Polish Swan (Mute variant) and 5 Gull species

   
Another afternoon at Murton trying to find and photograph the elusive Water Pipit. I did find and film a Pipit but I'm not convinced it was the original bird I saw, it looked too small and not brown enough to convince me. Granted it was in much better light with a different background hue so it's still possible, but I'll settle for the better sighting I previously saw last Thursday and briefly on Monday.
Also below, photos and video from Forfar Loch.

Polish Swan (Mute variant)      Mallard "tough love"      Shovelers courtship!      Shoveler drake      

2 Snipe in the open      5 Gull species, Forfar Loch      Magpies eating a trout      Roe Deer, young buck

"Polish Swan" at Murton, a Mute Swan with a lack of black pigment giving it pink legs. It seems that in the past when we ate Swans they were imported from Europe and some were found to have a chromosome error or mutation. Cygnets are born white instead of the pale grey and remain white as they age

It was with it's mate without the pigment issue, perhaps it's always been there and nobody noticed

Not the best photo but taken over the length of the pool from the Stewart Hide at Murton, but it does show that there are two Green Sandpipers

Cormorants and five species of Gulls were all on the sailing club spit at Forfar Loch on Tuesday. Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls in this photo, Great Black-backed, Common and Black-headed Gulls in the video above

Great Black-backed Gulls

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Common Gull adult with Black-headed Gulls

Common Gull immature

One of the fish-eating Magpies