Iceland Gull (adult) Arbroath

At last, and Iceland Gull at Victoria Park, and even better an adult for a change. I'd went for a look in late afternoon and almost as soon as I arrived one flew directly over my head. You may have guessed, I didn't have a camera with me at that point, only my scope, so I didn't get a classic flight photo. To make it worse, it disappeared and it took another 15 minutes to re-locate it nearer the Steeple Rock at Whiting Ness. Next it flew out to sea and out of sight but I found it again later by the old sewage pipe with the gull flock. The gulls bathe there in the fresh water of the small burn. How long will this one stay around?


Iceland Gull adult, Victoria Park, Arbroath, click here for 32 second video

Iceland Gull adult, more zoom, 115 seconds, click here

Lesser Redpoll, Montreathmont Forest, click here for video  edited from UHD version

Iceland Gull (adult), easy to find and pick out when I knew it was around somewhere, and conveniently sitting on its own. Look up the ID tips on this species, I use the books often and it's very useful when I come across something unusual. In this case, I've been looking for an Iceland or Glaucous Gull at Victoria Park all year!

With the longer optical zoom on the Canon SX60, and the camera resting on the concrete sea wall. Not often I post a shot from the SX60

Same pose as the Herring Gull makes for a good comparison

Note the more rounded head, smaller less colourful beak and no black wing tips. Other photos show a deeper red in the legs than this one. Even Olive (marginally) thinks it's better looking than a Herring Gull and she doesn't like gulls. More Gull love I say!

Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll and friends

Two from the Lurgies on different days recently, then a selection from Montreathmont Forest taken while on my hide rota.

Birds seen, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Wren, Yellowhammer, Song Thrush and Red Squirrels.

Male Bullfinch, one of two at the Lurgies car park, late afternoon Monday

Lesser Redpoll, Montreathmont Forest

Lesser Redpoll, Montreathmont Forest, stunning colours

Lesser Redpoll, Montreathmont Forest, eight birds at feeders

Lesser Redpoll, Montreathmont Forest

Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel eating some sultanas

Male Siskin

Female Siskin

Treecreeper at the Lurgies

Wren at Montreathmont on Monday

Tuesday's Wren in early morning before any sunlight gets to the hide

Yellowhammer male at Montreathmont

Male Chaffinch with what appears to be a leather-jacket, or similar

Coal Tit

Blackbird male

"Nobody's Child", ( Jack and Tom, 1966) a Kinnordy orphan

Still suffering from an improving scratched eye, I ventured out to Backwater Dam, Lintrathen, Kinnordy and Murton where nothing unusual was seen, other than the Green Sandpiper at Murton which was on the car park pond. At Kinnordy, a Whooper family of two adults and two cygnets obliged and came very close to the Gullery Hide, until someone banged a window. With the family was what appeared to be an orphan cygnet, it followed them around but the adult constantly pushed it away. The feeders at Kinnordy were attracting a mixture of birds, but I think there would be more if the Pheasants under the feeders didn't hassle the wee fellas.

Nobody's Child, they don't make them like that anymore, click here!  They stayed with my boyhood friend when playing at the Webster Theatre in the 60's, when I was a mere tiddler!


Whooper Swans video     Whooper cygnet video     Raven video (expelling a pellet?)     Green Sandpiper video

Adult Whooper Swan, Kinnordy

"Orphan" Whooper cygnet, Kinnordy

Maw, Paw and the bairns

Brambling, at the feeders but very wary. Flew off each time someone walked past behind me

Tree Sparrow

Dunnock

Robin

Chaffinch

Lapwings, probably between 200-300 in and around the loch

Teal at Murton

Backwater Dam, from the dam wall at the east end