Birding at Loch of Kinnordy (5 Viewers)

[gus guthrie]

stopped off ( as usual) on my way home from work to have a quick look from the Gullery Hide.
A cold wind coming from the west meant that a lot of birds were sheltering on the bogbean.
A real surprise was a Jack Snipe which fluttered up from the edge of the reedbeds and landed further in among the dense reeds.
Lapwing numbers are now at around 500 birds, with 60 Oystercatchers among them too as well as several Common Snipe.
Other notable birds were a drake Scaup, drake Smew, Shoveler, 8 Gadwall and 55 Whooper Swans.
A small group of 15 Fieldfare flew over and a couple of Brambling are still hanging around despite the feeders not getting filled on a regular basis.
Plenty of other waterfowl around too;
Teal, Goldeneye, Goosander, Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Mallard.

 

[gus guthrie]

Stopped off at the loch on my way home from work tonight for about an hour.
Around 500 Lapwings roosting on the bogbean alongside 100 Oystercatchers.
A single Redshank is with them, my first one here this year.
A group of around 50 Curlew dropped in just before dusk too.
Tufted duck numbers are up to around 50 birds today , also counted 26 Goldeneye.
The drake Smew was showing well, first time i've seen him in about a week I think, he tends to hide away in some of the channels out of view.
At dusk he was swimming with the Goldeneye and the drake Scaup, sadly not enough light to get a picture.
I counted at least 20 Pied Wagtails dropping into the reedbed to roost and the Starlings were just beginning to come in when i had to leave.
There is a pale Lapwing in among the flock, not easy to pick out sometimes.

 

[delia todd]

Oh shame... we must have just missed you Gus.

I searched for the Smew, but no sign. Had nice, but distant views of the Scaup. I wonder if some of the Oycs moved off, 'cos there were more of them than Lapwings for most of our visit! Though lots of both.

Cross we missed the Wagtails coming in, that would have been nice.

 

[kawwauser]

187 lapwings on the bogbean in front of the gullery hide 11.30 today,quite a few oystercatchers/teals with them,a single gadwall was feeding behind the lapwings,first one I have seen this year,the mute numbers are going down but still a few whoopers about,shovelar/great spotted woodpecker and jay were new additions to my 2014 list,i thought I was on to the scaup but a male tufty surfaced beside it and they swam off together,the bittern was reported at the weekend,vandals have struck at the east hide breaking 3 windows
29 species seen

robin/chaffinch/rook/carrion crow/shovelar/lapwing/oystercatcher/mallard/wigeon/cormorant/teal/whooper swan/mute swan/tufted duck/coaltit/coot/gadwall/goldeneye/great spotted woodpecker/great tit/jackdaw/wren/woodpigeon/reed bunting/blue tit/heron/goosander/grey lag

2 red squirrels/2 roe deer

 

[gus guthrie]

Drake Smew was showing well out in front of the Gullery Hide today and the drake Scaup is still here too, though more distant as usual.
I came back to the loch around 4pm to check out which waders were roosting on the bogbean from the Gullery hide when i saw a Cock Pheasant having a stand-off with something across at the reedbed.
Turned out he was facing up to the Bittern which is wintering here. I had great views for an hour of this fantastic bird , joined by several other local birders after i put the message out on the local Angus & Dundee Bird Club grapevine.
My photo's are a bit grainy at the distance i was from it but i shot a bit of video as it was quite animated at one point, great to see such an amazing bird for a lengthy period of time on the ground, most views this year have been of it flying over the reedbeds.
link to video clip of bittern; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqHNk9EX26s

 

[Ian Bell]

Well done Gus. :t:

 

[mags1967]

super video gus.

 

[gus guthrie]

super video gus.

cheers, never seen anything like it before !

 

[kawwauser]

very interesting video well done

 

[kawwauser]

i had an very enjoyable 3 hour visit today plus we had some sunshine,lots of birds about plus no foliage yet,i got off to a good start with a goldcrest spotted without even leaving the car,it was out in the open a lot but wouldn't stay still,i seen the male smew which has eluded me every visit this year,in fact it was on show in front of the gullery hide the whole 3 hours,a good number black headed gulls are back,they made 3 attempts to chase off raptors ,2x buzzards and 1 kestrel,the buzzards seem more flustered than the kestrel which just glided through,the bh gulls are due a good breeding season here,only 4 whoopers seen but there could be more, while continually scanning for the bittern opposite the gullery hide I managed to pick out a single little grebe plus a female goosander,2 male shovelars also seen,teal/redshank/lapwing /coots/tufted ducks and a mobbed heron all seen here,2 redshanks were feeding near the hide in the now shallow water,i heard several calling wrens on my visit the only one showing was right in front of the gullery hide,only 1 pair of gadwall seen(swamp hide)plus a single goldfinch was heard and eventually seen outside the hide,a red squirrel spent some time on the ground sniffing/searching the ground near the gullery hide feeder, it was followed by a very attentive great tit,clever bird,no nuts for either unfortunately,there is a dead swan in the flooded tree area between the east hide and the bridge,a large bird jumped up beside the lone pine and promptly went down,it was seen by myself and another birder by the naked eye and no positive id was achieved, another birder reported a red kite in the field south of kinnordy,i had a look but had no luck,i also looked in on the newly reported osprey at balgavies again drawing a blank,later in the day I seen my first wheatear of the year (f)in a field on top of Arbroath cliffs
kinnordy birds(40) in order seen

lapwing/greylag/goldcrest/blue tit/wood pigeon/rook/great tit/whooper/teal/coot/gadwall/heron/chaffinch/mallard/goldfinch/blackbird/shovelar/redshank/oystercatcher/tufted duck/black headed gull/common gull/goldeneye/buzzard/smew/mute swan/wren/carrion crow/little grebe/goosander/herring gull/kestrel/cormorant/robin/reed bunting (2males)
moorhen/pheasant/pied wagtail(x6)/long tailed tit

 

[mags1967]

some super images there especially the squirrel tried capturing it when i visited no luck.all the best margaret.

 

[gus guthrie]

Good day at the loch today with Smew, Water Rail, Bittern, Marsh Harrier , Sand Martins and two returning Ospreys.
also loads of Snipe and Redshank showing really well on the bogbean and at least eight Herons here just now for the frogfest.

 

[delia todd]

It really is all happening there now, isn't it.

Nice to know the Ospreys have returned safely - thanks Gus.

 

[rentoncharman]

We will be staying near Pitlochry in early May planning to visit Loch of the Lowes and Kinnordy. I don't know the area and wondered if anybody could point to any links to other bird watching sites in that area between Pitlochry and the east coast. I already have Gordon Hamlett's excellent book covering the Scottish Highlands north and west of Pitlochry. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Renton

What a lovely time to visit this area. HERE's a link to the Opus article for Kinnordy which has lots of links on it.

Also if you click on the "Central" category at the bottom you will find some more articles for the central area of Scotland. Near Pitlochry is Killiecrankie. Heading east from Kinnordy, is Forfar Loch, Balgavies and Montrose Basin. Ummm.... how long have you got?... cos their's Moulin Moor, the Cairnwell and the Angus Glens!

 

[rentoncharman]

Thanks so much for that, Delia, a great help. Unfortunately only 4 days this time but I'm still looking forward to it!

 

[mags1967]

well no more osprey looking in aviemore now i,ve seen this kinnordy you will see more of me.many tfs.all the best margaret.

 

[Ian Bell]

I was at Kinnordy yesterday and just got the Impression,the place Is not being looked after,as well as In the past.Then again,I am not local to the area,so perhaps I am wrong.

The water levels are low,the feeders are empty and the Warden posts In the Hide,that he Is only there,one day a week.

I feel the RSPB could do a lot more with the place but then again,It Is not a money spinner for them..!

Osprey fishing,some Whoopers and Geese still there,a pair of Shoveler along with other ducks.No sign of the Smew,Marsh Harrier or Bittern,while I was there.

 

[kawwauser]

the bird feeders at kinnordy have never been filled all year round, once natural food is available they stop filling them, not sure if the squirrel feeder is topped up through the summer, the water levels are really low probably the lowest I have ever seen them,i walked down past the bridges a couple of weeks ago and noticed the burn looked like it had been decluttered over the winter, the redshanks are certainly appreciating the low levels,could mean more waders will pop in to,there is another dead swan on the reserve,this one is on land in front of the east hide,2 whoopers are still here probably the only ones left,i saw my first osprey of the year from the packed gullery hide,only 5 black headed gulls on the bogbean with one pair mating,the great spotted woodpecker put in an appearance and was quietly making his way through some trees that I have never seen a woodpecker in before,there has been some great bird sightings reported here over the last week 2 water rails /male bearded tit plus the bittern but they are all dodging me ,
birds seen
black headed gull/robin/carrion crow/blackbird/pheasant/rook/blue tit/great tit/wren/great spotted woodpecker/coot/greylag/mallard/teal/heron/wood pigeon/lesser black backed gull/lapwing/redshank/tufted duck/oystercatcher/osprey/goosander/buzzard/whooper/mute/gadwall

 

[delia todd]

I had a great visit this afternoon, though really just the usual species to be seen. Didn't see any Whoopers, but they could have been in hiding.

Two Osprey visits the first going off with a large fish. The second well... what can you say it was quite amazing. There was a chap from Kirriemuir sitting in the corner with his camera and we noticed the Osprey was coming down to the water, so we both started clicking away (me just pointing my camera in the general direction hoping I'd get something)! Anyway; our Kirriemuir friend suddenly said "he's landed on a duck!!"

When the Osprey had gone we looked at his camera screen and there was the incident recorded... however it was a goose... and what he'd captured was the goose taking off with the Osprey above him. Incredible!

All I got was the splash! But that's actually a first for me LOL.