In recent years, with less and less military aircraft activity around locally, some of those previously to be seen sat at the end of the runway at (the former RAF) Leuchars with cameras in hand have taken a bit more interested in other things with wings. Although none so far would probably consider themselves to be 'birders' they do now actively seek out birds to photograph with some rather nice results. Indeed during a visit to the Isle of May, Gill Howie (of Squadron Prints Ltd) found the island's first ever Red Grouse though she didn't actually appreciate the significance of the find until I put it into more familiar aircraft terms. With a few extra days off I arranged to head out birding with another aircraft photographer who I used to meet up with for a few days every September at Leuchars airshow arrivals time, Ally Preston. When things were quiet we would watch and photograph the birds, including one memorable time when he said he had an Osprey and I said no, that's a Sea Eagle. It turned out that we were both correct, the Austrian Air Force Typhoons noisy practice display had spooked one of each from the Eden Estuary.
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| Yellowhammer |
As Ally now lives in West Lothian it would be a bit later in the morning before he would arrive in Dundee so I arranged to meet him around 1030 at Riverside Nature Park. I would head down to the park early and see what I could find then when Ally arrived we would do a rough circuit of Angus and see how many different species we could see. I had a couple of year-list targets that I hoped we might see along the way and with relatively decent weather forecast we could expect somewhere between 50 and 80 species along the way. Fingers were crossed.
I wanted to get to the Nature Park as early as possible so I headed out at around 0720 to catch the bus into town and another out to the park. On the way to the bus stop I managed to see Blackbird, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon with Carrion Crow seen from the bus on Dens Road. Robin and Blue Tit were heard but not seen at The Howff when I got off the bus in the city centre. Collared Dove was the one addition when I got off the second bus to walk down to the park. It was a rather cold, crisp and clear morning with a bit of frost around. A fairly typical Dundee winter morning.
Once I was into the park the birds started to appear. First a Carrion Crow pair overflying, then a Chaffinch 'pink-ing' from the bushes and a Woodpigeon clattering out from the trees by the access path. A Blackbird hunting around on the grass and a Blue Tit in the trees were next. I spotted a distant Buzzard being chased by Carrion Crows before it landed in a tree, where the crows continued to harass it. A Song Thrush sang from the top of a small tree, its repetitive song ringing out loud and strong in the relatively still morning air. Having seen Jack Snipe in the flooded area on my previous visit I hoped for a closer view this time. A Reed Bunting called from the hedge but only a single Snipe flushed from the flood as I walked around the edges.
I headed up through the car park, adding Robin and Greenfinch to the list on the way. A pair of Magpies flew up to the top of the hill. On my way to the Lochan, I stopped to photograph a male Bullfinch posing nicely in the golden sunlight at the top of a small tree. A pair of Mistle Thrushes overflew noisily calling as they went. Black Headed and Common Gulls passed over in the direction of the bay. The Lochan was almost completely frozen over though the local Mute Swans seemed to be managing to keep a very small area ice-free. Rather unusually a Starling called loudly as it flew in the direction of the bay. A pair of Long Tailed Tits foraged in the hedge around the hide as I stood photographing the Swans, giving me close views, though the constant movement made them tricky to photograph.
A Herring Gull glided over as I walked further on and a singing Skylark rose up from the top of the hill. It proved tricky to pick out against the glare from the sun and blue sky but I found it eventually. Good views of a singing male Yellowhammer were had as I wandered along the path in the direction of the hide with the bird looking very smart in the early morning sunshine. Reaching the hide I found the tide was still quite well out but a bit of searching soon added some new species to the day list with Redshanks and a few Dunlin on the mud down from the hide. There were also one or two Curlews further out. A trio of Pink Footed Geese headed north over Invergowrie. A group of Mallards roosted by the mouth of the tunnel. A Great Tit and a pair of Siskins picked around in the trees by the hide. A pair of Snipe were picked out as they stood in front of the reeds by the railway station across the bay.
A pair of Goosanders and a few Teal were also on the burn. A single Grey Heron strode along the edge of the outflow pipe. The first Oystercatcher of the day made its presence known in the usual way by calling loudly as it flew up from the bay. The usual mix of gulls were along the pipe and in the burn. I walked round towards the hill again to get a more open view over the bay. Goldfinch was added here and a pair of Shelduck were spotted out on the water. A Cormorant was stood with extended wings on the outflow pipe. A trio of Skylarks flew around with bursts of song interspersed with some chases before a mother and two young children decided to try a spot of sledging down the frosty side of the hill. First time I've seen sleding in the park, and first time I've seen anyone sledging on frost, rather than snow.
I made another circuit of the park but with the exception of a Wren and a Dunnock there was nothing else added. With roughly an hour to kill before Ally's expected arrival I looked for photo opportunities and managed to find a few, though as there were now a few more people around, there seemed to be slightly fewer birds, or at least fewer visible ones. Just as I reached the car park, Ally arrived, ahead of schedule. We discussed the plans for a few minutes and then set off for our first stop at Loch of Kinnordy, though we were taking a slightly different route from the usual in the hope that the mixed flock of geese might still be around near Eassie.
Kestrel and Pheasant were soon on the list and we saw a few more Buzzards as we made our way out to Newtyle before turning eastwards. A roadside Robin and a few Jackdaws in a field were seen, though Ally's driving style was less suited to birding on the move than Nat's. Unfortunately, this meant that fewer IDs were managed from the car resulting in a few 'misses' from the list at the end of the day. However, this was possibly balanced out by being able to squeeze in a few more stops along the way. We soon reached Loch of Kinnordy having drawn a blank on any geese at all in the fields en route. A Great Tit was in the trees byy the car park and we could hear Greylags out on the Loch.
With a few Bramblings having been seen earlier in the week by the feeders I suggested we head here first, in the hope of a year-tick for me, and what might be a new species for Ally. When we arrived there was a flock of Chaffinches feeding around a few feet in front of 2 photographers near the feeders. One of these was Adam Caird and the other I didn't recognise. Rather than disturb the birds and spoil Adam's photo opportunities, we held back, watching for our target species. After a few minutes I spotted a female
Brambling and pointed it out to Ally, though from where he stood it wasn't altogether clear whether he was able to see the bird. There were a few Blue Tits and Great Tits around in the trees but with the Bramblings below our attention was held by them. Adam called us forward to join them and we moved forward slowly to join them, with the feeding birds unconcerned by the movement.
We chatted for a while as we took a few more photos of the Bramblings before deciding to head along to check out the almost completely frozen Loch. Around the one area of open water a number of different species stood, with others on the water. Black Headed, Herring and Common Gulls (but sadly no Iceland Gulls), Mute and Whooper Swans, Greylags, Mallards, Tufted Duck, Teal, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and a few Oystercatchers. I almost managed to miss a pair of Shelducks sleeping behind the birds on the water. A Coot was another that almost went unseen. A flock of Lapwings flew past. We headed back along the path picking up Coal Tit, on our way to the gullery hide where we hoped to add Snipe to our joint list. We didn't have to look too hard to see the sleeping birds out on the bogbean islands. The Rooks along by the rookery trees were their usual noisy selves.
With our first target species seen I suggested our next destination should be one of the Angus glens, where we would have the chance of maybe a few raptors and grouse (hopefully Red, though Black is never unwelcome) as well as maybe a Raven or two. With Ally's driving we were soon in the glens though at first it seemed rather quiet. However, we watched as a number of Buzzards circled above a forested area. A single Raven flew low over the tops of the trees below the Buzzards. Another species I suspected we might see was Red Legged Partridge but we drew a blank on that one. Things didn't look too promising when we also failed to see any grouse before we reached the end of the road. We decided to have a short walk in the hope that we might hear, and then see, a Red Grouse or two. We managed to hear a few distant birds but they seemed to be well hidden in the heather. Eventually I spotted two distant birds in flight and watched where they landed. One of the
Red Grouse pair was still visible and I managed to get Ally onto the bird. Target number 2 achieved.
As we headed back down the glen a bird flew up into a tree ahead of us. We were driving into the sun so it was hard to tell exactly what it was, though the flight style had suggested Jay. We stopped and found that my identification of the bird was correct. Unfortunately it then flew off into some trees a bit further away, before Ally could get a photo. I tried to guide him onto the bird but it continued to move through the trees until I too lost sight of it. Still, it was Ally's first Jay in the UK, his only previous one being overseas. Another decent find. With nothing else of note seen in the glen we set off for our next stop at Montreathmont Forest. Having seen so many Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers the day before with Nat I suspected we wouldn't have to try too hard to get both species on our day list.
We were ahead of the rough schedule I had sketched out the previous evening when we reached the forest, with Ally's driving style being the main reason for that, though finding our target species relatively quickly had also contributed to the earlier than planned arrival. The Bullfinch flock from the previous day was still in the conifers by the track along with a few Chaffinches. High in the trees on the opposite side of the track we found a few Goldfinches and Siskins. We walked down the track but there was little else other than a few Coal Tits to see. I explained to Ally what to look for with regards woodpeckers in flight, the undulating flight being a big clue. I soon found a distant Green Woodpecker perched atop a tree in the distance. We heard a few others before the first of a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers was added. Another Jay was seen as we headed back towards the car.
Next stop was The Lurgies at Montrose Basin and we made good time on the way there again. Most of the birds were rather distant well out on the mud, though half a dozen Little Grebes were close enough to identify without any trouble a little downriver. There were also a few Curlews dotted around on the exposed mud. Suddenly a flock of Redshanks flew in at pace, and dropped in on the bank near where we were stood. One reversed back into a bit of seaweed and hunched down. That could only mean that it was attempting to hide from something. A raptor, but where? We didn't have to look too hard to see what was responsible fr the Redshanks' panic. A
Peregrine, my first of the year. We watched it make a few swoops at some birds in flight before it followed the river past us and out of sight. Right place, right time again.
We headed round to the Visitor Centre to pop into the hide in the hope that we might get views of the Bittern. With the sun shining, the light was good for photos. Fingers crossed. However, when we arrived at the hide we immediately saw that a pop-up hide had been positioned out by the pools. A couple who were already in the hide told us that they had seen no sign of the Bittern at all, nor the usually quite conspicuous Kingfisher. There wasn't even a Grey Heron nearby. It appeared that the hide was just too out of the ordinary for the birds. I suspect that had the photographer dispensed with the hide and just sat quietly in front of the reeds, he would have had marginally more success.
There were thankfully still some birds visible, though these were out in the basin, either on the mud, or exposed shingle, or even on the water. Redshanks, Dunlin, Oystercatchers, Curlews and a single Bar Tailed Godwit were the wader species that we could see. Cormorants, Mallards, Pintail, Wigeon and Eiders were also visible though mostly quite distant. I found the Peregrine perched on a rock out in the basin stood beside a Herring Gull. A pair of Red Breasted Mergansers were added before we watched the photographer leave his hide and pack things up. Whoever he was, he didn't appear familiar to me. (Talking to Alex Shepherd the following morning in the hide, having spoken to SWT site management he confirmed that the photographer actually had permission from them to position his hide out by the pools, though they decided on exactly where he could site it, with any Bittern photos taken being made available for use by the SWT in the visitor centre. Not a popular decision among birders and photographers alike and one that hopefully won't ever be repeated, with the Bittern not having been seen since - as of 23/2).
With some daylight still remaining we headed for Boghead Farm too try for Corn Buntings. Starlings were added en route. Linnets, Yellowhammers and Chaffinches were in the trees behind the cottages though they were rather restless. We were distracted for a few minutes by a Lufthansa airliner which flew directly across the face of the moon giving us both the chance to get a photo that relies on a lot of luck. Incidentally, having never seen a plane fly across the moon while having a camera to hand prior to this year, I've now seen it happen, and photographed it, twice this year. While we were watching the plane, from somewhere the large tree round by the edge of the field had filled up with birds. Thankfully, these were a mix of Linnets and Corn Buntings. With the better lighting conditions these proved far easier to identify than they had the day before when there had also been far fewer of them.
Snow Buntings had been seen in the field by Arbroath Cliffs earlier in the week, so we decided to drop by there next, before popping along to Elliot in the hope that there may still be a lingering Short eared Owl. With the sun getting lower in the sky, the wind was picking up and the temperature had noticeably dropped. A number of Herring Gulls hung in the wind above the car park and we wandered up the hill to the corner of the field. The wind was quite strong here and a quick scan along the field produced no birds initially. Another pass picked up what appeared to be a single Golden Plover among the crops on the skyline. With the buntings having not been reported that day we chose not to walk any further and headed back down to the car. A Rock Pipit was heard but not seen.
As we drove along towards Elliot an AGV text message came in - Snow Buntings in the field by the cliffs. Rather than turn round we continued on along to the golf course car park where we scanned around to see if there was any activity. There wasn't so with the sun now having vanished behind the clouds along the horizon we headed back towards Dundee. We had one further surprise when we reached the city. As we drove along the stretch of road between Claypotts and the Scott Fyffe circle at the bottom of the Kingsway we saw a Grey Heron perched on the apex of a roof of one of the houses with a couple of Carrion Crows keeping a close eye on it.
An enjoyable and productive day out with 68 species on my list (38 at Nature Park, of which 10 weren't seen later, and 58 while out and about with Ally) though Ally's relative inexperience with regards birding did make for a slightly different experience to my usual birding. 3 year-ticks for me (in bold) and a good catch-up made it a worthwhile trip.
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| Buzzard & Carrion Crow |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Magpie |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Skylark |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Robin |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Wren |
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| Carrion Crow |
38 species seen at Nature Park - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yelllowhammer.
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| Brambling & Chaffinch |
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| Brambling |
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| Greylag, Tufted Duck, Teal, Shelduck, Wigeon, Mallard, Herring Gull, Goosander & Mute Swan |
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| Lapwing |
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| Greylag & Whooper Swan |
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| Snipe |
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| Buzzard |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Raven |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Peregrine |
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| Herring Gull & Peregrine |
58 species seen with Ally - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit,
Brambling, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher,
Peregrine, Pheasant, Pintail, Raven,
Red Grouse, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Snipe, Starling, Teal, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
