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| Red Flanked Bluetail |
2013 saw me surpass the 2012 list by a whole 1 extra species. 198. Not a massive total, but not bad considering that I don't drive, and depend on lifts from friends, public transport and my own two feet to get to the birds. I don't really chase a list as such. I try to see as much as possible in January and February, then concentrate more on photography for a few months until the Summer migrants show up. Then a few quieter months with photography again to the fore, with some insects thrown into the mix, then it is late Summer and into Autumn when the good stuff (hopefully) starts to show. As October comes to a close, it is a case of what haven't I seen, and what chance is there of adding it. Sometimes good birds show up and I get to see them, sometimes - more often than before - I find them myself. If I'm nearing the previous yearlist total I sometimes try a little harder to at least get close again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
2013 was probably quite a mixed year, with 8 lifers added - all but one with a colour in the name - and some good birds seen, but others missed. My patch at Riverside Nature Park managed to surpass expectations and has a quite impressive (to me, at least) total of 132 species seen in 2 and a half years. I also led a guided walk to hear the dawn chorus in the park in late May, which was surprisingly well attended for 4am on a Saturday morning in Dundee.
A wee run through of the highlights of the 2013 yearlist then....
January 1st - 47 species seen with Waxwings found in Baxter Park along with a few Bullfinches. Magpie at Barry Buddon was another local scarcity found early.
January 2nd - out with Darell Berthon round Angus was quality rather than quantity, with Black Throated Diver and 2 Crossbills at Backwater Reservoir the best of a small haul of only 35 species (18 new).
January 3rd added Purple Sandpiper at St Andrews, which had been the final bird of 2012 as the sun was setting on Hogmanay at Arbroath, having eluded me till then at St Andrews and Ferryden where they were usually found without much effort.
January 4th saw me find a redhead Smew at Morton Lochs, having missed the drake at Kinnordy on the 2nd. Jay and Stonechat were both welcome additions there.
January 5th, I only added 3 species but two of the three were worth finding. Both were in Balgove Bay at St Andrews - Twite (a wee flock of 6 feeding on the mud) and Brent Geese.
January 6th was the first Angus & Dundee Bird Club outing along the Angus coast. Nothing spectacular but Corn Buntings were found a bit further on than their usual winter haunt, and a Kingfisher was in front of the visitor centre at Montrose. 98 was my total for the first 6 days then it was back to work, just two short of my target of 100 species for the first few days of the year.
Next up was a Nuthatch in Camperdown Park, which showed really well for 5 minutes halfway up a tree. Needless to say, the camera gear was at home. Digi-binning birds in trees with an iphone isn't easy.... Brambling was found at Riverside Nature Park late in January.
Hunted for, and eventually found, Mediterranean Gull at Buckhaven on February 10th with my pal Steph Cowie who hadn't seen one before. A 10 mile coastal walk from Leuchars to Tayport exceeded expectations with 2 White Tailed Eagles, a Raven, a Green Woodpecker plus Stock Dove and Skylark found. Another bird club outing to Perthshire saw Hawfinches being seen at Scone palace and 2 Grey Partridges being flushed at Gas Brae on the outskirts of Errol. A day-flying bat at Quarrymill in Perth and bees feeding on snowdrops at the reedbeds were both big surprises. The first lifer of the year was 2 Black Necked Grebes in Montrose Basin on the 27th February with another White Tailed Eagle also seen twice and 7 Waxwings.
March started in an Angus glen with Black and Red Grouse as well as 4 Red Kites. A Barn Owl was peeking out from an owl box at Kinnordy. The only owl I saw this year. 2 good patch ticks on the 23rd - a Green Winged Teal and a Jack Snipe. Little Gull at Largo Bay and a Surf Scoter were the highlights of the ADBC outing to Fife on what was quite a stormy day. Popped into City Quay on the way home to find "Dave" the Red Throated Diver with the injured wing I'd found on Xmas Day was still there. More of a surprise were the 3 Slavonian Grebes also in attendance. The light was poor, but the birds showed really well for lots of birders and photographers for a few more days in better light. March ended with a flyover Golden Eagle in Perthshire on a non-birding trip. Added the 2 "local" White Tailed Eagles to my patch list the following day. 2 Eagle species in 2 days, not bad going.
April 7th produced brief views of a Water Rail at Kinnordy and a Snipe was a patch tick for me on the 13th. Warblers re-appeared on the 20th with Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff all seen at Balgavies, as well as the returning Ospreys. A detour to Auchmithie added Puffins to the yearlist. Sand Martin, Swallow and Wheatear filled out a very productive outing. A Mealy Redpoll was seen at Riverside on the 21st and a spot of seawatching got me a Bonxie and 2 Common Terns. Twitched a sleeping Garganey at Letham Pools by bus on the 27th and bumped into Gus Guthrie. Headed back to the Nature Park to try to find the Mealy Redpoll for Gus's Angus list and succeeded in finding the returning Lesser Whitethroats which I'd suspected had bred in the park in 2012. Also saw the Mealy, and found the first Common Whitethroat in front of the hide later.. A trip up the glens added the first Angus Cuckoo on the 28th. A Swift, House Martin and a Marsh Harrier were also at Kinnordy.
Great views of a Woodcock, plus a singing Tree Pipit in one of the glens as well as a brief glimpse of a male Redstart and a distant singing Ring Ouzel while out with Wendy Clark on 6th May. Popped up to Ferryden on 13th May and got lucky with 2 fly past Little Terns and a pod of dolphins. 16th May saw me find a Garden Warbler skulking in bushes in Denburn Wood in Crail. Finally got Canada Geese on the list on 17th May at Port Allen, and managed brief views of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler. An Osprey circling above Errol was a surprise too. A trip to Killiecrankie on the 9th for Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher was a success, although only fleeting views of the flycatcher were had, in contrast to the year before. 20th May saw me make a mad dash to the park from work at lunchtime when a Red Backed Shrike showed up. Unfortunately it wasn't seen while I was there, but a trip home to pick up the camera gear and a bus trip that seemed to take forever back out to the park bore fruit when I managed great views, and photos, of the stunning male bird after hanging around for a while. Another lifer. 25th May was my dawn chorus walk at the park where Canada Goose was a patch tick for me, and a Little Gull was the best bird seen.
Another trip up the glens on 2nd June produced Whinchat along with most of the usual summer birds there. Took a trip to Crail on the 7th and stumbled on a Hobby which let me close to get some good photos as it perched by the side of a field on a fencepost. Unfortunately the farmer came by in his tractor and off flew the bird. Arctic Skua and a couple of Manx Shearwaters were the highlights of a seawatch. Species 130 for the Nature Park was found by me on the 8th when I photographed a Little Egret flying out from Invergowrie Bay. It was later refound at Morton Lochs in Fife. Twitched a drake Mandarin Duck in a cow field not far from Edzell on the 9th with Steph Cowie. Missed a Blue Headed Wagtail at Riverside, but found a cracking male Yellow Wagtail at the Eden LNR near Guardbridge on the 28th June. Yet another lifer. While twitching a Temminck's Stint at Letham Pools (which we didn't see) with Gus Guthrie we spotted Little Ringed Plover and were given directions to a very nice Red Necked Grebe which we subsequently found. A nice bonus. First half of the year saw me end on 176 species. Unfortunately the birding gets harder after that.
July and August were curtailed severely by a short-lived romance but Whimbrel was added in Fife on 14th July. First Ruff of the year was found at Riverside Nature Park on 5th August. A Spotted Redshank was briefly seen there on 20th August. Little Gulls were seen at the esplanade in Arbroath on 24/25th August. A Curlew Sandpiper and 2 Ruff were at Riverside on 31st August.
An evening visit to Letham pools on 4th September added one of my bogey birds - Wood Sandpiper, and a fly-through hunting Merlin. Lots of Manx Shearwaters (200+) and Arctic Skuas (9) off Arbroath on 7th September. A lot quieter at Fife Ness the following day but a Temminck's Stint at Letham Pools made up for it. 22nd September added another wader at the second attempt when a return visit in the afternoon to Forfar Loch ended with a Pectoral Sandpiper, which had vanished in the morning after almost a week of showing well, walking towards the camera in great light. Full frame photos. Result! 27th September and another spot of twitching. Red Breasted Flycatcher at Fishtown of Usan with Barnacle Geese added while walking out to find it. 28th September was a case of in the right place at the right time. Found my first self-found Yellow Browed Warbler on the walk out to Kilminning. Stumbled into an attempt to relocate a possible Brown Shrike at Balcomie, which eventually showed distantly, but well, to a lot of birders from Fife and further afield. The finders of the Shrike had also seen a possible Buff Breasted Sandpiper with a flock of Golden Plovers, so when a flock of Plovers went over Ian Ford helped me spot the possible BBS and I grabbed a few photos. These showed enough to confirm the Buff Breasted ID and that was 2 lifers in one day for me.
A trip to Mire Loch at St Abb's Head on 5th October with Gus Guthrie for his third attempt at the long staying Sardinian Warbler saw me wandering off and finding a Firecrest before I almost missed the Sardinian Warbler when it showed just as I was returning from another wander when I got bored of waiting again. Two blurred photos were the result but all the ID features are visible. Another lifer for me.
The best was yet to come when an unplanned detour to Denburn Wood in Crail on an ADBC outing saw me find my best bird of the year - a Red Flanked Bluetail (photo at top of page). It flew off before anyone else saw it, but I knew what it was within a second of seeing it. Lots of hunting around saw it found again and seen by Bob McCurley and Jon Cook. It showed quite well throughout the day to lots of birders who showed up to see it. Only the 4th record for Fife and my first "BBRC rarity". The weather for the 14th was reasonable at Crail so I headed back in the hope of getting better photos of the Bluetail which I managed along with others as the bird foraged around a loop of a small area in the wood, chased by the local Robins. Lots of other migrants around with a Black Redstart at Balcomie being the best, although 2 showy Mealy Redpolls at Kilminning ran it close. An outing to Speyside with Joan Farrell and Alice Fell got us Crested Tits at our very first stop and 3 flyover Crossbills.
November 1st added a Snow Goose at Crail while out with Gus Guthrie. Word of a male Rustic Bunting at Cove, near Aberdeen saw a rushed attempt to find the site, but as dusk was falling the search drew a blank. Gus saw the bird briefly 2 days later. Another showy and very tame wader was at Carnoustie Beach on the 15th November, my first ever Grey Phalarope which I could almost have reached out and picked up at one point. It showed well again on the Saturday morning, but an attempt to see it on the Sunday with Fife Bird Club drew a blank, although a Great Northern Diver offshore took my yearlist to 197 - equal with 2012, with around 6 weeks of the year to go. An attempt to see Snow Buntings at Tentsmuir was successful on the 24th with a flock of around 50 in the dunes though very flighty. Thankfully 2 single birds showed for long enough to get nice close shots, at last. Bird number 198 for the year. December saw nothing new being added, but "Dave" the Red Throated Diver was still around in City Quay as the year drew to a close. There was evidence of feather growth in his damaged wingtip so 2014 may see him disappear before he reaches summer plumage.
So that was 2013. What will 2014 bring? Hopefully I will keep this blog going.
(The posts will be usually a lot shorter than this one)....
Happy New Year and Good Birding in 2014.