During Saturday's trip to the Tay reedbeds with Susan we had discussed the bare bones of a plan to get a few more birds for Susan's year-list (and my own - Cuckoo, in particular) with a visit to some of the upland areas in Perthshire and/or Angus. Between then and Thursday, Susan had provided me with a short list of species she was hoping to be able to see and I attempted to build a workable plan around them, taking into account the best places I know of to get the species along with a few other potential spots to mop up any we missed elsewhere.
 |
| Wood Warbler |
For an 0830 start I headed out at 0815 to meet Susan. Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, House Sparrow and Carrion Crow were the birds seen on the 10 minute walk. Our first stop would be Killiecrankie for Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler, with an outside chance of Spotted Flycatcher, though I suspected it was still likely too early for many to be back, if any at all. Rather than going the fast way we would take a slightly more direct cross-country route, which though slower would be more 'birdy' and which might give us at least 1 of the day's targets.
Pheasant, Rook, Swallow, Jackdaw, House Martin and Blackbird along with a single Brown Hare were quickly added to the day's list, followed soon after by Chaffinch, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Linnet as we left the predominantly agricultural landscape behind. However, birds became even fewer with only a Curlew and more Meadow Pipits seen in an area that should have been more productive. A surprise was a single Sika Deer, which was new for us both, which ran off at speed when the car stopped. A Little Grebe on a roadside pool was another surprise, and a few Oystercatchers in a field were less of a surprise. Starling, Sand Martin and Robin were the final adds before we reached Killiecrankie.
The feeders at the visitor centre gave us close and repeated views of Nuthatch, as well as Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Coal Tit. We crossed the small wooden bridge to search for our target species but there was little birdsong to be heard. Eventually we heard a Wood Warbler singing. We managed to pinpoint where the sound was coming from and Susan spotted the bird before I did. Long Tailed Tit was added while we searched for a Pied Flycatcher. A Dipper was seen down on the river but despite our efforts we eventually had to admit defeat on Pied Flycatcher. Red Squirrels gave us decent views a couple of times before we headed back to the car.
We headed for a quick stop at Loch of the Lowes, hoping for Redstart nearby but had to make do with a Coot on another roadside pool and a flyover Mallard. The first Buzzard of the day was seen as we headed towards Blairgowrie. An Osprey was seen heading towards Loch of the Lowes a few miles further on. Song Thrush and Common Gull were added as we headed further eastwards. A big surprise was a sub-adult Golden Eagle that almost got dismissed as another Buzzard, seen when we made a stop at a likely looking spot for Cuckoo.
We found a flock of around 20 Ravens during a detour to another promising site for a few of our targets, with at least a couple showing apparent evidence of having been shot at. A few Lapwings were seen, along with a singing Willow Warbler. A Mistle Thrush landed in a field nearby. A Common Sandpiper and Wigeon were surprise additions and a pair of Red Legged Partridges flew past before we set off again having had a spot of lunch. Skylark was our next addition, as 1 flew up from a field as we passed.
We decided to pop into Loch of Kinnordy to see if the Wood Sandpipers were still around. If so, Susan would have a lifer. A Wheatear was seen en route. Greylags and Pink Footed Geese were seen on the Loch along with Shoveler and Mute Swan and a few other species we'd already seen. Among the feeding hirundines I found a few Swifts towards the eastern end of the Loch. A small wader took flight from the bogbean and gained height before flying off eastwards. Not an expected Redshank (though we did see 1), or even a Snipe, nor was it a Wood Sandpiper. It turned out to be an unexpected Dunlin.
We were joined by another Kinnordy regular who we mentioned Wood Sandpiper to, and who minutes later spotted 1, a lot closer than I'd seen them 2 days previously. A Grey Heron flew past. Mission accomplished, so we decided to try for Little Ringed Plover, another potential lifer for Susan, at the site I'd visited on Tuesday. Our luck was in, and we added Tufted Duck, Shelduck, Black Headed Gull and Gadwall here also. We still hadn't seen any of our actual targets other than Wood Warbler, so I suggested a quick visit to 1 of the Angus glens for Redstart, which was Susan's main priority and if we managed to see it quickly enough trying to pop into another glen for Black Grouse and maybe Whinchat also. It would mean a later finishing time than intended, but Susan agreed to giving it a go.
When we reached our first glen we watched a Red Kite circling over the road before we found a place I've had Redstart in the past. A quick spot of listening confirmed that there was 1 singing nearby. A pair of Treecreepers were seen as we walked along a track through a wooded area until Susan spotted a male Restart low in a tree ahead of us. Success, so off we headed for glen number 2. I was relatively confident we would get Black Grouse but less so that we would find Whinchat which can be very hit and miss. We added Rabbit to the mammal list as we entered the glen. I checked the wires for Cuckoo but saw none. On we drove, stopping to check birds on wires and to scan for distant grouse.
Meadow Pipits made up the majority of birds on the wires, but at 1, the expected Meadow Pipit turned out to be a male Whinchat, in an area of the glen I hadn't seen 1 before. A nice bonus. Just 2 minutes later I spotted a larger bird on wires - my target bird for the day, a
Cuckoo. We seemed to be on a roll. We slowed down as we approached where I expected to find Black Grouse but there were none visible in their usual spot. We stopped to turn the car round to head for home, but I had a quick scan before we did so. Perched on a nearby drystane dyke was a male Black Grouse! Not only that, but Susan found another 2 that were invisible from much of the road.
Very happy with the success of the day's outing, though running a little behind schedule we headed for home. A Snipe flew past the car and dropped into a boggy area by a small burn as we passed. Another wire perched bird turned out to be a Stonechat male, and a female could be heard calling from the heather but she remained unseen. A male Red Grouse was spotted among the heather on a slope near the road. Susan dropped me off shortly after 1815 and I added 1 last species to the list on the walk home - Goldfinch, once again.
A very good day out, though the successes mostly came late in the day. Susan managed to see most of her targets, I got my year-tick (in bold) and Susan also got a couple of bonus lifers that weren't in the original plan. The Golden Eagle was a big surprise and though both of us had already seen the species elsewhere this year it was a highlight for us both. I ended the day with 68 species of bird seen, though just 1 year-tick. The Sika Deer was also a new mammal species for us both. All in all, a successful day's birding, even if I did take relatively few photos (and screwed up most of the Golden Eagle pics).
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
Great Tit
|
 |
| Wood Warbler |
 |
| Dipper |
 |
| Red Squirrel |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Golden Eagle |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Golden Eagle |
 |
| Golden Eagle |
 |
| Raven |
 |
| Raven |
 |
| Raven |
 |
| Raven |
 |
| Meadow Pipit |
 |
| Wood Sandpiper |
 |
| Cuckoo |
 |
| Black Grouse |
Species seen - Black Grouse, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Coot,
Cuckoo, Curlew, Dipper, Dunlin, Gadwall, Golden Eagle, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Little Ringed Plover, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Grouse, Red Kite, Red Legged Partridge, Redshank, Redstart, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Whinchat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Wood Sandpiper, Wood Warbler, Woodpigeon.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Rabbit, Red Squirrel, Sika Deer.
