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| Yellowhammer |
I tend to sit upstairs on the bus when I'm heading somewhere on a birding trip as it gives a view into places that can't be seen from downstairs - gardens, fields etc. Blackbird in a garden was a predictable sighting. What was more of a surprise was a drake Mallard zooming towards the river from the north as we headed along Strathearn Road. More expected birds followed as the bus passed through Broughty Ferry and Monifieth - Jackdaws, Carrion Crows and Woodpigeons.
Leaving Monifieth behind for the short section of road bordered by golf course, caravan park and fields added Rook and Swallow to the list while on the outskirts of Barry village, Sand Martins were seen. Heading through Carnoustie a Dunnock was seen in a garden. As I walked down to the shore at Westhaven, I spied a Collared Dove on a lamp post. As expected it was rather quiet by the beach with only a few distant Cormorants on the rocks by the water's edge and a few Oystercatchers.
I decide to walk to Craigmill Den along the cycle path rather than the beach, so headed back up through the houses, stopping only to sort out my camera gear in preparation for finally finding some birds. A Goldfinch flew in and landed on an overhead wire, while a Pied Wagtail scurried around, tail wagging, on the grass below. A short distance further on I watched as a Kestrel flew in and hovered above the railway line.
Once into Craigmill Den itself, passing the House Sparrows on the feeders at the house and the Swallows and House Martins above the field to the east, I added Yellowhammer to the list and a Blackcap female high in a mature deciduous tree. The vegetation made it tricky to see much, though I did manage to see a Robin and a Great Tit before a Stock Dove flew through. A Whitethroat among the gorse on the opposite side of the burn sang loudly before flying a bit closer.
Near the top end of the Den I chanced upon a family of Treecreepers among the trees calling loudly to one another as they foraged among the trunks and branches. At the footbridge I watched a Grey Wagtail make short fluttering flights to grab insects on the wing before pirouetting back to a stone breaking the surface of the water before repeating the process again and again. I managed to capture a bit of video, though the bird's movements were tricky to follow through the tiny viewfinder and I was always playing catch-up to the bird almost flying out of shot.
A flash of blue caught my eye as a Kingfisher shot off down the burn and I hurried back hoping to catch a bus to Arbroath back at Westhaven. Linnet was added to the list on the way and I made it to the bus stop with more than 5 minutes to spare, thankfully. From the bus to Arbroath bus station I managed to spot a Skylark lifting off from a field by the road in typical Skylark fashion, wings flickering rapidly in fast strokes. Mute Swan and Mallard were seen on Keptie Pond in Arbroath.
Walking out to the cliffs where I hoped there might be some offshore passage I stopped to watch a pair of Meadow Pipits as they wandered around, finding food among the grass stalks near the start of the parkland which leads out to the sandstone cliffs. Fifteen minutes or so later I had found my perch atop the cliffs to scan and scan, looking at distant shapes above the waves, trying to distinguish which species, sometimes from plumage, sometimes from a combination of action and plumage.
Gannets as usual were the easiest to pick out, their long black tipped white wings and their cruciform shapes standing out even at long distance, sometimes a single bird, sometimes a string of several or more. A Fulmar glided past at eye level a few times, using the thermals from the cliff face to fly almost effortlessly past. A handful of Kittiwakes moved through, though there was none of the passage of auks which had been so noticeable on my previous visit.
A Shag hurried by, low above the water, greenish-black wings powering it onwards. A Rock Pipit performed a short display flight before dropping back below the brow of the cliff face and out of my sight once again. A Great Black Backed Gull drifted by, and out beyond the rocks below a group of 5 Eiders, 4 adults and last year's youngster sped by. The one and only Guillemot of my short and not particularly productive sea-watch headed north before I decided it was time to call it a day and head for the bus station and home.
Not the most productive of days but certainly more productive than sitting at home doing nothing with only 44 species seen, and none of those new for the year-list. I also took very few photos, and slightly more videos, though not all of those were of birds. These along with plenty others can be found on my Youtube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU_X4ZLd9hbj3mLDaNygH-QA
Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Shag, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
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| Goldfinch |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Kestrel |
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| Whitethroat |