RSPB Scotland Loch Leven's Occasional Writer in Residence Anita John brings us the latest sightings from the reserve and writes: The whooper swans have arrived back at RSPB Scotland Loch Leven, after making their 800 journey from their summer feeding grounds in Iceland.
Arriving in small family groups they bring winter’s chill on their wings and in their wild trumpeting calls; and winter’s brightness in the dip of their egg-gold beaks into the waters of the loch. To date we have about 30 whooper swans at the reserve, many visible from the Gilman Hide, gliding, feeding and flying in the same patch of water as the mute swans below.
The pink-footed geese are also back and we watched skein after skein rise and fall like breath against the backdrop of hills, scudding clouds and magnificent rainbows on a day of sun and rain. It’s strange how the sight of swans and geese can lift the spirits but lift the spirits they did. In total, we counted almost 2,000 pink-footed geese with more expected at the reserve in coming days.
From the Waterston Hide we had the pleasure of watching a small group of curlew probing the soft earth with their impossibly long 15cm beaks. We were close enough to zoom in on the fine patterning and speckling of their brown feathers, and on the brown length of their beaks with the pink undermarks clearly visible. A small group of starlings were feeding alongside until something put them up and starlings and curlews swirled into the air before turning in separate directions, then rejoining as they moved further away.
As the rain and wind set in the Carden Hide was quieter than usual and we watched a single gadwall braving the wild weather: a dun duck on dun waters. There was a gentleness in its quiet feeding, raindrops pinning the water around it like stars in the sky. After the rain our resident moorhens appeared from their islands and two wigeon flew in hard and fast to land with a splash. The grey heron too put in an appearance, its long yellow-brown legs ram-rod straight in flight.
Back at the Gilman Hide we caught sight of the whooper swans once more, that glint of egg-yolk gold, which left us feeling uplifted, as if we too had wings and could take flight.
If you're looking for a great day out then sighting the whooper swans and pink-footed geese at RSPB Loch Leven is hard to beat. Go see the beating of their wings and listen to their clamorous calls – you won’t be disappointed!
Photo credits (in order of appearance): Whooper swans (Paul Ashcroft); Mute swans (Paul Ashcroft); Pink-footed geese (Uwe Stoneman); Curlew (Paul Ashcroft); Whooper swans (Alex Gilfillan