We are so lucky to live in a place bursting with precious flora and fauna!
Kirriemuir Wildlife Encyclopaedia
When you are out and about on your wanders, make sure to look out for some of our wonderful local wildlife. Use our encyclopaedia to know what to keep your eyes peeled for, or to find out more about the birds, bugs and animals that you have seen!
Become a Nature Detective!
Each month, we add a new seasonally relevant animal, bird, bug and tree for you to look out for!
But, the big question is, have you seen an animal, bird, bug or tree that you would like to tell us more about?
Well you can! All you have to do is fill out our template here, and email it (along with some photos of your chosen wildlife, if you have any!) to us here.
Your submitted information will be vetted by our volunteer ecologists, then we will add it to our Kirrie Wildlife Encyclopaedia.
Look out for these trees in Kirrie!
Hawthorn
Hawthorn
Common Names: Common hawthorn, hawthorn, May tree, one-seed hawthorn, whitethorn, quickthorn.
Scientific Name: Crataegus monogyna.
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: Native
Height: 15m. Also found in hedgerows in much smaller stature! They make beautiful bonsai trees.
Growth Habit: Dense, thorny habit, though they can grow as a small tree with a single stem.
Bark: Brown-grey, knotted and fissured.
Twigs: Slender and brown and covered in thorns.
Leaves: Deeply lobed green leaves (6cm in length). Often, the first leaves to appear in spring, then turn yellow in autumn before falling.
Flowers: The flowering period is in May, for it’s namesake. Hawthorn flowers are hermaphrodite, highly scented, white or occasionally pink with five petals, and grow in flat-topped clusters. Insects love them!
Fruit: Haws (berries). Birds love them!
Identified in winter by: the spines which emerge from the same point as the buds; distinguishing them from blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), which has buds on the spines in winter.
This species is commonly found growing in hedgerows, woodland and scrub. It will grow in most soils, but flowers and fruits best in full sun.
The Hawthorn timber is a creamy-brown colour, finely grained and very hard. It can be used in turnery, engraving, veneers, cabinets, boxes, tool handles and boat parts. It also makes good firewood (burning at high temperatures) and charcoal. It is a great hedging plant and good for wildlife.
The young leaves, flower buds and young flowers are all edible. The haws can be eaten raw, but may cause mild stomach upset. They are used to make jellies, wines and ketchups.
Hawthorn is a pagan symbol of fertility and has ancient associations with May Day.
Hawthorn was never brought into the home. It was believed that bringing hawthorn blossom inside would be followed by illness and death, and in medieval times it was said that hawthorn blossom smelled like the Great Plague. Botanists later learned that the chemical trimethylamine in hawthorn blossom is also one of the first chemicals formed in decaying animal tissue, so it is not surprising that hawthorn flowers are associated with death.
The Hawthorn’s blossoming marks the point at which spring turns into summer, and the old saying ‘Cast ne’er a clout ere May is out’ almost certainly refers to the opening of hawthorn flowers rather than the end of the month.
For more information, visit the Woodland Trust.
Ash
Ash
Common names: Ash, common ash, and European ash.
Scientific name: Fraxinus excelsior
Family: Oleaceae
Origin: Native
Max. Height: 35m
Growth Habit: Tall and graceful, if they are grown together they form a domed canopy.
Bark: The bark is pale brown to grey and fissures as the tree ages.
Twigs: Smooth twigs.
Leaves: Pinnately compound (a leaf which is divided into smaller leaflets, those leaflets arranged on each side of the leaf’s central stalk), comprising of 3–6 opposite pairs of light green, oval leaflets with tips up to 40cm long with an additional singular ‘terminal’ leaflet at the end. The leaves move in the direction of sunlight, and sometimes the whole crown of the tree may lean in the direction of the sun. The leaves fall when they are still green.
Flowers: Ash is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers typically grow on different trees, although a single tree can also have male and female flowers on different branches. Both male and female flowers are purple and appear before the leaves in spring, growing in spiked clusters at the tips of twigs.
Fruit: Once the female flowers have been pollinated by wind, they develop into winged fruits, or ‘keys’, in late summer and autumn.
Identified in winter by: Smooth twigs that have distinctive black, velvety leaf buds arranged opposite each other.
Ash thrives best in fertile, deep and well-drained soil in cool atmospheres. It is native to Europe, Asia Minor and Africa and is also found from the Arctic Circle to Turkey. It is the third most common tree in Britain.
Ash timber is one of the toughest hardwoods and absorbs shocks without splintering. It is the wood of choice for making tools and sport handles, including hammers, axes, spades, hockey sticks and oars. An attractive wood, it is also prized for furniture.
Ash trees can live to 400 years old, longer if coppiced, the stems traditionally providing wood for firewood and charcoal.
The young, green, immature seeds of ash are edible and have also been used in herbal medicine.
The ash tree was thought to have medicinal and mystical properties and the wood was burned to ward off evil spirits. In Norse mythology, ash was the ‘Tree of Life’ and the first man on Earth was said to have come from an ash tree. Even today it is sometimes known as the ‘Venus of the Woods’. In Britain, druids regarded the ash as sacred and their wands were often made of ash because of its straight grain.
Ash trees make the perfect habitat for a number of different species of wildlife. The airy canopy and early leaf fall allow sunlight to reach the woodland floor, providing optimum conditions for wild flowers such as dog violet, wild garlic and dog’s mercury. In turn, these support a range of insects such as the rare and threatened high brown fritillary butterfly.
Bullfinches eat the seeds and woodpeckers, owls, redstarts and nuthatches use the trees for nesting. Because the trees are so long lived, they support deadwood specialists such as the lesser stag beetle. Ash is regularly accompanied by a hazel understorey, providing the ideal conditions for dormice.
Ash bark is often covered with lichens and mosses. The leaves are an important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of moth, including the coronet, brick, centre-barred sallow and privet hawk-moth.
The main threat to ash trees is ash dieback, also known as “Chalara dieback”. This is a disease caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (previously Chalara fraxinea).
Ash dieback causes trees to lose their leaves and the crown to die back, and usually results in their death. It is thought that tens of thousands of ash trees will die, potentially changing the UK landscape forever.
Information adapted from the Woodland Trust website.
Elder
Elder
Common names: Elder
Scientific name: Sambucus nigra
Family: Adoxaceae
Origin: Native
Check out this short video on how to identify an Elder Tree!
Max Height: 10m
Lifespan: 60 years
Growth habit: Short trunk and few branches
Bark: Grey-brown, corky, furrowed bark.
Leaves: Pinnate, with 5–7 oval and toothed leaflets which an unpleasant smell when touched or bruised. Very distinctive scent.
Flowers: Borne on large, flat umbels, 10–30cm across, the individual flowers are creamy-coloured, highly scented, and have five petals. Flowering period is June to July.
Fruit: After pollination by insects, each flower develops into a small, purple-black, sour berry, which ripens from late-summer to autumn. Elders are hermaphrodite, meaning both the male and female reproductive parts are contained within the same flower.
Identified in winter by: The green, unpleasant-smelling twigs which are hollow or have a white pith inside. Buds have a ragged appearance, often with leaves showing through the bud scales.
Elder is widespread in many temperate and subtropical regions of the world. It’s widespread across the UK, growing in woodland, scrub, waste land and along hedgerows.
It’s often found near rabbit warrens or badger setts, where the animals distribute the seed via their droppings.
Elder wood is hard and yellow-white. Mature wood is good for whittling and carving, while smaller stems can be hollowed out to make craft items.
Elder foliage was once used to keep flies away and branches were often hung around dairies.
Although the flowers and cooked berries (pulp and skin) are edible, the uncooked berries and other parts of plants from the genus are poisonous.
The flowers are often used to make wine, cordial or tea, or fried to make fritters. The vitamin C-rich berries are often used to make preserves and wine, and can be baked in a pie with blackberries.
Elder is also a great source for a variety of coloured dyes and historically it was used to dye wool for Harris Tweed. Blue and purple dye was obtained from the berries, yellow and green from the leaves, and grey and black dye was made from the bark.
Elder is a popular small tree for gardens, and many cultivated varieties exist with different coloured foliage and flowers.
It was thought that if you burned elder wood, you would see the Devil, but if you planted elder by your house it would keep the Devil away. It is also known as the ‘Judas tree’, as Judas Iscariot is said to have hanged himself from an elder tree.
It is thought the name elder comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘aeld’, meaning fire, because the hollow stems were used as bellows to blow air into the centre of a fire.
The flowers provide nectar for a variety of insects and the berries are eaten by birds and mammals. Small mammals, such as dormice and bank voles, eat both the berries and the flowers.
Many moth caterpillars feed on elder foliage, including the white-spotted pug, swallowtail, dot moth and buff ermine.
Elder may be susceptible to black fly and the sap-sucking red spider mite.
Information has been adapted from the Woodland Trust.
Rowan
Rowan
Common names: Rowan, Mountain Ash,
Scientific name: Sorbus aucuparia
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: Native
Height: Mature trees can grow to 15m in height and can live for up to 200 years. The bark is smooth and silvery grey, and leaf buds are purple and hairy.
Identified in winter by: the young twigs which start hairy and become smooth later. Buds are hairy all over. Terminal buds (on the ends of shoots) are up to 8mm in length and lateral buds (in leaf axils) have 2–5 scales.
Leaves: Pinnate (like a feather), comprising 5–8 pairs of leaflets, plus one ‘terminal’ leaflet at the end. Each leaflet is long, oval and toothed.
Flowers: Rowan is hermaphrodite, meaning each flower contains both male and female reproductive parts. Flowers are borne in dense clusters, each one bearing five creamy-white petals.
Fruits: After successful pollination by insects, the flowers develop into scarlet fruits. The seeds are dispersed by birds.
Could be confused with: Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) or elder (Sambucus nigra); however, the leaflets are serrated and more or less pointed at the end in rowan than both of these.
It is commonly found in the wild, particularly in the highlands of Scotland, but it is also widely planted as a street or garden tree. They suit small gardens, towns and city planting well due to their small and compact growth habit.
Rowan is also known as the mountain ash due to the fact that it grows well at high altitudes and its leaves are similar to those of ash, Fraxinus excelsior. However, the two species are not related.
The wood was used for stirring milk to prevent the milk curdling, and as a pocket charm against rheumatism. It was also used to make divining rods.
Berries can be used to make jams or candied, but must be cooked due to the high concentration of sorbic acid. Parasorbic acid is also present which causes indigestion and could cause kidney damage, but is broken down when heated, so the fruit must be cooked before use.
Rowan was once widely planted by houses as a protection against witches. The colour red was considered to be the best colour for fighting evil, and so the rowan’s bright red berries have been associated with magic and witches. In Ireland, it was planted near houses to protect them against spirits, and in Wales rowan trees were planted in churchyards. Cutting down a rowan was considered taboo in Scotland.
The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of a number of moths, including the larger Welsh wave and autumn green carpet. Caterpillars of the apple fruit moth feed on the berries.
Flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinating insects, while the berries are a rich source of autumn food for birds, especially the blackbird, mistle thrush, redstart, redwing, song thrush, fieldfare and waxwing.
Rowan can be susceptible to fire-blight, European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus and silver leaf disease. It can also suffer from browsing by deer.
Aspen
Aspen
Common names: Aspen, Quaking Aspen, Common Aspen, European Aspen
Scientific name: Populus tremula
Family: Salicaceae
Origin: Native
Height: 20- 25m
Growth Habit: The uppermost branches are sometimes bent over horizontally. Conical and predominantly in “stands” due to its tendency to sucker freely.
Bark: Grey and often pitted with diamond-shaped pores, called lenticels. Mature trees are often covered with lichen giving the trunk a black appearance. Twigs are dark brown, slender and shiny.
Leaves: Round with large, irregular, blunt teeth. The leaf stalks are flattened and flexible near the leaf blade, which is why the leaves flutter so easily. Young leaves are of a coppery colour before becoming green, then turn a vibrant yellow or occasionally red before falling in autumn. Known as quaking aspen, because the leaves flutter and make a very distinctive noise. Look out for leaf stalks (petioles) which are flattened.
Flowers: Aspens are dioecious, meaning that their male and female flowers (catkins) – which appear in March and April – grow on different trees.
Fruit: Once pollinated, female catkins ripen to release tiny fluffy seeds in summer. Aspen can also propagate itself by suckers.
Propagation: Predominantly through clone suckers as seed is notoriously difficult to germinate.
Identified in winter by: its twigs are very knobbly, especially older ones. Buds spiral around and are closely pressed to the twig.
The Aspens favoured habitat is wetland, moorland, heathland, woodland, towns and gardens. It flourishes in open sunlight and moist soil but doesn’t do well in shade. There is a large and healthy population in North-West Scotland.
Aspen wood is white, soft, lightweight and strong and was used for making oars and paddles, surgical splints and wagon bottoms. Its low flammability means it’s a good choice for matches and paper, while the shredded wood is used for packing, stuffing and animal bedding.
In Celtic mythology, the visual effect of an aspen trembling in the wind was said to be the tree communicating between this world and the next.
There are a number of examples of trees on which Judas was said to have hanged himself, beliefs usually connected with some characteristic of the tree itself. Aspen is one example; Russian folklore explained the constant trembling of the leaves by taking it to be the tree of Judas.
The Aspen hoverfly (Hammerschmidtia ferruginea) is a red-listed species which is represented by a UK BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan). This type of hoverfly is defined as a ‘flagship’ species, which means that by conserving them, other species will also benefit. Their breeding habitat is Aspen (Populus tremula) woodland, including birch or pine woods with an aspen component.
Aspen is also a favourite food of the European Beaver! You can see evidence of this at Ruthven.
Threats: Prone to a variety of fungal diseases, including cankers, leaf rusts and poplar scab.
Information adapted from The Woodland Trust.
Look out for these animals in Kirrie!
Red Squirrel
Red Squirrel
Photograph by George Ingram.
Red squirrels live in trees, so are known as an ‘arboreal’ mammal. Red squirrels have red to russet coloured fur sometimes with some grey hairs on their backs, long, fluffy tails and ear tufts which grow longer in the winter.
They are our only native squirrel species. Grey squirrels were brought to the UK in 1876 as an ornamental species for gardens. They have now replaced red squirrels in much of England and Wales and the Scottish central belt. The larger grey squirrels can out-compete red squirrels for food and shelter – grey squirrels can eat unripe acorns, leaving none for the reds, who only eat ripe ones. Red squirrels can catch the deadly virus squirrel pox which grey’s carry but are not affected by. Other problems faced by red squirrels are loss of habitat, road fatalities and predators like goshawks and cats.
Red squirrels and their dreys receive full protection under Schedules 5 and 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Find out more by clicking here.
Hopefully when you are walking around Kirriemuir you will spot one of these lovely animals scampering around in the trees. We all need to look after our red squirrels, in particular keeping a look out for grey squirrels which would cause dire problems for Kirrie’s red squirrels.
For more information about reporting red squirrel sightings or very importantly reporting if you see a grey squirrel please go to Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.
Hedgehog
Hedgehog
Photographs by locals John Orr and Lauren Urquhart.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal mammals. They have rounded bodies covered in short, dark, yellow-tipped spines and have a short tail and long snout. They are good runners and can climb and swim very well.
They live in deciduous woodlands, grasslands, hedgerows and also suburban gardens. When they hibernate, they live in hibernaculum; a nest of grass, moss and leaves. In the summer, they shelter by day in vegetation and may move site every few days.
As hedgehogs are nocturnal, you may only see field signs such as droppings, which are long, black and tacky, and may contain insect remains. You may see signs of foraging in dung (especially cow dung). You may hear their noisy movement and calls at night through the vegetation, and may also spot their movements in dew trails in long grass in the early morning. This will look like an erratic path with grass pushed forwards in the direction of movement. Very sadly, you might spot one as a road casualty.
They mainly eat invertebrates at ground level e.g. earthworms, beetles, caterpillars, spiders and slugs. Occasionally they will eat vertebrates e.g. frogs, lizards, young rodents, nestlings and bird eggs. They will also eat some plants, such as fruits and fungi. They also like to eat meat based dog or cat food left out by humans.
Most mating occurs in the spring just after hibernation. Pregnancies then take place from May to October, but peak in May, June and September. Litter sizes average 3 to 4 with 1 litter per year, sometimes 2. Female hedgehogs stay in the hibernaculum for birth in the summer. Until the 1990s, there was no word or name for baby hedgehogs, but now hoglets or hedgehoglets are used colloquially.
As they hibernate from October/November to March/April, they are vulnerable to predation from badgers, foxes and other carnivores, as well as raptors such as golden eagles and owls. However, remains found in pellets may be due to predators feeding on road kill.
Young hedgehogs from litters born late in the year hibernate as sub-adults and are unlikely to survive if they weigh less than 400 grams. The principal cause of mortality is probably starvation during hibernation, but they are often killed by cars or other vehicles on the road, gardening equipment, chemicals and bonfires.
As the climate changes, it has been noted that they are entering hibernation later, and may often be caught out by a cold snap. Equally, they are emerging from hibernation to find a lack of food supply.
Hedgehog numbers are declining due to a loss of habitat.
Smooth Newt
Smooth Newt
A smooth, or common, newt is an amphibian. It grows to around 11 cm in length and is smooth skinned with deep depressions between the eyes and nostrils.
When not breeding, the upper parts of the body are olive or medium brown, spotted with black. The belly is cream with black spots extending onto its throat with a central orange or reddish stripe.
Breeding males have a long, frilly crest extending from head to the tip of the tail, continuing along the underside of the tail.
They live in ponds during breeding season and in damp places, often under logs and debris in the summer.
You can often see them when pond dipping or hiding under vegetation in damp, shady parts of the garden and wild places.
Smooth newts eat invertebrates either on land or in water. They also prey on frog tadpoles.
Breeding season takes place from February to June. Their spawn is laid as individual eggs, each of which is wrapped carefully in a leaf or pond weed by the female newt. Females produce 200-300 eggs.
They hatch in up to 20 days and are usually found close to the bottom of the pond. They metamorphose when 4cm long and unlike frogs and toads, they develop their front legs before their back legs. Juvenile newts leave the water in later summer after losing their gills.
Smooth newts are protected by law in the UK. It is illegal to sell or trade them in any way.
They are suffering from habitat loss and fragmentation.
Information adapted from Amphibian and Reptile Conservation online.
Bats
Bats
Daubenton’s Bat. Main image showing Pipistrelle Bats by local amateur photographer John Orr.
Bats are true mammals; they give birth to live young, produce milk to feed their young, have hair, and they are warm-blooded (they can self-regulate their body temperature). Bats are unique among mammals in that they can fly and they belong to the scientific order of Chiroptera, meaning “hand wing”.
There are 17 bat species in the UK, 9 of which are found in Scotland. Four species are known to be found in Kirriemuir and the surrounding countryside including: the Soprano Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus), which is the most frequently encountered species in Central Scotland; the Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus); the Daubenton’s Bat (Myotis daubentonii); and the Brown Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auratus), which prefers to roost and feed in dense woodland. The Brown Long-eared Bat is particularly distinctive because of its huge ears!
The different species prefer different habitats, but generally speaking bats can be found roosting in the rooves of modern buildings, in old buildings and barns, and in woodland in hollow trees. Brown Long-Eared bats prefer deciduous woodland. The Daubenton’s Bat tend to be found close to water because they feed on the insects found over it.
In the UK, bats hibernate through winter, generally from late October to mid-March. From late March they become active again and can be seen feeding in the evenings.
Nearby Loch of Lintrathen and Loch of Kinnordy might be good habitat to see the Daubenton’s Bat. In the town and more urban areas, you might be more likely to find the Common and Soprano Pipistrelles. You might spot Brown Long-Eared bats in and around Caddam Wood and The Den.
Bats eat insects, including midges and spiders! They use hedgerows and woodland edges to provide commuting routes to foraging sites where they can catch their insect prey.
In early summer, females gather in maternity roosts to give birth to pups, normally producing a single offspring per year. Their pups are generally born in June/ July and are dependent on their mothers for about six weeks. This is a good time to look for bats as the mothers will be very busy feeding.
All the species are believed to be in decline.
Landscape change, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation through building development, agricultural intensification and land use changes are threatening them. Bats are sensitive to pollution and factors affecting their insect prey, including increasing pesticide use, drainage changes and land management changes.
Their reliance on decaying trees has also made them vulnerable to tree felling and the use of timber treatment chemicals.
Climate change heightens the challenges already faced by bat species, including loss of habitat and reduction in prey availability (insects). It can also affect their yearly hibernation cycles and breeding cycles because they are sensitive to temperature changes.
For their small size, bats are unusually long-lived and can live for 20-30 years! Bats generally return to the same roost sites every year.
Beaver
Beaver
Beavers are large, semi-aquatic rodents. They have a head and body length of 80-120cm with a tail of 25-50cm. They weigh 11-30kg. Males and females are almost identical. Their bodies are streamlined and their robust build allows them to pull heavy loads.
A beavers coat has 12,000-23,000 hairs/cm2, and it functions to keep the animal warm, to help it float in water and to protect it against the teeth and claws of predators. Guard hairs (outer layers) are 5-6cm long and typically reddish brown but can range from yellowish brown nearly black, whilst their underfur is 2-3cm long and dark grey. Beavers molt during the summer.
Beavers have massive skulls adapted for withstanding the forces generated by their powerful chewing muscles. Their 4 chisel-shaped incisors grow continuously. The incisors outer enamel is very thick and coloured orange due to the presence of iron compounds. Their molars have meandering ridges for grinding woody food.
Their eyes, ears and nostrils are arranged so that they can remain above water when the rest of the body is submerged. The nostrils and ears have valves that close underwater while membranes cover the eyes.
Beavers front feet are dexterous, allowing them to grasp and manipulate objects and food as well as dig. Hind feet are larger and have webbing between the toes, allowing them to swim at 5mph.
Beavers are awkward on land but can move quickly when frightened. They can carry objects while walking on their hind legs.
Their distinctive tail consists of a conical, muscular, hairy base and a flat scaly end that makes up 2/3rds of the tail. It has multiple functions; it provides support when upright (when chewing down a branch), acts as a rudder and stores fat. It also has a countercurrent blood vessel system which allows the animal to lose heat in warm temperatures and retain heat in the cold!
Their diet consists of aquatic plants, tree bark and leaves.
Beavers live in freshwater, prefering slower moving streams typically at a gradient of 1 % although they have been known to live in streams with gradients as high as 18%. They prefer wider streams and typically avoid areas of regular flooding, and may abandon a location for years after a significant flood. They also prefer areas with a flatter terrain and diverse vegetation close to the water.
They build dams to give themselves access to deep pools and transform their surroundings by cutting down small trees for food and building supplies. Beaver lodges are often built with a sort of chimney to regulate its temperature.
They live with their family, usually around 5 individuals, which includes adults, kits (young beavers) and yearlings. They sleep during the day, preferring to come out during sunrise and sunset.
Beavers are active all year but are easiest to see in daylight between May and September. You may see them in streams in and around more rural areas of the countryside close to Kirriemuir.
2 to 4 kits are born per year. Youngsters stay with their family for around 2 years before leaving to find their own territories. They live for around 7-8 years.
The ICUN Red List states that beavers are a species of least concern.
They can hold their breath for 15 minutes underwater, but typically remain underwater for no more than 5-6 minutes.
Pine Marten
Pine Marten
The pine marten is a mustelid and is a nocturnal animal. They are mostly chestnut-brown in colour, with a characteristic pale yellow ‘bib’. Each pine marten has a uniquely shaped bib, allowing individuals to be identified by the pattern. They have a long bushy tail.
They are mainly found in Scotland due to habitat loss and persecution in the past. They inhabit woodlands as they climb well and live in tree holes, old squirrel dreys or even old bird nests.
Pine martens are forest predators and their diet is characterised by a wide niche breadth, indicative of an opportunistic and general feeder reflecting local and seasonal food abundance. Small rodents, especially voles, are the most important prey items. However, when numbers of such prey decline, pine martens feed on alternative prey such as birds, frogs, vegetation (especially rowan berries) and carrion.
Due to their ability to climb, pine martens are able to investigate tree hollows for birds and their nests, and the nests of bees and wasps, which contain larvae and honey.
They are very hard to spot, however, they can be enticed to visit a peanut laden bird table. It is easier to find their scats which give an indication of their diet. They leave them on forest trails or on prominent places like boulders to mark their territories. When they are fresh, scats may have a slimy appearance and may contain bones, feathers, seeds, fur, anything the pine marten has eaten. The strangest thing Rhona our fantastic volunteer Encyclopedia author has found was a complete intact frog skin, turned inside out!!!
Forest fragmentation and changes in land use to agriculture, leading to changes in predation pressure can have significant consequences for the dynamics of prey populations and resource availability for the pine marten. Pine martens and their dens are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
During the summer mating season, they make shrill, cat-like calls. The following spring, the female will have a litter of between one and five kits, which are independent by the autumn.
Look out for these birds in Kirrie!
Osprey
Osprey
The osprey is an iconic bird of prey species, which we are lucky to have breeding in the Kirriemuir area.
Osprey migrate thousands of miles every year from Africa to Europe. Our local osprey return to Angus around March and nest in April, raising their chicks here, before returning to Africa for the winter.
The Kinnordy Loch RSPB Nature Reserve and the Loch of Lintrathen reservoir, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and internationally significant wetland habitat, are both great places to see osprey fishing near Kirriemuir.
It’s best not to try to visit nesting osprey between April and August. While they are quite tolerant of regular activity, such as farm vehicles, they are extremely nervous of unusual activity, including walkers, and there is a risk they will desert their nest if disturbed. If you are really keen to see a nest, there are nest viewing sites in Scotland managed by the RSPB where you can go and watch nesting osprey.
Osprey eat fish and thrive in areas with large, clean, unpolluted water sources, such as rivers and lochs. They hunt by flying over the water; looking for medium sized fish close to the surface. They will dive up to 1 meter into the water with their wings half folded to catch the fish with their long talons.
Ospreys nest in large trees and locally seem to prefer Scots Pine with flat tops for their enormous nests, called eyries. Ospreys are monogamous, meaning they are faithful to one partner and the pair will return to the same nest site every year for many years.
The female lays two or three eggs in April and must incubate them with her body warmth for 37 days before they hatch. Once hatched, she guards them carefully until they fledge, while the male is the main provider of food for both the female and young.
Habitat degradation and loss, environmental pollution (including contamination of water sources with pesticides, pharmaceuticals, plastics and mercury), human interference with nests, illegal hunting, entanglement in fishing lines, collision with powerlines are just some of the problems that osprey face.
Climate change is already altering the timing of osprey migrations and the geographical range in which they live. They are also vulnerable to climate change because they are entirely dependent on water bodies, as specialist fish eaters. Their wetland habitats must be protected, and degradation of these habitats stopped before the damage is irreversible. Wetlands also store large quantities of carbon, so protecting them is an important part of our response to climate change.
Osprey are a conservation success story in Scotland. In the Victorian era, the osprey was persecuted by people who hunted them for their for their eggs and skin. As a result, it became extinct as a breeding species in Scotland in 1916. However, they naturally re-colonised Scotland in 1954 and breeding numbers have been increasing ever since, with over 200 pairs now breeding in Scotland.
The osprey is listed on the Amber List of UK birds of conservation concern. It receives the highest level of legal protection as a Schedule I species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is a criminal offence to disturb a nesting osprey.
Swift
Swift
Swift Photograph by Liz Cotton.
The birds are boomerang-shaped and look all black against the sky. They fly very fast, catching insects and sometimes they gather in ‘screaming colonies’ as they like to be in groups, chasing around the buildings where they nest.
Swifts spend their whole lives flying. They eat, mate and sleep on the wing, only landing to lay eggs and feed their chicks. They return to Scotland from Africa at the beginning of May and leave again in early August. Each year they return to traditional nesting sites in buildings (so continued access to these roof spaces is essential for successful breeding). New nest boxes have been put up around Kirrie in suitable places to encourage breeding (they have even been painted to match Kirrie sandstone!).
Swifts only eat insects and other invertebrates, such as airborne spiders which they gather when flying. They need large quantities and are very dependent on weather conditions, so the adults may fly hundreds of miles, when needed, to find food.
Kirriemuir is a swift town! We are so lucky to have families of these incredible international travellers that call Kirrie home. Each year they return thousands of miles to Scotland to their nest sites to have their young – how amazing is that?
During the summer months, you can often see swifts flying over Kirrie hunting for insects. If you are very lucky, you may be able to see them flying into their nests in buildings. You can often see them seeking insects over the RSPB reserve at Kinnordy Loch and further afield.
Swifts mature and breed when they are three or four years old. Pair bonds are often formed when the birds are one year old and they pair for life, meeting up each spring at the same nest site. They build nests high up under eaves of old houses and churches (and in nest boxes) made of material that can be gathered when flying such as feathers, paper, dry grass and seeds held together by saliva. They start breeding as soon as they return in May and lay two or three eggs. The adults keep the eggs warm (incubate them), but unusually, if the eggs are chilled when the adults are out hunting, they can still continue to hatch chicks.
Sadly, swifts have recently been declared endangered as their numbers in Scotland have dropped by over 60% between 1995 and 2013. Swifts can sometimes be killed by storms and cold, wet weather in the Mediterranean during their migration north from Africa in April. These unseasonal storms are becoming more common due to the changing climate. Lack of available insects during their journey can reduce their strength to fly. Once swifts reach Scotland they can be badly affected if their nest sites under eaves of houses are blocked up and if their insect food is limited in numbers.
We can help swifts find homes by keeping access to traditional nest sites and putting up swift nest boxes. New houses can even have nest boxes built into the gable-ends! If we’re lucky enough to have a garden, then we can make sure there a nectar-rich plants and ponds available for insects. We can ask our councils, schools and local owners of land to make sure there is space for nature so insect numbers are maintained for our swifts.
When we’re walking around Kirrie looking at swifts, it’s incredible to think that the swifts we see may fly up to 4 million miles during their life, travelling many times from their homes in Scotland, back and forward to Africa!
Since work was done in Kirrie by Tayside Swifts and their partners, between 2014 & 2017, we know that there were 9 definite and 44 probable nest sites for swifts in Kirrie at that time. There were also 115 new nest boxes & sites set up.
Hopefully, this work and the work we all now do will help protect the birds and ensure they keep on calling Kirrie home!
If we see swifts, it is important to report our sightings to the RSPB on swiftmapper.org, so that they can monitor local numbers and changes to nest sites.
Curlew
Curlew
The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is Europe’s largest wading bird with a wing-span of almost one meter.
From a distance they might look like a plain brown bird, but on closer inspection you will see their beautiful, patterned feathers in shades of light and dark brown. They have a distinctive, elegant, long, curved bill and long legs. The name ‘curlew’ emulates the sound of the birds’ call. It is a hauntingly beautiful call which, once heard, is not easily forgotten.
In the winter, curlew are commonly seen in estuaries and coastal areas. Between April and July they migrate inland to nest in farmland and moorland. They are ground nesting birds and they hide their nests in grassland. They like open ground with wet areas for feeding.
Adults eat earthworms, leatherjackets, beetles, spiders & caterpillars using their amazing curved bill to winkle them out of mud. Chicks eat surface spiders and insects.
You can see curlew at the Loch of Kinnordy RSPB Nature Reserve and in less intensively managed farmland around the Kirriemuir area. Several local farms and estates, including Kinclune Organic Farm are engaged in wader conservation projects for the curlew and other waders such as lapwing, oystercatcher and redshank, all of which have faced dramatic population declines in recent years.
However, please be aware of ground nesting birds like curlew during breeding season. Do not approach them as this can be very harmful. Read more about this in the “What can we do to help curlews?” section!
The breeding season occurs from April to July. When the birds are incubating their eggs, they need to sit for three to four weeks. If disturbed off their nests for extended periods (20 minutes or more) their nest attempt may fail. Curlew breed inland on farmland and moorland. They favour semi-natural, rough grazing or less intensively managed moorland or arable land.
Land use changes, loss and degradation of habitats, increased predation and climate change are all threatening global and national curlew populations.
Scotland’s marginal uplands may be a last bastion for these birds. The increasing afforestation of these areas is having a pronounced negative impact on the species due to loss of habitat and an increase in predators, such as foxes and crows.
Climate change also threatens this species as they rely on wetland areas to feed on invertebrates, which they dig out of wet ground with their long bills. The warming climate and drying out of wetlands threatens their favoured habitat and their food source.
The population is falling rapidly with a 61% decline since the mid-90s. This dramatic decline means this once common bird is now on the UK Red List of species most at risk. Both the British Trust for Ornothology and the RSPB propose that the curlew is our most important bird conservation priority, in need of urgent action. Scotland holds an estimated 15% of the global breeding population of Eurasian curlew and 28% of the European population, so Scottish action (or failure to act) to protect the curlew is significant.
Farmers and landowners can seek to improve their habitat for wading birds by creating wetland habitat in the form of ‘wader scrapes’ (shallow pools to enable the birds to feed on invertebrates), managing rushes and sward height, controlling pests such as foxes and crows, refraining from driving on their fields during the breeding season (April – July) and marking and avoiding nests in silage or arable fields.
Farmers, foresters and Forestry Scotland also have an important role to play in ensuring that new tree planting does not take place in precious curlew habitats.
Walkers, dog walkers and mountain bikers, too, should be aware of ground nesting birds like curlew during breeding season. The nests are well camouflaged and the eggs easily trampled. Keep dogs on leads in open farmland. When the birds are incubating their eggs, they need to sit for three to four weeks. If disturbed off their nests for extended periods (20 minutes or more), their nest attempt may fail. Curlews are nervous and they will fly off the nest when they see walkers or bikers coming from quite some distance and they only return to the nest slowly once the threat has gone. If you are out walking and hear a curlew call in distress, please consider that it might be you that has disturbed it and move quickly on.
A number of bodies have been set up specifically to support waders and the curlew, in particular, including Working for Waders and Curlew Action. Find out more about what you can do to help by clicking here.
Curlew can live for 20 to 30 years (the oldest recorded bird reached 31!). They return to the same place every year to breed and most often choose a nest site not more than 250 meters away from the previous year. Both the male and female bird will tend the nest, taking turns to sit or to feed. Their faithfulness is charming, but, given their decline, it also illustrates how important it is that we protect the curlews’ favoured habitat.
Heron
Heron
Grey Heron on the wing.
A heron is a long-legged, long-necked freshwater and coastal bird, in the family Ardeidae, with 64 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons.
They have a wingspan of 1.6 to 2 meters, with bitterns a smaller 40 to 58cm.
Grey herons have a long beak and grey, black and white feathers. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest. They fly with their legs stretched out and their neck pulled in, with slow wing-flapping.
They have a lifespan of 5 years.
The majority of heron species live in aquatic ecosystems, primarily freshwater habitats and wetlands, marshes, mud flats, and the edges of ponds, lochs, burns, and bays.
They eat lots of fish and other small birds such as ducklings, as well as small mammals like voles and amphibians.
After harvesting, grey herons can sometimes be seen in fields, looking for rodent. Sometimes they circle high up unto the sky and can be mistaken for large birds of prey.
They can be seen at any time of year, as they don’t migrate, but especially January to December. You might be lucky enough to see them at the Kinnordy Loch.
Herons nest in colonies called “heronries” often in the top of trees where they make large, ungainly nests out of thin twigs.
Herons are among the earliest nesters. It’s not unusual for some birds to lay their first eggs in early February, though they normally start in early March, peaking at the end of the month. They lay 3-4 eggs and the young fledge from the nest after around 1.5 months.
The species is widespread, adaptable, and globally abundant. Overall, the species is secure.
The European population reached a low level in the mid twentieth century due to killing by hunters and fishermen. Legal restrictions that began in the 1950’s, along with general warming of the climate has been beneficial. The increasing heron population has brought it into renewed conflict with the aqua-cultural industry. Through its known history, the species’ welfare has depended on its direct interactions with people.
Timber operations are a constant problem and unless sensitively controlled, harvesting can remove nesting trees. Nearby disturbances, even if a colony site is preserved, can be devastating to the nesting herons.
Classified in the UK as Green under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015).
Information altered from The Wildlife Trust.
Goshawk
goshawk
The goshawk is one of our most striking and threatened birds of prey. A century ago it was persecuted to extinction in Scotland due to deforestation and relentless oppression. Today, goshawks are making a remarkable recovery and due to careful conservation, there are now more than 100 pairs north of the border.
The are around 48-62cm long and have a 89-105 cm wingspan. Females are larger than males and look like a huge sparrowhawk. They have rounded wings, but their tail is relatively short and rounded at the edges. The male is grey brown on top and has a dark patch behind the eye giving a hooded appearance. Close up, they have yellow eyes and white ‘eyebrows’ creating a fierce expression. Underparts are pale and closely barred, with their tail also barred. The female is browner than the male and juveniles have a buff, streaked breast. The birds moult between April and September.
The current breeding population originates from birds that escaped from captivity or that were deliberately released.
They live in nests in large mature woodlands and forests, inhabiting both coniferous and deciduous woodlands, but hunt in the open countryside. Most do not move far from their breeding sites. Young birds disperse in all directions in late summer and some northern populations move south in the autumn.
They use cover to surprise their prey. The goshawk makes a rapid chase over a short distance and grasps its quarry in its talons. It will also stoop like a peregrine to gain speed before attacking. They feed on other birds such as jays, woodpigeons, crows, pheasants, starling, and thrushes. They will also kill mammals such as rabbits.
Nesting begins in March or April. The nest is made of twigs and branches, lined with bark and pine needles, and build in the fork of a large tree, although nests from previous years are often re-used. The female incubates 3 or 4 eggs for 35-38 days and broods the young for their first 8-10 days. She will attack any potential predators, including humans and male goshawks. The young stay in the nest for about 35 days before moving onto nearby branches for a further 10 days, by which time they are able to fly.
Colonisation has been hampered by the theft of eggs and young, and by illegal persecution. However, the establishment of coniferous forests and their subsequent management by the forestry commission have helped the re-establishment of the species.
Except when nesting, they are generally solitary birds. Displaying birds have a sky-dance than involves spreading the white undertail feathers, flapping very slowly on straight wings and eventually, rising and falling dramatically. Females do the majority of sky-dancing. When hunting, the goshawk is very agile and weaves through stands of trees.
Red Kite
redkite
The red kite is a scavenger bird. They have several characteristics that make them easy to identify.
These large birds of prey have a rusty brown body with grey and silver markings on their head. They have long angular wings in the same colour as their body but with darker markings on the tips.
When fully extended in flight their wingspan can reach 5-6ft depending on the size of the bird. Their wings appear to bend backwards in flight and their long tail becomes forked, giving a triangular appearance. Their call is a distinctive ‘mewing’ sound.
They are an outgoing and social species. They can be found in a variety of habitats including; grassland, moorland,farmland and towns/cities. During the breeding season they prefer to nest in broadleaved woodlands. British kites are mainly sedentary, although juvenile birds range widely during the winter months (records have found them as far away as Spain and Portugal), returning the following spring to the area they fledged from.
They are known as a scavenger species, meaning they eat carrion and scraps. However, they will also hunt small prey such as rabbits. They will travel long distances for food.
They are monogamous and mating pairs will return to the same nest each breeding season. They nest in trees, sometimes building on top of old crows’ nests or squirrel dreys. Nests are usually untidy and they often use colourful, shiny things in their nest. They nest in March/April and usually lay 1-4 eggs which hatch in about 30 days.
The Red Kite became extinct as a Scottish breeding species in the late nineteenth century due to human predation, the taxidermy trade and egg collecting. Between 1989 and 2000, a joint RSPB Scotland and Scottish National Heritage project reintroduced red kites into Scotland. The range of red kites are now increasing. The greatest threat remains illegal persecution (notably poisoning) although red kites pose little or no threat to any land use interests. They are classified as a green list species, meaning there is no critical threat to their populations.
Look out for these bugs in Kirrie!
Peacock Butterfly
Peacock Butterfly
Main Photography by local John Orr.
The Peacock Butterfly is perhaps the most distinctive and easily recognised butterfly species in Scotland. It gets its name from its wing markings, which look like large, blue eyes, rather like the markings on a peacock’s tail. These ‘eyes’ evolved to scare off predators, such as mice.
It is one of the most common garden butterflies in England and Wales, but it is rarer in Scotland. It is a familiar visitor to parks and gardens in late summer and ranges widely throughout the Angus countryside, although it prefers the shelter of woodland and hedgerows.
You can see adult peacock butterflies between March and May and from July to September.
Caterpillars can be seen from mid-May to July.
In May, after mating, females lay their eggs in batches of up to 500. After a week or two, the caterpillars hatch and spin a communal web in which they live and feed. The pupate alone and the adult butterflies emerge from July.
Don’t kill all your weeds! Peacock butterfly caterpillars eat nettles. The adults drink nectar from flowers, such as creeping thistles.
Low (not threatened).
Orange-Tip Butterfly
Orange-Tip Butterfly
Common and widespread, this medium-sized butterfly can be found in gardens and hedgerows. The males are unmistakable; white butterflies with bright orange wingtips. The females are white with black wingtips. Both have mottled green underwings. Their wings are between 45 & 50mm.
Orange-tips prefer damp habitats such as meadows, woodland glades, hedgerows and the banks of streams and rivers, but readily visit gardens.
Eggs are laid in May and June and can sometimes be found on garden plants such as Honesty and Dames-Violet. Eggs and caterpillars (found in June and July) can be found on Cuckooflower in damp meadows and Garlic Mustard along road verges and ditches. The caterpillar is pale orange at first, becoming blue-green with a white line down the side. They are very hard to spot!
The butterfly over-winters in a chrysalis on a plant stem ready to hatch into an adult in late April when they can be seen ‘on the wing’ until late June. Other adults can occasionally be seen in late August.
These butterflies have spread more widely in Scotland in the past 30 years. They are of low conservation status (as they are locally common) and are not threatened in terms of their European status.
They have increased their range since 1970 by about 8%.
Honey Bee
Honey Bee
A honey bee, or Apis mellifera, in an eusocial flying insect. This means that they live in a cooperative group, in which usually one female and several males are reproductively active and the nonbreeding individuals care for the young or protect and provide for the group.
Honey bees are mostly plumper and hairier than wasps, and are around 12-20 mm long, with dense hair on their bodies and brown and black transverse stripes on the abdomen. Honey bees have a poisonous sting, but only sting in self defence. The bee dies shortly after stinging, as the sting has small barbs that break off together with the poison and the sac.
Honey bees are one of the few insects kept in domestication, whilst wild honey bees live in hollow trees or cavities in buildings.
Honey bees collect pollen and nectar from a variety of flowering plants including dandelions, clover and a variety of fruit trees. Only the worker bees forage for food, consuming as much nectar as possible from each flower as they can. They fly from early spring to late autumn.
Honey bees live in large colonies with one queen, at least 2000 males (“drones”), and 40,000 to 60,000 worker bees. Their larvae live in small cells, built of wax by the adult bees. Drones are thrown out of the nest in autumn.
Honey bees spread by swarming in spring or early summer. The queen leaves the nest with about half of the colony to find a new home. A newly hatched queen takes over the old nest.
Honey bees face a multitude of challenges. They are affected negatively by climate change, and have been impacted by habitat loss and fragmentation as hedgerows and trees are removed from many farm lands. They also suffer at the hands of invasive species and other bees.
Buff-Tailed Bumblebee
Buff-Tailed Bumblebee
Photographs by locals John Orr and Eve Morris.
The buff-tailed bumblebee, or Bombus terrestris, is a flying insect. It is one of the main species used in greenhouse pollination. They have dark yellow bands at the front of the thorax and middle of the abdomen, alternated with dark brown or black. They appear quite fluffy or hairy. Queens are the only ones who have buff-coloured tails. Workers and males have white tails, although males often have a narrow but distinct yellow-buff band at the front of the tail.
They live in nests in the ground, usually using an empty mouse nest. Nests range from a minimum of 100 to approximately 600 bees. They are often found in gardens and parks.
Buff-tailed bumblebees have a short tongue, so it forages for pollen in short open flowering plants such as comfrey, lavender and a wide range of crop plants. They will also bite holes through to the base of “longer” flowers to reach and “rob” the nectar, without pollinating the plant.
Colonies can grow to have several hundred workers through the season, then in late summer males and (if the colony is large enough) new queen bees hatch from the brood. Younger queens are the only ones in hibernation through the winter. You can see bees from February and March to October time.
Buff-tailed bumblebees are experiencing habitat loss and widespread disease. To make matters worse, they are affected by pesticide use and climate change is altering their pattern of hibernation.
Purple Hairstreak Butterfly
Purple Hairstreak Butterfly
Female Purple Hairstreak Butterfly showing upperwing.
The Purple Hairstreak Butterfly is the most common hairstreak in the UK.
Male purple hairstreak butterflies have a wingspan of 33-40mm whilst the female’s wingspan is 31-36mm.
The female has iridescent purple on the forewing only and is slightly smaller than the male, which is more brown in colour and has a short tail.
They overwinter as small caterpillars which are short bodied and can resemble slugs or woodlice. The pupa stands upright, secured by a few silk threads.
They prefer oak woodlands, but they are rarely seen as they prefer to stay high up in the treetops and don’t visit flowers that often. However, adults are occasionally seen basking at a lower level on smaller trees, shrubs and bracken.
There has been a recent increase in records and an extension of the range of this butterfly especially in the English Midlands and south-west Scotland, even in urban areas (including London) which may be related to atmospheric conditions.
Eggs are laid singly at the base of oak buds in late summer ready to hatch the following spring as the buds break.
In winter the eggs are easily found on close examination of bare branches. The caterpillar is fully developed inside the egg after two or three weeks but doesn’t hatch until the spring, when it burrows into the flower buds to feed whilst safely concealed. As it gets larger and the buds open it spins a silken retreat and feeds only at night. Pupation usually takes place in the leaf litter where it is tended by ants who bury them, but also sometimes in a crevice in bark. There is one brood a year with adults on the wing in July and August.
Not a species of conservation concern.
Poplar Hawk Moth
Poplar Hawk Moth
Photos taken by local Louise Kerr.
These are the most common of our hawk moths and are widespread across the UK.
The adults are large, striking and unmistakable. The wings are scalloped and leaf-life at the edges with areas of grey and brown, ornate, pale eye spots and occasionally have a purple tinge. There are also some which may appear lighter, buff-brown. The hindwings sit further forward that the forewings and when resting their abdomens curl upwards. Their wingspan is 6.5-9cm.
The caterpillars are thick, chunky and vibrant green with faint yellow lines diagonally across the body. There is a characteristic hawk moth spike at the tail end and some also have small dark spots.
They can be found wherever caterpillar foodplants are growing, as well as further afield once on the wing, and are regular visitors to the garden.
They are nocturnal and hide during the day. They do not visit night-scented flowers like other moths but are attracted to light.
They are often seen in parklands, gardens, woodlands, heathlands and moorlands.
Adults are on the wing and looking for mates between May and August. Females release pheremones which attract passing males, and lay their eggs between June and early October. They eventually descend to the ground to pupate and overwinter beneath the surface.
Adults do not feed during their short lives as they rely on fat reserves put down as caterpillars. They live 10-80 days. Caterpillars feed on the leaves of poplars, sallow, willows and aspen.
Species not considered to be threatened.
They are predated upon by birds, bats, and small mammals.
When disturbed, they flash reddish brown patches normally hidden in their hindwing.
Females are attracted to light during the first part of the night and males during the early morning hours.
Emperor Moth
Emperor Moth
Photos taken by local Louise Kerr.
An unmistakable insect, the emperor moth is fluffy, grey brown with big peacock like eye spots on all 4 wings. It’s wingspan is 5.5 to 8cm. They have pinky red markings at the wing tips.
It is a very large moth and the female can have a wingspan of up to 10cm. The male is smaller and has large, feathery antennae.
It is a widespread but not very common moth of heathlands, moorlands, woodlands, sand dunes and grassland scrub.
During the day, males can be seen flying swiftly about and can be mistaken for butterflies. The females rest in low vegetation during the day, releasing a special scent to attract males. Caterpillars overwinter as chrysalides, sometimes for two winters; they are members of the silk-moth family and the caterpillars spin a silk cocoon in which the spend the winter. This stops parasites like insects from entering. The cocoon is brown and pear shaped.
You can see them from April to July as this is when they emerge as adults.
The females lay their eggs within a few hours of mating. The eggs take about 10 days to hatch and the caterpillars can be seen from May to August. The caterpillars are black and hairy when newly hatched. As they grow, they change to green and yellow, with pink or orange spots. Each spot is covered with short black hairs.
Adults do not feed and live for only 3-4 weeks. The caterpillars feed on heather, bramble, blackthorn and hawthorn.
They are not considered to be at risk as they are common.
Damselfly
Damselfly
Main photo taken by local Lauren Urquhart.
Damselflies are smaller than dragonflies. They have a small and delicate body with forewings and hind wings of the same shape. Their eyes are separated on their head. They usually rest with their wings held against the body. They have a slower wing beat than dragon flies and a weak flight.
The earliest of the damselflies are on the wing by early May and damselflies may be around until October if it is warm enough. The highest species diversity is found during July and August. They are at their most active on warm sunny days.
They live in a variety of wetland habitats, favouring those with good water quality. As most of their life is spent as underwater nymphs, they require clear water in order to hunt.
They are carnivorous and will eat any small insect, but their diet is mainly midges and mosquitoes. The larvae are voracious eaters and will eat anything that they catch, usually other aquatic larvae and bloodworms.
Eggs are laid in the water of ponds and rivers, and eggs usually hatch within 1 to 3 weeks. Once hatched, the larvae/nymph has an elongated body, long legs and three leaf-like appendages or gills on the tail. They live for 2 months to 3 years as nymphs, undergoing five to fifteen molts as they grow.
In their active months, they can be seen in abundance around Kinnordy Loch and other water bodies in and around Kirriemuir like the Gaerie Burn in The Den. They often frequent back gardens too!