With reasonable weather for at least part of the day forecast and a chance of picking up a rarer wader or two on passage, I decided to get up early and try to get out in time to catch the tide before it had receded too far. However, with high tide being around 0530 or so, I would be up against it. A lot would depend on how far I went on the bus before attempting to see some birds. I was also planning on heading to the visitor centre at Montrose to see if there was any sign of the White Rumped Sandpiper, so I could hopefully get better views than Wednesday's limited ones.
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| Osprey |
I was out the house at around 0705 to walk to Arbroath Road to catch a number 73 in the direction of Arbroath. Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and House Sparrow started my list off, followed by Blackbird, Feral Pigeon and Lesser Black Backed Gull. I made it to the bus stop a good bit earlier than I needed to be and had around 15 minutes to wait for a bus.A few House Martins passed over, and a Blue Tit flew into bushes across the road, but there was little else to see. Starlings on a TV aerial on Craigie Drive were next and a Grey Heron headed north over the houses near Balmossie. I had decided to head first to Westhaven and to walk to the mouth of the burn, then up Craigmill Den before returning to the beach to walk the rest of the way to Easthaven to catch another bus to Arbroath and then on to Montrose.
Collared Dove was added in Monifieth while Curlews were on the practice grounds opposite Monifieth Golf Course. When I got off the bus in Carnoustie to walk the short distance to Westhaven I was pleased to see there were still a few Swifts sweeping around above the houses in the bright sunshine, with my local ones having seemingly moved on. A Coal Tit was a nice surprise in the conifer by the railway track as I crossed the bridge to the beach. Offshore were a few Mallards, while Oystercatchers, Redshanks and a few Dunlin wandered around on the wet sand. Further out were Black Headed Gulls plus Sandwich, Common and Arctic Terns. I crept slowly closer to the waders by the water and although they were rather back-lit I managed some reasonable shots. A Ringed Plover was found among the small flock and a Turnstone was out on the rocks.
Walking eastwards along the beach a few Swallows zipped over westwards while a number of Pied Wagtails picked around the strandline and seaweed piles for insects. Further offshore I could see a handful of eclipse plumaged Eiders. A few Goldfinches lifted from thistles along the top of the banking. Something spooked the tern roost causing them to rise up like a vociferous horde. While watching them wheeling around a Cormorant flew by. A few minutes further on a flash of black and white caught my eye as a bird flew off ahead of me. When it settled I could see it was a Wheatear. It was rather wary though and I struggled to get anywhere close.
The first Great Black Backed Gulls of the day were near the mouth of the burn while a few Linnets landed on the beach. A Sand Martin flew by but an attempt at a photo was thwarted by a dog off the lead running down onto the beach as the bird passed causing the bird to abort its low run along the beach and to carry on westwards. Weekend birding almost always seems to be at the mercy of dog-walkers. Having crossed the burn mouth I cut up to the level crossing spotting a Stock Dove flying up towards the Den. A Jackdaw was on a hay bale in the field by the road.
As it was still quite early there was a decent amount of activity in Craigmill Den, with a Robin in the trees just up from the house at the end. A Yellowhammer shared the wires further on with a Linnet. A Whitethroat showed briefly among the greenery. A few Great Tits and Blue Tits were in the bushes by the path, and a Dunnock hopped out onto the track ahead of me for a few seconds. I spent some time watching a number of young Willow Warblers foraging around in the bushes as well as a rather scruffy adult which cahsed one of the youngsters a few times. One of the local Buzzards cruised out from the trees by the farm on the hill.
I found a young Song Thrush soaking up the sunshine by the road at the top end before checking out the farm pool which had a Mallard with a few ducklings but nothing else. Checking the times of the next bus I decided to head for Easthaven rather than back to Carnoustie. I spotted a Grey Wagtail at the top end of the Den along from the bridge but there was nothing to be added on the way back down through the Den. A Rook was the only addition on my way along the beach, though I did find a dead Shrew on the track in front of the houses when I reached the village.
I caught the bus to Arbroath adding Coots at Keptie Pond then decided to take the train to Montrose. I walked along the road from the station heading for the river. A Small Copper butterfly was a nice surprise. A few Black Tailed Godwits were out on the mud with the Redshanks and Curlews. As I crossed the bridge over the river I spotted an Osprey hovering high above the water on the opposite side of the road. Terns flew by, mostly Common but also a few Sandwich Terns before the Osprey dived. As I didn't see it fly up again I hurriedly crossed the road and walked back up along the bridge until I could see the shoreline. There was the Osprey, with a fish in its talons, being swooped on by a Herring Gull. Eventually the gull got bored and left the Osprey in peace. Photos showed that the bird was Green BF from Balgavies Loch. A nice surprise.
Eventually the Osprey moved on and was chased along the road by a gull. I suspect most drivers and pedestrians were oblivious to the tussle going on above their heads, though if the gull had forced BF to drop his large flatfish they may have had a bit of a surprise when it slapped down near them. I spotted a flock of Lapwings over beyond Rossie Spit towards the visitor centre. Walking up the slope towards the visitor centre I saw a break in the treeline where I could see the pool, and had a quick check. There were a few Dunlin and Pied Wagtails but nothing that looked out of the ordinary. I cut down through the trees to check the view from the same spot I'd tried on Wednesday.
There were already a pair of birders there, one who I recognised but hadn't spoken to for a while and a lady who I think I met at Boarhills last year and who kindly gave me a lift back to Dundee. We chatted and scanned the pool constantly in case something else had dropped in but it was only Dunlin and Pied Wagtails mostly. A Wheatear did show on the grass beside the pool. Out on the water, a family of Red Breasted Mergansers swam past. A group of Canada Geese flew past. A Wren family flitted around nearby, their calls sounding loud among the foliage. Around 1430, I decided to head up to the visitor centre to see if there was anything else to see from up there.
Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Tree Sparrow were all seen at the feeders. Goosander, Mute Swan and Wigeon were all seen out in the Basin and a couple of young Moorhens visited one of the nearer pools. The rain came on and got steadily heavier. I headed back to the trees for another scan as the tide rose but although more Dunlin arrived I wasn't able to turn any of them into anything more exotic. As I was heading back to catch the train back to Dundee I noticed a birder I'd seen at the centre waiting for the bus which was approaching so I changed my plans and got the bus back to Dundee and home.
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| Blackbird |
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| Redshank |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Dunlin |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Starling |
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| Wheatear |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Linnet |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Buzzard |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Starling |
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| Osprey |
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| Herring Gull & Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey & Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
Decent enough day out with 61 species seen and once again some nice photo opportunities for the D500.
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
