There were a few options available for this mid-week's outing with Paul, but mostly relatively far away, with even a trip just south of the border under consideration. However, another dental appointment for me meant another slightly later start, so in the end we settled on a few more relatively local options. Perthshire glens in the hope of a raptor or two, Loch of Kinnordy for Reed Warbler, with a pair reportedly nest building near the Gullery Hide and the Easthaven area where Yellow Wagtail was reported last month. There was a chance we wouldn't be able to squeeze in all 3 locations and it would be a tall order to connect with all the target species. However, as usual, nothing ventured, nothing gained....
 |
| Ring Ouzel & Kestrel |
I headed out at around 0825 to walk to the dentist's before meeting Paul afterwards. Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Goldfinch and Lesser Black Backed Gull were all noted on the 20 minute walk. Once Paul picked me up around 0915 we decided to try Perthshire first, though there was a possibility of heavy showers and we could see large clouds well out to the west looming up ahead of us. Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Swift, Oystercatcher, Buzzard, Jackdaw, Pheasant, House Martin, Chaffinch, Lapwing and Swallow were seen on our way westwards plus around half a dozen Brown Hares were seen together in a field from the car.
At our first stop we were very fortunate to find lots of activity. Kestrel was seen almost immediately, while a Lesser Redpoll male carried out a few display flights before landing in a tree close to where we were standing. A Song Thrush flew across the road as Sand Martins skimmed low over the burn. A Spotted Flycatcher gave us relatively good views hunting flies. A Red Kite drifted past and a surprise Ring Ouzel male flew over. A few Black Headed Gulls passed high overhead and a male Kestrel was harassed by the male Ring Ouzel. Siskin and Mistle Thrush were seen as we hunted for 1 of at least 3 Cuckoos heard calling but we failed to see any of them.
A male Kestrel then tangled with another Red Kite showing the size difference between the 2 species rather well. Great Tit and Whitethroat then a Common Sandpiper were added before a Common Gull was seen from the car as we continued on elsewhere. Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Rabbit joined the list before we scanned out over a Loch where Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard and Tufted Duck could all be seen. A Green Veined White butterfly flitted along the roadside. A few Curlews flew over and a flock of Starlings plus a pair of Rooks and a Willow Warbler were noted a little further on. Distant Buzzards, Ravens, Kestrels and Red Kites were seen along the ridge lines but nothing out of the ordinary was found.
A Red Legged Partridge and a rather smart Whinchat were seen by the roadside. Another stop produced a medium sized moth that so far I've been unable to pin down an ID for. A pair of Red Grouse were flushed from the heather a bit further along the road before we headed back eastwards in the direction of Loch of Kinnordy. There was nothing else new added en route but a Wren was seen briefly on the walk into the Gullery hide and a rather worn Painted Lady butterfly was seen in the car park. Things were very quiet out on the Loch with a Great Crested Grebe and 10 Mute Swans seen. An adult and juvenile Blue Tit were in the trees to the right of the hide. There seemed to be plenty of Reed Buntings around. Paul spotted a bird flying into the reeds and shortly after we heard what sounded like a brief burst of Reed Warbler song but despite lots of patient watching the bird wasn't seen again.
A Coot, 3 Redshanks, a Sedge Warbler and a Stock Dove were added to the list but there was no sign of any Ospreys or Marsh Harriers before we packed up around 1615 to head for Carnoustie and the coast. A young Common Blue Damselfly was seen on the walk back to the car. Arriving at easthaven despite a slight navigational error we wandered along the cycle path adding Eider, Gannet and Fulmar offshore with Linnet and Skylark on the inland side of the track. Paul spotted Bottlenose Dolphins offshore and we were able to watch at least 3 of them leaping clear of the water regularly for around 10 minutes before they headed further out to sea. Great Black Backed Gull, Kittiwake, Guillemot and Cormorant were seen out over the water. The only Wagtails around were Pieds and a smart male Yellowhammer was seen feeding ahead of us on the path just east of the village as we made our way back to the car. Collared Dove was seeen in Dundee before Paul dropped me off around 1830.
A nice mixture of species seen among the 65 noted on our travels. Unfortunately we managed to miss out on all the target birds for the day with only brief glimpses of a probable Reed Warbler for Paul. Perhaps I should start counting 'heard only' species as some do - though given that there are those who will play calls of birds that they are trying to see, I'm not sure I'd like to run the risk that it might not be an actual bird I was hearing. I've got this picture in my head of someone playing a skulking bird's call, maybe a Rail or similar and being answered by another recording with the species added to both's list. Fairly sure I've read of this happening when some folks were twitching a vocal but hard to see rarity. Each to their own though...
 |
| Kestrel |
 |
| Ring Ouzel |
 |
| RIng Ouzel |
 |
| Kestrel |
 |
| Ring Ouzel |
 |
| Lesser Redpoll |
 |
| Lesser Redpoll |
 |
| Spotted Flycatcher |
 |
| Spotted Flycatcher |
 |
| Spotted Flycatcher |
 |
| Spotted Flycatcher |
 |
| Kestrel & Red Kite |
 |
| Kestrel & Red Kite |
 |
| Red Kite & Kestrel |
 |
| Great Tit |
 |
| Red Kite |
 |
| Red Kite |
 |
| Common Gull |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Rook |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Curlew |
 |
| Whinchat |
 |
| Whinchat |
 |
| Red Kite |
 |
| Moth sp. |
 |
| Red Grouse |
 |
| Painted Lady |
 |
| Swift |
 |
| Rook, Buzzard & Swift |
 |
| Swift |
 |
| Great Crested Grebe |
 |
| Common Blue Damselfly |
 |
| Bottlenose Dolphin |
 |
| Bottlenose Dolphin |
 |
| Bottlenose Dolphin |
 |
| Eider |
 |
| Rabbit |
 |
| Yellowhammer |
Species seen -Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Red Grouse, Red Kite, Red Legged Partridge, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ring Ouzel, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Whinchat, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Green Veined White, Painted Lady.
Damselflies - Common Blue Damselfly
Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphin, Brown Hare, Rabbit.
