a Skylark. When we reached the small wooded area, a Sparrowhawk shot across the path weaving its way through the trees and out of sight within a second or so. I saw a duck fly in and suspected Gadwall but the view hadn't been a good one. When we reached the 3rd hide the Gadwall sighting was confirmed with a pair by the edge of the water. Nothing else was added before we reached the car park again. We decided to take the back roads back to Dundee and added Linnets to the list for the day on the way when we passed a few in a field near Wellbank.
A decent day out despite the no-show by the Yellow Wagtail (and fleeting views of the Redpoll). One year-tick (in bold) - although the White Wagtail isn't a full species I (and a few others) do count it as a new bird as it is sufficiently different from our Pied Wagtail.
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| Snipe |
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| Moorhen |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Lapwing |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Teal |
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| Lapwing |
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| Redshank |
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| Marsh Harrier and Carrion Crow |
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| Marsh Harrier and Carrion Crow |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Moorhen |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| White Wagtail |
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| Snipe |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Buzzard |
59 species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, (
White Wagtail), Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
