Flying into February

03/02/2019

Last month I renewed my efforts to reach 400 birds before I get to forty. Starting the year on 262 and ticking off ring-billed gull, common crane and taiga bean goose in January. Of course, with the annual flock of bean geese still lurking around Slamannan, Tom decided that he had to tick them too (as if he needed to get further ahead of me...). After a flurry of messages, a whistle-stop tour of Scottish sites was planned, starting with Strathclyde for Iceland gull (for me) and ring-billed gull (for Jack and Tom), then up to Slamannan for the geese. By 8pm on Saturday, Tom was pulling into the drive and we were making plans for the next day's birding.

Of course, it snowed. The 80-minute drive from Dumfries to Motherwell was a scenic/hair raising trip through snow-covered hills and icy roads. When we arrive at Strathclyde it was to 50p sized flakes of snow and, typically, no birds. I mean, there were birds... just not the ones we were after. We picked our way diligently through the flocks flying or loafing on the ice-bound rowing lake, all the while our fingers cramping with the cold, but with no success. It was with a gloomy feeling that we got back into the car 45 minutes later and headed north.

When we arrived we seemed to be out of luck again. No sign of the birds in the fields between Slamannan and Fannyside, despite bumping Tom's poor car along every minor road open to traffic, the wheels skidding on the thicker lying snow. Almost conceding, we tried one last road, eventually giving up and swinging back the way we came. As we drove back in the opposite direction, Tom slowed to take in a couple of whoopers that Jack had spotted in a distant field, then - behind them - two lone geese that had been separated from the rest of the flock. Success! A quick photo later, we were off on our way. 

From just south of Sterling we set our sights on the lesser scaup that had been seen at Stranraer, stopping on the way for the chough at Turnberry (a super little bird which Jack picked out as it foraged on the beach). We arrived at Loch Ryan with the tide low, minimal daylight and a bitter wind. A large flock of scaup sat out on the water, but too far away to pick out their lesser counterpart. Luckily, two red-necked grebes sat in clear view and a mix of waders covered the mud. However, even these weren't enough to distract us from the chill, and after 15 minutes we decided that it was time to head home for a well-earned rest and a whisky. 

14/02/2109

There was only one bird that I'd dipped in January, green-winged teal. I'd darted out of work to see a one at Caerlaverock, but with limited light (and warmth), I hadn't managed to connect with it. On Valentine's Day, Jack and I decided to make another attempt to see the bird. After a late breakfast of bacon pancakes, we made it to the WWT reserve at 10:30, to be told that the bird had again been seen on Folly Pond. 

 Only 7 years and 135 birds to go... 

Things are warming up around the house as well, all the birds are singing and there are new visitors to the feeders. The starlings have found the fat balls, smart with their yellowing bills, and a reed bunting has taken up residence in the scrub. At the camera trap, the otters continue to mark their territories, and my thoughts turn to the badger cubs soon to be born and the need to find the sweet-spot to places the camera to be ready for their first appearances above ground in a few month's time.