The birds are looking good today. Finally the lochan has unfrozen and immediately the ducks have found it. 4 teal, 4 mallard and best of all 6 goldeneye. These super smart ducks are probably passing through on migration. A small number of pairs breed in the Scotland but in winter a large number of birds come over from Scandinavia to enjoy the warmer conditions here ( perhaps they wondered why they bothered this year). On the lochan were 2 females being courted by 4 pristine males. The males were doing their courtship thing where they stretch their head up and tilt their heads forward. While doing this they make a noise like a finger being run down a comb fast, twice, or maybe like a duck with a sore throat on helium gas. Anyway they looked fine even if they sounded odd. Overhead greylag geese
went one way, pink feet went another and 2 whooper swans went a third. And not far from the lochan another visitor made a brief appearance. A jack snipe flipped silently up from close to my feet and weakly flew about 100 yards before dropping to the moss again. These are rarer, smaller relatives to the common snipe that is usually seen in the area. Jack snipe generally use the UK to pass through in autumn heading south and early spring heading north. But some spend the winter here and I often flush a few over the winter on Flanders. It can be hard to tell the difference from a common snipe which is also out on the moss at the same time but once you get your eye in it gets easier. Firstly it doesn't usually make a noise when it is flushed whereas the common snipe squawks. Then it often waits till the last minute before flying up, sometime from virtually under your feet. Finally the common snipe buzzes away in big flashy zig-zags but the jack snipe can barely be bothered to fly 50 yards before dropping down again. If you do get close enough to see them they are the most beautiful of birds having creamy lines down a back with a sheen of the darkest metallic purple. Surely they deserve a better name than jack snipe, at least something as grand as the goldeneye.
The birds are looking good today. Finally the lochan has unfrozen and immediately the ducks have found it. 4 teal, 4 mallard and best of all 6 goldeneye. These super smart ducks are probably passing through on migration. A small number of pairs breed in the Scotland but in winter a large number of birds come over from Scandinavia to enjoy the warmer conditions here ( perhaps they wondered why they bothered this year). On the lochan were 2 females being courted by 4 pristine males. The males were doing their courtship thing where they stretch their head up and tilt their heads forward. While doing this they make a noise like a finger being run down a comb fast, twice, or maybe like a duck with a sore throat on helium gas. Anyway they looked fine even if they sounded odd. Overhead greylag geese 
went one way, pink feet went another and 2 whooper swans went a third. And not far from the lochan another visitor made a brief appearance. A jack snipe flipped silently up from close to my feet and weakly flew about 100 yards before dropping to the moss again. These are rarer, smaller relatives to the common snipe that is usually seen in the area. Jack snipe generally use the UK to pass through in autumn heading south and early spring heading north. But some spend the winter here and I often flush a few over the winter on Flanders. It can be hard to tell the difference from a common snipe which is also out on the moss at the same time but once you get your eye in it gets easier. Firstly it doesn't usually make a noise when it is flushed whereas the common snipe squawks. Then it often waits till the last minute before flying up, sometime from virtually under your feet. Finally the common snipe buzzes away in big flashy zig-zags but the jack snipe can barely be bothered to fly 50 yards before dropping down again. If you do get close enough to see them they are the most beautiful of birds having creamy lines down a back with a sheen of the darkest metallic purple. Surely they deserve a better name than jack snipe, at least something as grand as the goldeneye.
