With June being a fairly quiet month it looked like our Wednesday outing this week would be to see a very tame Cuckoo in the Angus Glens discovered by my birding buddy, Steph. Having discussed this possibility with Nat, a thought occurred to me. There had been an Icterine Warbler at Laggan for a while and it had been showing well and seemed fairly settled. Having both only had an exceedingly brief view of a bird at Boarhills pool last Autumn, with no chance to even raise the camera for a photo, it would be a nice bird to visit. But where was Laggan? I wasn't sure, so out came the road atlas, and I was happy to see that it was not far off the A9 and not as far up as Aviemore. For a midweek outing this seemed doable, as long as Nat was up for it. A message was sent, and fingers were crossed.
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| Icterine Warbler |
Having arranged an 0800 pick-up anyway, Nat duly arrived and after a very brief chat a decision to head north for the Icterine Warbler was made, so off we went. Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Herring and Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Carrion Crow kick-starting the list as we headed out of Dundee in the direction of Pitlochry. A missed turn meant a slightly amended route but it didn't make a huge difference as we added most of the expected species along the way with Buzzard, Starling, Pheasant, Rook, House Martin, Swallow, Swift, Jackdaw and House Sparrow all seen before we left Blairgowrie.
Pied Wagtails foraged along the back roads, flying off the road when the car drew near, Common Gulls were in and around the fields along with a single Black Headed Gull. Our first Meadow Pipit was seen on the Moulin road but there was little to see here. A flock of Greylag Geese were in flooded fields near Loch Garry. The drive up the A9 is generally rather boring with only the scenery to break the rather monotonous journey. Thankfully, having taken the cross-country route to reach Pitlochry our time on the A9 would be much shorter and we were soon turning off for Laggan. Having used Google Streetview to find the location, and where to park (thankfully both in the same place), we were soon getting out of the car at a small lay-by by some recycling bins and a picnic site.
Another birder who we recognised, and who recognised me, arrived seconds later. He was from Kinross and a member of Fife Bird Club and our paths had indeed crossed in the past. Siskins overflew and within a few minutes the sound of a Curlew coming from a tall tree nearby signalled something different. Sure enough, the mimicry was coming from the
Icterine Warbler perched above us. Trying to get a decent angle that provided favourable light and a clear view proved tricky but we were rewarded with prolonged views and a chance to study the species properly, meaning we should have a better chance of finding one of our own in future. I found out later that it was Ian Ford, - the Riverside Nature Park Friends group chairman, who had found the bird.
In addition to the Icterine Warbler, there were other birds around at the picnic site - Robin, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Blackbird, and Greenfinch. At one point I happened to turn around and spotted a bird perched on the wire that hung above the field across the road from us. A Cuckoo, and relatively close. Photos were taken during the less co-operative times from the warbler. A few Lesser Redpolls overflew and I found a Large Red Damselfy in the grass near the picnic tables. With the time approaching mid-day we decided to head off for a bit of exploring nearby. We continued along the road we were on, which turned out to be the wrong road from the one we expected to be on. Mallards, Oystercatcher and Common Sandpiper were spotted on our way out, with a Wheatear seen on the return leg. A Collared Dove was in the village when we reached Laggan again.
After lunch we decided to go exploring further east, first to Insh Marshes then from there to Uath Lochans. Insh Marshes always seems to be very quiet and so it was again. Great Tit at the car park, Blue Tit, Coal Tit and Chaffinch at the feeders in front of the visitor centre, plus Lapwings and Curlews out on the marsh along with a distant Red Deer and a few corvids plus a Greylag Goose were the grand total. A Grey Wagtail flew alongside the car for a short distance as we moved on again hoping to find the correct road to Uath Lochans.
We eventually found the right place, though it seemed further down the road than the map suggested. We found that there was a choice of two routes - one longer uphill one and a shorter route around the Lochans. With no need to rush we headed up the hill. Siskins could be heard high in the trees but were tricky to see given the conifer coverage. Thankfully the sun was behind a screen of clouds which kept things quite cool, meaning the uphill climb wasn't as bad as it could have been. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen but Goldcrests calling proved elusive. Our first Treecreeper of the day was also seen on our way to the top.
When we did eventually reach the top, we found the view was worth the climb, with a blanket of thousands of trees edged by mountains stretching for miles into the distance. It was also possible to see Loch Insh to the north and from further on the Lochans themselves could be seen. A Willow Warbler sang from the top of a tree in front of the viewpoint, though Nat's directions of "at the top of the conifer" wasn't particularly specific when faced with at least ten thousand conifers, though it was rather obvious which ones she meant and I found the bird easily.
We headed on after a few minutes, a Robin flying across the path in front of us, with a beakful of insects being one of the few birds around. Seconds later I spotted movement just ahead of us in the trees off to the left of the path. Crested Tits, foraging among the trees, and completely unphased by our presence nearby. This meant we were able to watch them, and get some photos of them eating something that wasn't peanuts from a feeder. A Great Tit was also nearby. Unfortunately, as I was photographing the Cresties my D7100 camera decided to stop working properly. turning it on and off, removing and replacing the battery and even removing and refitting the lens made no difference. This was definitely not handy, though I had the fall back option of the P900 bridge camera with me, thankfully.
We met a couple of birders from England who were hoping for Cresties as we detoured round the white route having reached the bottom of the hill. They mentioned they'd had flyover Crossbills and we told them where we'd seen the Cresties. Not too much further on, I heard
Crossbills calling and looked up to see a flight of four overhead. A year-tick for me, the second of the day, though Nat had seen the species already elsewhere. Around the Lochans we found a few Damselflies and Dragonflies. Common Blue and Large Red Damselflies plus 4-Spotted Chaser Dragonflies. A single Wood Ant and 2 different species of Dor Beetle plus a Longhorn Beetle species of some sort were also seen. A Reed Bunting sang from a tree on the bog.
Reaching the cooler area below the trees again, the sun having escaped from behind the clouds, we found a Tree Pipit hunting around high among the branches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker nest, with an adult bird coming and going. The calls from inside sounded shriller than those heard at the Tay reedbeds suggesting younger chicks, though none were seen. We'd heard a Redstart but we failed to find it, though we did find a pair of Treecreepers. Further on as we headed back to the car park, a young Siskin fed on the ground a short distance ahead of us.
We intended to head back to the A9 after a spot of exploration along the road in from the Lochans (it reached a wooden bridge with a dirt track across the other side), but somehow we managed to miss our turn. We did find a pair of skateboarders skating down the road miles from anywhere and then a man painting the gable end of a house while stood atop a landrover - neither particularly expected sights. Thanks to the flaws in my navigation (in my defence I was relying on the excellent Best Birdwatching Sites in the Scottish Highlands for maps, which weren't shown as a whole, but as a series of smaller maps, rather than my usual small street atlases) we found ourselves at a small Lochan where in addition to a Little Grebe and a pair of Goldeneye we were treated to the sight of a full breeding plumaged Slavonian Grebe, while a Sand Martin and Great Black Backed Gull overflew.
We headed back to the A9 and homewards. An accident meant we were actually stopped south of the Dalwhinnie junction for a few minutes, where we saw Black Headed Gull, Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtails. When we reached Dunkeld, we headed cross country again rather than down the A9. Tufted Ducks and Grey Herons were the only additions before we made it back to Dundee just short of 13 hours after our departure time after what had been a really good day out - despite the camera fault.
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| Icterine Warbler |
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| Icterine Warbler |
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| Icterine Warbler |
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| Icterine Warbler |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Cuckoo |
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| Cuckoo |
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| Red Deer |
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| Crested Tit |
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| Crested Tit |
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| 4-Spotted Chaser |
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| Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Large Red Damselfly |
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| Slavonian Grebe |
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| Pied Wagtail |
53 species seen including 2 year-ticks (in bold) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove,
Crossbill, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Crested Tit, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldeneye, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow,
Icterine Warbler, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Little Grebe, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Rook, Sand Martin, Siskin, Slavonian Grebe, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon.
