In living colour

“A true gift from nature” is presented to Keith as a reward for taking the trip to the RSPB reserve at Loch of Kinnordy

This Angus loch was a scene of untarnished serenity; a place that relaxes the depths of the inner soul with its mirror-calm water, regal swans in graceful glides and ducks up-ending and diving by the water margins.

The sun was shining; the air clear and still. A woodpecker drummed from some nearby alder carr and across the water drifted the gentle, winnowing call of a coot. Out on a huge floating mat of vegetation, snipe probed away with their impossibly-long beaks and colourful teal rested, bills tucked under wings.

I can’t think of any other water in Scotland that is as abundant in wildfowl and waders as here at the Loch of Kinnordy near Kirriemuir. This is one of nature’s jewels; an oasis gently cradled in the folds of the surrounding fields and woods.

It is also one of those places that is difficult to know where to look because there is so much bird life around. But out on that floating islet, one bird was really standing out from the crowd. It was a male lapwing – and in the sunshine the iridescence of his plumage shone and shimmered.

Is there any other bird that can match the colour and vibrancy of a lapwing in spring? I don’t think so, for its plumage is a wondrous collage of metallic green, bronze and hints of purple, offset by white underparts and a most magnificent long crest atop the head. It is such a perfect combination; a true gift from nature.

Lapwings are birds with real character, and this one will be going crazy in the coming weeks, engaging in spectacular aerial dives, spirals and wide, looping circles as he seeks to impress nearby females, and all the time calling ‘hoo-oo-ee’ as his excitement mounts.

There was plenty of other life about on the loch. The warm chestnut heads of drake wigeon glowed under the sun, and there were goldeneyes, mallards and tufted ducks. A heron lumbered past on heavy wings before alighting in one of the boggy pools to search for fish.

At the far western end of the loch, a huge gathering of black-headed gulls had congregated, crying excitedly to each other. They had yet to acquire their breeding garb but in the next few weeks their pale heads will turn darkchocolate brown.

These dainty gulls are on the decline, and the RSPB at Kinnordy has installed a specially designed floating raft to try to ensure their successful breeding at the reserve.

I moved to another corner of the loch, and had picked my moment well, for out on the nearby margins floated a pair of whooper swans. They slowly glided back and forth, up-ending and righting again, their bills dripping with pond weed. Soon they will be gone, away to Iceland for the breeding season, their white reflections becoming but a distant memory from this enchanting loch.

The RSPB reserve at Loch of Kinnordy is a great place to see all kinds of wildlife and is a mosaic of open water, reedbed and marsh scrubland habitats. Look out for ospreys in the summer.