Another weekend of showery weather, and some of those on the heavy, and possibly even thundery side, meant that there was little point in attempting to head for The Lurgies at Montrose Basin as the walk round from Montrose was far enough that there was a very good chance I would get wet at some point. Having not gone anywhere on Saturday I decided I should head somewhere on Sunday eventually settling on Guardbridge, despite the likelihood of it being rather quiet.
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| Sparrowhawk |
With a bus due at 1250 I headed out at around 1230 to walk to the bus station. The sky looked rather threatening and I fully expected to catch the rain at some point. Thankfully, it didn't happen and I made it to the bus station in time for the bus having only seen a handful of species on the way. A singing Blackbird greeted me when I stepped outside, and 2 minutes down the road the first Herring Gull of the day drifted over. A Woodpigeon was on a lamp post with another on the grass by the path. Across the road by the bus stop just before Arthurstone Terrace a pair of Magpies picked around on the grass. A Feral Pigeon darted over the road and up onto a roof. House Sparrows were at Victoria Bridge.
There wasn't too much added from the bus either with Starlings on wires at the Fife end of the roadbridge and a House Martin flying around above the dual carriageway. A trio of Jackdaws flew over the five road roundabout. A Carrion Crow was by the roadside at Drumoig. Mute Swans were on the Motray at Guardbridge. A Swallow zipped low over the park grass as I headed into the hide while a young Pied Wagtail was being fed by an adult not far from the path as I passed. Guardbridge regular, Jeff (the American - I've no idea of his surname) was in the hide and told me things were rather quiet, which was what I had expected anyway.
A Blue Tit was at the feeders, one of the very few visitors of the afternoon. A Grey Heron was down by the river in front of the hide. A Great Black backed Gull flew past and another could be seen atop the old paper mill building where I suspect they have nested for the past few years. I had chosen to carry my Leica scope with me, something I rarely do, as it adds a bit too much weight to my already heavy 'kit', along with a tripod. As I was expecting any birds around to be mostly distant, it made sense to be able to get a good view of them rather than rely on just binoculars and camera.
Jeff left and I scanned around. There were plenty of Mute Swans and Shelducks, a few Mallards and Oystercatchers as well as a sole Canada Goose. In total there were around 20 Cormorants dotted around, and a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls could be seen mingling with the Herring Gulls at the bend in the river. There were 2 family groups of Goosanders totalling around 15 birds. Further downstream I found a few Black Headed and Common Gulls. There were also a number of Curlews on the mud, and the scope helped me find a single distant Whimbrel among them. One of the local Wrens posed nicely on a fencepost.
Further downriver I found a single drake Wigeon before a glance out the side window added Collared Dove to the list with a pair on the bird table, one on the roof and one inside. More scanning picked up a Sand Martin low across the mud. Ten minutes later I spotted a distant Osprey over towards the radar on the base. The feeders seemed to be as quiet as I've ever seen them and there was little activity close to the hide on either side of the river. Undeterred I kept searching. A distant gull looked wrong for Black Headed Gull but it chose to fly off as I was trying to get a better look. I did get 2 photos before it flew and at home these helped confirm it as an unexpected 1st summer Little Gull.
Much further out on the river I spotted a few Eiders bobbing around. There was a flock of around 100 or so Starlings, mostly youngsters, feeding in the grass opposite the hide and when these suddenly all took flight I wasn't surprised to see a Sparrowhawk had put them into the air. Empty-taloned it flew across the river and into the trees near the paper mill fence. A few Linnets were around the fence opposite. I was joined by a photographer who had been at Morton Lochs just after the heavens had opened. House Martins and Swallows gathered over the river during the rain, swooping lowfor insects. Thankfully the shower didn't last too long and the light improved greatly when it cleared.
A pair of Tree Sparrows flew over the hide and I spotted a Swift heading out over the river quite high, surprisingly the first of the day. Another birder/photographer arrived followed a few minutes later by another couple. I found an osprey on one of the posts well out in the river and the scope helped to give everyone a look at it. As I was watching it through the scope I thought I saw a tern but lost sight of it as I tried to follow it. I did manage to find a distant Gannet instead though. A trio of sandwich Terns did head into Balgove Bay around 20 minutes later. The drake Wigeon also appeared a bit closer and a large flock of Curlews and Oystercatchers flew in to the salt marsh as the tide rose. A Grey Wagtail flew downriver rounding off my list for the day.
After another very heavy rain shower I headed for the bus just before 1700. With a fair bit of luck, I managed to pass through a heavy rain shower and found that it had just passed through Dundee city centre when I got off the bus. I even managed to just catch the bus up the road saving me a weighed down walk. All in all an unexpectedly decent afternoon's birding with 41 species seen.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Osprey |
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| Wigeon |
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| House Martin |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Little Gull, Shelduck & Curlew |
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| Little Gull, Shelduck & Curlew |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Shelduck |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Whimbrel, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
