With the rather successful guided walk at Riverside Nature Park finished and the rest of the day available for some birding with Nat, we had a decision to make on which direction to go. Over the bridge to Fife, and maybe the Fife Ness area? Or perhaps up the Angus coast? Or maybe inland in either Fife or Angus? Decisions, decisions. After a bit of discussion we decided to head for Montrose and work our way down the coast from there, so off we went.
 |
| Pheasant |
There wasn't much to see on the way, though I did see a House Sparrow on the roof of the buildings as we passed the slip road to the Tay bridge. Further on, up the road towards Montrose we added a Buzzard on a roadside pole, with Jackdaws in a field near Lunan Bay. A Grey Heron stood by the side of the road was an unexpected sighting as we headed uphill not far before the turn off for Maryton. A Skylark took flight from a stubble field as we cut the corner heading down towards the Lurgies.
The car park was rather busy and a bit of a tight squeeze. Nat decided to grab something to eat while I wandered out to see what was about. In the bushes around the car were Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch. Heading out to the water I spotted Graham Smith and Keith Edwards eating lunch and scoping the basin. I joined them for a chat, asking what was around. There was a nice selection of species about - a single Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, a few Grey Plover, a good number of Mute Swans, at least 17 Little Grebes all bunched up together, a pair of Wigeon, Curlew, Redshank, Greenshank (including a ringed bird), hundreds of Pink Footed Geese, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Black Headed Gull all either on the water, or on the exposed mud.
A trio of Golden Plover flew over and a single drake Goldeneye flew at speed downriver. A single Little Egret's head stuck up above the edge of a small ditch a bit to the north. A Kingfisher appeared in a tree a little bit downstream from where we were sat, but it flew off just before Nat joined us. A Cormorant also flew over. I pointed out the various species to Nat before we decided to follow the track along the edge of the water to see what else was further upstream. Among the Black Headed and Herring Gulls at the gull roost were a few Common Gulls and a single Great Black Backed, but there was no sign of a reported Ring-Billed Gull, though there is apparently a bit of doubt as to the veracity of the sighting.
A trio of young Red Breasted Mergansers sailed by on the water, and a Robin was in the bushes. Keith and Graham passed us and we could see them scanning across the river ahead of us. A few minutes later as we got closer, Graham shouted to us that he had a probable Merlin, but the heat haze was making it tricky to be sure. He pointed out where it was and I snapped a few photos, most of which the heat haze rendered fairly useless. However, there was enough detail in a few to confirm that it was indeed a
Merlin. My 200th species of the year.
We had a slow wander back to the car, adding Mallard, Woodpigeon, Meadow Pipit, Shelduck, Lesser Black Backed Gull and a few flyover Lesser Redpoll as well as stopping to photograph the ringed Greenshank which was showing really well just across the river. We decided to head next to Usan to see if there was anything of interest. An Oystercatcher out on the rocks, a Wren among the weeds, a single Goldfinch, a few distant passing Gannets and a couple of Shags in the bay made for a worthwhile stop, even if it was overall rather quiet. A Kestrel hovered above the field to the south as we were getting back into the car to head for the hide at Lunan Bay.
A Coal Tit was in the trees by the cottages as we walked down to the hide in the dunes. There was a large number of gulls on the sand in front - Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, Common Gulls, a few Great Black Backed Gulls and good numbers of Kittiwakes. Also among them were a Sandwich Tern and a young Arctic Tern. Scanning across the water found a number of Red Throated Divers, plenty of Common Scoters and a Guillemot. A small group of Teal flew south and we had a nice bonus when 3 Brent Geese dropped in, though their stay was cut short by one of the number of marauding dogs chasing any bird they could get close to. A Bar Tailed Godwit and a few Oystercatchers were seen feeding along the shore before we walked back to the car again. A Redwing was in the bushes down from Red Castle and a Yellowhammer was on the wires near the car.
Boghead Farm was next in the hope of seeing Corn Bunting. A male Pheasant crouched low not too far into the bare field to avoid being seen, providing a nice photo opportunity. On the pond was a single Tufted Duck with a group of Mallard. A small flock of Linnets buzzed about. A Rook flew by and we were on the road again. This time we were headed for Auchmithie. The wires by the car park held a number of Tree Sparrows as well as House Sparrow and Yellowhammer, while a large flock of Linnets milled around beyond the houses. A Pied Wagtail overflew as we walked down the hill checking the gully and the garden at the top of the hill for birds. A few Feral Pigeons passed over too. The Linnet flock landed in the trees above us giving us good views. The gully was rather quiet but the garden eventually gave us views of varying quality of Blackbird, Chiffchaff and a male Blackcap. A few Starlings sat on the wires by some House Sparrows as we got back to the car to head for home.
65 species seen including a nice year-tick (in bold) - Arctic Tern, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Mallard, Meadow Pipit,
Merlin, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Jackdaw |
 |
| Pink Footed Goose |
 |
| Pink Footed Goose |
 |
| Red Breasted Merganser |
 |
| Red Breasted Merganser |
 |
| Merlin |
 |
| Merlin |
 |
| Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Pink Footed Goose |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Little Egret |
 |
| Woodpigeon |
 |
| Black Headed Gull, Arctic Tern, Common Gull, Kittiwake |
 |
| Brent Goose |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Tree Sparrow |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow |
