With another dental appointment accounting for some of my Wednesday morning time, I was rather undecided where to go birding once the appointmentwas over. Most of the options were either too far away, or the bus times weren't suitable for making the most of the rest of the day. I eventually chose to head for Loch of Kinnordy in the hope of a Garganey or maybe a rarer wader passing through. This meant a rather brief turnaround a home to be able to catch the bus at 1030 on Dura Street.
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| Shoveler |
Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow and Lesser Black Backed Gull were fairly typically the first birds onto the day's list. A single Starling shuttled back and forwards to a probablt nest site as I waited for the bus to arrive. A nice surprise from the bus near the large car park was a Swift, my first Dundee sighting this year. Between Forfar and Kirriemuir I added a few more species to the rather slow growing list - Woodpigeon, Buzzard, Pheasant and also a Rabbit. House Sparrow and Oystercatcher were seen as the bus worked its way round the streets to the stop where I was getting off for the 20 minute walk out to the reserve.
A loud repetitive call was coming from the small burn by the gate to the track out to Loch of Kinnordy and I peered from various spots trying to see what was making the noise. Eventually, from inside the gate I found the culprit. An adult Dipper stood on a rock in the middle of the burn just a few feet below me. I took some photos of the rather unworried bird then began my walk through the trees. Great Tit and Chiffchaff were seen and Whitethroat and Willow Warbler were heard while a Peacock butterfly sunbathed on the path. A Wren and a Robin shared a small area of undergrowth while a Green Veined White butterfly flitted along the verge.
As I arrived at the end of the Loch I scanned through my binoculars but only a Mute Swan could be seen on the water. An Osprey flew overhead, away from the Loch. A pair of Greylag Geese were feeding in the field on the other side of the path and stayed in place as I passed rather than flying off as I'd expected. The east hide was empty when I arrived and a quick look gave me Sedge Warbler from the reeds and a flypast Grey Heron. Black Headed Gulls flew around harassing an Osprey which was attempting to hunt from above the Loch. A distant Coot could also be seen swimming around the Bogbean islands.
I walked along to the Gullery hide stopping to photograph a Red Squirrel on the feeders and a Willow Warbler showed reasonably well from the walkway into the hide. A Blackcap sang loudly nearby but went unseen. There was 1 other photographer in the hide, (I think his name was Colin) who I've met before but out front things were relatively quiet. Mallards, Redshanks and Shoveler could be seen while Lapwings darted around over the fields to the northwest. An Osprey paid another visit to the annoyance of the Black Headed Gulls, making a quick series of 4 dives before finally catching a fish and taking it to the Osprey pole to eat it. A few Swallows zoomed by.
The male Marsh Harrier showed over the reedbeds to the north before dropping back into cover. A drake Gadwall swam into view and a pair of Ospreys (one had a radio-pack on its back and may have been Blue YD - which was seen at the Loch on Monday). A Red Kite drifted over, a nice surprise. I had a walk along to the Swamp hide to see if there was a Garganey there. There wasn't. I did add a Sand Martin and Rook to the list and saw my first damselflies of the year - Large Red Damselflies, near the boardwalk. A Roe Deer could be seen feeding between the 2 halves of the Loch.
I headed back to the Gullery Hide adding the singing Blackcap as well as Blue Tit and Chaffinch ner the walkway. From inside the Red Kite passed over again and we had it and 2 Ospreys plus at least another 7 Buzzards in view at one point. A pair of what I'm sure were Ravens were also seen over the hills to the north. A few Swallows and House Martins could be seen to the east. An Orange Tip butterfly flitted past in front of us. A trio of Common Gulls landed on the raft but didn't stay long. A Reed Bunting male could be seen in the reeds and the female Marsh Harrier was spotted from the East hide as I headed for the 1535 bus home. Jackdaw was a final addition from the bus.
Not a classic day, but neither was it in anyway dull. 42 species of birds seen, as well as 1 damselfly, 3 butterfly and 3 mammal species.
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Peacock |
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| Pheasant |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Osprey & Black Headed Gull |
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| Osprey |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Redshank |
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| Coot & Mallard |
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| Coot & Mallard |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Redshank |
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Swallow |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Gadwall |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier (& House Martin) |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Osprey |
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| Common Gull |
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| Mallard |
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| Mallard |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite & Buzzard |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Osprey & Buzzard |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Marsh Harrier |
Species seen - Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Coot, Dipper, Gadwall, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Raven, Red Kite, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shoveler, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Orange Tip, Peacock.
Damselfly - Large Red Damselfly.
Mammals seen - Rabbit, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
