The reappearance of the Greater Yellowlegs yesterday rather overshadowed some of the most exciting news the reserve staff have had in a long time- the arrival of a brand new truck!
Our old blue truck has been developing a few interesting rattles and other noises for a while now, and has had to make a few visits to the garage in the past few months. Now thanks to some Scottish Natural Heritage funding we've got a fantastic, brand new Toyota. Emma drove it very carefully back from Aberdeen on Friday and it's now parked in the yard looking very shiny and impressive, which will last at least until it goes up to the north end of the loch on its first WeBS count on Monday morning...
We also had some extra excitement yesterday when we moved the Konik ponies out on to the Savoch low ground. This has given them some fresh ground to graze for the end of the winter, and will help get the area ready for our breeding waders. It also makes them much easier to see from the visitor centre and Tower Pool Hide so if you visit in the next few weeks make sure to look for them on the marshy grassland right behind the tower.
The Greater Yellowlegs was still on the reserve for most of today, although it seemed to slink off into the reeds by late afternoon and was becoming much harder to see. The best views were still from the right-hand side of Tower Pool Hide looking out towards the old boardwalk. There was also the added bonus of a Green-Winged Teal showing off right in front of Tower Pool Hide. Green-Winged look almost identical to common Teal except for a vertical instead of horizontal white stripe on the side, so they can easily disappear into a large group of common Teal, but this one was for once separate and quite easy to pick out. It's most likely the same bird that was reported a few weeks ago and may be the same bird from last winter as they're known to come back to the same wintering ground.
Tomorrow we're heading to the Macduff Marine Aquarium for National Science Week. We're taking our Discover Nature table so you can see and touch eggs, feathers, bones and all sorts of other bits and pieces and try to find out which birds and animals they belong to. Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Buchan Countryside Group, Aberdeenshire Rangers and Oceanlab will be there as well so it should be a fantastic day out.
...wow!!!!!! super truck...but I do lament the demise of the mitsubishi, I did love to drive her. Also, can I request some new pictures of the ponies on the blog, I'd love to see how they're doing,.....please?! ;-)