It almost feels like spring's back on track this week. Migrants are creeping on to the year list with increasing regularity, this Willow Warbler (yes, there is a Willow Warbler in there somewhere, I promise!) was in the Wildlife Garden earlier, and we've had the first Sedge Warbler of the year in font of Tower Pool Hide this morning. One Common Crane was down at Rattray yesterday, but was moving between fields and hasn't yet reappeared back on the reserve.
Staff seem to be on the move a bit as well. I've had my first trip of the year down to the re-opened Fowlsheugh (more details on that here) and we've also been up to the Macduff Marine Aquarium to check out the new camera feed from Troup Head (more on that later too). The Kinnordy ponies are settling in well and have ventured down as far as the loch edge, so they're happily coping with the wet mud out on Mosstown Marsh. The Koniks on the low ground also performed exceptionally well for a visiting group from the North Scotland Area Fell Pony Society. Interesting to chat about how their domestic but often similarly unhandled ponies differ from our 'wild' Koniks.
For me the spring highlight is always the return of our first Ospreys and we've now got at least two fishing in the loch almost daily, one pale bird which may the regular male from last year and this unfamiliar, dark looking bird who pulled this cracking trout out of the loch on Saturday and was right outside Tower Pool Hide around yesterday afternoon.