I really have to be in the right frame of mind to spend more than about half an hour on a bus. Three quarters of an hour at a push. So, one of the places I've never visited using public transport is Loch of Kinnordy. A visit requires spending just over an hour on the bus followed by a walk out to the reserve. However, with a drake Smew possible, and maybe a Bittern, and the possibility of a Kumlien's Gull it made sense to see what the journey actually entailed. having checked the bus times I discovered that if I caught the 0831 bus I could be at Kinnordy for around 0945.
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| Great Crested Grebe & Red Necked Grebe |
I headed out at around 0820 to walk to the bus stop on Dura Street to catch the bus to Kirriemuir. Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull kick-started the list for the day, followed quickly after by a Starling on a chimney and a Blue Tit in a tree. Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and a flyover Goldfinch were seen from the bus stop while waiting for the slightly late running bus to arrive. Black Headed Gull was added near Caird Park. Rooks were seen as the bus neared Forfar, while Blackbirds and Jackdaws were added as the bus navigated around the town.
I got off the bus a bit earlier than I needed to, to walk to the road out to Kinnordy. There was a strong wind from the west that I would be walking directly into, but if I hoped to see the Kumlien's Gull I needed to take that particular route rather than the Kirriemuir path network route. I added House Sparrows as I walked down Tannage Brae, and there were Blue Tits around in the trees. Unfortunately, walking out along the road there weren't too many birds around, with only a single Herring Gull seen for the most part of the walk. A pair of Greylag Geese which flew past and some Oystercatchers in the field adjacent to the reserve added to the list. Rather than continue into the wind, I cut over the fence and walked the short distance down to the East hide.
There were Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the path as I headed into the hide. Out on the Loch were Wigeon, Teal, more Greylags, a few Mallards and a flotilla of Tufted Ducks. There were a few Herring Gulls and I checked through them just in case the Kumlien's Gull was with them, but it wasn't. I scanned through the ducks as well, and across the far side near the eastern end of the reeds I spotted a white bird close into the shore. The drake
Smew. A year-tick, and within a few minutes of having arrived too. It came closer but no closer than around halfway across the Loch before it headed back towrds the far shore again. I was joined by Doug Milne from Blairgowrie and pointed out the Smew to him. There were Mute Swans in small groups and also still a handful of Whooper Swans too. Two Cormorants were on the fallen tree across the far side to the east of the Smew. Another birder joined us in the hide.
More scanning around found a number of Goldeneye and a flock of Lapwings dropped into the bogbean islands in front of the Gullery hide. Another birder joined us in the hide. I added Common Gull to the list and found a drake Shoveler half-hidden among the reeds way across the far side. With the strong winds, the owl box on the lone pine was visible for a change, but unfortunately if the Barn Owl was inside it was staying out of sight. One of the Cormorants landed on the water not too far from the hide showing itself to actually be a Sinensis race bird. A nice male Pheasant wandered along through the reeds near the water's edge, the wind blowing his long tail vertical.
I decided to wander along to the Gullery hide to see if there was anything to be added from there. I stopped at the feeders where I was able to add a few more species. Great Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch and Tree Sparrows all together, with a single Siskin. I was joined by the other birder from the hide who asked if I knew if there was anything good at Loch of Lintrathen. There was. A Red Necked Grebe. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen it, as I explained to him, as I had no way of getting there other than a long walk. He asked if I would be able to recognise it, I said yes. He offered me a lift along to try and see it. He had looked for it already 3 times but had failed to find it. If I managed to find it then it was a plus for us both.
We chatted in the car on the way along, though as he was a bit deaf and had forgotten his hearing aid, it wasn't always exactly flowing. It turned out that I had actually met him before (I'm not always great with faces until I've met someone a few times). He was Colin, from Invergowrie, and I'd met him in Arbroath with Nat when we were looking for the Glaucous Gull, and also possibly when I was with Jacqui looking for the Shorelarks in late December. I spotted a few Bullfinches in a bush by the road and shortly after a Buzzard lifted from a roadside fence post giving us great views. A great Spotted Woodpecker flew over the car also. A Shelduck was an unexpected sight as it flew along parallel to the car for a short distance when we were around halfway to Lintrathen.
We decided to try the 'old' hide first, figuring that the Grebe might be sheltering out of the wind at the western end of the Loch. A Wren was seen as we walked to the hide. From the hide I scanned through the birds on the water. Wigeon, Teal, Goldeneye, Mallards, Coots and lots of Herring Gulls, as well as a single Canada Goose. A scope would have made it possible to check the gull flock properly, but I'd decided against the extra weight of carrying one. I found a Little Grebe and also a few Great Crested Grebe as well as a small group of Pochards, but there was no sign of the Red Necked Grebe. I suggested to Colin that I would hurry along to the 'open' area near the small wooden bridge and see if the bird was tucked in the corner.
It wasn't, though there were a few Mute Swans and a Grey Heron in that corner. We scanned some more before deciding to head along to the 'new' hide at the other end of the Loch. Colin said to me to go in as he would be a minute or two getting organised so I walked the short distance down to the hide. There were Coots just to the right of the hide in the relatively sheltered small 'bay' next to the hide. In addition to the Coots there was also a Cormorant, a few Goldeneye and a Great Crested Grebe. Even better though was the bird on its own a little further to the left. The
Red Necked Grebe. I opened up the window and rattled off a few photos as the bird bobbed around on the choppy water. Colin joined me in the hide and I gave him the good news and he soon found the bird thanks to my precise directions (apparently better than his wife's who he usually goes birding with. As these are along the lines of "in the tree" when there are lots of trees, I can certainly sympathise. (Not looking at anyone in particular, and with tongue firmly in cheek)).
We spent some time watching and photographing the Grebe. The Great Crested Grebe took exception to its presence and chased it off a few times which gave some nice opportunities. Eventualy we decided to move on again. Colin was heading for Murton and Balgavies so he dropped me off back at Kinnordy. There was nothing much to add at the Gullery hide except for a trio of Gadwall, so I decided to head along to the Swamp hide. A small party of Teal close to the hide flew off as I opened the hide window. It was otherwise rather quiet so I headed back to the Gullery Hide again. There had only been a single birder there when I left but there were now 4 or 5 folk in it when I arrived back.
It turned out that I'd met one of them before (and indeed he is on my facebook friends list), Tony Hilton from Aberdeenshire and we chatted away. He was hoping to see the Smew and I told him where I'd seen it earlier but there was no sign of it. I did find a Little Grebe over by the reeds at the far side but there was little else to persuade me to hang around, as time was rapidly approaching for me to leave unless I wanted to avoid hanging around for another hour, I decided to pop along to the East hide again. Tony came with me and offered me a lift along the road which would allow me to not have to rush my visit to the East hide. Once in the hide I scanned around and within ten minutes I spotted what I thought had to be the Smew again. It was and Tony was pretty pleased to get the bird on his own year-list, even if the views were rather distant. "Payment" for my lift along the road.
We headed back to the car park at around 1520. The gulls were in the field and we stopped and quickly scanned through those we could see but drew a blank on finding the Kumlien's Gull, though there were birds we could only see their heads owing to the contours of the field, so it may have been there. Tony dropped me off at the end of the road before he headed back northwards and I walked to the bus stop to wait for the bus home after what had been a rather successful day out. Only 46 species seen but 2 year-ticks (in bold) among them made it a worthwhile trip.
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Tufted Duck & Smew |
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| Smew |
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| Tufted Duck & Smew |
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| Smew |
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| Goldeneye & Smew |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
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| Shoveler |
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| Pheasant |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Pochard |
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| Red Necked Grebe |
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| Red Necked Grebe |
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| Red Necked Grebe |
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| Great Crested Grebe & Red Necked Grebe |
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| Great Crested Grebe & Red Necked Grebe |
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| Red Necked Grebe |
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| Wigeon |
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| Lapwing & Oystercatcher |
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| Teal |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Lapwing |
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| Little Grebe |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pochard,
Red Necked Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin,
Smew, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
