Earlier in the week I had been chatting via Facebook messenger with birding buddy, Jacqui, who asked about the Nikon P900 bridge camera that I sometimes use. I told her she could try it out if she was free and we arranged to head out somewhere where we were guaranteed birds on Thursday. Unfortunately, Jacqui wasn't feeling 100% so we settled on a morning at Forfar Loch where the birds are used to people and there is usually a good selection. I arranged to meet Jacqui at 0900 and headed out 10 minutes before.
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| Great Crested Grebe |
Off to our left there were a number of Mallards in eclipse plumage, while a Great Crested Grebe sat on a nest just offshore, its mate further out. Scanning around found a few Greylags, some Tufted Ducks, a few Coots, and Black Headed Gulls. Mute Swans and Coots in addition to more Great Crested Grebes were also seen. A Moorhen swam by close in to shore. A trio of Grey Herons stood along the northern shoreline and were joined by a fourth as we started walking. An Oystercatcher was stood across the far side.
In the trees we found Great Tit, Woodpigeons and Goldfinch. From the wooden viewpoint we watched Sand Martins swoop low over the water. A Goldcrest flew over and a Reed Bunting was seen singing from the reeds. We headed west and added Lesser Black Backed Gull. Sedge Warbler and Yellowhammer, on the walk. A Wren showed at the spit and a single Swallow took flight from the Sailing Club portacabins. A House Martin hawked for insects over the Loch. We found a Robin in the bushes as a Curlew overflew. We headed onwards towards the western end of the Loch adding a Coal Tit and Willow Warbler.
At the western end we added a single Dunnock to the list but there was little else of note added as we wandered back along the southern side of the Loch though we did watch a trio of juvenile Robins on the path ahead of us. A Mistle Thrush was stood on the centre of the rugby pitch. A small group of Feral Pigeons overflew. We stopped briefly at a bench overlooking the Loch and managed to add a pair of Little Grebes and a surprise Common Sandpiper. Having completed a lap of the Loch, Jacqui suggested a visit to Loch of Kinnordy to try for some video.
Jackdaws were seen as we passed through Kirriemuir. There was little to be seen at Kinnordy with the greenery hiding most of the birds. A Reed Bunting was across the far side, a Mallard or two were out on the water. Jacqui spotted the female Marsh Harrier and we were treated to a short flight before she disappeared westwards out of sight. A pair of juvenile Starling were perched in the pines, and a Lapwing rose up from one of the bogbean islands. With things very quiet and little else expected to be added we headed back towards Dundee.
The Spoonbill which had been reported the previous evening at Montrose Basin as we headed home from Aberdeenshire had been seen early in the morning. I had arranged to message Nat when I was on my way home so we could try to see it in the afternoon. A very quick turnaround at home saw Nat pick me up at 1250 and off we went towards Montrose. A roadside hovering Kestrel north of Arbroath was a nice addition, but there was nothing else new to be added on our journey towards Montrose Basin. As we were only a few miles shy of Montrose a text message came in saying that the Spoonbill had just 2 minutes earlier flown off and disappeared out of view in the direction of the Shelduck Hide. This wasn't what we wanted to hear.
We decided there was little to be gained from stopping at either the Lurgies, or the Visitor Centre, instead choosing to head straight to the car park for the Wigeon and Shelduck hides. Chaffinch, Willow Warbler, Reed Bunting, Dunnock and Blackbird were seen as we hurried first for the Shelduck hide. A flock of Rooks and Jackdaws lifted from the regular winter Twite area as we approached. A Painted Lady butterfly was a nice surprise, though a Pied Wagtail nearby might have been eyeing up a sizeable meal. There were a number of Redshanks visible by the river at The Slunks but little else except a Mute Swan pair and an few Eiders. Nat spotted a male Pheasant crossing the path ahead of us. A Meadow Pipit displayed above the reeds, before dropping down into the fields.
From the hide there were more birds to be seen, mostly Eiders and a few gulls, though an angler on the exposed pebbles meant that there were less to see than we had hoped. A single female Red Breasted Merganser flew in before we decided to try the Wigeon hide. A brisk walk back to the junction of the paths gave us a distant view of a Brown Hare though a second one broke cover from the edge of the stubble field and 'hared' off away from us at speed. A few Linnets and a Skylark or two were seen before we were joined by a herd of rather curious cows which followed us along the fenceline.
We scanned the pools we could see from the path but there was no sign of the Spoonbil. We hoped that the raised view provided by the Wigeon Hide would produce the distinctive long-legged white shape somewhere. We were to be disappointed however. Despite the raised viewpoint there was little to see. A Pink Footed Goose with some Mute Swans was a slight surprise and a pair of summer plumaged Black Tailed Godwits were a nice addition. A brief stop at the Lurgies and a chat to Ron Mitchell, Alex Shepherd and Kenny Grant only added Goldeneye to our list before we decided to call it a day, the exertions of the previous day making us both rather leg-weary. Despite the lack of Spoonbill, I had still managed to clock up a list of 58 species during the day, which while hardly spectacular wasn't too bad.
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Starling |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Goldeneye & Grey Heron |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.