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| Woodcock |
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| Ravens |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Swallow |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Ring Ouzels |
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| Ring Ouzel |
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| Ring Ouzel |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Woodcock |
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| Swallow |
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| Newborn Lamb |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Redstart |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Meadow Pipit |
Last Monday was a public holiday, so I took the opportunity to get out and about with my pal, Wendy Clark. Almost a year to the day, we had visited Glen Esk and in addition to getting great views of Woodcock, had also managed to see Tree Pipit, Redstart and Ring Ouzel, all of which were new for my 2013 list. As I still needed all 3 species for my 2014 list, I hoped that lightning would indeed strike twice.
Wendy had arranged to pick me up around 0840, so I wandered to the local shop to get some provisions for the day at 0830. Blackbird, Herring Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull all went on the list before I reached the shop, with Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Starling and Woodpigeon joining them while I waited on Wendy arriving. We headed to Tesco for fuel then headed out of Dundee northwards with an Oystercatcher flying over the Forfar Road also added. Things were rather quiet en route with only a Buzzard seen after we had left the main road but before we made it to the first of our two planned glens. (As we did not see any schedule 1 birds in either of the two glens there is no need to hide the location this time).
We stopped in Edzell briefly, a handy start point for both Glen Esk and Glen Lethnot. We had decided to head for the end of Glen Esk first, walk to Loch Lee then make our way back down the glen at a more leisurely pace than on our way in, before heading to Glen Lethnot and using our remaining time to best effect to add other species. In Edzell we saw House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Swallow at the park. A mile or so up the road we saw our first Pheasant of the day, but certainly not the only one we were to see. A brief stop to allow a car to pass by a break in a wooded area gave us Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Carrion Crow and Common Gull, with Willow Warbler heard but not seen, along with Chaffinch.
Moving on again we found another place for a quick scan which gave us Pied Wagtail, a couple of lapwings displaying, Jackdaws and a fly-through Mallard. Our first pleasant surprise of the day came about a mile further on when a bird ran across the road and then away from us along the road. A Woodcock. Unfortunately, as always seems to happen with showy birds seen from cars, we had to move on as a car came up behind us, meaning that the bird was spooked off the road and into the trees and the photos were rather rushed, and far from successful. More Lapwings and a very distant Red Grouse across the other side of the glen. When visiting the glens we tend to keep the windows down to allow for faster responses to photo opportunities as well as having our attention drawn by calling and singing birds. This certainly helped to find a
Tree Pipit which I first heard singing before it 'parachuted' down into the top of a tree. New bird number 1 for the day.
More birds were seen from the car as the landscape varied from wooded areas to agricultural land. Common Sandpiper was heard as we passed a stretch of the river Esk but it went unseen. More Willow Warblers were heard. Mistle Thrush was seen in a field, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen on the ground, initially causing me slight confusion by being in an unfamiliar position. We stopped for a few seconds at the Sand Martin bank, where we thought at first there were no Martins present. Having just remarked on the lack of birds, one flew into the bank. The first of many Meadow Pipits was seen further on, perched on a fence by the side of the road as we passed.
We stopped a little further on where I heard Raven, eventually spotting a pair of the birds as they took to the air from the far side of the field we were looking over and spiraled upwards. Lapwing and Oystercatcher were nearer the car in the field. A Song Thrush was the first bird seen when we got to the car park. I trudged up the grassy bank to scan the field and was surprised to see a
Ring Ouzel just the other side of the fence. Before I had the chance to raise the camera the bird had flown up into one of the trees. I shouted to Wendy but we couldn't see the bird in any of the trees. There were Woodpigeons, Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and Lapwings in the field, with a few Swallows darting around a few feet above the ground.
We did manage to relocate the Ring Ouzel a bit further into the field which allowed us the chance to get a few photos of the second of our target birds fr the day. A Swallow was on the wires and a singing Willow Warbler showed reasonably well as we set off towards Loch Lee. A pair of Great Tits flew into the bushes just the other side of the burn flowing down to the Esk, and the familiar vociferous calling of a Common Sandpiper helped us to pick out a pair of the birds down by the river. Wendy spotted a Goldfinch down below us in the field, its colourful plumage blending in remarkably well. A Dunnock was in the garden of the cottage by the side of the road just by the burn.
The path to Loch Lee can sometimes be quite productive for birds and we were hoping that this would be the case. A few Willow Warblers flitted around in the trees, but in general it was quite quiet. Wendy spotted a Treecreeper working its way up a tree trunk and a Blue Tit picked its way through the branches of a tree near the ruined tower. More Chaffinches were seen as we neared Loch Lee. There was no sign of any Redstarts in the trees where I have seen a male bird in the past. Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit were in the fields, but the best birds were down nearer the water. A pair of Ring Ouzels feeding along the fenceline by the shore, a male in the field and a female just behind. I took a few photos and decided to try and get a bit closer. I slowly edged along the fenceline, stopping behind the posts to ensure that the birds were still feeding unconcerned. Thankfully, they continued to feed unconcerned and I managed to get all the way to the corner of the field and got a nice sequence of photos.
We headed back towards the car park, stopping to watch a pair of Dunnocks chasing each other along the drystane dyke and a pair of Willow Warblers in the trees by the track. Three Common Sandpipers chased around on the river. I spotted a Dipper down on the rocks in the river from the top of the brae. As we walked on a bird took flight through the trees away frm us before crossing the river. Another Woodcock. I watched where it landed and managed to get the camera onto it, getting another sequence of photos before it ran off through the trees. Despite the distance the photos weren't too bad. We saw more Chaffinches and a few Song Thrushes and Swallows before we reached the car park, with a Siskin flying over adding another species to the list. A few Mistle Thrushes and Blackbirds were in the field by the car park with Woodpigeons and a Lapwing beyond. A Buzzard was seen over towards the hills. We stumbled upon a newborn lamb in a field being cleaned up by its mother before getting slowly to its feet to feed. The youngest lamb I've seen.
Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Woodpigeons, Chaffinches and Meadow Pipits were the main birds seen as we headed back down the glen. There was no Cuckoo to be seen or heard in the area where they usually are. We stopped at the Sand Martin bank where around half a dozen birds circled round. I could hear a Redstart singing in the woods behind so we took a walk up through the trees to search. There were a few Chaffinches around too, and I found a Tree Pipit among the branches. The
Redstart seemed to keep ahead of us, but moving on before we saw it. Eventually we caught sight of the bird and I managed a couple of hurried photos, neither of which were in focus. We wandered uphill a bit to scan the open area beyond the treeline. Three Buzzards were displaying together, swooping downwards together. Four Mallards flew over eastwards.
We headed back to the car and decided we had time to do a quick blast through of Glen Lethnot before we had to head back down the road to home. We passed more Pheasants plus Meadow Pipits, Oystercatchers, Lapwings and Woodpigeons as we headed back towards Edzell. A few Chaffinches and Swallows were seen as we passed through the village. A few more Pheasants were dotted around by the roadside and in the fields. As we turned to cross a bridge I caught sight of a bird on the wall, a Grey Wagtail. Unfortunately it wasn't the best place to stop the car so again we missed out on a photo. A few Jackdaws flew up from the fields just before we turned down the main road into Glen Lethnot.
There were no Cuckoos on any of the wires, it being possibly just slightly too early for most of the returning birds. A Grey Heron appeared over the trees, giving the impression of a large raptor at first. The glen was very quiet, possibly being mid-afternoon had something to do with this. One or two Meadow Pipits were seen and we eventually managed to see the first Wheatear of the day as we hurried on. Lapwings, Woodpigeons and Oystercatchers once again dominated in terms of numbers in the fields. We found a male Red Grouse hunched up behind a fence which stared unconcerned at the car as we took photos. A Kestrel was seen from the car park at the end of the glen and another couple of Buzzards. A few more Meadow Pipits and another Wheatear were seen on our way out with Common Gulls around the tops of the hills. A few Carrion Crows and Jackdaws completed the list in the glen. A pair of Pink Footed Geese flew low over the car as we passed the road up to the Caterthuns. A few Woodpigeons, Carrion Crows and Herring Gulls rounded off the list for the day.
46 species seen (3 year ticks in bold) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Grouse,
Redstart,
Ring Ouzel, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow,
Tree Pipit, Treecreeper, Wheatear, Willow Warbler, Woodcock, Woodpigeon.