Birding at Loch of Kinnordy (4 Viewers)

There is a Family Fun Day at Loch of Kinnordy on Sunday 5th August from 10am til 4pm. Pond Dipping, bug and insect hunting, games and guided walks...something for children and adults. Would be great to see you there.

Darell

i visited kinnordy for half an hour today and headed for the east hide, in the 20+ years ive visited kinnordy ive only seen the water rail once an adult, i was only sitting for five mins (10.00am ish)when two chicks ran from the left to the right,i was actually happy with this encounter, about 2secs, then 7 mins later three chicks started moving in and out of the reeds,having not seen a rail chick i was thinking small black fluffy struggling to walk, but these birds have massive legs and can run very fast, one of them streched his legs for a min
http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=IMG_5967b.jpg

then walked a little

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=IMG_5978.jpg

then sat down as if on a nest

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=IMG_5981b.jpg

the mother appeared and seemed to chase them back into the reeds

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=IMG_5954b.jpg

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=IMG_5995.jpg

the camera im using just now has video capability so i took a 17 sec avi of them,unfotunatly when i posted it on photobucket the video went all blocky anyone know how to post the video differently?

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=c13be247.flv

Great pictures and the video is good. When Delia and i saw them on sunday, the mother stood at the right hand side of the reeds for a good 5 mins with the little ones round about. They are like black bumble bees on stilts!!

The warden is going to keep strimming that area so people can get good views of them.

i visited kinnordy last friday and had a great time watching the osprey and the marsh harrier,coots,gulls,mallards etc but i never saw the water rail chics.We had the place to ourselves. i will definately be back again even after picking up a swollen hand and arm from a insect bite.

Sunday 29th july

It was really sunny when i arrived at the reserve this morning and for the first time in weeks, when i got out of the car, i could have heard a pin drop!! No sound of black headed gulls and you could hear all the other birds singing instead.

A male blackcap was the first, followed by wren, robin and blackbird. As i got nearer to the gullery hide, i could hear the faint sound of a gull...lesser black back. There were a few black headed gulls around but not making any obtrusive noise. Weeks ago we had 500+ gulls here and today i counted 28.

On the water, i noticed the coot family were now feeding just the one chick, while the female chased a couple of young moorhens. There weren't alot of birds around at all. Tufted ducks, teal, wigeon, little grebe and mallards.

I decided to go along to the east hide to see if the water rail were still showing well. Great spotted w'pecker, chaffinch, great tit and crow were added to the list on the way. I only had to wait a few moments before a young water rail scampered across from one side to the other. The mother came out a few moments later along with another youngster and the other two soon followed them. They must have got fed up with all the photographs from last week cos they didn't hang around at all.

Back at gullery hide, as i sat down, an adult water rail flew across in front, and another flew backwards and forwards from the areas of bogbean over to the right. In all, i saw 5 adult birds...another day for water rail!!

The Ospreys came in to fish for a while along with a couple of herons, some common gulls, reed bunting, willow and sedge warblers and 8 buzzards.

At the swamp area, it too was really quiet. Mallards, tufted duck, coots and three lesser black backs were the only birds sighted here....i did see a curlew fly past too.
I went back to gullery just as 7 oystercatchers flew past and that was that. I was only at the reserve for a few hours today as i am off to Norfolk tonight for four days on my own!!B :-O

Next sunday is a family fun day at kinnordy. Pond dipping etc... 10am til 4pm!!:t:

You need to book in advance for the Family Fun Day event. I believe there will be 2 sessions, 10am and 2pm. Contact the warden at Loch.Kinnordy 'at' rspb.org.uk for more info / booking

Hi Dormouse and a warm welcome to you from the Moderators and Admin.

Nice to see a new neighbour on the board.

Another thread you may be interested in is Tayside Birding

And keep an eye on the Scottish Bash Discussion Thread we have a few meetings during the year and you'd be welcome to join us if you can manage.

D

Sunday 5th August

The weather wasn't very kind to us today, especially when we were expecting a few people for the family fun day. In the end, the kids got to do pond dipping and hunting for bugs etc between the showers.

The sun was out when i arrived and as i walked towards the gullery hide, all i could hear was the squeeling sound of the water rail. There were 3 adults with 3 fairly new youngsters walking along at the front of the hide. I couldn't get any pictures because they were in amongst the reeds. Other birds present were teal, wigeon, coot, moorhen,juv little grebe, mallard and tufties.

I went along to the east hide and added wren, robin, coal, blue and great tits and a dunnock to the list. At east hide there were mute swans, coot, moorhen, lots of teal and wigeon. After a few moments a young water rail appeared...almost adult to look at, who was then followed by mum who stood in the sun to tidy up a little.

At the swamp hide there were mallards, teal and coot. A heron rose from the reeds on the far side and was soon being mobbed by a couple of black headed gulls. I only counted 28 black headed gulls today.

Back in gullery, a flock of 12 snipe did a fly past, split up and them came back in the opposite direction.

Other birds today included Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Buzzards, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, reed bunting and willow warbler.

Due to me being at Barry Buddon next sunday, i will be doing a guided walk on saturday morning at 10am.:t:

Darell

Guided walk starts at 10am tomorrow morning. Meet in the carpark. Could weel be wet, so bring waterproofs etc.:storm:

6 Ospreys have been seen together at the loch this week along with Marsh Harrier, 15 Snipe and Lapwing. There are still 5 families of black headed gulls still to fledge and the Water Rail are still showing really well at both the Gullery and East hides.:t:

Darell

Saturday 11th August

Today wasn't the best of days weather wise, but there were still plenty of birds around to make the day worth while. It started to rain just as i arrived at the reserve and continued until i departed at 3pm.

As i entered the gullery hide, the first bird to make its presence known was the water rail. There was an adult and two young chicks just below the window. The young were still fluffy and black with light coloured beaks. They eventually moved off to the side while a bluetit and sedge warbler looked for food among the reeds just above their heads. The water rail were to be heard and seen for most of the morning and early afternoon. Visitors who did venture out got good sightings of them.

Other birds from gullery included coot, moorhen, teal, wigeon, mute swan and a young robin.

I then went along to the swamp hide to find lots of mallard, coot, tufted duck and a pair of gadwall. There were also alot of rooks uyp in the pine trees where they usually breed. I hadn't seen any on the reserve for a few weeks and they only stayed around for a couple of hours and were off again. Off to the east hide i went and saw a young water rail which was a good deal older than the gullery family. Sadly, that one youngster, was the only active one and the warden thinks it is the only survivor from the original family of four. Lots of coot, wigeon, mallard, moorhen,teal, tufted ducks and a heron were also present.

This week at the reserve, alot of posts/perches have been added in front of all the hides. The one at the east hide is a large tree, coming out of the water at an angle and the hope is that the cormorants will use it as a resting place and then it should be easier to read their rings from the hide. There are three perches infront of the gullery hide. One each side, sticking out of the reed beds and one further out beside the floating vegetatian. The birds today were certainly taking advantage of them, especially the young black headed gulls of which there seem to be 5 remaining. At the swamp end, the branch is out front near the bog bean and it has already become a favourite perch for a kingfisher which stayed around at the swamp area for a good half hour this morning. The one day i forgot to bring my camera!!:C

The Ospreys were out in force again today with three fishing together early this afternoon. The female marsh harrier made a brief appearance as did some lapwing and 3 snipe.

I eventually took a walk along to the edge of the reserve to see what else was around but i didn't find anything unusual. A pair of treecreepers were chasing each other around the trees outside the gullery boardwalk and great tits, coal tits, chaffinches and wrens were added to my list during my walk. Three herons flew over head on my way back along with a buzzard. Common gulls, swallows, martins, willow warbler, reed bunting and oystercatchers were also on todays list.

All in all, it was a good day for seeing birds but not so good for walking around in the rain. Hopefully the weather will change for the visit to Barry Budden tomorrow, though i don't think the forecast is very good.

Darell

Sounds like another good day Darell. A little later in the day a couple of water rail were seen from East hide - the warden may be wrong.

A sparrowhawk also swooped past gullery hide, and this evening a green sandpiper was on one of the new perches - seems like they are getting good use already.

Enjoy Barry Buddon.

Nice report.Looking forward to reading about your trip to Barry Buddon.Its one of those places Ive read about often but never got round to visiting.

I popped into the reserve for a couple of hours this morning to see what was around. I am on the last week of school holidays, and with the forecast not being great for the next few days, i decided to go along today.

Into the gullery hide and straight away had fantastic views of the female marsh harrier. She flew over in front of the hide and continued to circle round and then went over to the east side of the reserve, over to the lilly pond and back across to the west, and stayed around for a good hour. At the east end, i spotted an osprey diving into the water to wash its self. After a few washes, it flew up over the bushes and suddenly i had four ospreys in the bins, all hunting for fish. A buzzard then flew across from the right and at one stage i had four ospreys, a buzzard and a marsh harrier in view. As the harrier flew west, i suddenly had the problem of what to watch!!

I moved along to the east hide, seeing that most of the osprey activity was taking place along there. They have a favourite perch at the east end, which is a dead tree, just behind the bushes, and right enough, as i got into the hide i could see three of them perched on the branches. The other one had decided to go and take a bath in the loch. This is the best time to see them now that the youngsters have started to fish. They will stay around the area after catching the fish, and use the tree at the east end, the tall pine opposite the gullery hide and also sometimes the lone pine where the nest that has never been used is situated.

There were alot of coot, mallard and wigeon along at the east end and suddenly alot more ducks came scuttling out of the reeds. I pointed my scope over in that direction to see what had disturbed them, just in time to see the otter swimming off, back into the reeds.

I decided to go off to the swamp end to see what else was around. I was hoping to catch sight of the kingfisher again but it wasn't to be. There were a number of mallard, a few gadwall, coot, a mute swan, teal and a couple of shoveler. The mash harrier appeared again on the far side while an osprey flew overhead on its way back to the nest.

Back at gullery, we continued to get great views of the ospreys and marsh harrier. A kestrel and a sparrowhawk also popped in to say hello as did a pied wagtail, who flew from the other side of the reserve, to land on top of the hide.

Although it had only been a couple of hours, it was a great time for bird watching. I highly recommend a visit if you want to see the ospreys before they head for africa.

The photos i have included are of the new posts/perches that have been put around the reserve to try and attract birds to them. The gulls seem tyo like the one at the east hide any way!! The other picture is of one of the ospreys this morning.

Darell

What a day for you Darrell.Excellent report to go with it.Well done.:t:

I thought i would post some more photos from yesterdays visit to kinnordy.
The first two are of the marsh harrier that was present for most of the time i was there, and the other two are of the osprey. The first, with three on their favourite perch at the east end and the other is of two of them fishing together.

The three together isn't v.good, a bit far away for my camera but you can make them out.:t:

Darell

I will be doing guided walks at kinnordy on friday and saturday this week, starting at 12 o'clock. Meet in the carpark and best to bring water proofs etc. Don't know what the weather forecast is like, but better to be safe.

I am going to go round to the lilly pond to try and see the osprey from a different angle, so if you want to join me, you are most welcome.
If you want to bring a packed lunch with you, we can sit around at the lilly pond area to eat it while watching the osprey.....don't worry, i'll book them for friday and saturday!!!:t:

i was at kinnordy twice today hoping to see the kingfisher,it was very quiet, first time iv,e seen the perches and they look promising, i saw a juv black headed gull and parent using the east hide perch, must be one of the last remaining chicks,
http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=bhgull-1.jpg

i only saw one osprey one marsh harrier, one little grebe,some coots/moorhens/ mallards/bh gull/mute swan,plus a fat water vole at the east hide ,when the birds are scarce i tend to go for the landscapes, i took this panorama (three pics stitched together)from the east hide, http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d91/kawwauser/?action=view&current=kinnordpan.jpg
standing on the opposite side of the loch you could get the swamp hide right across to the east hide in about 13pics

kinnordyvolunteer said:

Saturday 11th August

Today wasn't the best of days weather wise, but there were still plenty of birds around to make the day worth while. It started to rain just as i arrived at the reserve and continued until i departed at 3pm.

As i entered the gullery hide, the first bird to make its presence known was the water rail. There was an adult and two young chicks just below the window. The young were still fluffy and black with light coloured beaks. They eventually moved off to the side while a bluetit and sedge warbler looked for food among the reeds just above their heads. The water rail were to be heard and seen for most of the morning and early afternoon. Visitors who did venture out got good sightings of them.

Other birds from gullery included coot, moorhen, teal, wigeon, mute swan and a young robin.

I then went along to the swamp hide to find lots of mallard, coot, tufted duck and a pair of gadwall. There were also alot of rooks uyp in the pine trees where they usually breed. I hadn't seen any on the reserve for a few weeks and they only stayed around for a couple of hours and were off again. Off to the east hide i went and saw a young water rail which was a good deal older than the gullery family. Sadly, that one youngster, was the only active one and the warden thinks it is the only survivor from the original family of four. Lots of coot, wigeon, mallard, moorhen,teal, tufted ducks and a heron were also present.

This week at the reserve, alot of posts/perches have been added in front of all the hides. The one at the east hide is a large tree, coming out of the water at an angle and the hope is that the cormorants will use it as a resting place and then it should be easier to read their rings from the hide. There are three perches infront of the gullery hide. One each side, sticking out of the reed beds and one further out beside the floating vegetatian. The birds today were certainly taking advantage of them, especially the young black headed gulls of which there seem to be 5 remaining. At the swamp end, the branch is out front near the bog bean and it has already become a favourite perch for a kingfisher which stayed around at the swamp area for a good half hour this morning. The one day i forgot to bring my camera!!:C

The Ospreys were out in force again today with three fishing together early this afternoon. The female marsh harrier made a brief appearance as did some lapwing and 3 snipe.

I eventually took a walk along to the edge of the reserve to see what else was around but i didn't find anything unusual. A pair of treecreepers were chasing each other around the trees outside the gullery boardwalk and great tits, coal tits, chaffinches and wrens were added to my list during my walk. Three herons flew over head on my way back along with a buzzard. Common gulls, swallows, martins, willow warbler, reed bunting and oystercatchers were also on todays list.

All in all, it was a good day for seeing birds but not so good for walking around in the rain. Hopefully the weather will change for the visit to Barry Budden tomorrow, though i don't think the forecast is very good.

Darell

Click to expand...

How did you get on at Barry Buddon Darell ?

Hi everyone,I have put my Barry Buddon report on the Barry Buddon thread.

I went up to Kinnordy again this afternoon to get some exercise and to see what the paths are like, ready for this weeks guided walks. If anyone is considering coming along, then best to wear either walking boots/shoes or wellies. Most of the path right round to the lilly pond is gravel but there is a section after the new bridge that is grass and soil which could become mud with more rain forecast.

I was very fortunate with the weather this afternoon...not a spot of rain for the entire walk.

I started at the swamp hide where there were lots of mallard, a few tufties, coot, gadwall and shoveler. There was also a group of 8 lapwing on the far side. A snipe flew up, circled and landed again near the fir trees to the right of the hide. Outside the hide in the trees on the right, a pair of treecreepers chased each other and willow warblers were also present. Chaffinches and a blackbird were added to the list on the way to the gullery hide.

At gullery, a group of 50+ lapwing were present at the edges of the bog bean over between gullery and east hide. They were certainly making themselves heard. Teal, moorhen, coots, mallard and a mute swan with three cygnets were also in the area. Outside the hide, a flock of 15+ long-tailed tits could be heard and seen among goldcrests, blue tits and great tits. Ospreys were also to be seen fishing at the east and swamp ends.

The path between gullery and east hide was really quiet with only a wren and robin around. The last young black headed gull and parent were perched on the new tree/roost which they seem to have a taken over for themselves. Wigeon along with tufties and more coots, moorhens and mallard were seen.

I then went off towards the lilly pond and as i approached the "plug" area, i could hear an osprey calling and i dont' know who was shocked the most, but there sitting on a dead tree, right next to the path was a young osprey. I didn't have time to get my camera up for a snap before the osprey was up and away. A brilliant view though.

At the first bridge there were a few willow warblers in the trees along with goldcrests and at the next bridge it seemed to be the same birds. I could see a pair of ospreys circling in the area of the lilly pond so i was praying they would still be there when i arrived. Whitethroat and coal tits were seen on the way and when i got to the pond...no sign of the osprey. The distance to their fav perch is about the same as the east hide, but you get a better view from the pond because you don't have the bushes in the way.

After a while i departed the pond, which also had a family of swans and cygnets on it, and into the woods following the path. Long-tailed tits, coal tits, treecreeper and goldcrests were seen along with numerous wrens. Out of the woods, along the bottom of a field to the old barn that can be seen from the gullery hide, i came across a family of 4 mistle thrushes and a sparrowhawk. I could see more swans and shoveler on the area of water next to the barn but not much else so it was time to walk back again. The ospreys were again fishing in pairs at both ends of the reserve and there were plenty of warblers and other small birds around to keep me entertained on the way back.

Near the east hide, i again found a flock of long tailed tits in the trees along with willow warblers and blue tits. From the hide, nothing had changed from my visit earlier nor for that matter at the other two hides. One bird that hadn't been seen was the female marsh harrier....keep that one for the weekend.:-O

One other thing i did notice was the lack of hirundines. ok, there were a few swallows flying around, but no sand martins or swifts. Must be that time already.:-C

Remember...12 o'clock on friday and saturday this week for anyone who is interested in a walk.

Darell

Here are some photos from my walk today.

Long-tailed tits and a family of mute swans, along at the lilly pond.

Darell