TAYSIDE
TOADSTOOLS & BIRDS
My voice / Becomes the wind / Mushroom-hunting . . . . . . . . . 19th century haiku by Japanese poet MASAOKA SHIKI [1867-1902]
THE LURGIES IS AN INLET FED BY A RIVER AND HAS MUDBANKS BORDERED BY TREE/SHRUB PATH AND A STREAM EDGED BY REEDS THROUGH PASTURE
A GOOD VARIETY OF BIRDS HAVE BEEN SPOTTED HERE CONSIDERING IT'S A RELATIVELY SMALL AREA AND IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE WITH CAR PARK BESIDE IT
IF ONLY ONE PLACE CAN BE VISITED WHILE PASSING THIS AREA THEN LURGIES IS THE SITE TO HEAD FOR.
BIRDS FOUND AT THE INLET ARE ON THIS PAGE AND ALSO [LURGIES] AND [LURGIES MUDBANK] PAGE
FIELDFARE [Turdus pilarus]
Left - Caught in lowering sun behind a dark sky on November 20, 2022. Right - In a field saw 100+ birds on December 7, 2020. Never seen in such numbers before.
YELLOWHAMMER [Emberiza citrinella]
Male on October 13, 2022
CHIFFCHAFF [Phylloscopus collybita]
May 24, 2023
JACKDAW [Corvus monedula]
Among seaweed on March 4, 2021
STARLING [Sturnus vulgaris]
Left, looking dazzling in winter plumage on November 8, 2021. Centre : May 24, 2023
ROOK [Corvus frugilegus]
September 28, 2020
ROBIN [Erithacus rubecula]
Left, adult on December 6, 2020. Juvenile [centre] on June 12, 2022, and adult [right] on September 28, 2021. Juvenile plumage is so different from adult
MOORHEN [Gallinula chloropus]
Male [right] and female at field stream on October 2021, and chick at Forfar Loch, July 16, 2026
GREENFINCH [Carduelis chloris]
November 8, 2021
LINNET [Linaria cannabina / moved from Carduelis genus in 2012]
Left are dull coloured females on August 23, 2023, and May 13, 2026. Right with reddish tinged chests are males on June 9, 2025, and August 11, 2021
CHAFFINCH
[Fringilla coelebs]
Males -
Left in 2022.
Right on June 12, 2024
CHAFFINCH [Fringilla coelebs]
Left is a female on May 11, 2023. Centre is female among blooming gorse bushes on April 30, 2026. Right is a group of mainly males ground-feeding on October 18, 2025