I was stalked by a Corbie

   
I had some time to while away today in the Carnoustie area so had a visit to Monikie where the female Scaup was on the North Pond. It then rained so I moved to Balmossie but too late. I tried Keptie Pond earlier in the day than usual but nought was happening. The last stop at Victoria Park was unimpressive but I got a few photos of one of my favourites, but is that the Crow or the Stonechat?

Carrion Crow at Victoria Park, Arbroath

It has something's small thigh bone

It's pecking out the bone marrow

Stonechat in late sunshine at Victoria Park

Grey Heron on the failed springtime nest at Keptie Pond

Waiting for Olive who was at the barbers, I ventured to Balmossie, but too late to see much at near high tide

Just a few Turnstones packed tightly together

Rainbow at Monikie with a faint second one to its right

Hue and Cry - Driven Grouse Shooting

Surely the first of many Scots who will now speak out about the many aspects of shooting and land use in Scotland. An article written in The National yesterday by Pat Kane. 

Pat Kane - A Hue and Cry against driven grouse shooting  

Hue and Cry - Labour of Love

Female Sparrowhawk and Great Egret

   
Photos from the Wigeon Hide at Montrose Basin. The good (reasonable) the bad (yep) and the ugly (the Fieldfare photo). 

Just as I got near the hide a Peregrine flushed everything and not long after a female Sparrowhawk took a Redshank. The Sparrowhawk came along the ditch, over the bank and went fast and low over the saltmarsh, surprising the Redshanks below the marsh edge. It returned to tree at the hide then flew along to its plucking post, the rest is in the video.

All photos and video from my P1000, the only solution I have for photography at these distances, and it serves as a makeshift scope that takes photos and video. The problem is at extreme zoom, the slightest twitch or movement at my end causes a big movement or shake. I can only stop breathing so long, and sometimes I can see my heartbeat affecting the video! (I'm big hearted!)

These below are UHD at 30fps, so may not play immediately on a phone, but broadband should be fine.

Great Egret with flounder     Sparrowhawk eating a Redshank     Great Black-backed Gull    

Sparrowhawk female, Wigeon Hide

Great White Egret

Five photos spliced in Microsoft ICE

Golden Plovers and a Golden Sunrise

   
I don't see many Golden Plovers these days, they seem to be in deep decline, or at least in Angus in autumn. Twice this week I saw small flocks of 88 and 45 on the rocks in front of South Street, Arbroath, some photos below and one video I really like!

Golden Plovers     Golden Plover close-up     Red-throated Diver     Grey Seal slowmo

Golden Plover, unfortunately they were flying in late in the afternoon, normal behaviour after feeding inland during the day

Some of the Pink-footed Geese flying of the Basin at Tayock at sunrise one morning this week

I've clipped the top of the steeple, the consequence of the lens with a teleconverter

The Great White Egret was very far up the Basin when I saw it from Sleepyhillock. By the time I was able to get past some tree surgeons taking down a large tree in the cemetery it had gone

An unusually confiding Heron at Keptie Pond, walkers passing were getting photos on their phones, I couldn't get back far enough with a prime lens

Apparently some at Keptie think this is a Scaup, perhaps the tuft is a giveaway that it's a Tufted Duck with a white forehead as some do

More head shots followed

I'm celebrating being able to ID this moth myself, well actually Google Lens did! Phone photo in a poorly lit kitchen

Ring-necked Duck and breeding Carp

   
Ring-necked Duck at Balgavies and evidence provided by Goosanders at Keptie Pond, of the Carp breeding successfully. I will most likely go back to Balgavies when sun is predicted and I should really do the same at Keptie instead of late in the afternoon. Some video from a dull day of distant birds in these links.

Ring-necked Duck (drake)       Ring-necked duck diving       Redwing       Fieldfare 

Ring-necked Duck (drake) at Balgavies with a handy Tufted drake for comparison. Seen from the hide area where sometimes it's lost to view behind the reeds. Grey flanks with a white flash at the front, white where the bill meets the face and the rear crown is prominent

Not very close and not much light either

I was sent a photo at the weekend of a Goosander at Keptie Pond with a Carp in its bill which looked far to too big to swallow. I went and had a look late today and 3 Goosander were squabbling over an even bigger Carp which they eventually lost or abandoned. This is the first evidence I've seen of the released Carp breeding successfully, and it must have been a few years ago given the size of the young ones

Goosander male

Goosander male

Goosander female

Goosander female

Coots, they have character, or is it just aggression

The Pintail/Mallard hybrid couple, there's a second duck paired with a Mallard and the third looks to have disappeared

Pintail/Mallard hybrid drake. A true drake would have a completely white breast and belly, the legs would be dark grey and it wouldn't have an irridesant patch behind the eye. This bird shows a patch of purple to green depending on the light shining on it

The Pintail/Mallard hybrid duck (drake behind)

Winter Moth and lost photos

   
After finding this moth on my back door and taking some photos, I found the other photos lost in my camera. Most are from August when it was summer, warm and unrestricted.

Mottled Umber Moth, possible to see into December. Alive on my back door

The same moth, and was apparently dead, but made a recovery in the heat in my kitchen

I might have posted this one before, a Double-striped Pug Moth

Mottled Beauty Moth

Marmalade Fly

Another Marmalade Fly

Honest, the last Marmalade Fly, I've formatted all of my SD cards

Hooded Merganser - but not for me

   
I missed the short visit a Hooded Merganser made at Forfar Loch on Friday, but I'm hoping it's just hiding around the loch or perhaps another nearby. A search on Monday seems a likely trip.

Here's the only two recent photos that didn't go straight in the recycle bin and some recent videos from my Webs. A sign there wasn't much light or many birds. Click on the light blue links for video.

Great White Egret    Mediterranean Gull     Bar-tailed Godwits     Purple Sandpiper     Whooper Swans

The female Scaup is still at Monikie but further out on the Island Pond

I couldn't find the Green-winged Teal but it's possible it's still there in the reeds or off feeding somewhere. The time I did see it, it flew into Denfind with a small group of Teal