Sometimes it can be tricky to decide where to go on a Wednesday (or the weekend for that matter) especially if there is nothing 'new' around to try and see. There is plenty of choice locally but wintry weather can make heading inland slightly risky with lochs and smaller pools freezing over and less used minor roads prone to black ice and frost. So, with that in mind, and a wet start to the day forecast, myself and Nat decided on a later than usual start and to stick to the more coastal sites. A 1000 pick-up was arranged with a vague plan to head first to Montrose Basin in the hope of better views of the Bittern which has taken up residence this winter in the reedbeds in front of the Bank of Scotland hide.
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| Bittern |
Nat promptly arrived at 1000 and as we set off a few Herring Gulls could be seen gliding overhead. Blue Tit, Woodpigeon and a Pied Wagtail were next onto the list as we took a slightly different route to the Arbroath Road due to roadworks on Albert Street. Heading eastwards out of the city we were able to spot a few more species including Carrion Crow and both Common and Black Headed Gulls as well as numerous Oystercatchers feeding on the football pitches at Dawson Park. Once we left the city it didn't take too long to see the first Buzzard of the day, picking around on the grass by the side of the road in search of worms, or anything else edible.
We made a brief stop off at Arbroath, on the west side of the harbour but with the tide quite well in there wasn't too much to see, though a distant young Great Black Backed Gull on the harbour wall and a few Cormorants perched atop the poles within the harbour and a single Rock Pipit made the stop worthwhile as far as the list for the day was concerned. A Starling on a rooftop and a few Jackdaws flying over as we headed north through the town were next onto the list. As we neared Marywell I spotted 2 swans in a field and was slightly surprised to see that they were actually Whooper Swans. A little further on I remembered that we had both yet to see Corn Buntings this year so I suggested a slight detour to Boghead Farm to see if we could find any, having failed on our previous visit.
Despite a slight navigational error due to the slightly different route taken we found the right road down to the farm and stopped by the farm buildings. There were birds in the trees behind the cottages though the light wasn't ideal for picking out detail. A Corn Bunting gave a short burst of song from within the flock, though it wasn't readily apparent which bird it was. The flock was quite restless which also didn't help with our search. The pond held a few Mallards and Tufted Ducks as well as Mute Swan. Chaffinches and Yellowhammers were in the majority in the trees. Among them were a number of other birds including a few Tree Sparrows and Reed Buntings. Looking at photos showed a larger brown-ish bunting by a Yellowhammer which was clearly smaller. This had to be our
Corn Bunting and a look on the computer at home confirmed it, although there were another few around as well. A smaller flock in a different tree turned out to be Linnets. A Dunnock put in an appearance here as well as a Kestrel, both spotted by Nat.
With Corn Bunting on our year list we resumed our journey towards Montrose. Rooks by the main road were the only further addition before we arrived at the Basin visitor centre car park. Tree Sparrows and Blue Tits could be heard around in the trees and bushes as well as House Sparrows but all 3 species seemed to want to keep a low profile. We walked down the steps to the hide where we found Ron Mitchell already in place. Ron was the finder of the Bittern and we chatted to him as we scanned across the Basin and the reeds. Within a minute or so we had our first sighting of the Kingfisher, its call alerting us to its presence and despite the distance I managed a few reasonable photos as it hunted.
More scanning produced a group of Pintail, some distant Eiders, a few Red Breasted Mergansers and a small group of Turnstones flying past. A few Mallards floated by offshore. Further out I found a few drake Goldeneyes. I photographed a very distant flock of ducks in flight but it was only later that it became apparent what they actually were. Alex Shepherd joined us in the hide. A Grey Heron flew in to near where the Kingfisher was perched. Curlews and Shelducks flew by. Small groups of Redshanks did likewise. The Kingfisher was suddenly spooked by a rather loud voice coming down the stairs. A trio of folk entered. Two women and an older man, maybe in his seventies. It was the man who had spooked the Kingfisher. He proceeded to moan that he never managed to see the Kingfisher. Given the volume he spoke at this was no surprise.
He continued to rant about the lack of Kingfisher for a few minutes. One of his companions leant over and quietly apologised to me. Unfortunately the chances of the Bittern putting in an appearance seemed to be slipping away. With his voice showing no signs of getting any quieter anytime soon, Nat politely asked if he'd mind keeping the noise down a bit. This didn't go down too well, and after a bit of muttering he retorted that it was a public building so he could do what he liked and we couldn't stop him. His voice did lower a bit for a few minutes however but lots of clattering and banging as he tried to pour a cup of tea from a flask more than made up for the slight respite. A Black Tailed Godwit flew low along the shore.A pair of Buzzards passed over the reedbeds but nothing obvious stirred.
I managed to hear some distant Pink Footed Geese and spotted them well out over the Basin. A small group of Wigeon whizzed by offshore, and the Kingfisher popped up off to our left. I quietly mentioned it to Nat who suggested that we tell the man and his colleagues. They all managed to see the bird and we did get some gratitude from the man for pointing it out to him, and for making his day. That did ease the slight "atmosphere" in the hide, although it wasn't too long before the party of 3 departed to head up to the closed visitor centre in the hope of using the facilities anyway. On the way out we were thanked for pointing out the Kingfisher again and also for our patience from the lady who had apologised earlier.
With the return of some quiet to the hide a Moorhen appeared out front in the channel in front of the hide. It was more of the same out in the Basin with various waders and wildfowl passing back and forwards following the shoreline. With still no sign of the Bittern I asked Nat how much longer she wanted to give the bird before we moved on, or at least had our lunch. We settled on 1300. At around 1250 the first pair of Teal of the day floated by. A few minutes later to the right of the empty Tern raft I spotted a flock of ducks mostly asleep on the water not too far offshore. A quick check and the second new species for the year list was in the bag. Around 24
Scaup, and a single Tufted Duck. A nice bonus and the distant flock I'd photographed earlier.
With time slipping away I scanned and scanned through the reeds hoping
for some movement that wasn't just the wind catching the stems.
I checked the time again. 1259. Ah well, no Bittern. I quickly made a last slow scan along the edges of the reeds, just in case. I spotted a paler area in at the margins of a small partially hidden pool that I was sure hadn't been there earlier. It moved. I spoke up and got the others to check the same pool. There was definitely something moving and it was the Bittern, and just in the nick of time. Despite rumbling bellies we stayed put and watched the bird slowly edge out into the pool and crossed to the other side. Once it disappeared out of sight again, Nat decided to pop out to the car for some much needed lunch. I decided to stay put just in case the bird reappeared, or continued out into the open as I hoped it would do.
Needless to say it didn't but when Nat arrived back I spotted more movement and we watched the bird cross back to the other side of the pool again and further into the reeds. This was the opposite direction to where we hoped it would go, so we decided that it was probably "show over" for the day and to move on elsewhere. As Nat had yet to see Green Woodpecker this year we decided to head for Montreathmont Forest in the hope that we might find 1 or 2 there. There was also a chance of Crossbills and Redpolls, both of which would be new for both of us. Given our luck with the Bittern, Scaup and Corn Buntings already we might just be in luck yet again.
When we arrived at the forest, a birder in a car at the end of the track told us he'd been watching a flock of Bullfinches coming down to feed just feet from where he sat, and that he'd also just watched an owl fly down the track. We could hear the Bullfinches calling from within the conifers but it was only Chaffinches we could see as we walked into the forest. There weren't many other birds around though, with only a few Coal Tits and a Great Tit seen on our way to the more open area where we hoped we might catch a glimpse of the woodpeckers. Somewhere off in the rough direction of the ADBC hide we heard the yaffling call of a Green Woodpecker. I found a distant Green Woodpecker perched at the very top of a tall conifer and Nat got onto it just as it flew off. A second bird was then found a bit closer, this time the pale belly standing out well against the dark background of trees.
A pair of Great Spotted Wodpeckers flew across the open are and into the trees. For the next half hour we watched a mixture of Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers in flight and in trees before deciding wehad best head back to the car. A Jay flew into the smaller conifers and I managed to get an identification on a very distant small bird perched alongside some Woodpigeons. It was our first Goldfinch of the day. We made a slight detour to try to get a closer view of a calling Green Woodpecker. We failed though my first Blackbird of the day shot past me. As we neared the car again we managed to see some of the Bullfinches as they mingled with the Chaffinches in the trees off to our left.
We headed back towards Forfar to take the dual carriageway back to Dundee and home. As we passed Rescobie Loch I spotted a Little Grebe in among the roadside reeds just as it dived. I then rmarked that surprisingly we had ye to see a Pheasant and lo and behold there in a field to our right was a smart male Pheasant with some crows and pigeons. There were a lot of gulls on both sides of the road as we passed the Forfar dump but with time now slightly against us we chose not to stop to scan through the hundreds of birds. Nothing else was added but it had been yet another successful day out.
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| Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Linnet, Reed Bunting |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Pintail |
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| Turnstone |
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| Pintail |
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| Shelduck |
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| Shelduck |
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| Pintail |
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| Moorhen |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Buzzard |
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| Scaup (& Tufted Duck) |
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| Bittern |
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| Bittern |
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| Bittern |
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| Bittern |
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| Bittern |
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| Bittern |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Jay |
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| Bullfinch |
54 species seen with 2 year-ticks for me (in bold) among them. Species seen - Bittern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant,
Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Rock Pipit, Rook,
Scaup, Shelduck, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
