Tuesday's plan was for a return visit to Loch of Kinnordy. My target species for the day were Barn Owl and Bittern though both were fairly slim possibilities. Bearded Tits and Water Rail were both possible but also quite unlikely. However, I had more chance of seeing them while sat at Kinnordy than I had sitting at home. Once again, the weather forecast was very pleasant though there was to be a slight chill in the air compared to Monday. I decided on catching the 0830 bus which would mean I would arrive at the reserve proper around 1000.
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| Teal |
The trip to the bus stop was relatively productive with Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw and Starling all noted with Carrion Crow and Blue Tit seen at the bus stop. Lainy McCormack arrived just as I was about to get on the bus but we managed a brief chat. A few more species were seen from the bus - Black Headed Gull, Magpie and Rook. There were a few more Starlings and Woodpigeons but it seemed rather quiet.
I got off the bus in Kirriemuir at about 0935 and set off along the track to the reserve. There was no sign of the Dippers by the gate. Pheasants were seen in the field to the north. A Song Thrush was perched up on some wires and a pair of Oystercatchers flew over. Robin, Wren and Chaffinch were seen before I stopped to watch 3 Red Squirrels race up and through the tall conifers. A pair of Siskins fed on Alder keys above the path while a Coal Tit and a Treecreeper showed reasonably well. A small flock of Greylags in the field to the south eyed me nervously as I passed but stayed put. My first view of the Loch gave me Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Goldeneye.
A flock of Lapwings flew over and I stopped to watch a Great Tit in the trees. Teal and a Whooper Swan were seen before I popped into the East Hide for a proper look over the reserve. Oystercatchers and Lapwings could be seen on the Bogbean islands while on the water were a mixture of ducks - Wigeon, Teal, Goldeneye, Mallard and Tufted Duck as well as Coot, Mute Swan and a single Whooper Swan. I moved on again and found that the feeders were quiet with only 2 Great Tits seen. The Gullery Hide had a few birders already in and I ended up at the unfamiliar left hand end of the wooden building.
I found a pair of Redshank on the Bogbean behind the gull raft and a little while later picked up a
distant raptor over the hillside to the north. It seemed quite "flappy"
and turned out to be a Red Kite. A Shoveler flew past and I found a
Cormorant visible on the western pool. As I was scanning along the reeds
looking for the Bittern and Barn Owl, 2 small birds sped into my field
of view in my binoculars before diving into the reeds near the lone
Pine. An unexpected pair of
Bearded Tits, and the first I've seen at Kinnordy.
Shortly after the waders all took flight and I soon found the cause, a
male Sparrowhawk overhead.
The first Buzzards of the day were seen just before 1100 circling above the hill to the north. As I watched the Buzzards I caught sight of a smaller bird flying across the Loch but relatively high in the sky. This appeared to be a Skylark, another bird I don't see too often at Kinnordy. I chatted to the birder beside me, Mike, as we watched the comings and goings. A Common Gull was seen and I picked up a very distant Magpie, heading north over the eastern end of the Loch (or quite possibly even further away). A Stock Dove pair and a Common Gull were seen in flight before I spotted a Moorhen across the Loch.
We were joined in the hide around 1330 by Lainy McCormack who joked that she wasn't actually stalking me and we had a chat before we both decided to go and see if there was anything else at the other hides and around the feeders. This proved quite a productive decision with a Bullfinch, Long Tailed Tits, Reed Bunting and Blackbird seen near the Swamp Hide and Shelduck added out on the water in front. Water Rail was heard in the reeds just to the left of the hide, but remained frustratingly out of sight. At the feeders we were able to add a Brambling, a Dunnock and some Tree Sparrows to the list.
The East Hide didn't give us anything new and we headed back towards the car park where Lainy's dad was waiting patiently. I headed back into the Gullery Hide which was now empty for another short spell before deciding to call it a day around 1600. A Great Spotted Woodpecker and 4 Brown Hares were noted on the walk back to the bus stop and a few Feral Pigeons were seen overhead while I waited for the bus. House Sparrow was a late addition as the bus passed through Kirriemuir but nothing else was seen as I headed for home though the view of the sunset from the bus was rather nice.
A decent enough day out with 53 species seen, including 1 unexpected year-tick (in bold) and a nice catch-up chat with Lainy. Most birds were relatively distant (or even further away) but I did have some reasonable photo opportunities in the sunshine.
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| Song Thrush |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Siskin |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Redshank, Lapwing & Coot |
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| Red Kite |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Coot |
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| Teal |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Lapwing & Oystercatcher |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Teal |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
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| Buzzard |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Teal |
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| Greylag Goose & Mallard |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Teal |
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| Buzzard |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Cormorant |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Magpie |
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| Buzzard |
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| Common Gull |
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| Buzzard & Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Cormorant |
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| Buzzard |
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| Moorhen |
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| Brambling & Chaffinch |
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| Brambling & Chaffinch |
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| Robin |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Pheasant |
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| Dunnock |
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| Brambling |
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| Robin |
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| Brambling |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker & Blue Tit |
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| Brown Hare |
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| Brown Hare |
Species seen -
Bearded Tit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Red Kite, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Red Squirrel.
