While I was at Fife Ness on Tuesday, ADBC text grapevine messages came in on my mobile phone announcing that 2 Wood Sandpipers (which had been seen on Monday evening) and a drake Garganey were at Loch of Kinnordy. I'd had a feeling that no matter where I went on Tuesday, there would be something good turning up at another location that I had considered visiting, and so it had transpired. I had to hope that the birds didn't move on again before I managed to get to Loch of Kinnordy to attempt to see them. I decided on an early start, hoping to be at the Loch for before 0900. This meant catching the bus at around 0720.
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| Osprey |
I made it out into the early morning sunshine just after 0700 to walk the relatively short distance to the bus stop on Dura Street. Woodpigeon, Magpie, Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon started the list for the day off, with Blue Tit and Blackbird added from the bus stop. The bus journey to Forfar was relatively productive with Starling and House Sparrow seen on the way out of Dundee. Swallows, Rooks, a single Lapwing, Carrion Crows, a few Oystercatchers and Jackdaws were all new additions. Buzzard was spotted as the bus neared Kirriemuir.
I chose to walk along the edge of the small burn to the Loch. A pair of Brown Hares were in the field nearest the road. There were also 5 Pheasants in the same field, mostly males. A Willow Warbler and a Chaffinch were in the trees along the rather quiet path. A Mallard was in a small channel near the east end of the Loch. A few more birds were seen before I reached an area where I could view some of the Loch. Song Thrush, Robin and Dunnock were all expected sightings but extended the list a bit further. Out on the Loch I could see a few Tufted Ducks and Mute Swans. There were lots of Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Oystercatchers following a tractor in the field bordering the reserve, as well as at least 1 Lapwing.
A Great Tit was seen from the East Hide, while out on the water Black Headed Gull was seen, as well as a Coot. A Pied Wagtail flew past before the male Marsh Harrier made its first appearance of the day. A Common Gull glided by, before the familiar sight of an Osprey appeared in the blue sky. It hovered a few times but didn't dive. Well, not while I was watching. It obviously dived towards the east end of the Loch, as a few minutes later I noticed it hurrying back along the Loch with a fish in its talons. In my defence, I had been distracted by trying to ascertain whether or not the
Barn Owl was visible in the opening to the box on the lone Pine. Photos showed that it was the bird, my first of the year.
A few Greylags and Shelduck could be seen along to the west, but there was no obvious sign of either Wood Sandpipers or Garganey. I set off for the Gullery Hide. Tree Sparrows were at the feeders along with a few Siskins. There were also a few Goldfinches higher in the trees above. A male Pheasant wandered off through the trees behind the feeders. A male Blackcap was another addition before I popped into the Gullery Hide. Out on the water were Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon and Moorhen in addition to the waterfowl species already noted. We had more views of the Marsh Harrier and another visit by an Osprey. A pair of Redshanks were out on one of the islands. The male Marsh harrier circled up and disappeared off hunting for a few hours.
Gadwall was added a while later while a few Sand Martins passed along the back of the Loch. Sedge Warbler was heard before a short song flight got it onto the list for the day. Two small waders had my hopes up as they flew in to land on one of the Bogbean islands. Unfortunately, they were only Dunlin, and they almost vanished as soon as they landed. I decided I should probably pop along to the Swamp Hide in case any of the target birds were showing there. As it turned out they weren't but we had views of 2 Ospreys together along to the west. A pair of Reed Buntings mated perched on the reeds to the right of the hide. Despite not having seen either of the 2 hoped for species, I did still manage to add 2 species to my year-list. The second was a
Common Tern which I had to do a double-take when I spotted it heading east above the Loch.
A Grey Heron flew low over the water as I packed up to head back along to the Gullery Hide. Arriving there I found it now full with a group from the Kindrogan Field Studies Centre. We managed to see a Red Kite high above the Loch, and an Osprey returned once again. Marsh Harrier and the Dunlin were the main draw for the visitors. When they left it was more of the same for a few hours before I spotted a Stock Dove pass over. With the time closing in on 1500, I decided to head for home, with a bus due at around 1535.
A Goldcrest showed well in a tree by the path before movement in the ploughed field caught my eye. Surprisingly it was a Wheatear, and it was relatively close and confiding. A pair of Long Tailed Tits were also added further along the track. The Brown Hares were still in the fields, and a surprise Red Admiral butterfly was seen near the end of the track. I didn't have long to wait for the bus and headed home after another good day out to edit some photos of the 57 species seen, including 2 year-ticks (in bold).
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| Brown Hare |
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| Pheasant |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Shelduck |
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| Marsh harrier & Teal |
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| Mallard Duckling |
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| Shoveler |
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| Teal |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Common Tern |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Red Kite & Osprey |
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| Dunlin |
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| Shoveler |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Wheatear |
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| Wheatear |
Species seen -
Barn Owl, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull,
Common Tern, Coot, Dunlin, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Kite, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
