STONEFACTION BIRDING: 08/15/15

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.

Tufted Duck

Snipe

Lapwing

Swift

Osprey

Little Grebe

Spotted Flycatcher

Song Thrush

Common Blue butterfly

Spotted Flycatcher

Sandwich Tern

Redshanks, Black Headed Gulls

0191 : Cold Morning At RNP (9/8/15)

With a reasonable weather forecast and also a favourable high tide time in prospect for Sunday, I decided that I would spend the whole day birding. I would get out early probably head to Riverside Nature Park in the hope of waders passing through on passage as the tide herded them in to the area opposite the hide. I would follow that with a wander around the rest of the park, and then move on elsewhere. Nat had gardening needing done but had said that if she got a bit bored she would text message me to find out where I was and meet up. This would increase the options for the afternoon, as public transport isn't the best on a Sunday afternoon.

Herring Gull (?)

I headed out, prepared for a day's worth of birding, slightly underdressed at 8am to walk into town to catch the bus out to the Nature Park. It was a rather familiar beginning to the day list with Herring Gull, Woodpigeon and Blackbird first onto the list then Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow further down the road. Lesser Black Backed Gull was next. Swallow was added from the bus heading along Perth Road. I arrived at the park at about 0835. Carrion Crow greeted me, and a nice surprise was a pair of juvenile Song Thrushes by the path into the eastern end of the park. A flyover pair of Stock Doves was next, while a Woodpigeon flew into Buzzard Wood as I scanned the trees and bushes near the entrance.

Swallows hawked low over the grass and Buzzard Wood seemed to be full of only Chaffinches. Herring Gull and Black Headed Gulls drifted over. Goldfinches sang from the trees behind the car park, while a skulking bird lower down proved to be a Whitethroat. Sandwich Tern was heard calling out over the river, and spotted through binoculars using the call to home in on the source of the noise. A few sleeping Malards were at the Lochan, the remains of the small brood of 6 ducklings hatched nearby earlier in the year. Flyover Feral Pigeons were next as I walked in the direction of the bay.

From the track down to the hide I scanned along the short length of the outflow pipe that was visible above the vegetation. A Cormorant shared it with a Great Black Backed Gull, a few Herring Gulls and a Lesser Black Backed Gull or two. Scanning out across the mud from the hide itself I could see decent numbers of waders, with Lapwings the most numerous, followed by Redshanks, Dunlins, Oystercatchers and Curlews in that order. The wind from the west was making the temperature feel a lot lower than the forecast had predicted, and I was feeling a bit chilly. With the tide still having a good bit to come in, I was going to have to put up with it for a while if I wanted to see if there were any good birds tucked out of sight that might be forced into the receding area of mud as the tide pushed further in.

I did spot a good bird after a short while. A large bird in flight to the northwest over the back of Invergowrie turned out to be an Osprey carrying a fish. Among the Mallards in the burn I spotted a smaller duck and careful scrutiny identified it as a drake Teal in eclipse plumage. I scanned through the juvenile and 1st year gulls but as far as I could tell they were mainly Herring Gulls and a few Lesser Black Backeds. One day I will find a Yellow Legged or a Caspian Gull here (I hope). A few Jackdaws and Carrion Crows dropped in to drink and bathe by the burn, as did a few Feral Pigeons. Scanning and scanning produced none of the hoped for visiting waders with only a few Sandwich Terns as slight compensation.

By now I was really starting to feel the cold and decided that I would move on, hopefully out of the wind, which made it feel more like October than August. A flock of around a dozen Swifts were picked up moving west past the hospital, traveling with a bit of purpose, rather than the usual milling around that Swifts do. A pair of Linnets called as they passed over, and a small flock of Starlings flew by. I ha heard a mewing juvenile Buzzard from somewhere to the north of the park and finally spotted the bird as it glided into the trees behind Ninewells. A Skylark made a half-hearted ascent from the top of the hill before dropping back into the long grass out of the wind.

A Pied Wagtail was seen near the car park, while a Willow Warbler flitted around in the bushes at Buzzard Wood. The small wooded area behind held a Dunnock, a Wren and a Chiffchaff, though it did take a bit of effort to finally see all three. With no sign that the temperature was going to improve I decided to head for the bus home. If I decided to head back out later I would be better prepared for the cold wind. Perhaps unsurprisingly when I got off the bus on Dens Road, the sun had made an appearance and it was actually quite warm. Typical! A Magpie flew across the road into the trees and overhead a few House Martins twittered away as they swooped around catching insects.

37 Species seen (outside park only in italics) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warber, Woodpigeon, Wren