STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0208 : A Hound And About Angus (16/9/15)

0208 : A Hound And About Angus (16/9/15)

Having had a lazy weekend without any birding I was ready to get back out with Nat for our weekly outing when Wednesday came around. There was one slight complication though. Nat was doggy-sitting for a friend's dog that wasn't particularly good around other dogs. With dog walkers being pretty much everywhere there are birds these days (in some cases outnumbering the birds), this was going to mean trying to find places where contact with other dogs would be minimal. Where there's a will there's a way.....

Kittiwake

We had a later start than usual, with Nat picking me up at around 0915. Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon, quickly followed by Herring Gull got our list off to a start. We settled on sticking to the coast but avoiding as many of the popular dog-walking spots as possible. First stop was the Stannergate, at the eastern end of Dundee harbour, for a spot of scanning from the car. There were a few species around, though the numbers were rather low with Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Starling, Redshank and Oystercatcher all seen with none of the species numbering more than a handful of birds.

We headed for Monifieth next for more scanning from the car. Collared Dove, Swallow and House Sparrow were all seen on the way. We added a few more species at the second stop with the expected Bar Tailed Godwits and Curlew seen in addition to Eiders and a few Sandwich Terns out over the river. Cormorant and Common Gull were also spotted flying by, while Mute Swans off Balmossie could be seen in the distance. A Pied Wagtail scurried around on the grass opposite the car before we moved on to Westhaven.

Rooks were in the fields between Monifieth and Carnoustie and once we waited for a few dogs on the beach to pass by we set off to walk along the beach to the mouth of the Craigmill burn. A few Linnets flew up off the beach, while offshore there were a few Mallards and a small group of Turnstones flew out from the rocks. There were plenty Pied Wagtails on the beach while Swallows passed over every few minutes heading west following the coast as they headed southwards to their wintering areas in Africa. They weren't the only birds on the move with Siskin, Skylark and Meadow Pipits also passing over or stopping off for a bite to eat.

A few Jackdaws were down on the beach near the burn mouth, while a flock of Goldfinches flew around as we walked back. I spotted the first Gannets of the day well offshore towards Fife. We eventually found a few Dunlin among the larger waders. There were also a number of Goosanders just off the end of the rocks near the mouth of the burn. Walking back to the car we added a Blackbird and a Yellowhammer and what was surprisingly the first Wheatear of the walk. At this time of year you can often stumble upon a Wheatear every few minutes along this stretch of coast.

We headed next to Easthaven for another walk along part of the coast. A bird below a tractor puzzled us at first but turned out to be a slightly strangely coloured Robin, with a greyish head and sandy-orange face and breast. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo. The birds around were similar to those at Westhaven though we did also find a small mixed flock of Ringed Plover, Dunlin and a couple of Sanderling. Moving on again after a bite to eat we headed next for Lunan Bay for a spot of sea-watching after a quick stop at Arbroath. A Kestrel was seen atop a lamp post near Arbroath. Shag was the only addition at Arbroath with a few passing offshore.

A Great Tit was in the trackside trees as we walked out to the hide at Lunan Bay. A trio of Buzzards flew by past Redcastle, with a small group of 5 Golden Plover a welcome plus following a similar route. Down by the mouth of the Lunan Water there were plenty of gulls. A mix of Herring Gulls, Common Gulls, Black Headed Gulls and Kittiwakes but also a few Common Terns still around. From the hide we watched the birds offshore, Gannets and terns and gulls mostly. A Fulmar glided by while strung out across the width of the bay were many small flocks of Common and Velvet Scoters, but there was no sign of any Surf Scoters among them. There were a number of Red Throated Divers mostly just beyond the Scoters with one group of 5 together consisting of 3 adults and 2 youngsters.

As the dog wouldn't settle, Nat took him for a walk along the dunes, leaving me to scan with the scope out across the bay. While scanning back and forwards I caught a distinctive quick wheeling vertical turn of a dark plumaged bird. Skua! But which one. It was clearly a large and rather bulky bird but it wasn't a Bonxie. A white belly showed it to be something else. The bulk ruled out Arctic Skua, leaving just one species it could be. Pomarine Skua. My first ever, and my 4th Skua species in 8 days. Scanning back and forwards I also found a few Guillemots and Razorbills. We walked back to the car a short while later adding a pssing Peregrine and a Stock Dove perched on the wires to our growing day-list.

We debated where to go next before settling on Montreathmont Forest for a quick check at the end of the track down to the ADBC hide. A Pheasant was added on the way, while at the edge of the forest itself we saw Siskins, Chaffinches, Blue Tits and Coal Tits foraging around in the conifers. We decided a quick stop at Monikie would be worthwhile on our way back home so we headed back to the main road south, adding a Jay flying off into the trees. At Monikie we scanned the Denfind pool from the road. There was a lot of vegetation but we still managed to find Coots, Moorhen, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Little Grebe. A brief stop at Monifieth waterfront in fading light gave us one last surprise - a Common Sandpiper that Nat spotted flying across the river.

Despite having the dog in tow, we somehow still managed a rather impressive 67 species, including a nice lifer for me (in bold) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pomarine Skua, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Siskin, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Wheatear, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.