Having had such a good day the previous day and being off work for the rest of the week, I wanted to see if my good luck would continue and to get out birding somewhere on Thursday. With the winds having swung round a bit, sea-watching was unlikely to prove as productive. I debated a trip to St Cyrus but the whale had not been reported on Wednesday, though the weather may have been a factor in the lack of sightings. I settled on Montrose and the Angus coast, with the plan to try and get video of Roseate Tern if I could find one, or maybe a lingering Little Tern, or maybe even a Black Tern.
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| Roseate Tern & Sandwich Tern (& Common Tern) |
I headed out at about 0755 to catch the bus at 0815 from the bus station. There were a few birds around on the walk with a Blackbird scuttling under a car as I approached first of all, followed by a flyover Goldfinch. Herring Gull and Woodpigeon were next, and a pair of Magpies shared a TV Aerial perch on Dens Road. Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow were seen on Princes Street. Once underway I added Black Headed Gull, Starling and Collared Dove as the bus headed out of Dundee. Swallow was next with House Martins seen on the outskirts of Arbroath and Oystercatchers a little further along the road.
Arriving at Ferryden I decided to walk out to Scurdie Ness lighthouse first. There was a slim chance I might see the whale out in the wide sweep of the bay or beyond, as well as a few terns fishing. A Robin was singing from one of the trees along the back of the harbour buildings and a Pied wagtail overflew following the rough line of the coast southwards. A few Greylag Geese flew away from the direction of the Basin. When I reached the end of the harbour there were a pair of Great Black Backed Gulls and a young Herring Gull stood on the mud. There were lots of Eiders on the water and a few Goosanders too. Kittiwakes, Common Gulls and terns patrolled the river.
The terns consisted of a mix of Sandwich, Common and Arctic and when I reached a point where I could see the beach properly beyond the Glaxo factory I was able to see a few thousand gulls and terns stood on the sand with other birds fishing just offshore. I scanned through them finding Cormorants, Curlew and Sanderling but no obvious Little Terns, or anything more exotic, though granted being some distance away, they would have to really stand out, like a Caspian Tern maybe. A Meadow Pipit flew across the river, and I encountered a few Linnets. A flock of small birds which dropped down among the wheat in one of the fields turned out to be a decent sized flock of Tree Sparrows.
There was no sign of any whales, or even dolphins offshore, and not much bird activity beyond the gulls and terns, and the odd Eider or Cormorant. I did eventually find a couple of Guillemots close in to the rocks and behind me Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins swept low around the lighthouse and across the grass. A few Pied and a possible White Wagtail dropped in among the rocks. A large flock of Starlings flew up to perch on the lighthouse, ignoring the large plastic owl meant to scare birds away. I scanned through them just in case of a Rose Coloured Starling as one was recently seen a mile away at Usan, but unsurprisingly had no luck. A flock of Linnets also foraged among the rocks, some under the small overhang where I couldn't see them and they couldn't see me, until they flew off having been warned by birds a bit further away.
As I walked back, I added Grey Heron and a flock of Canada Geese to the list. I had contemplated walking round to the Lurgies after a visit to the visitor centre, but my legs felt heavy already and I had little energy. I scanned across the Basin as I walked up the path towards the centre at every opportunity. Immediately I picked up a hunting Osprey. A party of around 15 Black Tailed Godwits picked around in the muddy channels. A large number of Lapwings took flight as the Osprey flew overhead. Further on, a Stock Dove was seen perched on a wire just beyond the trees, though it appeared in two minds as to whether to fly off or not. It stayed put and I moved on.
Doug Milne was waiting at the car park to ask my opinion on a goose he'd seen at Stormont Loch. My best guess without a book on wildfowl was an escaped blue phase Ross's Goose. He said he'd get a second opinion from Bob McCurley on his way home, so I will probably hear what Bob thought next time I run into Doug. I headed down to the Bank of Scotland hide which was empty. There were around 15-20 Grey Herons roosting around a pool out in front, and a few Mallards in a small pool closer. Out on the mud I could see plenty of Redshanks. Mute Swans were very obvious further out. A few Teal flew past. A pair of Ospreys wheeled and hovered before one dived successfully and flew off with its catch, chased by a Rook. Kingfisher was heard a few times but I failed to see it.
This changed when I got into the visitor centre where the raised view meant I could see down into the small pool where the bird was fishing from a branch. A Peregrine spooked a lot of birds out in the bay. Scanning across the basin using the centre's scopes added a few more species to the list for the day including Red Breasted Merganser, Shelduck and Greenshank while at the feeders I could see Great Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Robin and Blue Tit. I eventually found a Dunlin among the waders at Rossie Spit and decided to have a better look on my way to catch the bus to Arbroath then on to Carnoustie. Unfortunately there was no further sign of any Dunlin or other smaller waders when I got there though plenty of Redshanks and the Black Tailed Godwits did eye me warily.
Nothing was added on the way to Arbroath. I had forgotten that the buses from Arbroath to Carnoustie were not as regular as the buses from Dundee to Carnoustie, so to use my time more productively I decided to walk out to Asda via Gayfield football stadium to catch the bus. I would have just over 30 minutes so not really much time to do much more than quickly scan any birds I found. A single Turnstone picking around among the pebbles and rocks on the shore was the first addition, followed quickly by Jackdaws on the grass across the road from the seawall. There was nothing obviously unusual among the mixed tern and gull flock behind Jumping Joeys except the odd Little Gull, though I did add Rock Pipit here. As I waited for a bus, having arrived at the stop with about 5 minutes to spare, I spotted a Buzzard gliding high above the trees to the north. An unexpected semi-urban sighting.
When I eventually arrived at Westhaven it was to find that most of the rocks offshore were already underwater and that there were still decent numbers of terns around. Unfortunately the sun was in the wrong place so I had to try and get ahead of the birds without spooking them. This was easier said than done though the sea was unsettling them anyway, so when they took flight because of a parent and toddler coming along the beach I slipped along to a better position. Much scanning showed Arctic, Common and Sandwich but no Roseate Terns as well as a few Kittiwakes. Further out I spotted a single Gannet and a Shag was on the water.
With the majority of rocks under water I found a lump by the water's edge where the terns were congregating. I was now on the Carnoustie side of the beach, so I wandered up onto the grass and skirted round until I was able to see the birds from a bench overlooking the beach. Thankfully I seemed to be far enough away not to bother the birds. Some settled for a wee while and others were bullied from their positions by landing birds. During one of these swaps the bird that dropped in appeared to be a Roseate Tern, so I took a number of photos, but it flew off before I had the chance to get some video. With the bird showing only a single ring - Roseates almost always have two, I was uncertain. However looking at the photos later it appears that my ID is in no doubt, with no black trailing edge to the wing in flight and a Roseate "special" ring on the leg, which is almost readable. There were also a few ringed birds among the collection on the rock. Someone down on the beach spooked the whole lot and they flew off again, but chose not to settle back again, so I headed back around to Westhaven to see if a wander out to Craigmill Burn was worthwhile.
I bumped into Stuart Green and had a short chat before he had to head off. I headed along the beach and back to catch a bus, missing one by seconds. I had a bit of a wait for the next one though at least it was on time. I decided to get off in Monifieth to check for more Little Gulls. I drew a blank, so wandered along the path by the caravan park. A single juvenile Ringed Plover was on the beach, so I got a few photos then headed to the road to catch the bus for home. This one was running a good bit late so I walked along as far as the Milton bus stop before waiting for the bus to show up and the trip home.
63 species seen, though no year-ticks among them. Weather was nice, so far from a wasted day off work, though I was almost tempted to head for Guardbridge when a text message came in to say that the Avocet had been seen in the high tide roost at Guardbridge when I was at Carnoustie beach. It would have been do-able but would have made a long day even longer.
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Curlew |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Common Tern |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Starling |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Guillemot |
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| Starling |
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| Starling |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| White Wagtail |
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| Linnet |
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| Eider |
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| Herring Gull & Sanderling |
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| Mixed Terns & Gulls |
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| Eider |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Osprey |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey & Lapwing |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Black Tailed Godwit & Redshank |
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| Sandwich Tern, Kittiwake & Common Tern |
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| Common Tern |
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| Common Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern & Common Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern & Common Tern |
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| Arctic Tern |
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| Common Tern & Kittiwake |
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| Common Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Arctic Tern |
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| Roseate Tern, Common Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Common Tern, Roseate Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Common Tern |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Ringed Plover |
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Roseate Tern, Sand Martin, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.
