Despite having been off work since Tuesday evening, a combination of variable weather and general mood meant that I did not do any birding on my days off. Being unable to sleep on Saturday night meant I was wide awake at 0500. With a reasonable weather forecast and the Black Redstart at Mains of Usan having been reported the day before, I figured that I probably should get up and make the effort to go and try to see the bird. It would be a year-tick and I would get some fresh air and exercise.
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| Black Redstart |
I headed out at around 0750 to walk to the bus station to catch the X7 to Montrose. With not many folk around there was plenty of activity form the birds. Herring Gulls and a Goldfinch were first onto the list, with a male Blackbird seconds later. A Woodpigeon on a lamp post, a flyover Carrion Crow and a pair of Starlings on a chimney were next. A Feral Pigeon flew past and as I headed down Dens Road a trio of Magpies flew across the road and into the trees. A Blue Tit was seen near Victoria Road and a Dunnock was singing loudly near the bus station.
From the bus I added a few more species. Lesser Black Backed Gull was seen near the bus station and Black Headed Gull, Common Gull and Oystercatchers were on the football pitches near the Claypotts junction. Rooks were seen as we neared Arbroath and Cormorants were on the harbour breakwater. On the way to Montrose, Jackdaws were seen near Pie Bobs on the way out of Arbroath, where we see them regularly. A male Pheasant was in a roadside field further north and a Skylark fluttered upwards from another field as we neared Montrose.
I walked up through Ferryden to the road out to Usan, adding House Sparrows to the list and as I left teh village a Collared Dove flew into a tree behind me across the railway line. A few Yellowhammers and a number of Skylarks were seen. Five Pink Footed Geese headed south from the Basin. Passing a derelict house I spooked a pair of Grey Partridges from what had been the garden and they flew off before settling in a field beside the railway line. A Great Black Backed Gull headed over next as I walked down towards the walled garden where I added a Tree Sparrow to the list. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming but not seen.
Reaching Usan, there were a few Mallards and Moorhens on the pond, while on the wires by the gatehouse were a Coal Tit and a Blue Tit. A large ploughed field was full of birds. Woodpigeons, a few Stock Doves, Yellowhammers, Starlings, Skylarks, Rooks, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows and a Buzzard perched on the wall watching them all. Heading down through the farm I added Linnet and Reed Bunting to the list before I stopped to talk to ADBC member Mickey Mellon who told me the bird was showing and that ADBC grapevine contact Mark Caunt was watching the bird. As we chatted a Grey Wagtail flew past. Mickey warned me how muddy the field was.
I could see the
Black Redstart perched on the lobster creels so I took a couple of photos but walked away from the bird and the muddier parts of the field and down onto the beach to skirt round past the bird to where Mark was sitting. Unfortunately, as I passed along the beach the bird flew off. A Pied Wagtail was seen. Rock Pipit was seen among the rocks. There was no sign of the Black Redstart however. Mark went for a walk to see if he could find it while I stayed put and scanned around. Offshore were a number of Eiders. There was a large flock of Starlings in the field along with a smaller flock of Linnets and they were all flushed by something unseen. Pink Footed Geese lifted from a field to the north, before circling back round and landing.
A short while later I turned round just in time to see a Sparrowhawk go shooting over the field behind me. A few minutes later I happened to look up and saw a bird struggling into the wind. I thought it had to be an early Sand Martin so fired off a few photos for a record shot. It wasn't a Sand Martin, which is usually the first of the hirundines to return each Spring. It was a
House Martin almost a month earlier than usual (checking Angus & Dundee Bird Report 2012 the earliest record was 12th April that year). Rather unexpected, and the second year tick of the day. Mark arrived back from his wanders, he had missed the Sparrowahwk but had seen the House Martin. He decided he was going to head off but I decided to wait and see if the Black Redstart would return.
With nothing happening nearby I scanned out over the sea. Cormorants were stood on the rocks with a few Great Black Backed Gulls. I spotted a Red Throated Diver go south. A short while later I wandered down onto the beach, spooking a couple of Redshanks off the rocks. Back on my seat, I picked up a second Diver and a Fulmar. As I scanned I caught a glimpse of a Bottlenose Dolphin fin as it disappeared underwater again. Thankfully I was able to see the culprit when it surfaced again. There were at least 2 adults and possibly a youngster and they spent a short while hunting offshore before heading back to the north. Another nice surprise.
A pair of Meadow Pipits flew over and scanning up towards the fence I picked up a Chaffinch with a few Yellowhammers and a Reed Bunting male. However there was still no sign of the bird I wanted better photos of and I contemplated heading back to Montrose Visitor Centre to see what I could add there. I hunted around nearby for a few minutes but having drawn a blank I wandered up the muddy field. I spotted a bird on the wall in front of the big shed which turned out to be the Black Redstart. No wonder I hadn't seen it for 2 hours. I clambered over the gate and looked for it. There were a few Yellowhammers on the ground as I looked around. My next glimpse of the bird was it disappearing back down the field to the lobster pots where I had just came from.
Back I went, cautiously and I was able to spend almost the next hour with the bird relatively close for most of the time, though at one point I did succeed in spooking it from round the back of the small shed I was sat at the side of. Neither the bird or I knew the other was there so when I peered round the corner, one surprised bird few off, thankfully not too far, and it was soon back down feeding on the beach. I was able to lie on the beach with my hood pulled up over my head and photograph the bird as it perched on the lobster pots just feet away from me. The Linnets were bathing in the small stream which ran down the beach while the Starlings were feeding en masse in the field. Around 1300 I decided to leave the bird to its feeding and headed back up the hill in a better mood than I had been an hour earlier.
A Greenfinch was seen in the trees near the cottages as I headed out of Usan, and a Wren was spotted further on. I arrived at the Visitor Centre around 1345 and scanned out across the basin. Most birds were quite far away but there was a decent mixture. I chatted to Ron Marshall and the girls from the centre. As well as Mallards and Eider, I managed to find Wigeon, Goldeneye, Pintail, Red Breasted Merganser, Goldeneye and Scaup all out on the water. There were a number of Pink Footed Geese towards the northwest corner of the Basin and Shelduck were dotted around. Waders were around in good numbers with Black Tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Oystercatchers and Curlews making up the majority. A small group of Turnstones picked around on the shore and a couple of Dunlin weren't far away. I found a single Greenshank off to the west of the centre and a Grey Plover well out on a sandbank.
The feeders were relatively busy with Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches, Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Woodpigeons and Pheasants. With the time approaching 1515 I decided to pop down to the Bank of Scotland hide for a quick look. With the bus roughly a 15 minute walk away and due at 1545, I only had around 10 minutes to spend. There hadn't been anything obvious from the centre, so I wasn't expecting anything. However, having had a quick scan around and not seen anything I opened a bag of crisps as I was by now rather hungry. A bird popped out from the reeds to the right of the small pool directly ahead of me, made a short flight across the pool and ran into the reeds. As it was in flight I lifted my binoculars and succeeded in getting on the bird just as it was about to run in the reeds. A
Water Rail, and my third year tick of the day.
With the bonus Water Rail on the list, I packed up and headed back towards Rossie Island to catch the bus back to Dundee. A Robin was added in the car park and there were a number of Teal near the railway bridge, but nothing else new was seen while waiting for the bus or on the way back to Dundee. I did contemplate stopping off in Arbroath for a Chiffchaff that had been seen at Keptie Pond but as I won't struggle to see the species over the next few weeks at least (and possibly up until October or so) I decided against it.
All in all a very successful day with the target species photographed well eventually and 2 good bonus birds giving me 3 year-ticks (in bold) among the 62 species seen. The Bottlenose Dolphins were also a nice addition.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Pheasant |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Moorhen |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Buzzard |
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| Black Redstart (initial view) |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| House Martin |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Linnet |
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| Bottlenose Dolphin |
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| Cormorants & Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Linnet |
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| Common Gull |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Herring Gull |
Species seen -
Black Redstart, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Partridge, Grey Plover, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull,
House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Scaup, Shelduck, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone,
Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
