So far this year my birding outings have been split 3 ways. On my own, out with Nat, and out with Jacqui. All 3 are slightly different but the end result is usually seeing some good birds. Jacqui messaged me about the possibility of trying to see, and photograph, Ptarmigans, having seen some nice recent shots by another birder from Fife, Steve Buckland. As they are a species that I had only seen a couple of times, but not particularly well (birds in flight) and had never managed to photograph, I thought that as long as the weather was favourable then it was probably well worth attempting. I suggested that if time allowed we could also pop across the Moulin Moor to Pitlochry for the wintering Ring Necked Duck and Nuthatch at Killiecrankie. What I didn't fancy was wading through thigh-deep snow for a couple of hours for little or no reward. We settled on trying on Thursday.
 |
| Ptarmigan |
As luck would have it, the forecast was almost ideal, though there was a chance of the winds at altitude being unhelpful. The sun was likely to shine, temperatures were to be above freezing (just, at altitude) and any clouds were forecast to be above the summits. I headed out at just before 0755 to meet Jacqui. As it was still well before sunrise there were few birds around, just the usual Herring Gulls in the gloom. We headed out of Dundee for Blairgowrie and then onto Glenshee. A skein of Pink Footed Geese were seen heading for the fields from their roost on the Tay. Woodpigeons and Carrion Crows were numerous. Jacqui spotted a Grey Heron in a stubble field.
A couple of Magpies in another area I'd not previously seen the species showed just how common they are now becoming in Angus. A Buzzard on a fencepost was another addition before we added Pheasant, followed soon after by Starlings, Jackdaws and Collared Doves in Coupar Angus along with House Sparrows. A Blackbird flew across the road and we both recognised the undulating flight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker as it overflew the car. There were Mallards on some of the small farm pools as we headed higher into the hills. Red Grouse started to appear by the roadside and we very quickly were into double figures of the species.
Two corvids which flew past us were clearly Ravens, their bulk readily apparent. The roads had been surprisingly ice and frost free all the way from Dundee until we crested the hill at Glenshee car park where we found a light frost skin on the road. Thankfully, the need to drive on this was very limited and Jacqui parked the car in the almost completely empty car park (it was still only around 0920 and there wasn't too much snow on the hills). As Jacqui got organised I scanned the tops as best as I could looking for white dots against the non-snow covered patches. I eventually found a smattering of white among some scree high on one of the hills and we decided to work on the basis that these might be Ptarmigan, though they could also be Mountain Hares. We would only know when either they moved, or we got close enough to see some detail.
Although the heights of the mountains at Glenshee makes most (if not all) of them classed as Munros, the fact that the car park is already around 1500 feet up is a major plus, and cuts down on the walking required. With our mountain chosen we headed for the track that looked best for where we wanted to go and found a rather icy patch at the bottom which we carefully navigated before we were onto the more stony, frozen earth which seemed to slope up at a rather steep angle. With neither of us used to going up mountains it took a few minutes to get into a rhythm. There were plenty of Red Grouse around, calling or zipping low over the heather. We encountered more ice in the hollows that the sun couldn't reach further on up the path. As there were no skiers around, or likely to be around we chose to take the direct route by following a chair-lift route up the mountain.
This proved to be more boggy in places but was largely snow free, and more direct than the path. Up we clambered, stopping briefly to scan at various points. It became apparent that the white dots I had seen from below were not Ptarmigan, but were instead Mountain Hares. The chance to photograph these was a bonus, as my encounters with them had also been either distant or very brief. Jacqui managed to spot a pair of
Ptarmigan as they wandered across a snow patch a little further over from the scree slope holding the Hares. We slowly headed on upwards, stopping to watch a pair of Ravens which landed among the scree, before they both flew off again.
We were able to get quite close views of the snow white Ptarmigan as they picked around before settling in at the base of a fence where the shadows created dark grey stripes on their plumage. Not ideal for photos, but it was still better than what I had previously. Some of the Hares moved off a short distance while others ignored us. From further up the slope I heard a strange call so went to investigate as Jacqui concentrated on the Ptarmigans and Hares. It was a Raven perched on a rock but it flew off when it spotted me. The Ptarmigans wandered off again into the scree where they found a place to settle in the sunshine, which with only light winds made the temperature surprisingly more comfortable than either of us had expected. We took some more photos before deciding to head back down to the car.
We negotiated our way down the hill again through the snow, heather and boggy patches and were back at the car a bit earlier than we had expected. With time on our side and the enthusiasm borne of a successful encounter we chose to go for the birds in Pitlochry. More Pheasants, corvids and Woodpiegons were in the fields on our way, along with a small party of Red Legged Partridges which ran across the road ahead of us. A pair of Mistle Thrushes overflew but Moulin Moor was almost devoid of birds. We arrived in Pitlochry around lunchtime and headed along to The Cuilc, the pond where the Ring Necked Duck has been wintering again (having also done so last Winter). I'd challenged Jacqui to find the bird herself among the Tufted Ducks. I spotted it immediately through the car windscreen, though I had previous experience to help me. One
Ring Necked Duck on my 2017 year-list.
The Mute Swans and Mallards seemed to be anticipating being fed and stayed close to shore while the Tufted Ducks and Ring Necked Duck swam away from us. Moorhens scurrried down the bank and into the water. In the trees above us, Great Tits and Blue Tits foraged around. Long Tailed Tits were heard from across the pond but not seen. The light was much better than on any of my previous visits and I made good use of it getting some really nice photos in the process. We had our lunch before setting off the few miles to Killiecrankie.
Surprisingly when we arrived we found that the feeders had been stocked up. A Robin was by the picnic tables at the car park and on the full feeders were Great Tits, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Chaffinches and one rather nice
Nuthatch. Jacqui took a photo of it, but I chose not to, not being a fan of feeder shots. A rook was in the trees behind and we had close views of a Red Squirrel at a nut feeder. With Nuthatch successfully added with almost zero effort we discussed the best route home and options for stops on the way. Eventually we decided to head for Dunkeld for Fallow Deer, and Loch of the Lowes as our first stops. We still had a few hours of usable daylight to play with.
A Goosander was on a pond with Mallards as we came off the A9 to head for Dunkeld via the back roads, We stopped first at the Hilton and sure enough the Fallow Deer herd were lounging around where they usually were. We wandered along in front of the houses to get a better view. There was one male stood between us and the majority of the Deer. Jacqui managed to get the male's attention by whistling, and totally unexpectedly it trotted over. Some of the others came closer too and we had a few minutes of totally unexpected close views. I suspect that these deer have become habituated to humans here and are probably fed by people from time to time, which explains the unexpected approach from them. A nice few bonus photos of another species I only had poor record shots of before.
We had close views of another Red Squirrel at Loch of the Lowes. There was plenty of activity at the feeders with Mallards, Pheasants, Chaffinches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, a couple of Yellowhammers, a Dunnock and a Siskin all to be seen. From the hides we spotted Goldeneye, Wigeon, Coots, Mallards, an unexpected Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Jays. There were also a pair of Swans which heat-haze made ID tricky until we moved to the upstairs hide (they were Mutes). A Cormorant was also out on the Loch. As we headed back to the car again we added Treecreeper to the list as one foraged around on a fallen tree trunk while a Great Spotted Woodpecker picked around on a mossy trunk below it.
With still plenty of light to play with we set off for Loch of Kinnordy. We spotted geese on the water as we passed Butterstone Loch, and there were a few more stood in the field next to it.
Canada Geese, another year-tick for me. A small group of Red Legged Partridges were on a football pitch a little further on and I managed to get a short video clip as they hurried away from us. Another gap filled. There were Black Headed Gulls, Herring Gulls and a Buzzard in a field following a tractor somewhere near Alyth.
Arriving at Loch of Kinnordy we were greeted by a flyover Fieldfare, and two of the hides closed till further notice. We checked the small piece of Loch we could see from the path which gave us Teal and Lapwing. We stopped to chat to a photographer at the feeders but there was no sign of anything new for us at that point, so we moved on to the East Hide. Surprisingly we drew a blank of Whooper Swans, though there was an unexpected single Pochard out on the water. There was also a flock of Greylags in the fields to the northwest. We added Tree Sparrow to the list on our way back past the feeders.
I'd told Jacqui about some information I'd got from my brother a few days previously. He'd seen a Ring Necked Parakeet while playing golf in Dundee. As the species is the only one present on my life-list but not my Scottish list, it is a bird I want to see, so that I have just one list covering Scottish and Life birds (until such time as I decide to visit England for birding). As it was now nearing dusk, and the birds can be vocal around their roosts, we decided to try for it and off we went. My brother had given me precise info where he'd seen the bird and it was only a short walk once we'd parked the car. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the bird, though we did have good views of a Buzzard.
With the time around 1600 we headed back to Swannie Ponds where Jacqui dropped me off, with our list for the day sitting on 50 species. As I crossed the road, I heard Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the pavilion, and managed to spot one of the birds hanging from a branch. Number 51 from a very productive and enjoyable day out, including 4 new year-ticks.
 |
| Red Grouse |
 |
| Mountain Hares |
 |
| Mountain Hare |
 |
| Mountain Hare |
 |
| Ptarmigan |
 |
| Ptarmigan |
 |
| Raven |
 |
| Ptarmigan |
 |
| Ptarmigan |
 |
| Ptarmigan |
 |
| Ptarmigan |
 |
| Red Grouse |
 |
| Red Grouse |
 |
| Mountain Hare |
 |
| Red Grouse |
 |
| Red Grouse |
 |
| Ring Necked Duck |
 |
| Ring Necked Duck |
 |
| Ring Necked Duck |
 |
| Ring Necked Duck |
 |
| Red Squirrel |
 |
| Fallow Deer |
 |
| Fallow Deer |
 |
| Fallow Deer |
 |
| Fallow Deer |
 |
| Goldeneye |
 |
| Red Squirrel |
 |
| Red Legged Partridge |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Greylag Geese |
 |
| Pochard |
 |
| Buzzard |
Species seen (year-ticks in bold) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldeneye, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lapwing, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Nuthatch, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Pochard,
Ptarmigan, Raven, Red Grouse, Red Legged Partridge,
Ring Necked Duck, Robin, Rook, Siskin, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
