With Nat otherwise occupied for the next month or so, our regular Wednesday outings will be set to one side but should resume again just in time for the beginning of Spring migration arrivals. With this in mind, and a decent weather forecast, we decided to get out and about early. However, we were a bit undecided on where to go, eventually settling on a return visit to Arbroath cliffs in the hope that the Snow Buntings were still around and then on to St Cyrus in the hope of getting Peregrine for Nat's year-list.
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| Raven |
Nat picked me up at 0815, House Sparrows chirped from various points around the car before we set off. One or two Herring Gulls perched atop chimneys. Carrion Crow was added as we wound our way down to Arthurstone Terrace and on to the Arbroath Road. Further on, Collared Dove was seen perched on a rooftop with a Woodpigeon perched on a lamp post across the road. The Buzzard by the roadside, hunting for worms on the grassy verge near Claypotts was again in place. We debated stopping in at Elliot but chose not to, instead continuing on to the cliffs. Feral Pigeons were seen as we drove through the town.
With blue skies and little wind it was a very nice morning with a calm sea and even some warmth in the sunshine. Very different from our visit 5 days before in cold, windy and wet conditions. A few Linnets flitted around before settling ahead of us on the fence and plants on either side of the path. A small group of Stock Doves flew westwards above the fields. A Rock Pipit flew in and landed in the stubble, before being joined by a second bird. A Skylark lifted from the ground a little further on, climbing steadily into the blue, singing loudly and continuously. Offshore a Cormorant flew by and an Oystercatcher went in the opposite direction.
There was no sign of any Snow Buntings though. We continued on along the path in case they had relocated further on. More Skylarks and Linnets but no sign of any Snow Buntings. A few Yellowhammers were seen with Skylarks in a ploughed field and a rather surprising Coal Tit was in the small trees down the side of a field that reached the clifftops. Strange place to see one - maybe a recently arrived migrant? A Starling flew over as we walked back to the car. A Turnstone was spotted out on the rocks not far from the car park. Curlew and Eider were found among the rocks on the shore in front of the car park. I spotted a flock of small waders flying low away from us. When we reached the car, we had a quick scan through the binoculars over the rocks and seaweed-strewn shore. Nat found a few Ringed Plovers near the outflow pipe and when I tried to get onto them I discovered a small group of Dunlin nearby.
We set off just as a skein of Pink Footed Geese flew in off the sea heading northwards. We saw a few more skeins during the day, all heading north and looking like they were possibly birds on their way back 'home' rather than just feeding movements. A few Jackdaws were seen as we drove through Arbroath and the Whooper Swan duo were still in the same field as last week at Marywell. Rooks were seen as we neared Montrose. We stopped at Montrose Basin visitor centre but found cones across the entrance so continued on to St Cyrus instead.
A Robin greeted us near the car park as we set off along the track that ran parallel with the cliffs. Squealing from the reeds stopped us in our tracks. A Water Rail "sharming". We stopped and stood. I spotted movement along the edge of a channel cleared down through the reeds but I couldn't be sure it was the bird. Suddenly it ran across the open space giving us decent enough views to confirm it was a
Water Rail. My first of the year. We wandered on. A Reed Bunting called from a small bush in the reeds. A Dunnock flew across the track in front of us.
A number of Jackdaws and Fulmars could be seen around the cliffs, some of the Fulmars at nest sites, while the Jackdaws seemed to be chasing each other around. There were also a few Stock Doves and Woodpigeons flying around the cliffs too, and a calling Pheasant eluded our gaze. A loud 'pruk' drew our attention immediately. A Raven. A wee bit of scanning soon located the bird, perched on a rock halfway up the cliff. A second bird flew around nearby. We watched them both for a while before moving on again. There was still no sign of any Peregrines, which is unusual for St Cyrus. There were a few Roe Deer around near the top of the cliff. Nat spotted a pair of Stonechats and when I went for a better view I had a scan along the beach and out to sea.
On the beach were a number of gulls - mostly Black Headed but also a few Herring Gulls. Out on the water I found a pair of Great Black Backed Gulls and a few Red Throated Divers. A trio of distant ducks proved to be sleeping Common Scoters. With still no sign of Peregrine we decided to head back to the car for lunch. We had slightly better views of the Water Rail again, as well as a Wren. A Blackbird flew up into the trees and as we neared the car park, we spotted a young Buzzard nearby in the trees. I took a few photos before a dog seemed to cause it to fly off. Another couple of Buzzards were seen before we had finished lunch. We decided to head next to Kinnaber, having got directions from Ron Mitchell last week at Montrose. A few Pheasants were in the fields as we passed Steptoe's Yard.
When we arrived at Kinnaber we walked in the direction of the dunes through some gorse seeing more dogs than birds. We eventually reached the top of the dunes, only to find a rather large steep face below us to the beach. Needless to say, we stayed put and scanned out across the bay. There were plenty Red Throated Divers out on the water, easily double figures. A single Sanderling scurried along the beach at the edge of the water. Nat then said she could see a Dolphin. It was swimming along just below the surface the dorsal fin visible most of the time, rather close in to shore. It then swam a bit further out again and tracked southwards parallel to the beach. It turned out there were actually 2 together. A nice surprise for a February day, and our first sighting of the year.
I spotted a small flock of waders low across the water. Looking through binoculars I spotted the characteristic black armpits of Grey Plover and watched them fly in to land on the beach below us. We spoke briefly to a couple of dog walkers who had missed seeing the Dolphins before we headed back to the car. A Buzzard on the golf course was harassed by a few Carrion Crows but there was little else to be seen. After a bit of discussion we settled on Lunan Bay and a visit to the hide for our next stop, so once again, off we went.
As we arrived a Kestrel flew over the car and away. There were a number of birds in the gardens by the houses including House Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits and slightly more of a surprise, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker. The tide was quite well in so there was no gull roost on the beach, though there were plenty of mostly Black Headed and Common Gulls offshore. Setting up the scope and scanning found that there were quite a few birds out in the bay. At the northern end I could see auks flying around. A few photos seemed to show that these were Guillemots rather than the hoped for Razorbills. In addition there were a few small groups of Scoters, mostly Common but also a few Velvet Scoters.
Just like at Kinnaber there were numerous Red Throated Divers dotted around, with a few closer in, but most relatively far out in the bay. A female Goldeneye continuously dived in the surf off to our right, and there were a few Long Tailed Ducks with the Divers and Scoters. Even further out I found a number of Kittiwakes circling and dropping down to the water before repeating the process, obviously feeding on something. After just over 30 minutes we decided to move on again, taking the back roads in the direction of Auchmithie in the hope of seeing a male Hen Harrier that Alex Shepherd had reported earlier in the day. Goldfinch and Greenfinch were added at the gardens on the way back to the car and a few Rooks were on the wires.
Not unsurprisingly we drew a blank on the Hen Harrier though we did manage to add a trio of species at Boghead Farm - Chaffinch, Mute Swan and Tufted Duck, though we chose not to stop as with the skies now clouded over the light wasn't great and time was now against us. A quick detour by Arbroath harbour finally got us Redshank for the day and as we neared Dundee I spotted a Magpie from the car.
Another good day out with a surprise year-tick for me (in bold) as well as the bonus sighting of Dolphins, as well as finding out where Kinnaber actually was.
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Raven |
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| Stonechat |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Bottlenose Dolphins |
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| Bottlenose Dolphins |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Grey Plover |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Plover, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Linnet, Long Tailed Duck, Magpie, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter,
Water Rail, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
