Christine's walking & birds blog

After several days of rain and high winds, calm brightish weather called us out for a walk at Loch Glascarnoch. As we drove along the loch, a grouse was spotted flying high over us towards the Fannichs; I like to think it was a black grouse, but can't be sure. It was the most interesting bird I've seen crossing the sky for some time!

We saw our first fieldfare of the autumn (although I got mixed up and called them "farefields") - possibly thirty birds. Here, three of them share the fence with a meadow pipit and a couple of stonechats.

It was a relief to see stonechats here again, as we've missed them recently at this usually reliable site. There were a few whooper swans dotted about the bare shores of the loch, one just below us seeming to guard a second swan which had its head submerged, feeding. The mallard is one of about eight mooching about nearby.

On the road side of the loch, by the intake tower, two more stonechats and a reed bunting were foraging.

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a reed bunting since the spring. On the drive home we pulled in at the northern end of the loch, where there were nine Canada geese.

It had been a good walk full of the chacking calls of fieldfare, but as we drove home the sky darkened and a few drops of rain began to fall. We'd been lucky.