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| Snipe |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Greylags and Whooper Swan |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Redshank |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Pipistrelle Bat |
Thanks to a spot of facebook chat on Monday lunchtime with my birding pal, Jacqui Herrington, an unexpected visit to Loch of Kinnordy was arranged for the evening after work, in the hope of adding another 3 species to the ever-growing year-list. Hen Harrier, Smew and Bittern were the three species in question and all three had been seen over the weekend. Fingers were crossed.
I managed to get away from work slightly early so I could get home and organised for Jacqui to pick me up at around 5pm. I managed to be ready slightly earlier than hoped and as Jacqui was a bit ahead of schedule too, we were headed north before 5pm. I managed to see Blackbird and Herring Gull before I met Jacqui, and we managed to add Carrion Crow and Lesser Black Backed Gull before we left Dundee.
Pheasant, Starling, Woodpigeon and Common Gulls were the only birds seen before we reached our destination at about 5.20pm. The rain that we had in Dundee was absent at Loch of Kinnordy and the sun was even shining. We headed optimistically into the Gullery Hide where two couples were sat looking out onto the loch. An Osprey was circling around above the water and we opened the windows and got our binoculars and cameras readied. It didn't take too long for the bird to spot something and plummet into the water over the far side of the bogbean islands. That it emerged with no fish was a slight disappointment for ourselves with waiting cameras, and no doubt the bird as well. Undeterred, it circled up and continued its search. It flew closer to the hide and we hoped it would drop close, but as the water levels are very low here that was really a forlorn hope. One of the couples remarked that they were on the last evening of their holiday, up from Yorkshire, and that it would end their holiday nicely if they saw the Osprey catch a fish before they left.
The Osprey did spot something beyond the islands again and plunged feet first from a height into the water, popping up almost instantly, before rising slowly out of the water with a small-ish fish in its grip (possibly a Pike) and flying off. I did manage a sequence of photos but only a few were actually sharp and in some sort of focus. I have been hoping for this type of photo for a few years so I wasn't exactly disappointed, and the holidaymakers were delighted.
The Osprey flying off meant that we could take some time to see what else was around. There were a few species of waders around on the bogbean - Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Lapwings in pairs and small numbers of Common Snipe. There were a few mating attempts by some of the paired birds as the evening progressed. With the bogbean still being quite low it was relatively easy to see the Snipe as they fed on the islands.
Waterfowl on the loch consisted of mostly Tufted Ducks, Goldeneye and Teal with smaller numbers of Mallards, Coots, Moorhens and Mute Swans. A couple of Cormorants stood with wings outstretched. Within a short space of time the Osprey was back again for another attempt. This time I was better prepared and had a higher success rate with the photos taken. Again the catch appeared to be a small pike, though it was held tail first which must have caused a bit more drag for the Osprey, slowing its progress forwards. Looking at the photos at home later, it appears the Osprey is ringed with a pale yellow-ish ring coded JU. I have contacted Roy Dennis who has said he will check details of the bird when he has a chance and get back to me with where and when it was ringed.
We searched around for Marsh Harrier but had no luck, although I had a possible sighting, with just a few flaps of a pair of wing tips above the reedtops for a few seconds before the owner disappeared out of view once more unidentified. There was no sign of the Bittern either, although it could easily have shown while we were watching the Osprey and we wouldn't have noticed. The Smew also proved elusive and it appears I may have to wait until winter comes around again to get this species on my year-list. That's birding though.
We did manage to see a Buzzard as well as a Grey Heron which waded in for a quick bath near where the Osprey had caught its second fish. A drake Goosander flew past and a small flock of Greylags fed along the grassy field edge opposite the swamp hide area of the loch, though a rather vocal pair did chase each other around more than once flying low and fast past the hide we were in. A Wren popped out into the open just below the hide, and we could hear the 'sharming' of at least one Water Rail coming from among the reeds to the right, but as usual, the bird calling remained in cover. Pied Wagtail, Blackbird and Reed Bunting flew past at various times, the calls giving warning of the first two species. The rookery was active with the Rooks busying themselves noisily among the tops of the pines.
It remained rather mild and I did take a few nice landscape shots with my phone camera, the reflections of the clouds in the still water looking rather good. I kept hoping that one of the three elusive species would show but constant scanning yielded no positive results. A pair of Little Grebes did swim out together as the light levels started to drop as the setting sun disappeared behind the clouds to the west. I managed to find a sleeping drake Wigeon and Jacqui spotted a Whooper Swan before we decided to cut our losses and head back down the road. Over the car park a single Pipistrelle Bat whirred around the tree tops challenging me to get a reasonable photo despite the low light levels and its erratic flight patterns. I succeeded in getting three photos but only one was halfway decent.
Pheasants, Crows and Woodpigeons were seen as we headed back to Dundee and a few Herring Gulls drifted over to roost as I walked along Clepington Road after Jacqui dropped me off. All in all, a nice wee evening jaunt, despite the disappointment of not seeing any of the three target species.
32 species were seen - Blackbird, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Goosander, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Rook, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Whooper Swan.
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| Loch of Kinnordy |