[andy one]

An account of a morning looking for ducks and dippers.

Isn’t it just fantastic when you anticipate a good days birding and watch BBC pronouncing what a beautiful day it is going to be? You retire to bed and can’t wait for the alarm to sound.

Now, how fantastic is it when you awake to find a thick blanket of mist and realise that beautiful day that was promised does not in fact relate at all to Scotland! I set off anyway, more in hope than expectation to pick my brother up (who is visiting from England) from my parent’s house. What is normally 40 minute journey, turned into a 1.5 hour tour lots of roads, except the ones I wanted to be on. Aren’t road works such fun!

I eventually arrived at my parents and picked up my sibling and we headed for Vane Farm. As we approached Loch Leven, the mist decided to thicken and made the drive resemble a trip through pea soup. The day was turning into a bit of a farce but undeterred, we stopped at a garden that we knew attracted tree sparrows to the feeders. We didn’t have to wait long and the cute little cousin of the house sparrow was added to the list. The yellowhammers, ‘little bit of bread but no cheese’ song got me thinking about the rather tasty omelette roll from the Vane Farm café and so this was the next port of call.

Grey partridge was seen on route, a bird that is certainly getting harder to see in the area.

Vane Farm was busy, an event was running and there seemed to be some kind of formal meeting taking place. We did add all the usual ducks including pintail, shoveler, gadwall and teal. I also added an omelette roll to my list, before my brother got on the little egret, a Scottish tick for him.

The mist showed no signs of lifting but we decided to head round to another area of the loch where the drake red crested pochard had been seen a few days earlier. After a brief search we got on the stunning drake bird. A welcome year bird for me, although the bird was probably in someone’s collection until recently no doubt. It does beg the question, “How do you really know?”

The mist thickened still further, and we gave up hope of seeing the ring necked duck. It was my 5th attempt this year for that particular species. I thought people said that, God loves a tryer?

My last attempt for further year birds was spent up the Alva Glen at my parent’s house. I informed my brother that I had never failed to see dipper on the burn as we set off. Alas, I actually dipped on dipper!

[Gill Osborne]

LOL Know the feeling VERY well mate! The number of extremely MEGA-common birds that I've just missed out on in the past...how the men in white coats have not come for me I'll never know!!! LOL
We had a lot of mist yesterday which never really cleared but visibility wasn't too bad...few hundred yards or so...and this morning it was even more misty. Think it's in for the day today!
Vane Farm is one place that I've never had a chance to visit yet, but I plan to make it up there this year sometime!

GILL

[Jos Stratford]

Originally Posted by andy one

[b] you awake to find a thick blanket of mist ....the mist decided to thicken and made the drive resemble a trip through pea soup.

Don't they have fog up in Scotland then?

[Nutcracker]

Originally Posted by Jos Stratford

Don't they have fog up in Scotland then?

No, they don't! - usually it is called Haar in Scotland (and Sea Fret in northeast England)

[Andrew]

I can taste the omlette, hope you make amends for the Dipper soon.