I was just finishing work in Inverness this afternoon when news broke that the Blue-winged Teal had been seen again. Originally discovered on 12th January, the bird had lingered at Loch Loy in the Culbin Forest for a few days before disappearing. With the loch only about 40 minutes away, and this being a species I still needed for my Scottish list, I set off immediately. On arrival, I got temporarily lost due to a lack of phone signal, but eventually found the loch. There, I bumped into Pete Stronach, whom I hadn’t seen since the 2019 Paddyfield Pipit twitch in Cornwall, when he had joined Dan Pointon and me to see that bird.
We spent the next two hours scanning the loch for the elusive teal. I then decided to walk further along the shoreline when a dog and its owner flushed a flock of Common Teal from a reed bed. One bird flew back toward where Pete was standing, and by now three other birders had arrived. There it was: the Blue-winged Teal, in full view before settling back into the vegetation.
It was a fantastic sighting, adding yet another American duck to my Scottish list, alongside Black Scoter and Long-billed Dowitcher, all in the space of just two weeks. On top of that, the Blue-winged Teal marked a first record for the county of Moray & Nairn, making it an unforgettable twitch and a pleasure to share the moment with Pete before we said our goodbyes.
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