 |
| Rock Pipit |
|
 |
| Corn Bunting |
 |
| Corn Bunting |
 |
| Fish jumping |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Common Sandpiper |
 |
| Sedge Warbler |
 |
| Mallard |
 |
| Gulls |
 |
| Terns and Gulls |
 |
| Ringed Plover |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Eider |
 |
| Common Tern |
 |
| Sandwich Tern |
 |
| Common Tern |
 |
| Ringed Plover |
 |
| Eider and Goosander |
 |
| Moth |
 |
| Small Tortoiseshell |
 |
| House Sparrow |
 |
| Goldfinch |
 |
| Collared Dove |
 |
| Common Sandpiper |
 |
| Arctic Tern and Ringed Plover |
Another weekend and another opportunity to get out and about birding somewhere. My birding pal, Jacqui Herrington, had asked me for some ideas where we could go to see some (hopefully) good birds and get a few photos along the way. I suggested the Montrose area, with the chance of a spot of sea-watching at Scurdie Ness and possibly some passage waders at The Lurgies as well.
Jacqui arranged to pick me up around 0830, so I headed out just before 0825. The first birds seen were Herring Gull, Starling and Swift. A Carrion Crow on a tenement roof was next, with House Sparrow and Feral Pigeon to follow. House Martin and Lesser Black Backed Gull went on the list just as Jacqui turned up, Woodpigeon and Black Headed Gull were seen as we passed Swannie Ponds to head down the Kingsway to join the fast road to Arbroath, our first stop. Although the weather was bright and sunny, there was a haar sitting out over the Tay and it promised to cause us a few problems unless it happened to burn off. Before we reached Arbroath, a Blue Tit flew across the road into a tree, and a Swallow zipped low over a cereal field. A Buzzard was perched on a fence post by another field.
As we turned into Arbroath, we spotted a Song Thrush by the side of the road. Further along towards the harbour a pair of young blackbirds fed on the grass. We stopped near the harbour to check for a reported Mediterranean Gull which had been seen in the area for a few days previously. The haar made seeing birds down on the beach rather tricky, though Terns could be heard calling loudly from somewhere in the mist, elusively just out of sight. A Grey Heron and a few Great Black Backed Gulls were visible here, but we saw no sign of the gull so headed off along towards the cliffs.
Along the grass at Victoria Park were lots of Pied Wagtails with a few Linnets amongst them. Curlew was relatively easy to pick out among the rocks. A few Goldfinch flew over, their calls giving them away. I thought I heard a Corn Bunting singing down on the beach which seemed rather out of place. A bit of concentrated scanning along the beach found a few Redshanks and Ringed Plovers. A fairly steady stream of Swallows Sand Martins and House Martins swept past along the edge of the mist, hawking low over the grass. I managed to find a single summer plumaged Turnstone down on the beach.
We walked up to the cliffs to see if our view was improved any by a raised viewpoint. A pair of Rock Pipits with beaks full of insects (including a Common Footman moth - a species I haven't seen before) watched us warily, obviously having a nest somewhere close by. We were rather lucky that the mist did clear slightly allowing is to see a bit further than before giving us views of a passing Kittiwake and two Guillemots out on the water, as well as a flypast by an Eider. Our first Sandwich Terns of the day, a parent and youngster calling continuously on their way past soon vanished into the grey fog again. Once again I heard the characteristic 'jangling keys' song of a Corn Bunting this time coming from the direction of the path along the edge of the field. We set off to investigate, never having seen or heard Corn Bunting at Arbroath before (despite seeing them at Auchmithie just up the coast by a few miles). A bird flew up from the wall and dropped into the field where it sang again. It showed well and its singing confirmed the ID as a Corn Bunting as we had thought. A Meadow Pipit flew by as we headed back to the car. Another quick bit of scanning gave us Arctic and Common Terns out by the edge of the beach.
We headed up past Cliffburn Hotel. I was halfway through remarking that we hadn't seen a Jackdaw when I spotted one on a school playing field. We headed along the back roads towards Boghead Farm to see if we could get better views of more Corn Buntings. We stopped beneath a bird on the roadside wires before we got to the farm, and were treated to really good views of another Corn Bunting that had one or two unconcerned glances down into the car as I snapped away with the camera. At Boghead Farm, another Corn Bunting sang from the wires behind the phone box. A few Linnets flew by. I scanned the pool at the bottom of the hill where I could see a Mallard pair. I decided to see if there was anything else of interest and set off to check out the pool while Jacqui went back to get the car. I walked up onto the raised banking behind the pool, spooking a Common Sandpiper from the edge below as I stopped to scan. There were more Mallards out on the water, as well as Tufted Ducks and a Little Grebe. A few Common Blue Damselflies were spotted as I headed back to join Jacqui in the car.
Further on we came across the first Collared Dove of the day by a few houses. We decided to head for the Lurgies first in the hope that the haar wasn't affecting the Basin to the same extent as it was offshore. We were in luck thankfully with the whole Basin being clear of the mist. A Red Breasted Merganser swam by, while a Lapwing fed along the shoreline opposite. Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls stood around on the mud opposite. We set off along the path, a few Woodpigeons clattering out from the trees, with fish jumping for flies out on the river. A Yellowhammer sang from the bushes before flying off as we got closer. A pair of Oystercatchers flew in and landed on the mud by the bend in the river ahead. A Willow Warbler fed inconspicuously among the branches of an Elder bush.
We scanned ahead of us, picking up more Lapwings and a single Greenshank with the Oystercatchers. Some movement caught my eye as a Common Tern dropped in, which turned out to be a Common sandpiper feeding along the water's edge. Nearby two Jackdaws foraged among the strewn pebbles on the mud. A few cows headed along the path in our general direction. Closer by than ideal, the rest of the herd fed in the field, with calves and a rather large bull among them. We decided that rather than get our path back to the car cut off by cows with the potential to be protective of the youngsters, we would head back before the opportunity arose. Great Tit, Linnet and Wren were all spotted in the bushes. A few young Sedge Warblers jumped around among the reedbed edges, one in particular showing really well for the camera. A female Mallard and a few ducklings were in the burn outflow as we reached the car park again.
Swallows and Sand Martins were much in evidence at Bridge of Dun with a few Goldfinches and Linnets popping down onto the pebbles for a drink to the west of the bridge. A male Pheasant was by the roadside as we headed back towards Ferryden. A Kestrel flew across the road as we neared Maryton. Out on the basin we could see the large white blobs that were so obviously large numbers of Mute Swans.
We drove down into Ferryden stopping at the end of the harbour to find the river full of gulls - Common, Black Headed, Herring, Great Black Backed and Kittiwake in addition to Sandwich, Common and Arctic Terns milling around above the Eiders on the water. A few Oystercatchers stood on the far bank. A Cormorant flew upriver. After parking the car we walked out off the village towards the lighthouse at Scurdie Ness. There were plenty House Sparrows around, with a few Starlings and Swallows making up the numbers while Terns called from out above the river. The haar seemed to be clearing, which was good and bad at the same time (good as visibility improved but bad as the birds were more likely to not come in quite as close).
On reaching the lighthouse, Jacqui spotted a Ringed Plover (which was actually ringed with a metal ring) stood on the rusty outflow pipe. This bird gave us great views and we both got a sequence of photos before heading further round to have a seat by the rocks. There were Terns constantly on the move, some heading back upriver, some out to sea, others fishing just offshore. Kittiwakes and a few other gull species glided by too. Gannets passed in low numbers with the odd Fulmar also seen. A small flock of Common Scoters flew northwards. A few Dunlin zipped low along the edge of the rocks, and a Shag flew south. Jacqui had wandered back to sit nearer the river mouth and lighthouse and she shouted over to me and gestured out to sea. I soon picked up what she was looking at. A Skua. Low over the water and heading in our direction. It gave chase to a Common Gull before moving on a bit further and harassing a Kittiwake not too far in front of me, allowing me to see that it was a pale phase
Arctic Skua (photos showed it to be a second year bird). My first Skua species of the year too. The Eiders that had been feeding along the river moved out to sea in small groups as the tide came in.
We headed back towards Ferryden after stopping for more photos of the Ringed Plover pair near the lighthouse. I spotted a few Goosander with the Eiders and we managed a few photos of a small moth (carpet species?) and a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. When we reached the village, we had further good photo opportunities with Goldfinch and House Sparrow as well as a Collared Dove. We decided to head for Usan as Jacqui wasn't sure she had ever been to either of the two sites with that name. En route we found the first Chaffinch of the day. At Mains of Usan farm there was a Reed Bunting on the fence by the reedbed as well as Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Swallows.
We tried Fishtown of Usan next, wandering down through the vegetation to the seashore managing to not see a loud Whitethroat in the process, though a Greenfinch (first of the day) was slight compensation. A Common Sandpiper was on the rocks just offshore. Further out, Common terns, Gannets, Eider and Fulmar could all be seen in the short time we spent here.
We decided to do a quick drop-in visit at Arbroath, just in case of Little Gulls. The tide was almost fully in and Arctic and Common Terns plus three Ringed Plovers perched on the ones closest to the seawall. As always Herring Gulls were much in evidence. We headed for home after this with very little seen on the way back to Dundee except the usual Woodpigeons and Herring Gulls.
A good day out with a new Year Tick (in bold) and 65 species seen.
Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.