With the much hoped for easterlies continuing into the weekend and with some good birds around on Thursday and Friday, it was imperative that I got out and about somewhere to get my October week's holiday off to a flier. Nat was also free, so we arranged to head out somewhere. Having spent so much time lately in Fife, we chose to search some sites on the Angus coast for migrants. Hopefully, the choice would bear fruit.
 |
| Goldcrest |
Nat picked me up at 0800 and off we went, heading out the Arbroath Road. Blackbird, Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull were first onto the list with Carrion Crow and Collared Dove following them a few minutes later. Oystercatchers, Woodpigeons and Common Gulls were on the football pitches at Douglas. There wasn't much to see between Dundee and Arbroath except a Starling and a few Rooks. A flock of gulls on the outskirts of Arbroath held a single Lesser Black Backed Gull - not a bird I've seen very often in the town, along with plenty of Herring Gulls.
We headed along to Victoria Park with the intention of checking out Cliffburn Gully. With the tide receding we discovered that there were a lot of gulls on the exposed rocks. Quite possibly the most I've ever seen here. I got out of the car to scan through the birds. A small party of Dunlin took flight, and a flock of Linnets circled round a few times. The first Black Headed and Great Black Backed Gulls of the day were on the rock along with plenty of Herring Gulls and a few Common Gulls. A Grey Heron stood nearer the water. Closer in were a few Redshanks and a sizeable group of Ringed Plovers. A single Curlew picked around in the rock pools.
I popped back to the car to tell Nat what I'd found.She spotted a Cormorant flying past and an Eider just offshore. I spotted a few Gannets heading north. As we got out of the car to walk up to the footbridge over the road a Pied Wagtail overflew. A Rock Pipit was on the seawall, and our first Pink Footed Geese skein passed overhead from the north. We heard Skylarks and managed to see them high in the sky. At the gully, a Robin stood on a fencepost. Meadow Pipits called as they flew over westwards. A number of Yellowhammers were in the trees along with a Blue Tit. A Chaffinch was next before I heard a Mistle Thrush and we watched the bird fly past.
We decided to walk down the other side of the gully, in the field. Hopefully we would see something that we had so far missed. Instead all we found was a Wren and a Stonechat. We walked along the path to the cliffs, scanning the fields which were full of birds - a few hundred Linnets plus Carrion Crow, Woodpigeons, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and Rock Pipits. A Reed Bunting and a Tree Sparrow flew in with a group of Linnets to feed on seed heads on the opposite side of the path from where we were. A few Jackdaws overflew, and a group of Swallows were a nice surprise. I found a few Turnstones feeding out on the rocks below.
We decided to head next for Auchmithie. Feral Pigeon, Blackbird and Starling were seen from the car. The usual House Sparrows greeted us around the car park. A few Goldfinches flew over. Just a few feet in front of us were Goldcrests picking around in the bushes. Branches and the constant activity made photographing them tricky so I ended up just enjoying the close views. A Coal Tit was in the bushes behind the houses. We had a slow walk around the football pitch. Greenfinches were feeding on rosehips, and Nat spotted a pair of Blackcaps near the far corner. A Dunnock popped out onto the fence, and a rather pale Buzzard drifted over northwards.
A Song Thrush flew out from the bushes and as we got back to the car we picked up a nice Corn Bunting on the wires. Tree Sparrows, Starlings and Yellowhammers were also around in decent numbers. As we ate lunch in the car, a Grey Wagtail headed inland over the fields. After lunch, we walked down the track to check the trees in the gully, but a Great Tit was the only addition. More Goldcrests, Yellowhammers and a few Blue Tits were seen as well as lots of House Sparrows and Tree Sparrows around the garden at the top of the track. Out in the bay were lots of gulls and amongst them I found 3 Razorbills. A Shag seemed to be trying to dry its wings while swimming, holding them up at an angle for some time before giving them a good shake. Not something I've seen before.
A pair of Buzzard drifted south. We set off along the track towards Windyhills Farm. Wren and Meadow Pipit were the only birds seen before we reached the trees by the farm which held more Goldcrests but nothing else. A few Robins were seen, but there was no sign of any Yellow Browed Warblers or other migrants. There were still Skylarks passing over, and gulls were heading from following a tractor ploughing down to the sea.We headed down to the top of the gully where there even more Goldcrests before we walked to Gaylet Pot. A Kestrel was perched on some debris further over but there was only a Wren heard calling down in the 'pot'.
We stopped to check the trees again on the way back but it seemed to still only be Goldcrests, though a bird that looked slightly bigger flew into a tree in the garden of the house opposite along with the Goldcrests, but we were unable to check the tree with binoculars because of the proximity of windows. Not much else was seen on the way back to the village though we did have decent views of House Sparrows and Goldcrests by the coastguard cottages. We walked around the edge of the stubble field hoping to get a better view of the trees at the Gully and in the garden at the top, but there was nothing added. More Goldcrests were in the trees at the church. Nat had a cup of tea back at the car while I photographed the Starlings, one of which brought up a 'pellet' of undigested seeds from the berries it had been eating.
As Nat had to be home for around 1600 we called it a day and headed back towards Dundee. A rather disappointing day considering the easterly winds (the Isle of May and the Lothian coast seem to have had the best birds), but a reasonable mix of birds among the 54 species seen.
 |
| Pink Footed Geese |
 |
| Meadow Pipit |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Pink Footed Geese |
 |
| Yellowhammer |
 |
| Skylark |
 |
| Tree Sparrow, Linnet & Reed Bunting |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Rock Pipit & Meadow Pipit |
 |
| Rock Pipit |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Greenfinch |
 |
| Blackcap |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Kestrel |
 |
| Wren |
 |
| Wren |
 |
| Goldcrest |
 |
| House Sparrow |
 |
| House Sparrow |
 |
| House Sparrow |
 |
| Starling & Tree Sparrow |
 |
| Starling |
 |
| Starling |
 |
| Starling |
Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
