STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0201 : Beach And Basin (29/8/15)

0201 : Beach And Basin (29/8/15)

Early in the week I received a Facebook message from my birding buddy, Steph, asking if I was free for some birding/photography on the Saturday. As I had nothing planned, I was able to say a very quick 'Yes'. I asked if she had anyplace/anything in particular in mind. She said (I'm paraphrasing) "a rarity, very confiding, somewhere nearby'. I said I would see what I could come up with. With nothing particularly outstanding, or rare having shown up by Friday afternoon, except a Spotted Redshank at Montrose Basin found by Gus Guthrie, I thought that Montrose Basin might be worth a visit.

Whimbrel

Steph doesn't tend to be an early starter, so I was able to spend a wee while extra in bed, which was much needed. We headed out at around 0935, heading up the coast road to Montrose Basin. Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Starling, Swallow, Buzzard and House Martin were the fairly meagre pickings en route. Fingers were crossed that things would improve and that we would see, and have the chance to photograph, some good birds. We popped into the Wildlife Centre to see what was around from there.

Waders were much in evidence along the exposed mud along the edge of the basin. I slowly scanned through the birds - Dunlin, Lapwings, Oystercatchers, a Great Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gulls. I found a small flock of Knot. Mallards and Mute Swans, some on the shore, some in the water.Further out across the Basin, I picked out Greylags and Canada Geese, while beyond them, Grey Herons, and Little Egrets roosted on the old seawall. A small group of Wigeon were roosting among the waders and were almost overlooked. Further along were a few Black Tailed Godwits and Curlews.

Out in the basin, on the water, and sandbanks were good numbers of Eiders, with Shelducks and even a few Goldeneye dotted around also. I found a few Common Gulls, while Cormorants were easy to spot, stood with wings outstretched. A few Goosanders and a single drake Red Breasted Merganser were picked out in between dives under the water. A few Common Terns were still around, despite the date. The feeders were relatively quiet, though there were plenty of close views of the Swallows swooping up under the eaves of the building, or perching just outside the window for a short while. Blackbirds and Blue Tits were seen at the feeders, the former below, the latter on the feeders themselves. We added another couple of species before we set off for the Lurgies area of the Basin - Herring Gull and Redshank, both surprisingly few in number from the centre.

House Sparrows and Woodpigeon were spotted from the car before we reached the small car park. A Kingfisher was heard on the burn outflow but we couldn't see it. A Greenshank called as it flew upriver, giving us a 'heads-up' on another species for the list. We could see some of the species we had seen from the Visitor Centre a bit closer. We walked along the track atop the old seawall. Common Sandpiper flew across the river, while further on a pair of Linnets flew over us. There were a few Redshanks at the Slunks, and I scanned through them searching for the Spotted Redshank, but drawing a blank. More birds would fly in and I'd have to repeat the scanning. There was a bird that looked a possibility as it tussled with a Redshank but I just couldn't get a decent look at it.

We wandered a bit further on, hoping for Green Sandpiper. A Grey Wagtail pair flew across the river, and a Yellowhammer called from atop a gorse bush. There was no sign of any Green Sandpipers but there were 4 Greenshanks together on a small pebble spit. Rather than risk spooking the birds I headed back along to rejoin Steph. As I got closer two birds flew up from the Slunks. One smaller than the other. I managed to get a few photos of the smaller of the two. The larger was a Greenshank. Checking the photos, the smaller one turned out to be a Wood Sandpiper. Not the Green Sandpiper I was hoping for, but a decent enough bird and my first self-found one.

Across the river, a few Snipe wandered out from the reeds to join the Redshanks and a small group of Teal landed to join the throng. Eventually the rising tide forced the birds to seek dry land elsewhere, a smaller flock crossing the river close to where we were. We edged closer and managed to get reasonably close views, given how easily spooked Redshanks usually are. Unfortunately there was still no Spotted Redshank to be seen among them. We headed back to the car, stopping for a chat to Neil Black (I think, I'm useless at remembering names and faces). While we were chatting I noticed movement on the handle of his monopod which was resting on the gate. A tick, which was swiftly despatched. Steph spotted a Kingfisher but we didn't manage any photos of it. A few minutes later 3 geese overflew, 2 appeared to be Pink Footed Geese and the other a Bean Goose. A nice wee bonus year-tick.

After grabbing something to eat, we decided to head back down the coast towards Dundee. I reckoned Westhaven would be a quieter area than Easthaven on a Saturday afternoon, and that we might get some decent photo opportunities. We added Feral Pigeon as we passed through Arbroath. Scanning out from the beach at Westhaven I spotted Fulmars and Gannets over the sea, while ahead of us on the beach we could see movement among the seaweed. Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Oystercatchers, Turnstones, Curlews, Bar Tailed Godwits and even a single Knot. I hoped we might find a Curlew Sandpiper amongst them, but just like the Spotted Redshank and Green Sandpipers there was no sign. We sat on the beach for a while photographing Pied and White Wagtails as they picked around among the sand and seaweed, while we willed the waders to come closer.

We decided to skirt up into the field so as not to flush the birds, but a Kestrel hovering above the field succeeded in doing the opposite, so we took the opportunity to bypass the birds anyway. There were more birds further along the beach and Steph edged down onto the beach for a better view of some of them while I wandered along to the burn mouth. There was a large gull roost there as well as a few Goosander on the beach and a group of 3 Wigeon in the water. Unfortunately a Carrion Crow decided to caw in alarm and some of the birds, but thankfully not all, took flight. I moved back out of sight and headed back to Steph.

I joined her on the beach and waited for the waders coming closer again. One of the local dogs decided that it didn't want to let a flock of Knot land and spent some time chasing them up and down the length of the beach. A Curlew gave us good views and a Bar Tailed Godwit flew by. A pair of Ringed Plovers picked around nearby. Steph asked me about a bird she had photographed which turned out to be a Whimbrel. Thankfully we managed to relocate it, and then watched as it wandered unconcerned along the shore in front of us. This gave us some nice photo opportunities before the sun went behind a rather large grey cloud. We took this as our cue to head back to the car, though we were distracted a few times by Sandwich Terns offshore and waders on the shore. With the time around 1800 we headed for home after a good day out.

A nice mix of birds and some decent photo opportunities as well as a much needed catch-up. 55 species seen (1 year tick in bold) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Bean Goose, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Knot, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Snipe, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Wigeon, Wood Sandpiper, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.