Birding in Angus

Today I joined the Aberdeen and District RSPB Group on a trip the find birds in Angus.

We were to meet at Forfar Loch at 10.00.  I left early to visit Loch of Kinnordy before the the official start.  I didn't see the two 'special' birds that have recently been seen there - Bittern and Smew - which was not that surprising as I was only there for half an hour or so.  Even so I was just a little miffed when word came through during the day that the Smew had been seen from one of the hides I visited.  However I clocked up over 30 bird species.  This included a rather battered male Pheasant and a smart looking Mute Swan

Pheasant

Mute Swan

At Forfar Loch I met up with the RSPB Group.  Some I knew fairly well, others I had met last time I went on one of these outings (see 11th January - A great day in Aberdeen) There were a few new faces.  One, Patricia,  I knew from seeing her posts on the NE Wildlife Facebook page.

It was during a brief introduction, while I was seeing what was on the Loch from the car park that I saw the first of the birds to add to my year list - Great Crested Grebe.

Great Crested Grebe

We did a short walk along one side of the Loch as far as the boat club.  There was a terrific wind. In places with no shelter you couldn't stop, just had to keep going to get to shelter.  Once there the sun was warm and brought out a variety of woodland birds.  Although getting a clean shot proved to be difficult as the high winds were whipping the branches about.

Bullfinch

 At the boat club someone had put up bird feeders which made things a little easier

Long-tailed Tit

On the Loch the birds were doing their best in the conditions

Gadwall

Cormorants, Oystercatchers, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Black-head Gulls, Herring Gull

On the return journey the wind was at our backs and the branched seemed to behave themselves.

Bullfinch

Back at the Visitor Centre the small garden boasted a pond which was populated by frogs, and of course frog spawn.

I got a bit damp taking these photos as I was lying down to get to frog level.  They are manually focused.  The cameras auto focus didn't seem to like frogs!

To get to the next sites we had to take as few cars as possible.  I sat in the back of Trevor's X-Trail.  Bill sat in the front.

The lunch stop was at the Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve Balgavies Loch.  A nice little hide has been built overlooking the Loch and the island where a pair of Ospreys nest.  Unfortunately we were a few days too early.  They had not yet arrived back from West Africa. However we did see two migrant birds back from warmer climates to feast on the abundance of insects in Scotland.  The Sand Martin was too quick for me to photograph.  I will have to wait until they are at their nest site for that .  I did get a shot of a Chiffchaff, there were two, and they were very active.  Two more for the list.

Chiffchaff

Just in front of the hide was a feeding station. (if you go then please take some bird food to leave in the hide and save the SWT, or the volunteers a bit of money).

The Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinches were so used to people in the hide that they came right up to the hide window to take crumbs of a folded down shutters.  Far to close for me to photograph with my 100 - 400mm lens.

Great Tit

Chaffinch

Reed Bunting

From Balgavies we went to Montreatmont Forest.  This a huge conifer plantation fun by Forestry Commission Scotland.  We walked a little over 500 metres into the forest to a place where there are deciduous trees.  Some years ago a member of the Angus Bird Club built a hide and bird feeding station here. Again if you go there take some bird food to leave in the hide.  Our main target bird was a Green Woodpecker.  It was heard a few times and only seen just as we were giving up.  In fact some of our group had to be called back to see the bird.  It had flown from the Oak trees across a more open area and settled high into a Larch.  We only got distant views.  Patricia, Andy and a couple of others went closer to its tree but it was so high up they couldn't see it.  Anyway it was a Year Tick for me, the fourth of the day and a the second Life Tick of the day for Bill.  The first was a Great Spotted Woodpecker.  Bill is Californian - you get different woodpeckers there.

Green Woodpecker

Total on List 133