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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Curlew, Oystercatcher & Sandwich Tern |
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| Fulmar |
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| Roseate Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Common Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Mediterranean Gull & Sandwich Tern |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Common Tern, Sandwich Tern & Herring Gull |
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| Sandwich Tern & Black Headed Gull |
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| Peregrine Falcon |
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| Little Gull |
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Guillemot
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As is often the case when I'm at work good birds seem to have a tendency to show up and I have no chance of getting to see them. If it happens on a Friday I have to hope that the bird will hang around another day and that it will be somewhere I can get to. Having missed out on the Roseate Terns at Kingsbarns a few weeks before I was pleasantly surprised to have a second chance potentially when Roseate Terns were found at Arbroath by Stuart Green of Angus Birdtours.
With decent weather once again forecast I was out around 0850. A Blue Tit made a change for first bird of the day though Carrion Crow was a more predictable next bird. A Starling was perched atop a TV aerial. Further along the road a Magpie flew up from the pavement and a Woodpigeon flew over. Herring Gulls glided above the car park on Dura Street with House Martins still around the primary school and House Sparrows in the gardens. A Collared Dove was seen while heading down towards Arbroath Road.
From the bus I managed to spot a Sparrowhawk being pursued by a Carrion Crow just as we reached Claypotts junction. Passing Monifieth a Lesser Black Backed Gull was added to the list. Pied Wagtail and Swallow were seen near the Carnoustie turn-off while passing through the Arbroath streets, Blackbird and Jackdaw were seen. Walking down from the bus station towards the harbour I saw Feral Pigeon and overflying Meadow Pipits.
Reaching the end of the harbour wall where the Brothock Burn meets the sea I stopped to scan. Two Common Sandpipers flushed from below me flying low along the sea wall to settle again. Although it was a bit quieter than earlier in the week there were still some birds out on the rocks and sea. Eiders were offshore in ones and twos, and a Cormorant flew past. Black Headed Gulls and a few Little Gulls were out by the water perched on the rocks. Much further out, Gannets passed northwards in small groups. A flock of Terns flew by noisily, mostly Common and Sandwich Terns as far as I could ascertain. Herring Gulls and Great Black Backed Gulls were a bit further round on the rocks with a few Curlews probing around and Oystercatchers roosting.
Meadow Pipits and Swallows continued to pass over westwards in small groups. A pair of Mute Swans flew by. I once again bumped into Mickey Mellon, this time in the company of another birder, Neil Black. We chatted for a bit before they headed off to continue their WeBS count. I wandered along the waterfront eastwards towards the cliffs. Spotting a few groups of terns out on the rocks I stopped to check through them. With a strong sun at their back it wasn't easy but I persevered. A Grey Heron landed close by and a large flock of Goldfinches landed in the longer grass on the slope north of the road. I found a small group of Golden Plovers strung out a bit closer in than the terns. Oystercatcher, Redshank and Turnstone were also around in small numbers.
The terns appeared to be mostly Common though there were also decent numbers of Sandwich Terns. One or two Arctic Terns stood on their very short legs. There was a bit of panic among the group and some birds flew a short distance to another rock out in the water. Among them was one bird that looked quite interesting. It appeared paler, especially on the belly and breast and the bill looked dark. The strong sun wasn't making things easy so I took a few photos to try and double check what I thought I was seeing. The strong light made checking the back of the camera difficult also, but I was fairly confident I had my first ever
Roseate Tern. I put out a text to say the bird was still around with directions to where it was. Unfortunately, another of the regular 'panics' resulted in the flock flying off though some birds remained. Bob McCurley turned up but we couldn't relocate the Roseate. Two Grey Herons overflew and we decided to head along to the cliffs.
On the rocks near the cliffs, a similar mix of birds lingered - Black Headed Gulls, Common Terns, Herring Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Curlews and Oystercatchers. I spotted a single Little Gull out beyond some Curlews as I scanned through the birds trying to relocate the Roseate Tern. A Linnet flock popped down onto the grass where a few Pied Wagtails scampered around. Neil Black had hurried along having received the text about the tern but was disappointed to not find it where I'd seen it. I showed him the photos and we chatted a bit while still scanning through the birds.
We decided to try a different perspective to try and use the strong light to our advantage rather than as a hinderance. We wandered up the path to the cliffs to look down on the birds with the sun at our backs. This made a big difference. Two Fulmars were circling round at cliff-top height and a few young Kittiwakes landed among the terns.With the higher viewpoint, Redshanks and Turnstones were picked out on the seaward side of the rocks. I methodically worked my way through the Terns, once again finally finding a promising looking bird with a juvenile next to it. I pointed it out to Neil and Mickey (who had rejoined us) and they agreed it looked pretty promising. Checking the photos later at home confirmed that the two birds were actually Roseate Terns. Mickey headed off again and Neil and I headed back down to road level. Although the tide was coming in, it wasn't a big tide so we edged out to the base of the cliffs to scan some more. The temperature had dropped with cloud rolling in and the wind picking up and I was wishing I'd put on another layer.
A Cormorant flew by. Neil headed off again and I continued to hope for another decent view of the Roseate Tern. I did succeed in finding another decent bird when my binoculars landed on a juvenile Mediterranean Gull. A nice surprise. A Rock Pipit foraged around on the shore behind me. I moved back to the esplanade ramp for a different view and some different photo angles. There was a bit of an explosion of birds in all directions and the culprit wasn't readily obvious although within a second or so I spotted the cause - a juvenile Peregrine which flew off back along the cliffs empty-taloned. The terns had largely headed out to sea leaving some of the waders and gulls. I found another Little Gull before I headed up to walk along the cliffs for a spot of sea-watching.
Unfortunately it was rather quiet out to sea with only small numbers of birds around, mostly gulls. Black Headed, Common, Herring, Great Black Backed, Little and Kittiwake were all seen at times. In addition, a few Fulmars and a Shag plus Oystercatchers and Curlew. A Guillemot was near the base of the cliffs with a group of Herring Gulls roosting nearby. After around an hour I decided to head back to Arbroath to catch the bus back to Dundee. Starlings, Pied Wagtails, Herring Gulls, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Eiders were all spotted before I headed back through town.
A decent enough day out with a lifer in the bag (in bold). Only 45 species seen.
Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mediterranean Gull, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit,
Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.