STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0192 : Afternoon Delights (9/8/15)

0192 : Afternoon Delights (9/8/15)

Having spent a rather chilly morning at Riverside Nature Park, I was struggling to feel warm again while sat in the house catching up on a few things that needed done. Nat as she had suggested she might, text messaged me to see where I was. Finding out that I was at home, she said she'd pick me up in about 20 minutes. 20 minutes later I was outside for some more birding. This time I was wearing an extra layer.....

Willow Warbler

We set off heading in the direction of Forfar with a vague idea of where to go. I suggested starting at Murton, then heading to Forfar Loch and finishing up at Kinnordy. Murton was first because it closed its gates at 4, and there was always the chance of something good showing up on passage. Herring Gull, Swallow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, House Martin and Swift were all seen before we reached the Kingsway. Black Headed Gull and Carrion Crow were seen as we headed out of the city. Only Woodpigeon was added to the list before we reached Murton.

We popped into the hide by the car park to see what was around on the pool. Lapwings were the most numerous species, dotted around on the small islands. A small group of Tufted Ducks swam across the pool. A few Coots and Mallards made up the numbers. Some more in-depth scanning produced a single Moorhen, a Pied Wagtail on one of the islands and a small group of Starlings flying past. Greylag Geese flew in, a Mute Swan swam into view and a Snipe flew low across the water before dropping in on the bank. A few minutes later it flew to the small island in front of the hide, giving us far better views.

A trio of ducks across the far side of the pool proved rather tricky to ID. They weren't Mallards and didn't appear to be Teal. I finally worked out that they were eclipse plumage Gadwall. I spotted a male Pheasant wandering around on the slope at the rear of the pool. A few Oystercatchers flew in. A 4th duck appeared with the Gadwalls. This one was a bit easier to identify, being a female Shoveler. We wandered down o check the lower pool, Linnets overflew and a Sand Martin passed by at speed. Feral Pigeon was the only addition around the pool though there were plenty of Lapwings, Greylags and various ducks. Round at the third pool there was only a Little Grebe to be seen. Goldfinch was added, singing from a tree top as we headed back to the car.

Rather than doubling back to Forfar Loch, we decided to visit Balgavies Loch instead. Jackdaw, Collared Dove and Buzzard being added as we traveled the short distance eastwards. Finding the hide rather busy we wandered round the path to the open area which looked towards the island. An Osprey was perched atop the tree. Lower down a few Cormorants could be seen perched out on the low branches above the water. We spent a while watching the Osprey flying around, hovering and another flying over. A juvenile landed in the tree before departing again to the south. The adult male landed with a fish which he proceeded to eat. We wandered back around to the hide where two of the visitors were just leaving which allowed us to grab a couple of seats. Out on the water, Tufted Ducks and a single Great Crested Grebe were seen, while above us Swallows, Swifts and Martins seemed to pass over in a more or less continuous procession.

The feeders were busy with Great Tits and a few Blue Tits. A Willow Warbler or two also dropped in. Nat picked up a male Blackcap but I couldn't see it from where I was sitting. Long Tailed Tits flitted through the trees to our right, but although I could see the movement I never managed a clear view of the birds. The man to my left spotted a Treecreeper but was unable to give clear directions to which branch of which tree the bird had shown on. Blue Tit and Coal Tit were both seen at the feeders. Out on the water a juvenile Little Grebe put in an appearance. After over an hour at Balgavies we decided to move on, with Montreathmont Forest the destination this time.

Not too far down the track we found a showy Goldcrest in the lower branches of one of the conifers while an equally showy Wren called loudly from another bush. A Robin and a Chiffchaff shared a dead tree, though they didn't seem entirely enamoured with the other's close proximity. The next bird I found was a bit of a surprise - a Spotted Flycatcher. I hadn't seen one here previously, nor heard of any sightings of the species. A Song Thrush sat motionless up in a tree nearby, watching us. Rather than going into the hide we decided to explore further up the track, looking for a singing yellowhammer, which we eventually found, half hidden behind a branch. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over. Linnet was seen at the top of another tree.

Having already seen most of the species we were likely to at the hide, we headed aback to the car after finding a few insects - 6-Spotted Burnet Moth, Common Carpet moth and a female Common Blue butterfly. We added Blackbird and Chaffinch before stopping to watch the activity in the dead tree where the Chiffchaff and Robin had been earlier. Now they had company. Spotted Flycatchers, not just one bird, but at least 4. The light wasn't great for photos or video but we did have good views of the birds above us.

With the time now after 7pm, we decided to visit the coast on the way back to Dundee. The cliffs at Arbroath could feasibly give us a few more species for the list, so we headed for there. Although it wasn't quite as productive as we had hoped we did succeed in adding Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Curlew, Gannet and Kittiwake before moving on to the other side of the harbour, where we added Arctic Tern, Redshank and Turnstone as well as a Grey Heron and some Dunlin. One last brief stop at Westhaven gave us Eider before we called it a day and headed for home.

Another really enjoyable trip out, and not as cold as the morning either. We finished with 58 species and some reasonable photos, as well as a few more video clips for my burgeoning collection.

Species seen - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shoveler, Snipe, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.