This week, although there have still been some geese, (a couple of flocks of 300 or so flew over me on the reserve on the 18th) I got the feeling that most of them have headed off. This was confirmed this morning when we did a goose count, along with our WeBS count, which revealed that only about 1200 are still around.
Last Sunday we still had the two little egrets hanging around, and have been spotted on and off throughout the week, with one this morning on the Starnafin pools. A drake gargany was reported on the Pools in front of the visitor centre too, but on Monday, we decided it may well have been a mix up – being confused with a pintail, of which there have been two to three pairs hanging around recently. Down at Rattray, three common terns, five barnacle geese, and 30/40 common scoter were reported.
On Tuesday when we were out hunting for lapwings (of which we saw three at Starnakeppie), we drove passed a female merlin sitting in the grass, which is another year tick for the reserve.
On Wednesday, 50 golden plover and one of the little egrets were seen on the Lowground, along with four lapwings sitting around on the Tower Pools.
Thursday saw 48 black-tailed godwits and 32 redshank seen at Tower Pool Hide.
On a warbler survey on Sunday morning, reed warblers (same one moving, or two different ones – not sure) were heard in front of the Tower Pool Hide, and a wheatear was spotted nicely sitting on a fence on Mosstown Marsh.
Other highlights from this morning, apart from the lovely sunrise, were a couple of scaup on the loch, a distant and fleeting sight of an osprey, four water rails from Tower Pool hide, and a frustratingly just-off-the-reserve female ring ousel on the airfield by Bay hide!
Emma Parker