It’s been a while since our last round up, we have been busy with a couple of projects on the reserve that got held up by the wet and windy winter.
Continuing on from the last update, Bearded tits are still being seen, literally all over the reserve. They are a regular feature of a visit to Fen hide. One of our visitors tells me they are often to the left of the hide. On the 9th March at least one bird was in the reeds at the south end of the Loch and today there was a group “pinging” in front of the Tower Hide.
Thanks to Brian Sandison for this pic.
Fen hide has seen some great action. The highlight being the female and young otter captured on camera by regular visitor Brian Sandison on the 9th, swimming across right in front of the hide. This is presumably the same otters seen on our camera trap. If you haven’t yet seen these amazing images visit our face book page: ( RSPB Aberdeen and North East Scotland) Brian also photographed a red throated diver from fen hide on the 8th . Other highlights in early March included up to 3 three long tailed duck and a scaup seen on 4th. Goosander and red breasted merganser are seen most days along with a single Great crested grebe. Four different Water rail were heard on the 3rd. An ermine stoat was in front of the hide on the 8th and another was seen in the airfield car park on the 11th. Two roe deer were seen swuimming in the loch on the 3rd!
In comparison Bay Hide has been fairly quiet, but one visitor enjoyed a peregrine falcon launch an unsuccessful attack on a wood pigeon on the 11th.
Tower Hide has seen some decent sized wader flocks with 190 lapwing on the 4th, 250 curlew today along with 15 oystercatcher. Water rail are also heard here most days. We had an early morning goose count on the 4th recording a very respectable 28,000, most of which came off the Low ground in front of the Tower hide. Barnacle goose numbers have increased with 45 seen today. Most days a white fronted goose is picked out in the dry fields beyond the Low Ground and two were seen today (too distant to be specific about race though!) On the 10th we were shifting livestock around and we flushed at least 10 snipe in one smallish area of the Low ground. A female sparrowhawk has been seen intermittently including a successful hunt of a lapwing on the 9th.
Gulls flocks have been significant in recent days with birds shifting between Starnafin pools and the Low ground. 200 Black headed gulls were counted on the 4th, many of whom are no doubt our returning breeding birds. Common gull numbers remain high with 270 counted today.
Signs of spring in recent days include a small tortoiseshell butterfly, drumming Great spotted woodpecker in the rookery and indeed the raucous rooks. It’s the time of year when toads are on the move returning to their breeding ponds. I had two encounters today including one that was trying to get into our visitor centre (Although there is no pond in there!!) We have also noted the first Lesser celandine flowers this week.
Sightings on the pools in front of the visitor centre include the ever present Little egret, 2 ringed plover on the 2nd, a single redshank on the 12th and today a rather fine 1st winter Iceland Gull.
Fairly quiet on the Rattray front in this period, although the two white snow geese have been seen most days and at least 10 Great Northern diver were seen around the lighthouse on the 6th.