Scarcities in Scotland

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Scarcities in Scotland


We arrived at Slamannan at around 10:00am in hopes of seeing the wintering flock of Taiga Bean Geese. As soon as we arrived, while driving, we noticed a flock of around 40 Taiga Bean Geese in a field north of Shortrig Farm. They were quite distant, so I patiently waited for them to come out into view! After a bit of time I managed to get some digiscoped images of them and with loads of light left, set off to Broadwood Loch.


We arrived at Broadwood Loch at around 11:00am in hopes of seeing my first drake Smew. Immediately, we noticed a lot of common waterfowl, like Canada Geese, Mute Swan and Coot, but there were also lots of Tufted Duck, Goldeneye & Goosander as well as some distant Wigeon. After a bit of scanning, we spotted the drake Smew far out. We got some images of it and then left, on a high, to Newshot Island in hopes of seeing another scarce bird.


We arrived at Newshot NR at around 12:00pm in hopes of seeing an American Wigeon. We walked along the river and met a group of birders looking for a Little Gull who showed us where to view the American Wigeon. Once we got to the area to view the American Wigeon, we met another birder who let me look through the scope pointed at the American Wigeon, which was in amongst a massive flock of  Lapwing & Wigeon. He also let me get some digiscoped images from his scope. American Wigeons are one of my favourite ducks, so I'm glad I managed to see it. I then found it on my scope and enjoyed the flashing green eye stripe.


We arrived at Strathclyde Loch at around 1:30pm looking for the showy Ring-billed Gull and the Iceland Gull. When we arrived, the car park was shut, so we parked along the side of the road, and then walked round the back of the building. We then met another birder who kindly put the Iceland Gull in my scope, and said that he had not seen the Ring-billed Gull. This was the first time I've had good views of an Iceland Gull so I was ecstatic to get prolonged views of it. After getting a digiscoped image of it, we set off with limited light left to our final destination.


 With the light fading, we raced to our final stop, Mill Road in Stirling. When we arrived, we immediately noticed our target birds. A flock of around 37 Waxwing were feeding in a rowan tree, and roosting in some another tree in someone's backyard. We were hoping to see some as their had been a huge influx of them this winter. We got some pictures and enjoyed them as they flew right above our head. A perfect end to a brilliant day!

Overall, we managed 40 species for my first day birding in 2024, along with one lifer (Taiga Bean Geese).


Location: W4WQ+9W Falkirk, UK

Comments

  1. Anonymous5 January 2024 at 07:17

    Great work being done by you.Ring billed gulls are common in Canada.

    ReplyDelete

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