What to see and where in the Forth area

Spring is sprung

Spring at Blawhorn Moss    is a good time to spot red grouse as they bolt from the heather with their distinctive cackle or the short-eared owls soaring above the heath on the hunt for small mammals or other prey. If you look carefully in the bog pools, you might spot some frogspawn.

First cuckoo of spring

If you're visiting Flanders Moss National Nature Reserve   in spring, listen for the sound of the first cuckoo, usually in the last week in April, or for the many migrant songbirds, like willow warbler and meadow pipit. You'll find frogs and toads returning to spawn in the ponds and boggy areas.

Full of the joys...

Spring at Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve    sees the colour change from the yellows and browns of winter to the fresh green of spring growth with the pinks and purples of the heather at the end of spring. Birds are beginning to breed and if you're lucky you can spot sea eagles and osprey as they pass through the region.

Frogs and toads are on the march.  The race to mate and get to the lochs is well underway. Buzzards are displaying and green woodpeckers are waffling. Teal and mallard along with many other birds are in courtship.

Early birds

Twelve species of seabird begin to gather on the Isle of May    in April with numbers increasing throughout early spring. You'll see guillemots, fulmars, terns, gulls and, of course, the cheeky little puffins. Spring is a good time to watch courtship and you can hear the soft cooing of male eider ducks right next to the paths.