Winter definitely arrived this week at RSPB Loch of Kinnordy; it has been sunny but very cold. Amoung our slightly unusual visitors recently we have had a Bittern, Bearded Tits, Water Rail, and a Green-Winged Teal, normally a North American resident. There are still some Whooper swans around, as well as Mute swans, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Goldeneye, Goosander, and today (29/11/12) over 500 Greylag geese, many of which roost…

Isn't that just typical?! I've come back to work, after a week off, only to be in-undated with two quite spectacular sightings at Kinnordy last week! I swear these birds know when I've booked time off and delibrately make an appearnce because I'm not there!

So first of all, not 1, not even 2, but 3 bearded tits were seen from East Hide on Sunday 11th Nov, flitting between the reeds close to the hide. It…

Excellent news from Kinnordy this week as the first Whooper swans of the season arrived. On monday (5th nov.) four were sighed on the loch at East hide, two adults and two juviniles, and today (8th nov.) there were at least twenty-seven individuals. Greylag geese can now be seen in and around the loch in considerable numbers (over 400) as well as substantial gatherings of Mute swan, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallards, Tufted…

Although it's rainy and miserable today, yesterday (1st Nov) gave me a real sense of the start of winter. The sun was out and the landscape around the reserve was sprinkled with a light dusting of frost. The car was completely frosted over and took a good 15 minutes to deforst before we could start our working day. Although we managed to get the car derfosted I noticed that as the day wore on, some of the frost managed…

Join us this Saturday at the reserve for our Autumn Fun event. Starting at noon, we have a range of activities for visitors to enjoy.

Have your chance to make and take home your own fir cone bird feeders just in time for winter. Or just come along and see for yourself how birds, like coal tits and great tits, love fat feeders at the reserves very own feeding frenzy area.

Stuck for Christmas decoration ideas? Come along…

Although summer never came to anything this year, autumn has definitely made it's presence felt.

I spent this morning clearing up about two weeks worth of leaf litter from the paths between the hides, with the help of Bruce - one of the local volunteers. The storms and winds we've been having this week made our job that little bit harder today as so much leaf litter was picked up in each stroke of the rake and…

This blog is to inform visitors, who may not already know, that Loch of Kinnordy reserve will be closed on the following dates;

Saturday 22nd September and Saturday 6th October.

The car park gates will be locked on both these days but will then be opened sometime before late afternoon. Apologies for any inconvience caused.

The last few days have felt more like summer than the whole of July and August put together! The sun has been shinning over Kinnordy and the wildlife has responded in appreciation of the much missed summer.

As a blog hasn't been written for a over a month, there is quite alot to catch up on. So where to start? Our marsh harrier family are still flying suavely over the reed beds - both juveniles were spotted this…

Well, I am excited to report the news that we have all been waiting for . . .

I can confirm this morning (15 July) from our regular volunteer, that for the second year running, we have a Marsh Harrier family of 4 consisting of 2 adults and 2 juveniles.

They were seen towards the back of the loch, among willows far left of their original nesting area (of the loan pine tree).  The juveniles are flanked by either their mother…

It’s now Summer!  However, the heaviest rainfall on the longest day of the year has done its best to fill the loch to capacity, making the ducks and swans feel even more at home.

The female and male Marsh Harriers continue to present themselves, occasionally simultaneously in food-passing opportunities.  A male Osprey was hovering, legs a-dangling, over the loch, successfully fishing, eating and then flying off with…

White and yellow lilies in flower on the Lily Pond and masses of tadpoles- it must be summer despite yesterday's frost. Our youngsters are growing up fast with a number of juvenile lapwings already taking to the air and young oystercatchers who will be airborne shortly.  Half grown curlew chicks were also seen on yesterday's early morning wader survey as well as a number of drumming and chipping snipe - but they…

Lots to come and see at Kinnordy in June!

Last week’s brilliant sunshine has brought forth abundant new spring life at Kinnordy with 8 families of Greylag goslings, a newly hatched family of 6 cygnets, several families of Mallard ducklings and Lapwing chicks all seen on the reserve. The bogbean is in flower and there are bluebells, campion and other wildflowers in the wood.  The Black-headed gulls have been attempting…

Join us at Loch of Kinnordy on Sunday 13th May between 1-3pm for a guided walk that will be enjoyable and educational.

Loch of Kinnordy is home to some fascinating migrants during the summer months that have travelled thousands of miles, from as far away as southern Africa.

The walk will guide you around the trails and hides and give you the opportunity to see many interesting summer migrants including spectacular raptors…

Konik ponies are the latest management strategy adopted for the reserve. This breed has its origins in Poland and has been selected due to their hardy and robust form and their specialist adaptations to feeding on wetland vegetation.

These horses are used on many other conservation projects throughout the UK including other RSPB reserves such as Loch of Strathbeg. The four individuals now present at Loch Kinnordy were…

Its now the middle of the month and the signs of summer continue to encroach despite the freezing air and the odd snow shower.

I'm sure many of the regular visitors to the reserve are now aware of the new Konik ponies that arrived last week. They can be located at the far west of the reserve near the highland cattle, theres four of em' and they're a hardy bunch despite their friendly appearence. This breed of horse…

Join us at Loch of Kinnordy on Easter Day some for Easter family fun.

We are holding a fun packed family fun day at the hides on Sunday 8th April between 1-3pm.

We have four exciting activities lined up for visitors to take part in.

Firstly our treasure hunt which involves locating several tasty goodies scattered around Loch of Kinnordy based on some clues we’ll give you. Secondly is our best Easter-inspired fancy…

It's been an exciting couple of weeks here at Kinnordy. In recent weeks there has been more regular sightings of a few of the more uncommon visitors to Kinnordy; including a male smew, white-fronted geese, green-winged teal  and the elusive bittern!

The male smew over-wintered at Kinnordy. He appeared, with a female smew to start with, around mid-December and stuck around to the end of February. Seeing him was really…

RSPB Loch of Kinnordy Nature Reserve is hosting a Bird Watching for Beginners event on Sunday 19^th February 2012.

Whether you are a novice bird watcher or already have some knowledge of identifying our feathered friends, come along and find out more.

 The fun begins at 10 am and aims to finish by 12pm.  No question is too big or small and site warden, Kim Ross and  volunteers will provide expert advice and tips for spotting…

Indulge your love of nature this Valentine's by popping along to RSPB Loch of Kinnordy, based one mile from Kirriemuir in Angus.

From Otters to Ospreys, Deer to Ducks, and our spectacular range of other wildlife (including Hen Harriers) - come along to this beautiful location and appreciate the wildlife on your doorstep on Sunday 12th February 2012.

Tell us what you love about the site at the end of your walk by…

Well 2012 has certainly got off to a good start here at Kinnordy

The weather has been a complete contrast to last year. Consider last year when we had three full months of the loch being completely frozen over, this year there has only been a week in the middle of December where it looked like the loch might freeze over (but even then there was still plenty of open water for the birds!) Whooper swan numbers have finally…

Relax after a hectic Christmas and enjoy a scenic walk around Loch of Kinnordy to learn more about this wetland habitat's fantastic wildlife and unique history on a guided walk with site warden, Kim Ross.

Have your chance to spot the wonderful winter wildlife Kinnordy has to offer, such as; greylag geese, whooper swans, mallard, goldeneye, teal and not forgetting the chance to see a red squirrel as we stroll along the…

Winter has well and truly arrived! The Loch has been mostly frozen for over a week now, which makes for amusing sightings of the birds skating around on the ice. Greylag geese continue to visit in large flocks of 100+ with several pink footed and white fronted geese too, there have also been sightings of Tundra Bean Geese a slightly more unusual arrival. We had quite a surprise last week though when a Great White Egret…

Those of you who visited Kinnordy this week may have been surprised to see a new piece of machinery cruising around on the Loch. For the first time ever we were able to trial the 'Truxor' - a mini-tank like amphibious all-terrain track vehicle. This snazzy piece of kit could mean an end to long days of cutting and clearing the reed and bog-bean vegetation by hand in dry suits and waders, no more dodgy canoe antics and…

This year we're celebrating advent at our nature reserve, based one mile from Kirriemuir.

Each day, from December 1st to 24th, the first visitor of the day will reveal the next image in our special wildlife-themed advent calendar, designed exclusively for this site by RSPB staff and volunteers. Children are invited to take part in a Christmas card-making competition based around the theme of the advent calendar, with…

This story is interesting... 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15783321