STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0157 : Ferryden Foray (11/5/15)

0157 : Ferryden Foray (11/5/15)

Day 1 of my week off work proper and a longer lie-in than intended saw me weighing up the options for where to go when I did finally get out of bed. I settled on buying a bus ticket that allowed me to jump on and off Strathtay buses anywhere within Angus and decided to focus on the Angus coast. With a Little Egret having been seen at Montrose Basin the day before and Purple Sandpiper a possibility at either Ferryden or Arbroath, as well as Common Terns being another possibility, I had a chance of keeping my recent good run of birds going.

Little Egret

I left the house at around 0915 to walk to Arbroath Road to catch the bus. Unsurprisingly Starling and Herring Gull were 2 of the first 3 on the list for the day. More surprising however was the 3rd - Linnets. A pair on a roof nearby twittering away. Although I have seen the birds around the area from time to time they are not a regular sighting by any means. Lesser Black Backed Gull, Feral Pigeon and House Sparrow took the list back into very familiar territory however.

From the bus I added Blackbird, Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow on the way through to Monifieth. Pied Wagtail, Swallow, Rook, Jackdaw and House Martin all being added before Carnoustie was reached. I weighed up the options and checked the traveline app on my phone for bus times to decide just where to go first, eventually settling on continuing on to Arbroath bus station to hopefully catch a bus to Montrose and then take things from there.

Skylark was added between Carnoustie and Arbroath with Coot and Mallard on Keptie Pond later in the journey. While waiting at the bus station a Swift overflew before the bus took me to Montrose. I decided to pop in to the visitor centre at the Basin first. A Chiffchaff sang from the trees outside. Once inside the Swallows by the windows grabbed the attention first before the various white dots around resolved themselves into birds - Eider on the water, Common Terns on the breeding raft and the Little Egret wandering around by the reedy pools to the east of the centre.

Two year ticks within the first few minutes at the centre wasn't a bad way to start things off. Greenfinch and Tree Sparrows appeared around the feeders while out on the mud Curlew, Shelduck and a flock of Black Tailed Godwits, some in breeding plumage, were all additions to the list. A Grey Heron flew in to share the pools with the smaller Little Egret. A small group of Red Breasted Mergansers were found out on the water.

More scanning around found a small flock of Dunlin and a Ringed Plover scurrying around by the water's edge. The feeders were busy with a mixture of species - Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Coal Tit and Robin among them. A Sedge Warbler sang its scratchy song from the reeds. A Redshank flew in to join the other waders. Two Goldfinches passed up over the centre and a Moorhen appeared out among the pools.

Goldeneye was a slightly unexpected find out on the water and a single Bar Tailed Godwit was discovered in the opposite direction from the Black Taileds. A few more species were added over the next 30 minutes or so - Collared Dove and Dunnock. Black Headed, Common and Great Black Backed Gull found their way onto the list as did Cormorant before I wandered down to the Bank of Scotland hide to get closer views and photo opportunities of the Little Egret, the reeds and pools making better backgrounds from a photographic point of view than the muddy shores at Guardbridge where I usually see Little Egret.

Sand Martins skimmed around and a Mute Swan was added to the list as I watched the egret picking its way around the pools and reeds, willing it come out into the open and closer to the hide but it never did. With the time now around 1315 I decided to head out to Scurdie Ness for a bit of sea-watching. Great Tit was seen as I walked up through the car park.

Although the skies to the north and west didn't look overly promising I was hoping that the worst of the weather would pass me by, a shower having hit already while I was in the visitor centre. With shelter in very short supply on the way out to the lighthouse fingers were crossed. A singing Reed Bunting was the first new bird added as I headed out along the road to Scurdie Ness. Rock Pipit was added minutes later.

Ahead of me out by the mouth of the river I could see Dolphins breaking the surface as they headed into the river itself. I had good views looking down on them and even managed to video them swimming upriver anticipating where they would surface from the disturbance on the surface of the water. Footage that I was really pleased to capture. Meadow Pipit was the next to be added to the bird list. A large flock of Common Terns was on the beach opposite and kept flying up and around before settling back down again.

A pair of Sandwich Terns flew past and I spotted a small group of Turnstones foraging along the rocky shoreline. As I neared the lighthouse with Dolphins surfacing not far offshore I decided to try to get out on the rocks for closer views. However, as I edged my way out a bird took flight from a small sandy beach nearby. It landed back on the rocks ahead of me confirming what I had suspected from the alarm call - a Whimbrel. With the wind howling down the river and rain threatening I decided to abandon the 'out on the rocks' idea and left the Whimbrel in peace and headed round to shelter in behind one of the smaller out-buildings at the lighthouse where a cyclist was already sheltering.

We chatted away as the rain shower edged closer, before he decided to attempt to get back to Ferryden before it got a bit wetter. I didn't have that option so I stayed put, figuring that the wind would keep the rain coming at an angle so, in theory, as long as I stayed in against the wall on the lee side of the hut, I should stay mostly dry. Thankfully, the idea was fairly sound and I survived the downpour when it came without ending up 'drookit'.

I settled down to more sea-watching. Gannets and Guillemots plus Kittiwakes flying past, though my attention was constantly grabbed by the dolphins and terns nearby. A Red Throated Diver sped past northwards. I wandered along the grass to see if there were any waders among the rocks. A Wheatear flew on ahead of me for a bit and a single Purple Sandpiper lifted from the rocks by the water before I hurried back towards Ferryden to try and catch the bus back to Arbroath that detours into the village.

With Common Terns fishing close in below me, and more dolphins coming upriver I was almost tempted to deliberately miss the bus and get the next one, which would mean walking a fair bit further and a later arrival home. Not one, but two reeling Grasshopper Warblers which went unseen (as is usually the case with this species) only added to the temptation. With dolphins in the river parallel to me as I looked over the roofs of the houses I hurried down to the bus stop, making it just in time. Tufted Duck was added on the way home from Arbroath as the second bus passed Keptie Pond.

A really good day out with 3 year ticks added (in bold) out of the 64 species seen and some nice photo opportunities, with the added bonus of the Bottlenose Dolphins.

Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Purple Sandpiper, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Woodpigeon.