Sunday morning - a bit dull and windy. Not ideal conditions for looking for adder and slowworms but surely worth a go anyway particularly as we were meeting with folk who know what signs to look for - Friends of Angus Herpetofauna arranged a walk to picturesque Loch Lee along Glen Esk & embarrassed to say I've never been there before.

We left in good time and met at the car park at Invermark & the drive there was a pleasant one even allowing for the dark clouds that seemed to follow.

The car park had chaffinch hopping on the car wing mirror demanding to be fed:

Chaffinch on wing mirror - my camera in the mirror

Just outside the car by the river was a cracking male redstart. The bird highlights were male ring ouzel, mistle thrush aplenty, treecreeper, a small party of long tailed tit, a few common sandpiper including two in the field by the car park. Northern wheatear, great spotted woodpecker (including two on a small post by the road en route to Invermark), juvenile song thrush being fed by parents, tons of willow warbler and meadow pipit.

Probably due to the wind chill (well to be honest it was truly bitter and the wind was blowing the spray off the loch regularly) we didn't manage to see any adder or slowworm but will try another day now we have more of an idea what to look out for. There was a single newt (common I think) and a single common toad pictured below.

Common Toad

  Invermark castle is an impressive ruin but with the wind as it was we thought there was a danger of it toppling over:

Invermark Castle