Tuesday, 23 October 2018

White-fronted Goose and Montreathmont Forest

It's my rota at our hide this week so I'll try to get photos of all species currently visiting. One or two below for starters along with a Greenland White-fronted Goose seen with Greylags at Balgavies. I was in some doubt about the ID as there appears to be considerable cross breeding at nearby Murton between wild and escaped geese, but I'll go with it unless told otherwise.

Also still around is a Green Sandpiper at Murton, seen again on the car park pond from the hide and often at the far end. I suspect it gets spooked when people look from the viewing gap on route to the Stewart Hide.

I struggled enough trying to film over the overgrown willows and with the distance, and now I see the videos are degraded from the originals after uploading. I'll try and sort that or find an alternative. Best set YouTube to 1080 HD or use an extension to set YouTube to permanently show in HD.

Greenland White-fronted Goose video, click here and choose 1080 HD in settings

Greenland White-fronted Goose, again you'll need 1080 HD selected

Greenland White-fronted Goose (Google Drive version)

Great Spotted Woodpecker (for quality testing)



White-fronted Goose, seen from the hide at Balgavies


Smaller and more brown than the Greylag and of course the white front and more orange than pink bill



Crossbill, one of two at the start of the Montreathmont track


Just a bit high in the trees for my unsteady hand holding a heavy lens


Great Spotted Woodpecker at the hide, needed some light on a very dull day


Always a difficult photo if the target is under the table in the shade, and this Robin is still a bit wary


The trick at the hide is to get a photo of the bird not on feeder and with no obvious man-made feature in the frame



The first Goosander I've seen this autumn at Keptie Pond in Arbroath


A few metres further on and the light was totally different



Wigeon in eclipse at Craigmill mouth, a photo fitted in on a 10 minute fly by as the sun was beginning to set



No waders at Victoria Park when another short visit ended a day out, so I took these two gulls siiting out the wind on the sea wall. Herring Gull, perhaps a descendant of my Grandads "pet" gull which he fed daily with scraps from my uncle's fish business. I used to watch the gull take food from his hand after it called to let him know it was there


This is the same Great Black-backed Gull which is very often found near the first shelter and is very approachable, so much so I can't get it all in the frame. No thanks to the guy with the boxer type dog who appeared to deliberately encourage his dog to chase it away



After finding some shelter in the rock armour at Inchcape Park, Arbroath, all I could see were Crows and distant Redshanks. I was surprised not to find any Purple Sandpipers but they do sit out the high tide on the seaward side of the breakwater and that was in the lee of the strong wind



Jackdaw at Keptie Pond where I tried to get the Collared Doves but some people think it's a laugh to watch their dog chase the birds, numpties!




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