Great White Egret, Montrose Basin

An accidental find, I heard it call when I think it was flushed by a shooting party working through the reeds at the Lurgies and the fields above. The bird settled out of view but was flushed again and after some gunfire (not near or at it) it appeared to land in the field in front of Mains of Dun Farm.

Also below a late Blackcap, Little Grebe and Whooper Swans.

Just as well it's big and white as the light wasn't good and the Egret was far away

Difficult birds to photograph these Little Grebes, they're small, dark and shy

A family party of Whooper Swans at Montrose Basin, some of a group of around twenty

A late or staying Blackcap, I think one of this years youngsters at Auchmithie

The brown light reflected on the Buzzard which was one of eight feeding on worms behind a plough near Inverkeilor

An immature Gull at Keptie Pond in Arbroath where two Kingfishers were seen briefly in the morning

Montrose from the Lurgies, the steeple is 4 km from the Lurgies path and I was able to tell the time on the clock on the original full size photo

Part of Dundee as seen from Port Allen near Errol, Cox's Stack I believe is the prominent tower

Great Grey Shrike and Twite

Just my luck, I find a Great Grey Shrike and it's almost dark and pouring with rain and it's on distant wires. The story of a bird photographers life I'd say. If the video is usable I'll post it here. The Shrike was on wires at Migvie in Glenesk just west of Tarfside.

Great Grey Shrike video, click here   Poor light in the rain and cropped to half size, best I could do

Great Grey Shrike, I hope the video is better, but I doubt it

At first I thought these would be Linnets as there is usually a flock at Mains of Usan but no, they're Twite and there were 21 of them

Couldn't get near without them flying off, so these taken from a distance

I like Crows

Another odd Goose at Murton NR

I've asked for help with the ID of the parents of this goose which looks to be part Barnacle and maybe Greylag, but I'll post anything I get back from the expert. The bird is at Murton NR near Forfar amongst a large flock of Greylags along with 1 Pink-footed and a Barnacle was there just a few days ago. The Whoopers are just the second small group I've seen this autumn, and the last photo from Kinnordy shows what the cuddly Beavers do!

The short neck and colours of a Barnacle methinks

Smaller than a Greylag, nearer to a Pink-footed

A look at the wings so people more clever than me can decide an ID

Pink-footed Goose

Greylag for comparison

Six Whooper Swans, always as far from the hides as they could get, this one from the Gladstone Hide

Mute Swan which was involved in a fracas with another pair

The latest handy work by one of the Beavers at Kinnordy, this time beside the walkway at the Swamp Hide. I suspect it will have to come down for safety reasons if the Beaver hasn't finished the job overnight. This is a six inch diameter tree at least and this looks like one nights work

Some leaving and others just arriving, it will soon be winter

The first Whooper Swans I've seen, more than sixty Swallows going south and a Wheatear still around feeding. All of those along the beach between Elliot and Hatton on the Angus coast

A late Northern Wheatear which I'd hoped to find was one of the rarer species but I can't, that doesn't mean I'm right! All along the beaches where rock armour had been installed various species were topping up for migration on the swarms of flies

The first Whooper Swans of the season in Angus I believe

Female Stonechat near Elliot

Male Stonechat about 500 metres from the female

Goldcrest near Auchmithie

Tempted out of a tree by a call on my phone so Olive could see this little charmer

Some of around 50 Oystercatchers near Hatton

A Rock Pipit at Arbroath Harbour surrounded by a cloud of those pesky flies which don't seem to have any sense of direction, and they don't taste good either

Arbroath Harbour at Inchcape Park

Now five Purple Sandpipers, gone out to look for more, write up later today......

Although bright and sunny there was a gale blowing in from the sea which meant the waves were coming over the breakwater forcing the waders to roost on the beach. The Purple Sandpipers spent most of the time I was there sleeping but you'll see below I managed to capture a few.

Turnstone near the Signal Tower, by then another cloud had covered the late afternoon sun

Black-headed Gull, by then I was trying not to go home in case I had to make the tea

One of the young Pied wagtails showing more than a "tinge" of yellow on its face. Some elsewhere are even more yellow but are camera shy

Water Rails and Grey Plover - Montrose Basin

It was cold cold outside, windy and often raining on Wednesday so I opted for a photo attempt at the Water Rails in front of the Bank of Scotland Hide at Montrose Basin SWT Centre. The first view was a bird in the open which even paused for a second or two, then the one below which I'm sure sprinted when it heard voices from the hide. The bird in the video link below fed at the edge of the long grasses but never moved away from the cover.

Water Rail video BOS Hide, click here,  Best viewed (in my opinion) on an internet connected TV with the YouTube app or cast from a phone or tablet, even Apple allows that!

This is the typical shot as they speed across the open spaces between the salt pans

Grey Plover juvenile from the Lurgies near to the Slunks which is unusual as they are mostly seen at the other end of the basin or near the Wigeon Hide

Some of around 400 - 500 of the circa 60,000 Pink-footed Geese currently at the basin. Taken in mid afternoon as the tide ebbed and they were just beginning to come in having spent the day grazing nearby

I'm late with this photo which I'd forgot about and am sure the gull on the left is a Mediterranean Gull in 2nd winter plumage. The legs are darker red, the beak is larger than the BH Gull but not perhaps as large as it could be and it has some black but not much on it's wings. Seen near Easthaven.

Only in Arbroath could they do this.............(rant)

Spend thousands on a very appropriate monument, site it somewhere prominent, tastefully highlight it with spotlights, then do this. Only in Arbroath.............

The Declaration of Arbroath, but just what do they think they are declaring, unbelievable!

In another one of the "cooncils" projects, the so-called millennium forest which is suffering from a total lack of any management, I found this Chiffchaff. Not so strange you say, but it was the only bird in acres of what is now dense inaccessible jungle in Springfield Park, and elsewhere

An omen of things to come.... this is actually in colour

Barnacle Goose, Murton NR

Just two photos from a walk today after my hide duty. A single Barnacle Goose in with the Greylags in front of the Gladstone Hide at Murton NR near Forfar. Also a photo of a wet Goldcrest at Auchmithie which may well have just flown in from the sea?

Barnacle Goose, the grass in front of the hide ruined the photo, I couldn't get the height from the hide to avoid it

Goldcrest, looks more than just wet from the short drizzle shower we'd had, needs a good preen

Drake Pintail and Gadwall

A round up from Kinnordy, Forfar Loch, Arbroath Harbour and Montreathmont Forest. The Pintail was just too wary to come close to the hide and eventually decided it wasn't for him and he flew off towards the east end of the loch at Kinnordy. The Gadwall at Forfar Loch are quite approachable so if the sun comes out good photos are likely. It was just a bit dull when I was there.

Pintail video clip (crop), click here,

Drake Pintail at Kinnordy Loch

One of perhaps 30 Gadwall sitting on the weed raft at Forfar Loch Leisure Centre

I stood in cover supporting a heavy lens for ages waiting for the strike on a Roach at Keptie Pond, it didn't come as a woman flushed it trying to get a photo on her iPhone. I'm sure it would have tolerated and Android device unless it was a Samsung on fire!!

Still two adult Common Terns with a juvenile each at Arbroath Harbour, one of the two above

One of Forfar Lochs many Magpies

Just working out the best strategy to get at the peanuts in a feeder

A part recovered recovered photo of what might have been a juvenile Med Gull. It had been deleted too long on an SD card which is well used and part is over written. To compound this I'd wrongly said it was a 2nd summer to 2nd winter which I have photographed in previous years. The positive is, mistakes make me read reports more carefully and check ID's in books more often and rigorously.