White-winged Black Tern - Monikie CP

   
On an afternoon when the light and conditions were good enough for decent photos of a rare tern, I mucked it up and had the camera set up wrong, and I don't know what and when I'd done that. Since the Tern flew off an hour after I left Monikie CP, I won't be able to sort the situation......

I've posted the best of the worse, and a Little Gull and Great Crested Grebe.

Little Gull left and White-winged Black Tern adult right

White-winged Black Tern

Great Crested Grebe

Little Gull

Ring-necked Duck - Forfar Loch

Photos and video from Monday when I managed to get some images of the Ring-necked Duck at Forfar Loch, more Little Gulls, actually around 70 at Monikie, and my first photo of a Chiffchaff this year

Ring-necked Duck (drake) at Forfar Loch, click here for video        Shoveler Duck pair at Murton

 Ring-necked Duck (drake) on Forfar Loch. It stubbornly stayed in the middle of the loch, hence the photos are screen grabs from the video above

The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes

This strong migrant is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe. In Britain, occasional small flocks occur, including five at Loch Leven, Scotland in September 2003

Back again at Monikie, but this time the Little Gulls were further out and it was a bit more breezy, and they were more often sitting on the water

The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some small colonies in North America. It breeds on freshwater lakes and marshes, and spends winters at sea. It is the smallest species of gull in the world, and the only species in the monospecific genus Hydrocoloeus

There were four Great Crested Grebes

Not a common sighting at Monikie for me, the good news was I didn't see any Grey Squirrels

Chiffchaff at Murton, conveniently in front of the car park hide 

 Drake Teal, the water is disappearing fast on the two main ponds

Dunnock

 Lesser Black-backed Gull adult at Keptie Pond

The lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. However, it has increased dramatically in North America, especially along the east coast

   Yellow-bellied Slider Trachemys scripta scripta, a turtle. Subspecies of: Pond Slider (Trachemys scripta)

Native Range: Southeastern United States, from Florida to southeastern Virginia

Habitat: Slow-moving rivers, floodplain swamps, marshes, seasonal wetlands, and permanent ponds

Identification: They have a large yellow blotch behind the eye, which is most evident in juveniles and females.

Collared Dove, has only been in the UK since 1953, breeding in 1956. Eurasian collared doves typically breed close to human habitation wherever food resources are abundant and trees are available for nesting; almost all nests are within 1 km (0.62 mi) of inhabited buildings

Woodpigeon

 Buffish Mining Bee Andrena nigroaenea in my garden

Early Bumblebee

Common Frog, at least ten still in my pond

Little Gull Day!

Each year usually during March, variable numbers of Little Gulls arrive at Monikie Country Park on their northerly migration. On Wednesday 19th this week I shot some photos (posted below) at around 1330, and by 1640 they'd flown off. I hope to see more, as some years we've seen above 100 gulls, so more to come?

As I'm suffering from a back muscle injury, (as painful as childbirth) I haven't been going far. Other photos are from Balgavies, Montreathmont Forest and my garden where the pesky Sparrowhawk has returned.

Currently looking at videos but not hopeful of any worth posting.....

Little Gull adult, upperwing view

underwing

juvenile

Not a two-headed Mallard drake! This was after I had seen SIX drakes effectively drowning the duck, I moved close and four abandoned

Tree Creeper on a dead tree near the adventure area at Monikie

Male Bullfinch at Balgavies Loch

Male Chaffinch, Montreathmont Forest

Blue Tit

Siskin male

Dunnock

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly feeding in my garden during a brief spell of heat

Common Drone Fly

Honey Bee

I thought this young male Sparrowhawk had gone, then I saw back on its preferred perch