With Wood Sandpiper having been found at Loch of Kinnordy on Monday, I decided to see if they'd stick around by heading to the Loch on Tuesday morning, as part of my attempts to go birding on all 9 of my days off from work during my week's holiday. Sometimes these small waders hang around for a few days on their journey further north and sometimes they don't, so it was always going to be a bit of a gamble. I did intend on catching the earliest bus to Kirriemuir but was still feeling the after-effects of Sunday's epic trip, so I rolled over and slept some more when the alarm went off.
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| Marsh Harrier & Greylag Goose |
I made it out the door at 0820 for the short walk to Dura Street to catch the bus to Kirriemuir. It takes just over an hour and it isn't always the most 'birdy' of journeys, but that doesn't stop me looking out the window, just in case. Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Magpie and Carrion Crow started the list near home with Blackbird and House Sparrow added a few minutes down the road. Blue Tit and Lesser Black Backed Gull were seen while stood at the bus stop. As expected there wasn't much to see on the A90 with just Starling, Common Gull and Yellowhammer to be seen.
Rook, Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon were next onto the list as the bus wound its way round Forfar. Oystercatcher, Buzzard, Swallow and a Rabbit were added between Forfar and Kirriemuir. Arriving in Kirriemuir, a Brown Hare was in the fields as I walked along the path through the trees towards the reserve. The sounds of Blackcap, Whitethroat, Pheasant and Chaffinch provided a soundtrack to the walk with all 4 species being seen, while Green Veined White and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies flitted along the verge.
My first views of the Loch provided a Mute Swan and a Coot, while a pair of Greylags swept overhead and landed among a flock of Pink Footed Geese still around instead of back on their breeding grounds. A Lapwing shared the same field. A pair of Gadwall were seen on the Loch through a gap in the trees before I headed into the empty East hide. A pair of Roe Deer could be seen distantly feeding near the lone Pine tree. A Sedge Warbler sang loudly from a reed to the right of the hide but things were otherwise quiet.
There were a few folk in the Gullery hide and out front on the water, Mallard and Shoveler were noted. On the bogbean islands Redshank and a pair of
Wood Sandpipers were spotted before the Wood Sandpipers disappeared into the vegetation for a while. A few Black Headed Gulls drifted by and both the male and female Marsh Harriers showed over the reeds to the north. A Moorhen gave good close views in front of the hide and a drake Teal completed the list for the morning, long before I left. More views of Wood Sandpipers were had but things were rather slow.
One of the others in the hide, Mark, a regular visitor and photographer who I've talked to a few times before here and at Balgavies decided he was calling it a day and offered me a lift if I wanted dropped off somewhere on his route. It turned out that Mark was heading past another site that I wanted to visit but to which the bus service was rather limited so after a short discussion I gratefully accepted a lift from him. The site, and species, is well-known to local birders and photographers but I won't publicise the location any further owing to the possibility of the species breeding.
The first bird I saw after Mark dropped me off was the bird in question, a year-tick for me, seen from the first hide I popped into -
Little Ringed Plover. A Pied Wagtail scurried around nearby and a Shelduck was on the water beyond. With nothing much else to be seen, I wandered to the next hide. Bullfinch and Chiffchaff were seen on the short walk. Things were very quiet in front of this hide though a Sparrowhawk circling overhead was added. A Willow Warbler sang from the trees behind the hide and a pair of Wigeon were sleeping on the shore of the large pool.
Sand Martins swooped low over the water and a party of Tufted Ducks took flight and flew over the hide. I decided to walk on again as things were so quiet. Lesser Redpoll and Skylark were both seen in flight while a surprise 3rd new bird for the day was found singing in trees, a rather nice
Garden Warbler. An unexpected bonus bird was a female Marsh Harrier that I only saw from the rear as it glided westwards across the site. Unfortunately the good weather that had been forecast had disappeared and as I was nearing the end of the circular walk heavy rain started to fall, so I took shelter in the first hide again for a couple of hours before heading for home when it abated. Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Whitehroat and Sedge Warbler kept my attention in the intervening period. Goldfinch was one final addition as I neared home.
A pretty decent day out in the end. The 1 hoped for addition became 3 thanks to Mark giving me a lift to the 2nd site which I would otherwise have struggled to get to. 52 species of bird seen with 3 year-ticks (in bold) plus 3 mammals and 2 butterflies.
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Brown Hare |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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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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| Teal |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
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| Moorhen |
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| Moorhen |
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| Lapwing |
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| Redshank & Wood Sandpiper |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
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| Wood Sandpiper |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Wigeon |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Pheasant |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Coot |
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| Garden Warbler |
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| Garden Warbler |
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| Pheasant |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Greylag Geese |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Little Ringed Plover |
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| Oystercatcher & Little Ringed Plover |
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| Little Ringed Plover |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Greylag Geese & Mute Swan |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Gadwall |
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| Blackbird |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Coot, Gadwall,
Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll,
Little Ringed Plover, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler,
Wood Sandpiper, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
