Hoopoe, Great Grey Shrike, White-tailed Eagle, Crossbills and Waxwings

What a few days. I've given the Great Grey Shrike top billing as it's a bird that we should see and used to see more often, the Hoopoe below is likely just lost but very welcome. Also and after a long fruitless wait at Kinnordy the White-tailed Eagle obliged and flew over the hide, never did see the Bittern or Bearded Tits.

Hoopoe on a rainy Wednesday, click here for video (and how I was conned)

Great Grey Shrike, click here for Flickr hosted video  filmed at 65/85 zoom or more

Dawn Crossbills at Montreathmont, click here for Flickr hosted video  I can't keep the camera still when filming birds in high trees

Great Grey Shrike at Montreathmont Forest. I just stood still for a long time and it approached another birder and me. No need to chase it around the forest

Chased off this perch by a Great Tit!

Hoopoe at Montrose Basin, found by Ron's wife on Facebook which apparently led to some people trying to get close enough for a selfie....

Photo from a position where I could observe the bird without stressing it and it remained happily feeding in the long grass, and like the Shrike it approached Ron and I

Taken back into the sun after a dog might have flushed it. It returned soon after to where it was feeding

On its way back to the long grass

White-tailed Eagle which flew directly over the Gullery Hide at Kinnordy, apparently heading towards Glamis

An adult with a red wing tag, probably the same bird I photographed earlier in the year elsewhere

There were around 20 Crossbills near the start of the track at Montreathmont on Tuesday morning at 0800 and the very low dawn sunlight made everything orange

One of the four Waxwings which are/were at the Morrisons roundabout in Arbroath on Sunday to Tuesday

One of a flock of at least 100 Fieldfares and Redwings at Balgavies, feeding on Hawthorns near the hide

Overlooked and disregarded but never-the-less you can't ignore Greylags whose numbers only ever seem to increase, so they've obviously found or adapted well to the "current" climate and environment

What to do when there's nothing happening at the Swamp Hide at Kinnordy, try and get a bit arty with swan photos!

This Cormorant flew over my head as I walked along to see the Hoopoe, and of course I automatically fired off a few shots. Why do we use the word shots, we sound like wildfowlers or grouse botherers. The difference being photographers can "shoot" birds again and again and they'll still be there for everyone else to see, and shoot!

The long shadows have returned, this photo was taken at 1356 hrs of part of Culhawk Hill at Kinnordy