Loch Ken is much closer and there was still the prospect of scarcities such as Greenland White Front, Willow Tit etc. I left just before 7:30 am on another dull & dreary day weatherwise.
I stopped briefly at Auchenreoch Loch just West of Dumfries, but other than c200 Goosander and a single Pink Footed Goose in flight there appeared to be very little about. On checking the map I noticed that Carlingwark Loch was close by at Castle Douglas and seemed to remember Smew being reported from there but I could not honestly remember if it was recently or not. Anyway, I was soon there and sure enough a female Smew was loafing some way out:
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| Redhead Smew |
Other than the Smew, there were a few Goldeneyes and Tufted Ducks and a single Oystercatcher. One of the local Mute Swans accompanied me almost continuously in the hope of being fed. Given my meagre rations he was out of luck.
Next stop was Loch Ken and en route 2 Red Kites were perched in road side trees and a couple of flocks of Grey Lag Geese were present in road side fields. I scanned the fields adjacient to the car park and quickly picked up some Greenland Whitefronts (19 in total). There were a good number of House Sparrows and Chaffinches around the cottage close to the road and I remember from my last visit a couple of years ago seeing Brambling here, but the best I could come up with today was Reed Bunting.
I headed on down the track towards the Reserve noting both Fieldfare & Redwing in adjacient fields. About 1/4 of a mile along there is an elevated Goose lookout point that gives a good view of surrounding fields and from there I saw a further 15 White Fronts. Two canoeists soon appeared and all the Geese flew off.
When I arrived at he car park I was aware of a couple in a Vauxhall Astra. They were obviously bird watchers but there was something about them that suggested that they wanted little to do with me, I just got a feeling about them ! I first met them at the lookout and the man kind of acknowledged my presence but the women & the son just ignored me. They came into the hide later on and completely ignored me. Most birders I meet are very pleasant but there are some that really get my goat. They obviously did me no harm but they just annoyed me and I felt like letting their bloody tyres down. Fortunately I thought better of that !
The new hide is situated in part of the woodland and overlooks a small part of what I presume is still Loch Ken. There was absolutely nothing on the loch but the feeders entice various tits and finches. I heard Willow Tit twice but could not get on to it. Nuthatch was seen several times and otherwise were very vocal. Great Spotted Woodpecker was also frequently on the feeders. All the birds scattered when Red Squirrel appeared. Several of these mammals showed extremely well on and off. A Jay was typically not seen but nevertheless could be heard screeching.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker - Female on the feeder |
I left the hide and spent a good 30 minutes or so looking for Willow Tit without success. I clearly heard it on at least one occasion but could not pick it up.
The walk back to the car produced a fine male Hen Harrier quartering the fields. A Red Kite was in the sky close to the A75 on the way home.
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