With our planned trip the previous Sunday to East Lothian having had to be cancelled, myself and Jacqui were both keen to try again this weekend. Both our target birds, Black Necked Grebe and Water Pipit, would be lifers for Jacqui and year-ticks for me. There were other good birds around for us to attempt to see also, and I had worked out a few locations that if time allowed we could visit in the hope of turning up something good. I arranged to meet Jacqui at 0800 and with a decent weather forecast the outlook was promising.
 |
| Rock Pipit |
I headed out at around 0755 to meet Jacqui. Blackbird, Starling, Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull started the day list off in fairly typical fashion. We set off first for the Kingsway adding Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow on the way. A Pair of Lesser Black Backed Gulls were perched on lamp posts on either side of the road as we headed for the road to Perth. Birds were in slightly shorter supply on the road to Edinburgh but we did manage to see a few more species - a few Buzzards in fields and by the roadside, Jackdaws and Rooks in fields, and near Loch Leven we added some Pink Footed Geese, a Black Headed Gull and a fly-over Cormorant.
A little further on, Jacqui spotted a Kestrel perched on a wire, and the first Magpie of the day, but certainly not the last as we neared the bridges. Once into Lothian it was a similar mix of species as to those seen on the way down the dual carriageway though with more Magpies, and a Pheasant. We had decided to head first to Dunbar and to the nearby Whitesands Quarry to try for Black Necked Grebe and then to work our way back from there after hopefully seeing the Grebe and also the Water Pipit on the nearby beach. If we failed to see the Pipit there we would travel the short distance along to Skateraw to try there, as the bird had been seen at both locations.
We stopped at the water-logged quarry and scanned through the numerous birds on the water and round the edges. On the water were Coots, Herring Gulls, Lesser and Great Black Backed Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, a handful of Greylag Geese, Goldeneye, Pochard, Wigeon, Tufted Ducks and Little Grebes. These were scrutinised carefully between dives but we struggled to pick out any certain Black Necked Grebes amongst them despite considerable effort. We added Mute Swans, Mallards and Teal on the water with Oystercatchers, Curlews, Shelduck and White Fronted Geese around the shoreline. As we watched from the small 'hide' we also picked up Yellowhammers, Stonechat and Reed Bunting nearby and Skylark too
As we were scanning around still hunting for the elusive Grebe a bird landed just in front of us. As we were looking into the light and the bird was in a shady spot below some deep wheel tracks it wasn't obvious what it was. As I lifted my binoculars to look the movement seemed to register with the bird and it shot off at speed calling loudly as it went. The call was distinctive and so was the rapid style of flight. A Snipe. A nice surprise. Another distinct call round about us were the Meadow Pipits, one or two of which flew past. Having spent almost an hour trying for the Grebe and failing we gave up and headed to the car park for Barns Ness to try the beach for the Water Pipit.
Offshore we could see Eiders and Gannets further out as well as a Redshank on a large pool. Gulls and a Cormorant stood on some rocks. A few Chaffinches flew past. A Wren was seen near the lighthouse before we wandered slowly along the beach. There were plenty of Pied Wagtails and Pipits feeding among the seaweed. Unfortunately they all appeared to be Rock Pipits, though some were the Scandinavian race. We walked along the beach until we ran out of seaweed and Pipits before turning back. Offshore on the rocks we spotted a mix of Dunlin, Turnstones and Ringed Plover and a trio of Red Breasted Mergansers out on the water.
As we walked back towards the light house we checked the Pipits again. Still nothing resembling the Water Pipit. A Lapwing overflew and I found a Razorbill and a Shag well out on the rather calm sea. A pair of Stonechats were seen as we walked past the lighthouse. With the time now getting near to mid-day we set off for another quick check of the quarry. This one was as successful as the first. No obvious Black Necked Grebes. We set off to Skateraw to try there for the Water Pipit and a Wheatear which had turned up earlier in the week, a bit ahead of the pack. As we walked the short distance from the car park towards the lime kiln some movement from the pebbles on the beach caught my eye. A bird flew out of sight but something about the way it flew seemed very Wheatear-like. It was the
Wheatear. A rather nice male. Slim compensation for the lack of Black Necked Grebe but a year-tick just the same and one which posed nicely at times on the rocks and pebbles along the beach.
We took some photos and scanned around in the hope that the Water Pipit would miraculously appear. It didn't, so we wandered round the small bay to check along the shore to the north. There were a handful of Rock Pipits here but nowhere near as many as at Barns Ness. The tide was also a good bit further in by now. There were some gulls offshore but there didn't appear to be anything unusual among them. A quick walk along the beach brought no joy, so we headed back towards the car park. There were a small group of birders who appeared to be looking for the Wheatear, but although the bird was obvious from where we were it seemed to be eluding them.
We had a brief chat to a couple, and then as we walked over to get a few more Wheatear photos a birder I've met a few times in the past and who Jacqui knew from her childhood days, Fiona McLean, came over to chat. She'd seen both the Water Pipit and the Black Necked Grebe previously but was hoping to see an Iceland Gull. As the two ladies chatted I scanned around for bids. A Common Gull drifted past. With impeccable timing as we were discussing the Iceland Gull I spotted a gull among a group dropping into join a few in the bay which seemed to have no black on the wingtips. It was head-on to me so I wasn't certain. Once I got a better angle there was no doubt, it was an
Iceland Gull and I quickly got Jacqui and a very grateful Fiona onto the bird. Another group of birders nearby also picked up the bird and I got a thumbs-up from one of them. I suspect they'd seen us reacting to the bird and followed our view and then easily picked the bird out among the flock.
Fiona offered to show us a better angle to try for the Grebe at Whitesands, so off we went for a third attempt adding a pair of Dunnocks at the car park as we got into the car. Tree Sparrow and House Sparrow were in the bushes as we headed back up to the road back to the A1, along with a Robin. Yet again however, we drew a blank on the Grebe. I was hoping to have a browse of the books in the SOC HQ at Aberlady so we headed there next. Needless to say, I did find a few books to purchase before we headed along to the large car park overlooking Gosford Bay. Apart from a few Red Breasted Mergansers and some gulls there was nothing to see so we headed along the coast to the small car park at the western end of the Lagoons.
This also proved to be rather unproductive with only a few distant Velvet Scoters to add. We headed next to the small pools at the Lagoons to check the wader roosts. There were gulls, Oystercatchers and Jackdaws on the football pitches that we had to cross and a few Chaffinches overflew. It was mostly Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Bar Tailed Godwits at the pools, with some Curlews further over. Gulls, corvids and Woodpigeons made up the numbers. We added Long Tailed Tits, a Goldcrest spotted by Jacqui and a Moorhen by the pond as we waked to the seawall where we found another photographer. On the water close in was a Long Tailed Duck. Further out was a pair of Velvet Scoters and a young Razorbill was found quite close in to the wall before we headed back to the car to move on to the mouth of the Esk.
The long day was starting to catch up with Jacqui and with a roughly 1.5 hour drive back (at least) ahead of us we chose not to spend too much time. There were lots of gulls out on the water but as we hadn't carried the scope from the car we couldn't go through them. Wigeon, Mallards and Mute Swan were on the river along with Goldeneye but the low sun made scanning through all the waders and gulls opposite almost impossible. We had one least stop to try, nearby Fisherrow harbour to look for a reported Black Throated Diver. A wrong turn on the way gave us Canada Geese for the list, but there was no sign of any Diver at the harbour.
We headed back to the City Bypass hoping to perhaps add a couple of species to the list to take us to a nice round 70 species for the day. With the sun setting there was little real hope, though with birds you just never know. Magpies, gulls, crows and pigeons passed over at times, but a Sparrowhawk was a nice bonus which took us to 69 species for the day. Despite failing to get the 2 target species, we had still managed to add 2 species (in bold) to my year-list and a few books to my collection. A good day out all round.
 |
| Goldeneye |
 |
| Whooper Swans |
 |
| Little Grebe |
 |
| Meadow Pipit |
 |
| Rock Pipit |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Dunlin, Ringed Plover & Turnstone |
 |
| Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ringed Plover & Turnstone |
 |
| Pochard |
 |
| Rock Pipit |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Shag |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Stonechat |
 |
| Herring Gull & Turnstone |
 |
| Stonechat |
 |
| Stonechat |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Herring Gull & Iceland Gull |
 |
| Herring Gull & Iceland Gull |
 |
| Rock Pipit |
 |
| Herring Gull |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
 |
| Bar Tailed Godwit |
 |
| Long Tailed Duck |
 |
| Velvet Scoter |
 |
| Razorbill |
 |
| Bar Tailed Godwit |
 |
| Velvet Scoter |
 |
| Long Tailed Duck |
 |
| Velvet Scoter |
 |
| Wigeon |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Iceland Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pochard, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter,
Wheatear, White Fronted Goose, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
