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| Marsh Harrier |
Nat arranged to pick me up at 0815, so I headed out just before then. There was a pair of Blue Tits perched on the wires across the street - possibly the same pair that nested nearby last year, and from the roof edge guttering a few House Sparrows chirped loudly as they peered downwards. A Blackbird was seen as I got into the car and a Feral Pigeon was added as we set off. It was very overcast and quite misty. A Magpie flew over as we headed for Clepington Road. Herring Gull and Jackdaw were spotted as we turned onto the main road. Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon were next onto the list as we headed north up the A90 out of Dundee.
Nat spotted a Rook by the roadside before we headed off the dual carriageway to take the more productive back roads to Kinnordy. There were a pair of Moorhens on the small pool at Lumley Den where usually there is only a pair of Mallards (of which there was no sign). Further on we added the first Pheasant of the day in a field and a pair of fighting Chaffinches fluttered up from the roadside as we passed. North of Glamis a Buzzard flew low across the road and an Oystercatcher was in a field. A tree by the farm buildings at Auchindorie held a few Starlings while the next one had a few Yellowhammers perched in it.
Arriving at a very cold and damp Kinnordy we headed into the Gullery hide stopping to watch a Wren and a Robin. Once inside we scanned around the Loch whe there were numerous wildfowl - Mallards, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Ducks, Shoveler, Greylags and Mute Swans. The bogbean islands held Lapwings and a few Snipe. There were at least 5 Little Grebes dotted around and a few Coots. A Reed Bunting flew past. A few Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls drifted over. The visibility was rather poor and our chances of picking out an Osprey were looking rather slim, especially one perched in trees to the north, which were almost invisible in the foggy conditions.
Peering out the side window I watched a pair of Long Tailed Tits in the trees and a Mallard, Teal and Moorhen in the small bay below. Water Rails 'sharmed' from various points around the reserve but despite plenty of searching we failed to see any. A Cormorant was picked out on top of a pole against the fog. A Redshank displayed over the islands as did a pair of Lapwings before a few Whooper Swans appeared from behind the reeds. Nat spotted a bird low over the reeds opposite the hide. A female Marsh Harrier. The first of the year. Apparently it had been seen on Monday but with no text message having been put out on the ADBC grapevine I thought it was maybe being kept quiet (being a Schedule 1 species). However, later at home I discovered that there were photos online, along with the location, so there was no obvious reason for no grapevine text message being circulated. Not the first time that a "good bird" hasn't been 'put out', but publicly shared on facebook instead. Gets annoying when you pay for a service and find that facebook users are getting the info for free, before you do.
I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the trees behind the hide and went to the door to look for it. I spotted it flying between two of the tall conifers. A pair of Long Tailed Tits flitted around in the trees by the wooden 'bridge' walkway. Heading back into the hide we added a flyby Pied Wagtail before Nat spotted a Curlew gliding in. We decided to check the other hides. We could hear Siskins calling and eventually found a few in the trees by the fork in the paths. Chaffinches were also much in evidence. A Song Thrush was found by Nat and at the feeders we failed to see Tree Sparrows but did succeed in finding Coal Tit and Great Tit.
There was nothing to be added from the East hide so we wandered along to the Swamp hide finally finding a Tree Sparrow above the path near the feeders on the way. From the Swamp hide we managed to pick out a few pairs of Gadwall among the other wildfowl, but as expected there was nothing much else to be seen. Greenfinches flew over as we walked along the boardwalk. Heading back along the path we stopped to watch a Treecreeper which vanished round the back of a tree trunk and then actually disappeared - neither of us seeing it flying off. A Dunnock was in the cut branches by the path. We decided to head next to Murton and the warmth of the car was very welcome on the way.
A Brown Hare was in the field next to the reserve as we drove back to Kirriemuir. There were a number of Lesser Black Backed Gulls with Herring Gulls in a field at Padanaram. We arrived at Murton around 1135 and headed into the hide by the car park. There were various ducks on the water and a few Oystercatchers and a Herring Gull on the islands but it was rather quiet. We walked down to the other hide. A Green Sandpiper had been present a few days ago, but despite scanning we only found a trio of Snipe by the water's edge. A few Lapwings were dotted around, with lots of Wigeon and a few Goldeneye on the water. A trio of Shelduck dropped in, and a pair of Redshanks were seen near the Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls by the water as a few Carrion Crows wandered around..
We decided to do a lap of the reserve in the hope that we might see Sand Martins by the custom made holes. A Skylark was picked out against the grey sky. There were no Sand Martins at the wall, but a Chiffchaff, a Yellowhammer and 2 Linnets were in the trees behind. Goldcrests, A pair of Roe Deer took off at pace along in front of the fence away from us. Great Tit, Coal Tit and Long Tailed Tits were seen in the small fenced-off wooded area. Blackbirds flew across the pool as we walked along. Despite scanning from various points we drew a blank on Green Sandpiper. A couple of male Bullfinches did show near the farm buildings near the road, and a Collared Dove was on wires as we neared the car park.
We had lunch before heading along the road to check Balgavies. Plenty of Cormorants in the trees, with Chaffinches and various tits at the feeders but the only addition was a distant Great Crested Grebe. Jim Smith from Dundee Naturalists was in the hide and we chatted for a wee while before bumping into his wife Stevie as we were about to leave the car park to head for Monikie in the hope of picking out some reported Little Gulls. With the rain forecast to arrive in the area around 1400 it was looking like quite a short window of opportunity and so it turned out.
Thankfully it didn't prove to difficult to see the Little Gulls. There were lots of Black Headed Gulls out on the reservoir and flapping around above them were a few adult Little Gulls and also some youngsters with the dark M-like markings on the upperwings. Doug Milne and another birder (Dave Murray?) without binoculars had failed to see them so I tried to get them both onto the birds - even loaning the one without binoculars mine to help him see them, but despite my best efforts he failed to conclusively see them. As both myself and Nat had seen them and the forecast rain was rapidly moving across the water towards us, we decided to head back to the car and head for home.
Despite the misty conditions we had still managed to see 61 species including 2 nice year-ticks (in bold), so it had been a good, if slightly shortened (and rather cold) outing.
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| Little Grebe |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Wigeon |
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| Curlew |
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| Snipe |
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| Siskin |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Little Gulls & Black Headed Gulls |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Little Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.