Another midweek and time for another birding outing with Nat. With some of the Summer migrants arriving in the Angus Glens we decided to pay one, and maybe a second one, a visit. Our usual time restrictions would not apply with Nat's circumstances having changed so there would be no need to rush, and as long as hunger and/or tiredness didn't come into play we could pretty much stay out all day. With this in mind we settled on a slightly later than usual start of 0900.
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| Red Grouse |
Nat arrived to pick me up on time as usual and off we went. It was a fairly standard haul to get us started, with Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Starling and Woodpigeon being the first birds on the list, followed by Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Blackbird as we headed north out of the city. We decided to drop into Loch of Kinnordy first just in case there were any passing migrants to be found. At this time of year almost anything is possible. Curlew, Pheasant and Mallard were seen in fields as we approached Glamis. On our way through Glamis we added Long Tailed Tit to the list. Between there and Kirriemuir we then added Jackdaw, Oystercatcher and Rook. A surprise Wheatear was seen in the field opposite Kinnordy just before we turned into the car park.
A Great Tit and Reed Bunting were seen as we walked along the wooden walkway to the Gullery Hide. There were plenty of birds to see from the hide with Greylags, Tufted Ducks, Moorhen, Mute Swans and Mallards all out on the water. Sand Martins and a few Swallows swooped and zipped low over the Loch. A Moorhen and a few Lapwings wandered around on the bogbean islands. There were a few Black Headed Gulls around but nothing like the numbers that are usually around at this time of year. A Redshank picked around on the bogbean island in front of the hide giving us good views. A male Reed Bunting showed well also on the island.
An Osprey was perched on one of the conifers opposite the hide and a few Pied Wagtails were picked out as they ferreted around in the bogbean. A Grey Heron flew in but didn't stay long before flying off again after an aborted attempt at fishing. A drake Shoveler could be seen out on the Loch. A Common Sandpiper was spotted as it fed along the water's edge around to our left. Minutes later it flew in and landed on the bogbean island in front of us giving us exceedingly good views and plenty of photo opportunities. Surprisingly we heard a few Meadow Pipits and saw them fly past - not a bird usually seen at the Loch. A Buzzard was seen over the back of the Loch. Siskins were next to overfly, the distinctive calls alerting us to their presence.
With time creeping onwards we decided it was time to head to the Glens, despite the good light for photos (and no Marsh Harriers seen). A Song Thrush was seen as we walked back to the car. The quieter back roads can be good for seeing a variety of birds from the car and we did reasonably well with Red Legged Partridge and Yellowhammer on the list within a few miles. Common Gulls in another field and a Shelduck stood at a large puddle in another field. Linnet and Skylark were next, with Mistle Thrush and Stock Doves soon after. A short trip through 'civilisation' added House Sparrow and Collared Dove to the list.
Once we made it into the Glen proper we took things slower, where we could, though there was a bit more traffic on the road than ideal. A Goosander drake flew down the Glen, while a Dunnock showed by the side of the road. We found a place to pull in off the road to do a spot of exploring among the trees. As we got out of the car I heard what I was sure was a Tree Pipit. A few minutes of searching and a false alarm in the shape of a Meadow Pipit in a tree and we had our first
Tree Pipit of 2016. A pair of Robins hopped around on the track nearby. A Chaffinch was on a drystane dyke by the edge of a field and I spotted some distant birds which I was sure were Fieldfares. Photos proved it. Nat had a Redwing fly past but I missed it.
As we walked back along the track we had better views of a singing Tree Pipit and I managed to get some reasonable photos. A burst of song was heard from the trees off to our right. I was sure it was a Redstart and we both spotted the striking male low in the branches of a tree at the same time. Unfortunately, my temperamental Tamron lens decided it didn't want to work and I missed out on a photo before the bird disappeared into the trees behind. Still we had our first 100% definite
Redstart (after our brief Kilminning bird) of the year. I spotted a Treecreeper crawling up the trunk of a tree quite low down. Keeping another tree trunk between me and the bird I managed to get pretty close and succeeded in getting some nice photos as the bird hauled some of a mossy carpet back off the tree trunk to search beneath it. A Willow Warbler sang from a tree opposite the car before we set off again.
We soon stopped when I spotted 3 raptors high in the sky. These turned out to be a pair of Red Kites tussling with a single Buzzard. A Blue Tit hunted around in a roadside bush. We had better views of some Fieldfares in another field but didn't stop for a photo. Instead we continued on to the end of the glen to walk further along a track in the hope of a possible Ring Ouzel or two. A Redpoll in a tree looked like a possible Common/Mealy showing a rather cold grey face but the views were fairly non-conclusive. A little further on a Dipper was spotted on the burn flying low from rock to rock. A Coal Tit was in the trees. There were a few Meadow Pipits around but no Wheatear. Mistle Thrush and Common Sandpiper were also seen, along with Lapwing.
We reached an area where we have seen Ring Ouzel in the past and had a look around. I could hear a bird singing that sounded distinctly thrush-like in tone. I scanned likely perches but saw nothing. Nat spotted a couple of birds fly in.
Ring Ouzels, a pair, the female ringed - so possibly the same pair seen in the area in previous years. Another year-tick. With another target bird found we headed back to the car. A pair of Wigeon flew up from the burn. A Wren, a few Blue Tits, a Coal Tit and a Willow Warbler were all foraging on the ground on the slope leading to the burn. Further on I spotted another male Redstart but once again the lens wouldn't focus but I did manage a rather poor 'record shot' using manual focus. We added Goldfinch as we neared the car. Heading back down the glen we failed to add anything else to the list.
We decided to try a second Glen in the hope of maybe a few Grouse and maybe an early-ish Cuckoo. Unfortunately, things were rather quiet and a Kestrel around half-way along the Glen was the first new bird. We then found around half a dozen Black Grouse males picking around in the grass near the road, but not quite near enough. Reaching the end of the Glen we turned round and started back. The Black Grouse were no closer to the road so after a few minutes we moved on again. A stretch of road which can be good for Red Grouse gave us nothing. However a bit further on we found a male by the side of the road which allowed a few photos before disappearing off into the heather.
A short distance further on we found a pair on my side of the car and I managed a nice selection of photos with the male in particular showing exceedingly well in the sun. Another male was on Nat's side of the road a bit further on and again gave us some really nice views. These were Nat's first Red Grouse of the year. With no rush to get home we decided to head to the coast in the hope of maybe finding a few terns at Montrose. Tree Sparrows were found around a farm on the way there. We parked near the Glaxo factory. A Linnet was on the fence. In the mouth of the river were a number of Guillemots, some quite close in. An Eider flew upriver, and a pair of Red Breasted Merganser were on the water up near the harbour.
We walked along the beach to see if there were any terns around but there were none. Heading back to the car, a Cormorant flew back out to sea from the direction of the Basin and a couple of Great Black Backed Gulls were on a roof with Herring Gulls. Next stop on our way down the road was Auchmithie in the hope of finding a Puffin or two. A few Eiders and a Herring Gull were on the water below the cliffs as we viewed from the north end of the village. There were a few Fulmars dotted around on the cliffs. A bit of searching found a single
Puffin bobbing around on the sea. Another year-tick.
We had a quick stop at Arbroath but there was nothing to be added so we headed along the coast to one last stop at Westhaven. Although there were no waders close in, we could see Gannets well out, the white wings catching the low sun as they dived into the sea. A few Sandwich Terns flew in, one landing on one of the wooden poles for a minute or two before flying off again in the company of another Tern. A pair of Red Throated Divers landed quite far out. We decided to scan using the scope. There were more Red Throated Divers well out as well as a few Guillemots slightly closer in. The sun disappeared behind a cloud and we headed for home after a very successful day out.
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| Redshank |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Osprey |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Redpoll |
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| Dipper |
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| Ring Ouzel |
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| Lapwing |
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| Redstart |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Linnet |
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| Eider |
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| Guillemot |
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| Puffin |
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| Oystercatcher & Herring Gull |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Herring Gull |
78 species seen (year-ticks in bold). - Black Grouse, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail,
Puffin, Red Grouse, Red Kite, Red Breasted Merganser, Red Legged Partridge, Redshank,
Redstart, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting,
Ring Ouzel, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow,
Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
