Ready to land

Flocking to Threave

In Dumfries & Galloway, Threave Nature Reserve sees its winter visitors arrive from late September or early October, as their breeding and feeding grounds further north begin to freeze over. Migrants come from Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and even Siberia, joining the small year-round local populations of teal, wigeon and greylag geese.

The sights and sounds of this winter influx can be spectacular. The Trust’s Head Ranger for Threave, David Thompson, says there may be anything from 100 to 2,000 pink-footed geese at the nature reserve on any particular day in winter, along with 300–600 greylag geese. David, who still has his RSPB Young Ornithologist’s card from 1978, says one of his favourite winter moments is ‘standing at the Dee View wildlife hide at Threave, and seeing up to 70 or so whooper swans flying over the River Dee right in front of you. It’s an amazing sight; I absolutely love it.’

Another Threave highlight for David – and for Trust volunteer and experienced birdwatcher David Henshilwood – is the arrival of Greenland white-fronted geese, a priority species in our Plan for Nature. Numbers slowly rise from 10–20 in October to as many as 140 in January and February – an impressive figure when the global population is only around 20,000. You will likely spot them from the Upper Marsh and Stepping Stone wildlife hides.

Other good places to spot winter birds at Threave are the Black Park Marsh hide (David Henshilwood’s favourite), the viewing point on Little Wood Hill, and the new viewpoint on Port Hill, which opened this summer.

Meanwhile at Fyvie

The loch at Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire is an avian winter wonderland, where greylag geese, tufted ducks and goldeneyes join the resident swans, mallards, moorhens and little grebes.

The goldeneyes are a firm favourite with Lynne McKenzie, a ranger with the North East Ranger Service. Lynne says: ‘They’re just a stunning bird. Unlike mallards, which interact with humans, they like their space and quiet, so you probably won’t get that close to them. But that’s part of the beauty of it. When you see a goldeneye at Fyvie Loch, they are behaving naturally and it is great to observe.’

The best way to spot winter arrivals at Fyvie is to do the 1.5 mile walk around the loch, or use the wildlife hide. Lynne explains: ‘It’s a nice sheltered location where you can watch the birds without disturbing them. The birdlife is very active there because it’s at the widest point of the loch. It’s quieter for birds and has a variety of habitats.’

Neighbouring the basin

Another Trust property with a wealth of winter birdlife on the doorstep is House of Dun, near Montrose. The elegant William Adam country house overlooks the Montrose Basin, home to more than 100,000 migratory birds from October to February, including tens of thousands of pink-footed geese, which stop off en route from Greenland and Iceland.

Autumn visitors to the house can often spot long skeins of geese flying to and from the basin. Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) hides are located around the area, and two additional SWT hides can also be accessed on the west end of the basin – if you’re heading from the Trust’s mill car park, just follow the waymarked route. Along the way, listen out for the haunting call of curlews on the basin.

What brings these birds?

Scotland’s wetlands and estuaries are on a ‘migration superhighway’ from the Arctic, called the Northwest European Flyway. Migrating birds stop here to rest, refuel or wait for spring. Our charity’s work to conserve peaceful, food-rich habitats – even creating new wetlands, as at Threave – ensures the birds can find the refuge they need. David Thompson says that lack of disturbance is crucial, since birds need to conserve energy over the winter: any disturbance that causes them to fly up prevents them from feeding, when short days and frozen ground may already reduce food intake.

Trust rangers and volunteers work assiduously to minimise disturbance – from signage asking people to avoid certain areas at Threave to asking dog owners at Fyvie not to let their pets swim in the loch.

Tips for winter birdwatching

Even at Trust places where hundreds or thousands of birds are known to spend the winter, there’s no guarantee that you’ll spot them – but there are plenty of ways to improve your chances (and enjoy the experience more).

For David Thompson, early morning is the best time for birdwatching at Threave, as geese and swans will leave their roosts to forage. Dusk is also a good time to spot them returning to their roosts, although fading light may reduce visibility.

Try to listen as well as watch. You may hear an amazing winter soundtrack that could include the whistling of wigeon and teal, the ‘bugling call of whooper swans coming to roost on the flooded marsh’ (to quote David Henshilwood), or what Lynne McKenzie describes as the ‘demonic cackle and scream’ of a little grebe.

Remember to be well prepared – not just taking binoculars, but also multiple layers. Even if you’re used to being out and about in winter, sitting still and quiet in a wetlands hide can be a chilly experience. As the hours pass, it’s important to remain open-minded. You won’t necessarily spot a Greenland white-fronted goose at Threave, a curlew at House of Dun or a goldeneye at Fyvie, but you could see something else wonderful. At Threave in autumn or winter, this could include peregrine falcons, hen harriers, buzzards, red kites, kingfishers, cormorants, herons, water rails or little egrets.

Whether you’re an experienced birdwatcher who knows your goldeneye from your tufted duck, or are a novice when it comes to Scotland’s winter visitors, the Trust’s wildfowl havens are a wonderful winter wellbeing tonic. You’ll see birds that are beautiful, mysterious, awe-inspiring, comical, in some cases prehistoric-looking, and certainly life-affirming.

As Lynne McKenzie enthuses: ‘When you see thousands of geese fly over you, it is quite, quite spectacular – the noise, the movement and the way they fill the sky. Nowadays it’s one of the last few ways you can experience that abundance of wildlife, and that for me is one reason why it’s so special.’

For Trust volunteer David Henshilwood, too, there’s a powerful draw from watching the birds at Threave: ‘I’ve been a lifelong birdwatcher; it got me into conservation in the first place and has sustained my interest ever since. And that’s partly why I volunteer at Threave – after all, what’s not to like about seeing ospreys in summer and wildfowl in winter, all in a beautiful landscape and surroundings?’

Find out more about the birds to look for at our places this winter