Went to Kinnordy for a couple of hours yesterday, first visit since early spring.
Went my usual route up the Airlie Castle road, stopping at the road end where the closed bridge is. So we wandered down to the bridge where I too the first picture. Searched hard, both sides hoping to see Dipper or Kingfisher, but had no luck on that score.
We had a slow run along the Kaims of Airlie road, stopping every time we saw a brown blob fly across the road. But had no luck identifying them. Eventually, approaching the double bend, saw some Bullfinch at the side of the road. Stopped there for ages hoping they'd come down again but they didn't, so no picture sadly.
Had lunch overlooking the west end hoping there might be some raptor action, but got a large number of gulls flying through. Bit too distant for me to identify, possibly mixed. Little else moved so set off to the reserve car park. Mute Swans and Shoveler were the main ones we could see on the water.
Really pleased to see a large flock of Lapwings fly around. I kept hoping they were going to come down to the bogbean islands, but they didn't (wouldn't have seen them anyway, they're so overgrown now with some very tall growth. Never seen it like that before.
Two of the swans even seem to co-ordinate they preening moves, doing the same thing at the same time LOL.
After some time absorbing the atmosphere from the Gullery (now sadly misnamed of course) went down to the feeding station. Got all the usual tit suspects there except woodpecker. Heard a Treecreeper but couldn't see it.
It was a rather dull day weatherwise. I do feel the place is being rather sadly neglected by the RSPB. Someone had been along and cut the reeds back on the LHS of the G. Hide, allowing a clearer view that way, and the feeders had obviously been refilled recently. We topped most of them up. But the site seems rather unloved now.
You can see the remains of one of the rafts is now forming an island. Don't know where the other went. They really only tried that for one year, before they stopped maintaining them - it can take a while for birds to get used to new things, can't it. The way they were designed wasn't going to stop the otters or corvids getting to the eggs!
Rant over, I'll still make visits there!
Edit: ooops forgot my pictures LOL