I was rather undecided where to go birding on Friday. Having had such a successful month so far I was running out of reliable options for getting more year-ticks. I had a few options but none of them were guaranteed (none ever are but some are generally more reliable than others) to produce a year-tick or preferably 2 or 3. Tentsmuir was one - a long walk for potentially nothing except sore legs. Instead I decided to head for Loch of Kinnordy which offered a chance at Barn Owl, Bittern and Water Rail though my sightings of all of these have been rather limited there over the years. I wasn't hopeful but if you don't go, you don't have any chance.
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| Dipper |
With the bus at 0830 I headed out about 0820 for the relatively short walk to the bus stop. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Starling and Carrion Crow were seen on the way. The bus journey was reasonably productive adding Collared Dove and Woodpigeon near the Kingsway, Magpie and Rook on the outskirts of Fintry, Pheasant and Jackdaw near Forfar and Buzzard, Redwing and Fieldfare nearing Kirriemuir. The local Dipper showed nicely as I set off along the path to the reserve. Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Great Tit and Blue Tit were noted as I wandered slowly along the frosty track. Wren and Treecreeper were seen near the junction in the paths at the edge of the reserve.
On a whim I decided to go exploring around the back of the Loch near the Lily Pond. A Moorhen wandered across the path as I set off. A few large skeins of geese passed over eastwards - Pink Footed Geese. A few Greylags dropped in to the reserve a few minutes later. Ahead of me in a field I saw what I was sure was a Raven which wasn't a bird I'd encountered here before. A little further on and the bird was now up in a tree and was most definitely a Raven. I had great views of the bird, probably my best ever, as it attempted to eat something which looked like a bit of Rabbit carcase. It flew around once and settled again in the same tree. It eventually retreated a bit further away from the prying human.
A second Raven was perched noisily in a tall conifer to the north and there was some conversation between the 2 birds. A party of 3 Mute Swans took off from the Loch and circled round before flying off westwards. Rather than walk back to the reserve I decided to continue on up to the road and walk along the backroads to the Kingoldrum road and then back round to the reserve from there. As the Loch was still mostly frozen it was unlikely I would miss anything by doing so. Dunnock was seen by the road. A field further on held a few Fieldfares and a Mistle Thrush. I stopped to watch a Goldcrest in a tree and as I neared the junction at the road end my first Brown Hare of the year darted out and across the road and off into a field beyond.
A small flock of Fieldfares flew past as I wandered down the busier road back towards Kinnordy. A Meadow Pipit followed seconds later. A Yellowhammer called from a tree by the farmhouse. A pair of Mallards took to the sky at the corner of the reserve from a piece of unfrozen water.A small party of Teal did likewise when I stopped to check the channel. I almost missed the Whooper Swans and Greylag Geese in a field to the south of the road. A male Pheasant ran off across the same field. Blue Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit fed along the hedges before I reached the car park and wandered into the Gullery Hide around 1130.
The birds were mostly roosting around the one open piece of water which was closer to the East Hide. In addition to the species already noted I added Wigeon, Goosander, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye by this stretych of water. A solitary Lapwing called a few times as it flew west. A female Reed Bunting dropped into the reeds. There was very little happening and not much to see. A Common Gull joined the waterfowl and a Buzzard caused a little upset when it perched up in a small tree near the open water. Another birder joined me in the hide and found a Snipe hiding on a nearby bogbean island that I hadn't noticed. I decided to head for the 1335 bus with an idea that I might stop for a wander round Forfar Loch.
Siskin was seen from the path towards the feeders. An elderly photographer was sat on the bench. A pair of Bramblings had been seen earlier but any likelihood of seeing them was soon dispelled when his wife went crashing through the trees to the north of the feeders in her attempts to find them again. Hardly any wonder that photographers in general get such a bad reputation. I did add a Robin and a few Tree Sparrows. A Roe Deer was in the fields to the north further on and a party of Long Tailed Tits were in the trees as I neared the road. A pair of Dippers were side by side on the small burn. I decided not to bother with Forfar Loch and popped into Swannie Ponds back in Dundee where the only addition was a Coot. Yellow ringed Black Headed Gull 2XLD and an unidentified metal ringed Black Headed Gull were surprisingly the only ringed bird.
A slightly disappointing day out though I was happy to get such close views of the Raven at Kinnordy. It was also my first day's birding without a year-tick (though the Brown Hare was a first for my half-hearted mammal list) among the 49 species seen (and 2 mammals).
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Great Tit |
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| Great Tit |
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| Pheasant |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Raven |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Raven |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pheasant |
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| Fieldfare & Mistle Thrush |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Brown Hare |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Pheasant |
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| Whooper Swan & Greylag Goose |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Wigeon, Mallard, Teal |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Goosander |
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| Buzzard |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal & Wigeon |
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| Lapwing |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Mute Swan, Mallard, Common Gull, Teal & Wigeon |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Mute Swan, Common Gull, Mallard, Teal & Tufted Duck |
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| Snipe |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Siskin |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Black Headed Gull (2XLD) |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Mallard, Moorhen & Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
