STONEFACTION BIRDING: 05/31/15

0165 : Subdued Saturday (23/5/15)

Saturday morning and it was one of those where I was undecided where to go and because of that I lay in bed longer than I should. By the end of May there is still a chance of something good turning up as it migrates, either overshooting from the south, or ending up on the wrong side of the North Sea on its way to Scandinavia or the Arctic. However, most of the waders seem to have departed early this year for their breeding grounds. With the glens the best place to visit around this time of year and me having no means of getting there ruling out that option, that really only left a trip to the coast for some sea-watching.

Yellowhammer

I left the house at about 1010 to walk down to the Arbroath Road to catch a bus picking up some usual suspects along the walk - House Sparrow and Feral Pigeon almost as soon as I was out the door, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Starling a bit further on, House Martins near the primary school buildings, and a Blue Tit flying into a tree near Dura Street. While waiting for the bus to arrive I watched 2 Swifts circling around above the tenements nearby. The sky should be full of their screams just now, but it appears that the colder than normal weather has meant they have relocated elsewhere this Spring, so local breeding is going to be very late at best, if it even happens.

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.

Goldfinch

Pied Wagtail

Kestrel

Whitethroat

0164 : Midweek Meanderings (20/5/15)

I recently dropped my working hours to 30 per week (over 4 days rather than 5)to benefit my health and overall well-being, so with now having every Wednesday free I am able to get another day of birding in. My birding buddy Nat is also usually free on a Wednesday so we are trying to get out and about if possible and bump up Nat's life-list in the process, having already seen a wide variety of birds on our days out so far this year. With Nat having not yet seen a Redstart we decided to try for one in the Angus glens.

Stonechat

Heading out just before 8am, the local House Sparrows and Herring Gulls welcomed me into the daylight, with Starling and a lone Swift added before I reached Nat's car. While discussing the plan for the day we added Feral Pigeon. Some of the Angus glens are better than others for particular species, while some other birds can be found in most, if not all, of them. We were off to try one that I had managed to see Redstart in before, though it wasn't one I visited very often.

On the road up we added Carrion Crow first of all, followed by Pheasant, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Blackbird and Swallow. As we turned down the main glen road we added a few more species on the first stretch - Woodpigeon, Chaffinch and then both Mistle and Song Thrush in the same field. We found a place to stop and have a walk along the road to see what we could find.

I had seen Spotted Flycatcher at this point before and sure enough the first bird we found was a Spotted Flycatcher flying up from a fence, catching insects and returning back to the fence. As we approached however it flew up into a large tree. A calling Chiffchaff gave its position away and was added to the list. Willow Warbler and Siskin were next in what was turning out to be a rather productive small section of the glen. Blue Tits flashed around among the greenery on the next tree along. I spotted another bird fly into a tree slightly further down the slope. It turned out to be a nice male Bullfinch.

A Tree Pipit sang and gave a short display flight from yet another tree, though clear views were tricky to get through the tangle of branches. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was the next addition. I could hear a bird singing as we wandered back, and was sure it was a Redstart but it proved rather tricky to find high in the trees. Eventually I found a spot on the road from where I could see it. Unfortunately it moved again before Nat could get onto it. I succeeded in finding it once again but it was not settling for any longer than a second or two and Nat only managed to see the bird in flight as it flew into the main plantation area on the opposite side of the road.

We headed on further into the glen where a Linnet was a slight surprise. Long Tailed Tits were working their way through the trees, contact calls ringing out. We had another walk watching Spotted Flycatchers catching insects on the wing from a variety of perches. Lesser Redpolls flew over trilling as they went. Jackdaws were in another field. The first Meadow Pipit of the day perched on a fence watching us. A Robin was discovered in a small bush.

Another bird we were hoping to find was Whinchat and I had seen a pair in this particular part of the glen before. I could hear a bird singing that I didn't recognise and I figured it was likely to be Whinchat so I searched around the area of hillside where the sound was coming from. After about 5 minutes I picked out the bird quite distantly, perched atop a small conifer. I managed to somehow describe the correct tree and to direct Nat onto the bird.

We wandered uphill a bit adding a Wren picking around in a fallen conifer, as well as a House Martin skimming the treetops for insects. A Great Tit flitted around while above it Willow Warbler and Spotted Flycatchers made short airborne forays for unseen targets. A Pied Wagtail was seen on a stone in the burn, and after a bit of searching the Grey Wagtail I could hear calling was also found.

We headed on up the glen a bit further to an area where Red Grouse and Black Grouse can usually be found, though sometimes rather distant. Lapwings and Oystercatchers were in the field on one side of the road, while a Snipe made a short display flight before dropping back into the heather on the hillside. A Curlew landed further up the hill. Scanning through the heather I found a Red Grouse male stood on a slight rise, surveying all in front of him. A male Black Grouse flew low before dropping into the heather and disappearing from our sight.

Having seen the two hoped for species we pushed on further down the glen to the end of the road. We grabbed a quick bite to eat before wandering up a track for a bit. Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Mistle Thrush and Starlings were the main species seen. Arriving back at the car, we watched a Grey Heron flying down the glen. At a fork in the road on our way back, we decided to take the alternative route from the one we had been on earlier. We stopped to search for Redstart again but drew a blank.

Further on, I almost missed a Cuckoo perched on overhead wires behind a cottage. Nat stopped the car and we craned back over our shoulders to confirm that it was indeed a Cuckoo, before it flew off and we moved on again. We stopped at another place where I had seen Redstart in the past, and sure enough we could hear a bird singing when we got out of the car. A few Pheasants in a field nearby ran off down the hill, and a Mistle Thrush flew into the trees. No matter where we stood along the road we could not pick out the Redstart among the trees. It seemed to move at various times but we never even saw the movement taking the bird from tree to tree. We did see a Great Spotted Woodpecker below the trees though. Eventually we had to give up and move on.

We decided on a quick visit to another glen to see if we could add anything else to our list for the day. Mallard was a surprising addition as a pair overflew. A little further on a Sparrowhawk flew over the raod and across the glen with a bit of harassment from a Carrion Crow as it went. A Stonechat by the side of the road was another nice surprise. A Kestrel was next and on reaching the end of the road we watched a few Sand Martins whizzing around.

We had a walk back along the road a bit for hopefully better views of the Stonechat. A squabble between 3 Ravens resulted in a high speed chase over us involving 2 of the 3 birds. We could hear a few Red Grouse but couldn't see them. A Meadow Pipit popped up on the fence but a little further on, so had the Stonechat male. We approached slowly and the bird moved into a small roadside tree where it gave us very close views and was joined by the slightly shyer female. We took a few photos and headed back to the car.

With a bit of time left before Nat had to be home, we decided to pop into Loch of Kinnordy for half an hour or so just to round off the list. A Red Legged Partridge was seen on our way out of the glen. Black Headed Gulls were on the bogbean islands at the Loch when we arrived, with Shelduck near the hide, and Coot, Mallard, Shoveler and Tufted Ducks dotted around on the water. A few Moorhens picked around on the islands. A few distant Reed Buntings were visible in the reeds across the far side of the loch. A Common Gull flew by and we had brief flight views of the male Marsh Harrier before it was time to head for home.

61 species seen in what was once again a good day out with Nat, though the hoped for Redstart for her life-list didn't give good enough views to go on the list proper. If at first you don't succeed.....

Species seen - Black Grouse, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cuckoo, Curlew, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Red Grouse, Red Legged Partridge, Redstart, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Tufted Duck, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.