Instead of a Sunday outing somewhere, Rhona suggested heading out on Saturday last weekend, as she had other commitments on Sunday. Having done two longer distance trips we decided on staying more local too. However, there was nothing too spectacular around, so I suggested a circular route around Angus in the hope that we might find something of interest along the way. With Puffins having been reported as being back at Auchmithie already, that was on the list. Iceland Gull had been seen around Kinnordy too, so that also made it onto the route, but the rest was rather flexible.
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| Song Thrush |
Rhona arrived at 0800 and off we went. I decided that we should route up the coast first then cut inland so we headed first for the Stannergate. Herring Gull and Jackdaw were first onto the list, followed minutes later by Blackbird and Woodpigeon. A flyover Magpie, a Dunnock perched on a wall and Feral Pigeons on rooftops followed. Carrion Crow was the first addition when we arrived at the Stannergate. The river was flat calm but there didn't appear to be too many birds around. A Cormorant stood out on some rocks and an Oystercatcher was on the shoreline a bit closer. There were a few Black Headed Gulls roosting near the Cormorant. Well out in the river we were able to pick out a few Eiders. A Starling flew over, and a small group of Pink Footed Geese headed north inland.
House Sparrows greeted us, along with Starlings, Woodpigeons and Blackbird when we stopped at our next port of call at Balmossie. We could also hear a calling Collared Dove but struggled to see it. The tide was further out than ideal, but as it was still early there hadn't been too much disturbance to the birds on the shore. A few Black Headed and Herring Gulls mingled with a few Oystercatchers and Bar Tailed Godwits. A few more Eiders were spotted further out in the river, while closer in there were a number of Wigeon while a pair of Mallards drifted out towards the mouth of the Dighty. Also out on the river were a few Goldeneye though as they were constantly diving they were tricky to direct Rhona onto them.
A bit more scanning around found a pair of Dunlin not too far in front of us near some Bar Tailed Godwits. There were also a group of Redshanks roosting that were surprisingly easy to overlook, as were the Turnstones foraging around nearby. A Pied Wagtail flew in and landed in front of us before we wandered back to the footbridge and the car. A Collared Dove was sat on the chimney of the house we were parked in front of, calling monotonously. As we drove back to the main road we were surprised to see an Oystercatcher perched on a flat section of roof above a window on one of the houses in the small housing scheme. Not a typical perch.
Monifieth was next, so we parked by the football piches and walked to the corner of Barry Buddon camp to scan the beach and river. There wasn't too much to see here though there was a flock of Oystercatchers feeding on the pitches. A drake Red Breasted Merganser out on the water and a flyover Skylark were added here and a small charm of Goldfinches were in trees just inside the perimeter fence of the military camp as we headed back to the car just as the kids' football teams were beginning to arrive for their Saturday morning matches.
A short detour inland to Monikie was next, so inland we went. A Grey Heron flew by as we neared the Country Park. We stopped outside to scan the Denfind Pond. There were hundreds of very noisy Black Headed Gulls around, with probably double figures of Little Grebes scattered amongst them, along with Coots, Mallards, and Tufted Ducks. A bit more scanning found a pair of Gadwall over towards the hide. A pair of Siskins flew over into the park as we crossed the road back to the car.
Once into the park we went for a walk to check the 2 main reservoirs. There was no sign of Kingfisher around the island, though Chaffinch, Blue Tit and Robin were all seen before we reached the water's edge. A pair of Mute Swans were on the water. A Great Spotted Woodpecker could be heard drumming in the trees but went unseen. There were too many anglers out in boats for the birds so there were only the regular 'tame' stuff around. Back at the Denfind Pond we added a Moorhen and a male Reed Bunting but despite plenty of scanning we didn't find anything else interesting so we moved on again to Craigmill Den.
Craigmill Den can be very hit and miss. There is either loads to see or hardly anything. Unfortunately this was one of the latter days. A Coal Tit was in the trees near the top end, but there was nothing else seen until around the halfway mark when a Song Thrush was spotted in the trees by the path. A yellowhammer called from the gorse bushes on the other side of the burn. A Buzzard flew through pursued by Rooks and Jackdaws. The Rookery near the houses was busy with plenty of noise and activity. A Great Tit and a Long Tailed Tit were in the bushes over the burn.
We crossed the railway line at the level crossing to check the beach and mouth of the burn. Unfortunately a dog walker passed just as we arrived putting up most of the birds. There were still a few Great Black Backed Gulls and a Curlew as well as a Cormorant or two left, while a pair of distant Shelduck could be seen just offshore looking eastwards. Heading back up through Craigmill Den again we saw 3 Pheasants in very brief flight in the gorse and a single Stock Dove overflew nearer the top end, but overall it was a rather disappointing stop.
Auchmithie was our next destination where hopefully Puffins would give me a year-tick. There were a few Fulmars flying around but no Puffins were visible from the northern end of the village. Despite repeated scanning there were none around. Hope was rekindled when I spotted some birds together on the water through the rock arch but a quick check showed them to be Razorbills, which was slightly unexpected. Another auk flying low over the water out in the bay was a Guillemot, rather than a Puffin. We sat in the car and had something to eat. I had another quick check of the bay and managed to find a single Shag and a more distant Red Throated Diver while a couple of Linnets flew over.
Next stop was Lunan Bay and a quick visit to the ADBC hide there. Walking down the track to the hide we saw our first Tree Sparrows of the day in the gardens, though there was no sign of any Great Spotted Woodpecker this time. We had just got sat down in the hide when the door opened and we were joined by a young birder from Arbroath caled Ben. He was around 9 or 10 years old and chatted away, asking about the IDs of birds on his camera. Although there weren't a lot of birds visible in the bay I was able to get Rhona and Ben onto a mixture of species, most of which were lifers for Ben. There were a few Long Tailed Ducks, a handful of Common Scoters, a few Razorbills and a single Red Throated Diver, as well as a few Kittiwakes. A pair of Meadow Pipits chased around just in front of the hide. After spending a bit longer than planned in the hide we said cheerio to Ben and headed back to the car.
Time was wearing on with Rhona wanting to be home for around 1700, so we had a decision to make with regards where to go next. A wrong turn ate into the remaining time a bit and with Montreathmont Forest looking quite busy we decided to continue on to Loch of Kinnordy although we would probably only have around 30 minutes there to see whatever was around. We headed first to the swamp hide. It was mostly Greylags there with a few Teal, Mallards and a few Whooper Swans but no sign of any Iceland Gull. The gullery hide added Lapwings and Goosander to the list but nothing else that we hadn't already seen. A quick trip to the east hide added nothing extra except a Treecreeper on our way back to the car.
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Wigeon, Bar Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Turnstone |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Mallard (x Wigeon hybrid?) |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Razorbill |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Shag |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Whooper Swan & Gadwall |
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| Wigeon |
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| Tufted Duck & Whooper Swan |
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| Greylag Goose |
A good day out with 69 species seen but nothing new for the year.
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook. Shag, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
