Relatively strong westerly winds again coupled with high tide times being later in the afternoon meant that choosing where to go for the usual midweek outing with Nat was a little tricky. We settled on Angus rather than Fife with an 0920 start planned, though the locations were very much up in the air, though Loch of Kinnordy would hopefully offer at least a chance of seeing Bittern, as one was reported last week, the first of the 'winter'.
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| Bullfinch |
Nat picked me up at 0920 and we headed for fuel first. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow were seen as Nat filled the car up. We decided to head first for Loch of Lintrathen, via Reekie Linn. Jackdaws were seen as we passed through Meigle. A small group of Pink Footed Geese were in a stubble field as we crossed the Isla. A Yellowhammer was on wires near Reekie Linn but we failed to see any Dippers or Grey Wagtails. There were a few Blue Tits in the trees by the car park. We headed for Backwater Reservoir next, adding Rooks and a Buzzard along the way. It was very quiet but at the car park we stopped and scanned. There were a few groups of Canada Geese along the shore, and a few distant Ravens were seen high above the forests.
A small group of Mallards were further away along the bank to the northwest, with a single Goosander diving in roughly the same area of the reservoir. A couple of Buzzards came closer before a Kestrel flew up and away from the trees where the Buzzards disappeared behind. As we drove back along the road a pair of Jays flew ahead of us. At the bend in the road where the reservoir widened another group of Canada Geese were stood by the water along with a pair of Cormorants. A pair of Mute Swans swam along nearby.
Siskins and Mistle Thrush were added as we headed out to the road to Lintrathen. Another few Buzzards were seen and a small falcon was spotted in flight before it glided down and into a stand of trees. The dark brown back and wings showed it to be my first
Merlin of the year, an unexpected bonus. Things were also rather quiet as we walked along the track to the hide at Lintrathen, though the quiet calls of a few Bullfinches led us to another addition. A large flock of Lapwings were seen above the trees. There were a few Blue Tits in the trees in front of the raised hide.
There were hundreds of Canada Geese off to our left, among them were a few Pink Footed Geese. Wigeon and Teal were behind the geese along with a Grey Heron. Mallards, Coots and Tufted ducks were added before Nat spotted a Peregrine as it wheeled around before coming in low over the water in pursuit of a flock of Teal, but it came up empty-taloned, before making another pass and then flying away to land in a bare tree in a field just beyond the road around the Loch. A Robin was below the hide as a boat with three anglers in, headed towards the geese which were a little un-nerved but stayed put though others flew in from other parts of the Loch.
We headed round to see if we could see the Peregrine in the tree but it had moved on. A Chaffinch flew up from the road as well as a small group of House Sparrows. From the other hide we added Common Gulls, Moorhens and a trio of unexpected Scaup - 2 drakes and a duck. We didn't stay long and headed for Loch of Kinnordy for lunch and hopefully a few more additions. A Pheasant was added on the way. Nat had lunch in the car while I wandered into the Gullery hide. Lapwings were out on the bog-bean islands and there were a few ducks around, though numbers were mostly low. I managed to find a Snipe, then a second one appeared a short while later.
A small group of Swallows passed over westwards and a Reed Bunting flew past. We headed along to the Swamp hide. A Goldcrest was in the trees at the end of the walkway. A family group of Bullfinches was in the trees at the end of the boardwalk including a young male moulting into adult plumage. There were a few more species out in front - Greylags, Gadwall and Shoveler. Nat spotted a rather pale Red Kite in the stubble field across the loch which was an unexpected bonus, though a Buzzard moved it on from whatever it was eating. There was a flock of Starlings further along in the field. We stopped for another look at the Bullfinches on the way out again before heading for Murton.
There were very few birds on the pools by the car park, just a few Mallards and a few Pied Wagtails. From the other pool, we had close views of Gadwall and a large flock of Wigeon until they were all flushed by a walker. We didn't spend too much time, instead walking quickly back to the car, picking up Coal Tits on the way to head for Montreathmont Forest. Unfortunately, except for Siskins there wasn't too much to see, though we did eventually get Meadow Pipit and Great Spotted Woodpeckers overflying. Nat spotted a Lesser Redpoll in the trees giving us one more species for the list. Collared Doves were on a chimney as we reached Forfar on the way back to Dundee.
Another decent day out with the bonus of an addition to the year-list (in bold), even though we hadn't really had a plan as such and the route was more or less improvised.
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| Rook |
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| Buzzard |
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| Kestrel |
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| Canada Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard & Grey Heron |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine & Teal |
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| Peregrine |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Canada Goose & Pink Footed Goose & Teal |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Scaup |
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| Buzzard |
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| Snipe |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bulfinch |
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| Shoveler & Gadwall |
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| Shoveler |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Gadwall |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
Species seen - Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Redpoll, Mallard, Meadow Pipit,
Merlin, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Kite, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Scaup, Shoveler, Siskin, Snipe, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
