I thought I would post this picture of the Lesser Yellowlegs as it shows the colour of its legs much better that the one below. They are both pictures of the same bird just different light and cameras. Thank you to Jim Duncan for making such a splendid job of this picture it is not easy as I have found out.
Bye for now Joan.
As you know we have just returned from a birdwatching break on the Moray Coast. We were blessed with good weather and good light which is equally important to us. We saw 80 different species with one life record. It was the pictured bird which is a Lesser Yellowlegs an American visitor. I did not take this picture the ones I took were too far away to let you see it properly. In this picture the legs of the bird appear to be orange I can assure you they are yellow just like is says in the name. It was a very approachable little bird and let us get really close. This bird has been a thorn in our sides for the last 18 months. It is very rare for one to be on this side of the pond but there was one on Stiffkey Fen in Norfolk in 2005 that stayed for about 3 months in early spring. We were hoping to see it when we went down in at the beginning of May that year but the little devil flew off on the Thursday two day before we arrived. When we heard this bird was in just before we left we thought no not again, it had moved to another location but had only moved about 20 miles down the coast so this time we did not dip out (that's a birding term meaning missed the bird). We had a great week all told with good views of many seabirds and were able to sit in the sun and watch instead of braving a gale or rain. We will certainly go back to this area in the future as you can get so close to the sea with the car and therefor makes life easy for us. Looking forward to the arrival of the geese now but they are very late this year must have had a good summer in Greenland and the North.
Total for the year is now 180.
Take care
Love
Joan.
We have had a faraway visitor to The Tay Estuary this week. Yes a White Pelican very strange. To start with it was said to be an escapee and was going to be caught but later in the week it was decided that it was not ringed and did not have clipped wings, therefore must be a wild bird. We have had a busy week with hospital appointments and therefore had to wait till Wednesday to go and have a look for ourselves as we had never seen a White Pelecan before.We have however seen Dalmation Pelican when we have been abroad. So Wednesday morning bright and early we set off to Monifieth beach where the bird had settled. As we parked the car you could see the pelican with the naked eye it is so big. We walked along to get a better and closer look and got a great view. I was really inpressed to think anything this size could fly if you can imagine it is about one and half time the size of a swan. While we were having the usual coffee in the car a small flock of Golden Plovers landed in front of us they looked really golden yesterday against the sand and rocks. So at the moment it is on my year and life list and will stay there till I find out differently. Thats about it for today off to the North East next week and hoping for a great week. Love
Joan.
I know you will all think that there is nothing unusual about a Robin this is really just to mark the date for my personal record. I heard my first Robin of the autumn singing yesterday 8th September. I was hanging out the washing and he/she was singing loud and clear. You may wonder why they sing so loud at this time of the year and will go on singing for some time, they are marking out the winter territories and woe betide any other robin that crosses into his/her patch. You will notice that I say his/her that because Robins can't tell if the intruder is a guy or gall so what chance have I got. Will have to be getting the bird table ready for the winter soon but there is still plenty of natural food for them as yet. We still have Swallows, House Martin and Sand Martins about at the time of writing hope to see them for a while yet. Still miss seeing our Swifts they have been gone since the first week in August up here. Looking forward to our holiday the week after next hoping to get some good birds then.
Love
Joan.
Ferruginous Duck. 30/07/06
Have been spending the afternoon bringing my list of species up to date and thought I would round off with my trip last Sunday. We set off during the morning to go to Lochgelly Loch. It is a small inland loch that is used by fishermen a great deal but it does not seem to put the birds off one little bit. We had heard that there was a Ferruginous Duck there and as I had never seen one we thought it was worth a try. It was lovely sunny morning and the light was very good. After just a few minutes I spotted the duck by means of Stuarts telescope which is an awesome piece of kit. (My binoculars still being serviced as I write) During the time we were there I managed to get two horse fly bites on my waist, why do they always pick on me. We did not linger at the loch as we had decided to move on to Kinhorn on the river Forth.
Kinghorn was looking good when we arrived and Stuart started scanning the water. During the time we were there we saw Gannets, Puffins, Razor Bills, Guillimots, Eider Duck, Common Tern,Sandwich Tern, and the rare Roseate Tern (Picture above). Just before we left an Arctic Skua came down the river lifting all the ducks as they are a big predator of smaller ducks etc. I have placed a picture of the bird below. The pictures I have used today are not mine just borrowed. Still trying to save for the attachment I need for the telescope to take pictures like this. Thank you for reading this far.
Our years total is now 162. Bye for now Joan.
You will remember way back in the cool days of spring I told you about the Loch Garten Ospreys returning. They laid three eggs this year which is wonderful some only lay one. The great news is they have been successful in raising them all. The three girls are now able to fly two were up and flying at the beginning of the week with one being a a bit of a scardy as usual but I am sure she will be flying now. Thats it for now. Love Joan.
Being the middle of summer Stuart and I have not been away much bird watching of late yesterday however we thought we would take Ellen for a walk along our local loch side. We strolled she ran all the way. We called in to the lovely new hide that has been made there (I think I mentioned the previously). It was a lovely summer afternoon and fortunately there was a Grey Heron close by for Ellen to watch as he hunted just outside the hide. Swallows House Martins and Sand Martins were all skimming the water. As we sat there an Osprey passed over but still high up. Later Stuart spotted him fishing about 50 yards out, the fish he caught was so big he could hardly get out of the water, he sort of floated there for a minute gave himself a good shake then took off. What a whopper he had caught the young Ospreys would have been very pleased to see him come back with that lovely trout for their supper. As he flew away another one appeared not sure if this was the wife or a spare that had not mated this year as Ospreys have to be about 4 years old before they attempt to raise a family and the unattached bird cause a lot of trouble to the breeding birds. We had a great afternoon and I think Ellen enjoyed herself and we rounded of with a visit to the playpark on the way home so on the whole a great afternoon was had by young and old. Love
Joan.
