After the success of my week's annual leave from work, the usual Wednesday outing with Nat was always likely to struggle to compete. The weather forecast was mostly showery and the only good birds around seemed to be either too far away or on the Isle of May. The May was an option but with Nat already having plans to get out there she wasn't overly keen to go more than once, and I've been reluctant to revisit the island since a rather uncomfortable boat trip back a few years ago. However, with relatively calm conditions and easterly winds it was unlikely to get any better for me to want to go again. In the end we decided to head inland and do a circuit of sorts around Angus.
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| Osprey |
A later than normal start of 0900 saw a fairly untypical start to the list with only a few birds to be seen before we left Dundee. Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Blackbird and Starling were regulars but Jackdaw and Magpie were less so. We decided to visit Loch of Kinnordy first so we took our usual cross-country route rather than the fast route up the A90 to Forfar and across to Kirriemuir and Kinnordy. This meant more birds - Skylark, Swallow, Lapwing, Pheasant, Chaffinch, House Martin and Rook. Nearing the reserve we added House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail and Red Legged Partridge around a nearby farm.
Into the hide we went. Mute Swans were easy to pick out without binoculars though having seen Whoopers a few days earlier we double-checked the birds anyway. A Dunnock popped onto the bogbean in front of the hide. The Barn Owl was once again very active in its box. The Black Headed Gulls around the islands were also busy, collecting nest material and mating. Dotted around on the water could be seen Coots, Teal and Tufted Duck. There were also a few Greylags present, while an Osprey was high in a tree across the far side of the Loch. A few Carrion Crows passed over, while a Redshank wandered around on the bogbean. Mallards and Moorhens appeared from behind the cover of the islands.
It didn't take too long before we had our first sighting of the Marsh Harriers, welcome as always. While scanning I picked up the distinctive flights of displaying Snipe - rapidly flapping wings before gliding into a steep dive before pulling upwards again in an arc. Although the birds were well to the western end of the Loch, they were easy to see with the aid of binoculars. Shoveler was next onto the list with a couple of males dropping in. Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler and Robin were seen in the reeds, while a chance glance out of the side window resulted in very close views of two Roe Deer in the small inlet to the right of the hide and a nice portrait of one up close. They moved round to the other side of the hide, a little more distant, but still quite close, via the path at the end of the wooden entrance bridge.
Surprisingly we had been in the hide for almost an hour before we saw our first Sand Martins of the day, hawking for insects over the reeds at the back of the reserve. A pair of Gadwall swam into view from our right. A Blue Tit landed on the bogbean below the front of the hide while a Swallow seemed to suggest that once again, a nest was being used below the hide itself, as in previous years. A Lesser Black Backed Gull glided over and a Wren picked around on the closest island among the vegetation. A Buzzard gave us one last day-list bird before we decided to move on again. Swifts were seen above Kirriemuir and roadworks meant a longer route to Murton. The weather looked less than promising but we managed a quick look from 2 of the 3 hides with Little Ringed PLover being the only addition, before we headed for Balgavies.
We had debated whether or not it was worthwhile stopping or not, but as the weather looked worse to the east, where we were headed we decided it made sesnse to pop into the hide for a while. This turned out to be a good decision with almost everything that could be expected at the feeders showing at one point or another. Goldfinch was seen at the car park. Naturally, Osprey and Greylag were seen from the hide as well as Great Crested Grebe and Grey Heron. Great Tit, Lesser Redpoll, Greenfinch, Coal Tit and a Jay were all new additions - Blue Tit, Blackbird and Chaffinch all having already been seen earlier. A Treecreeper decided to climb up one of the posts holding up the feeders before a pair of Siskins dropped in. A Long Tailed Tit popped by briefly. A Goosander flew by westwards, while a Bullfinch passed by in both directions. A male Yellowhammer and a Great Spotted Woodpecker gave us another few additions.
A Wasp had been causing moments of slight anxiety by appearing in front of us, but had been shoo-ed off. However, a buzzing behind us once or twice, had me wondering where it was coming from. With rain battering down outside, I decided to have a look. I soon found out where the Wasp was, and what it was doing. Hanging from the roof of the hide were the beginnings of 3 Wasps' bykes, with the insect in the process of constructing one, which appeared to contain eggs in the small sections already constructed. Wasp communities and birders are unlikely to happily co-exist in as small a space as the Balgavies bird hide, so this wasn't good news. However given that there was only 1 Wasp attending to the building of the nests it wasn't yet at the dangerous stage. I took a few photos and videos with my phone before the Wasp eventually flew out the window. We quickly shut the window and I removed the 3 built sections from the ceiling. It was interesting to feel how light and yet strong they were.
We decided to continue on towards Montrose Basin. However, as the rain that had drenched Balgavies was also headed in that direction we settled on visiting the visitor centre instead of venturing to The Lurgies or elsewhere. Again, this proved to be a decent decision with the rain soon catching up with us and enveloping where we would have been. We passed the Wasp byke sections on to Alison O'Hara at the centre - to be used as a wee nature 'exhibit' to show school parties etc. Birds were in short supply however with only 8 additions made from the centre - Cormorant, Shelduck, Goldeneye, Common and Arctic Terns, Eiders, tree Sparrow and Common Gull.
A stop at Ferryden proved futile with heavy rain wiping out any chance of even seeing any birds - though the river mouth did appear empty anyway. We headed next for Auchmithie adding Corn Bunting and Linnet on the way. From the cliff-top at the northern end of the village we watched a few Gannets fly northwards low over the water. A few Fulmars circled round along the cliffs while a Common Whitethroat showed really well among the cliff-top brambles. Scanning the water gave us a small group of Puffins as well as a handful of Guillemots and Razorbills.
Arbroath was our next stop as we moved on trying to remain ahead of the rain which seemed to be only minutes behind us at each stop. Great Black Backed Gull, Shag, Kittiwake, Rock Pipit and Sandwich Tern all put in an appearance though there was no sign of any Curlews - one of a few surprising ommissions from the day list along with Collared Dove and a few others. I spotted a group of 3 small birds flying low over the water. A few grabbed photos gave us 2 new species - the trio were 2 Dunlin and a Ringed Plover. We added Feral Pigeon on our way through the town towards our 1 final stop at Westhaven. There were no Curlews here either though a group of birds out on the rocks in the bay proved to be Sanderling, rather than Turnstones or Purple Sandpiper - both of which were more likely to be seen on rocks, and also at Westhaven. A few mini-detours failed to give us Curlew or Collared Dove so the final total for the day was a pretty good 86 species.
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Gadwall |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Little Ringed Plover & Redshank |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
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| Siskin |
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| Osprey |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Osprey |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Puffin |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Barn Owl, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Ringed Plover, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Puffin, Razorbill, Red Legged Partridge, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer
