A brightly coloured bird has has got twitchers twitching down at the Mosset duck pond.
Photographers with lenses like drainpipes have been spotted along the Mosset Burn as a female kingfisher has taken up residence on waterside branches.
The beautiful bird, aptly named the ‘king of fishers’ has visited this spot before, and word quickly spread among birding enthusiasts.
One such photographer who captured the bird on camera was John Wojciechowski, visiting Forres at the weekend.
John said: “I was born in Forres but I stay in Kemnay, near Inverurie.
“I’m a baker and a keen photographer. My partner and I were visiting my sister on Saturday afternoon and we all decided to go to Sanquhar pond to take photos when we met someone who informed us that there was a kingfisher at the duck pond.
“So we went there for a couple of hours and my sister got a few photos before it was too dark. Then we went back around 9am Sunday morning and it wasn’t long till we all got a few photos as it was fine and sunny.”
John said that around 10 people, including his party of three, had gathered on Sunday morning, with one sitting it out from 7am!
Jewel of the Mosset
“We met a few other photographers who were all there to photograph the beautiful fluorescent blue jewel of the Mosset burn. Who knows how long she’s going to stay here? Maybe until the Sticklebacks run out, or hopefully she’ll get a mate. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to see how she’s getting on.”
Mosset Tavern landlord Gordon Brailsford said he’d seen more activity than usual around the pond.
“I haven’t seen the bird myself,” he said. “All the regulars have been talking about it. It’s been a few years since the last kingfisher took residence.”
And local man David Slater from Birding Ecosse, runs birdwatching tours in the area. He added: “It is unusual to be so near to habitation, there was one in the same location a few years back. Up here the cold weather usually kills most off when the rivers freeze and they can’t feed.”
Picture used with permission from John Wojciechowski.