Journey to the centre of the mud
Blogs
The large estuary at Montrose Basin is an extremely dangerous habitat with a mosaic of mud, sand banks, burns, quicksand, mussel beds, shingle banks and the River South Esk running …
Species profile – Common seal (Phoca vitulina)
Blogs
At low tide the mudflats of Montrose Basin are a safe haven for between 10-20 seals each day. The seals, which are almost always common seals, also known as harbour …
Speices profile – Eider (Somateria mollissima)
Blogs
Visit Montrose Basin at any time of year and there is one bird you’re guaranteed of seeing, the wonderfully charming eider duck. Although Britain’s second most common duck and a familiar …
Sightings summary – May 2011
Blogs
The month started very early with our Dawn Chorus taking place at 5.30am on Sunday 1st May and those of us to managed to scrape ourselves out of bed were …
Coastal crawl walk
Blogs
Next week the 9th annual Angus Glens Walking Festival, organised by Angus Council, will take place. The festival will see events held across this wonderful county, which has been described as …
Controversial crop or helpful habitat?
Blogs
The green fields around the Basin are currently divided by great swathes of bright yellow, as the oilseed rape comes into full bloom. The name is derived from rapum which …
WeBS – May 2011
Blogs
Yesterday afternoon we carried out the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) for May, the monthly stock-take of all the waterbirds on the Reserve. Unlike last month when the sun was splitting …
Species profile – Brown hare (Lepus europaeus)
Blogs
Montrose Basin is truly an extra special place for wildlife. You only have to look at the designations the site has to realise this. It is a Site of Special …
Birds “re-tern” to Montrose
Blogs
Fantastic news, the colony of common terns has returned to our raft! After a journey of tens of thousands of miles, the first common terns were seen back on the …
Sightings summary – April 2011
Blogs
April is always an exciting time in the birdwatching calendar at Montrose Basin, with the last of the winter migrants heading off, summer migrants arriving back and if we’re lucky, …