Having 'done' Fife the previous day, I decided that the Angus coast should be the main focus in the continuing search for a Curlew Sandpiper or two. Although Nat wouldn't be able to get out until a bit later than normal (and would have to finish up quite early) I arranged to head out early and to meet her somewhere around Westhaven or Easthaven a few hours later. Although the weather forecast was colder and greyer it wasn't supposed to be wet. However when I headed out at around 0725 it was rather drizzly. Rather than head back inside for a waterproof jacket I headed for the bus.
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| Great Skua |
With high tide around 0830-0900 or so, I hoped to get to Westhaven while the tide was quite high so that the birds would be close in to shore, or on the beach. It was fairly standard stuff to start with - Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Starling, Carrion Crow and Collared Dove. House Sparrow, Blackbird and Blue Tit were seen from the bus stop on Arbroath Road while waiting for the bus to arrive. Black Headed Gull and Jackdaw were added on the way to the western end of Carnoustie.
Arriving at Westhaven at around 0830 it was still rather cold but the drizzle had stopped. The light wasn't great for photos but there were plenty of birds around. On the shoreline and among the seaweed on the beach were Turnstones and Redshanks. Offshore were numerous Sandwich Terns and Common Terns plus a mixture of gulls including Black Headed, Herring and Common Gulls. One or two Curlews could be seen further away. Offshore a Cormorant flew by and there were one or two Eiders on the water. I set off along the beach scanning ahead to try to avoid spooking anything from the beach if at all possible.
There was a Pied Wagtail and a number of Starlings feeding among the seaweed piles but surprisingly no sign of any Wheatears. Oystercatchers flew by offshore, and a Great Black Backed Gull stood menacingly on an exposed rock in the water. A small group of Mallards swam along just beyond the rocks. A pair of Stock Doves flew up from the beach towards the railway line. I spotted a single Knot ahead of me wandering across the washed up seaweed. The bird was still in partial breeding plumage with a good proportion of brick-red underparts still on show.
Stopping to scan further out I picked up a couple of Kittiwakes and Gannets. A Rock Pipit flew by me. A small group of Dunlin and Ringed Plovers passed by offshore swinging around to land on the sand not too far away. As I reached the mouth of the Craigmill Burn I scanned along the water's edge but there was nothing new to be seen except a single Whimbrel. In addition, I spotted a large brown bird sitting in the water a few inches from the pebbles on the beach. Rather surprisingly this was a
Great Skua. A Bonxie. A year-tick for me. This however wasn't normal behaviour. The bird had to be injured or sick. I approached slowly but the bird stayed put unlike the rest of the birds further along the shore which took flight. I got within a few feet of the Bonxie and it just looked at me. It eventually stood up and waddled off unsteadily. It definitely wasn't a fit and healthy bird. I moved back up the beach away from it.
I considered calling the SSPCA but as the plan was to check the same stretch of beach with Nat a little later I decided to wait and see if it was perhaps just dazed or exhausted and left it to hopefully recover. If it was still there when I passed again I would phone the SSPCA to come and collect it. Nat texted to say she was on her way so I arranged to meet her in Easthaven. I headed off along the beach adding Linnet and Goldfinch to the list. A couple of Sanderling landed on the beach ahead of me. I heard a few Arctic Terns among the cacophony of Sandwich and Common Terns and eventually picked out a couple. The first Little Gulls of the day were next to be found. A youngster and a second summer stood on rocks. A Grey Heron flew past. A group of six Little Gulls circled above me, calling, and sounding quite tern-like.
As I neared Easthaven, I could see Nat waiting. A few House Martins were above the houses and a Fulmar flew along above the beach westwards. We continued a bit further east along the beach adding Bar tailed Godwit and Grey Wagtail to the list before we headed back to the car for a bit of heat and to head along to Westhaven again. It was similar species to previously though with the addition of a couple of Buzzards above Craigmill Den and Teal offshore. We had really good views of the Sanderling, Dunlin and Ringed Plover flock. When we reached the Craigmill Burn it was apparent that the Bonxie was still in place. A phone call to the SSPCA resulted in them sending someone to collect it around an hour later (though we did have to draw a big arrow marked with feathers to show where the bird was situated) which we were able to witness from further along the beach as I gave precise directions over the phone.
We headed up across the railway line to check out Craigmill Den hoping for some migrants, though not particularly optimistic of finding any. Yellowhammer and Linnets were on the wires. A Dunnock was on the path ahead of us.A flock of Lapwings flew over before we found a Willow Warbler in the bushes. A Swallow hurried over westwards. Nat spotted a male Bullfinch in a bush, and we added a youngster (and a third - female?) just above it. Heading back along the beach to Westhaven, a Peregrine passed over eastwards. We decided to have lunch in the car before heading towards Montrose Basin in the hope of finally finding a Curlew Sandpiper. As we were about to have something to eat a car pulled up. The driver recognised me, but it took me a minute to realise that it was Angus Birdtours Stuart Green. We had a sort chat before finishing lunch and continuing northwards.
Rooks were added on the way to the visitor centre. Tree Sparrows and Chaffinch were seen at the feeders while Nat spotted a Water Rail at the edge of one of the pools. I had to settle for a young Moorhen. Out in the basin I found a few Shelduck and some Red Breasted Mergansers. A Greenfinch visited the feeders. There were plenty of distant Mute Swans towards the Lurgies and Maryton Steps area. Scanning through the scope looking to the west I found a wader stood between a few Redshanks and a Dunlin. It was smaller than the Redshanks and larger than the Dunlin. It also appeared to have a yellowish tinge to the breast and a white belly.
Curlew Sandpiper, at last. A few minutes later I managed to see it in flight where the white rump showed well enough to confirm my second year-tick of the day.
We headed next to The Lurgies for a quick check. A Common Sandpiper was spooked from the mud in the burn and flew a short distance up towards the bridge. A Greenshank stood across on the mud on the other bank. There were plenty of Greylags nearby and beyond them were some Canada Geese. Looking upriver there were a few hundred more Canada Geese. There were more Greenshanks around in the same areas as the Canada Geese but not much else. An Osprey was seen circling up to the west. The dead tree beyond the reedbed had a lot of Jackdaws perched in it. As we walked back to the car we were treated to the sight of a young Peregrine attempting to tire out a Lapwing by repeatedly climbing and diving at it. The large rounded wings of the wader meant it easily outmanoeuvered the falcon.
We headed back towards Dundee via Forfar adding a Great Spotted Woodpecker which flew up from the roadside onto the tree trunk above as we passed and a Kestrel hovering a short distance further on. A brief stop at Montreathmont Forest produced only silence from the trees close to the track. Another enjoyable day out with the bonus of two year-ticks (in bold) among the 68 species seen.
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| Common Tern |
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| Oystercatcher & Redshank |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Turnstone |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Common Tern |
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| Little Gull |
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| Common Tern, Sandwich Tern & Curlew |
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| Common Tern |
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| Dunlin |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Sanderling |
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| Knot |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Peregrine |
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| Greenshank |
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| Osprey |
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| Canada Geese |
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| Peregrine |
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew,
Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull,
Great Skua, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
