Sorry folks for my lack of "bloging" over the last few weeks, but it has not been possible due to technical difficulties. Today has been a great day to start the blog as there are birds every where, even though the weather is totally awful. Vane bay is where the most of the bird life has been situated, though there are plenty around the visitor centre as well. In the bay there are a few whooper swans and a high number of mute swans along with a whole variety of ducks; pintail, wigeon, mallard, teal, goldeneye, pochard and tufted ducks. Around the second hide there are a couple of herons who are not getting on, and have been jousting with their huge long beaks. Towards the back of the reserve, on the loch shore, two roe deer were seen along with a rather wet buzzard and kestrel on the wall. A sparrow hawk has been speeding through the reserve throughout the day and some visitors were lucky enough to see it up close in the first hide.
Huge numbers of pink footed geese (along with a flock of about 40 barnacle geese) have gathered in the fields ajacent to the reserve. It was amazing to see so many birds landing and you could even hear their distinctive call in the visitor centre.
By next weekend there should be HUGE numbers of geese on the reserve and who knows what else will turn up, check the blog next week to find out.