With a bit of an early start to this year's influx of Yellow Browed Warblers on the east coast, for this week's mid-week outing with Nat, the focus was on attempting to try and find one of our own. I thought that Fife Ness might provide the better option, but Nat reckoned the weather forecast was slightly better, and drier, for Angus, so we settled on the Angus coast for our attempts. I suggested that we try slightly different areas than our more regular spots, primarily Auchmithie and Lunan Bay.
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| Stonechat |
I had considered heading out early and meeting Nat when she was available, but circumstances dictated that didn't happen. I headed out at around 0910 to meet Nat, though there seemed to be a shortage of birds. Nat phoned to say that she'd left her binoculars at home, so I picked up my spare pair from home so that she had something to use, rather than having to turn around and go back for her own. Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were seen as I waited for her to arrive. There were not many species added on our way to Arbroath for a quick stop either, with only Woodpigeon, House Martins and a Carrion Crow seen.
A Black Tern and a Roseate Tern had both been seen at Arbroath on Tuesday so we made a brief stop to see if either were still around. The rocks where we had seen the Black Terns only had a few erring Gulls perched on them. A Linnet landed on the roof of the building behind us. There were 2 Grey Herons in the harbour and a third out by the sea. A few Oystercatchers were around and a number of Cormorants were stood out on rocks. Sandwich Terns passed by offshore. A few Eiders were on the water. There was still a good bit of visible migration going on, with Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Grey Wagtail, Swallows and House Martins passing westwards at varying heights. Great Black Backed Gull and Black Headed Gull were added before a Rock Pipit showed on the beach below us.
Starling and Jackdaw were both expected additions from the car as we headed for Auchmithie. A mixed flock of House and Tree Sparrows were around at the car park when we arrived and a party of Goldfinches landed in the tree behind the But & Ben restaurant. A Blackbird flew across the football pitch, and a few Greenfinches took flight from the bushes. A Robin skulked in the shrubbery at the far end of the football pitch, and a Pheasant was heard from the fields but our view was blocked by the bushes and trees. We wandered down towards the track down to the beach, adding Coal Tit and Yellowhammer as well as a Wren. A Magpie flew over towards the coastguard cottages - not a bird I've seen here before. There was still steady passage of similar migrants as we'd seen at Arbroath passing overhead.
We'd wandered down the hill a bit when a call rang out that sounded familiar, stopping us in our tracks. A Yellow Browed Warbler, surely. I checked the tree I thought it had come from, but could see nothing. It called again, and a bird shot out from the bushes behind us and flew off towards the large garden at the top of the hill. Neither of us managed to get our binoculars on the bird, but we were both fairly certain it had to be. We searched around but didn't hear the bird again, so not having had definite views we decided that we shouldn't claim it, in case we were mistaken. I spotted a brown bird glide low over the field opposite and into the garden where birds exploded in various directions. A Sparrowhawk. Blue Tit and Song Thrush were both added before we set off for a walk out to the cliff path and along to the gulley near Gaylet Pot.
There were actually a pair of Magpies by the houses, but they kept a low profile in the trees though the constant calling advertised their presence just as effectively. Down on the rocks we could see Shags, and a few Oystercatchers. A Curlew proved elusive. A Kestrel flew across the bay and past us, before we found a Reed Bunting near the gulley. Goldcrests were heard in the trees but weren't seen on our initial search. Despite the sea looking very quiet there were a handful of birds passing, mostly gulls and a few Gannets. Nat spotted a Peregrine being harassed by the local Kestrel pair and there was a bit of chasing and counter-chasing.
We had better views of Goldcrests in the trees with at least 6 birds seen. A pair of Wrens flew across the path while a Robin showed in trees at the garden and a pair of Dunnocks skulked around in the undergrowth. We cut back down across the farm but added nothing extra. Nat headed to the car for some lunch while I checked the gulley again. I did add a pair of Stonechats and a Great Tit to the list but nothing else. With roughly two hours of birding time left we headed for Lunan Bay. A Buzzard was seen perched in a dead tree not far out of Auchmithie at the 'main' road. Rooks were seen further north. Our intention had been to search the trees and bushes behind the dunes but as the weather didn't look wholly promising we decided to head for the ADBC hide instead.
A"No Parking" sign had appeared where everyone parks, so we had to drive further round the road to the alternative parking spot, down from Red Castle. We headed up the hill and scanned from the top beside the large sandstone ruins. A Mute Swan and a Black Headed Gull were down on the river, while out at the mouth were a large number of Common and Arctic Terns as well as a mixed flock of gulls - Common, Black Headed, Great Black Backed, Herring and Kittiwakes. With so many birds milling around there was always the chance of finding something good hiding in plain sight among them.
From the hide I scanned through the gulls and terns but failed to turn up anything exotic. Out in the bay were a few hundred Scoters, both Common and Velvet, in a fairly even split between the two species. I checked through them for Surf Scoter but drew a blank. There were at least half a dozen Red Throated Divers, some close in to shore, others further out. A Red Breasted Merganser flew north. I spotted a dark bird on the water, and identified it as a Skua, most likely Arctic. It eventually took flight and gave chase to a tern before landing back on the water, having confirmed my suspicions as to the species. A short while later I couldn't find the bird but picked up a pair further out chasing some Kitiwakes. I had more success a little later when what was likely the original bird was found again on the water.
The local crows seemed to be taking great delight in upsetting the terns, with one bird in particular causing the flock to take flight regularly, resulting in the crow being chased by a small group of determined terns. The main group rested out on the water a few times also which was relatively unusual to see. With the time now around 1430 we headed back to the car, adding a Willow Warbler and failing to clinch a probable Stock Dove in flight which gave brief glimpses as our views were obscured by trees and bushes. Heading back to Dundee we did succeed in adding one more species when a flock of Lapwings were seen milling around above the fields to the north of the road.
Another mildly disappointing day's birding with Arctic Skua the only 'definite' really good bird among the 57 species seen, though the supporting cast wasn't bad - Peregrine, Kestrel, Velvet, Scoter, Stonechat, Grey Wagtail and Skylark. Although I'm about 90% certain on the Yellow Browed Warbler, I didn't get a 'visual' confirmation, so it stays off the year-list for now.
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| Greenfinch |
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| Swallow |
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| Jackdaw |
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| House Martin |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Skylark |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Shag |
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| Kestrel |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Skylark |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Gannet |
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| Peregrine |
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| Common Tern, Kittiwake, Herring Gull, Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Common Gull, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Kittiwake |
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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Arctic Skua & Common Tern |
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| Arctic Skua & Common Tern |
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| Arctic Skua & Common Tern |
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| Arctic Skua |
Species seen - Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Linnet, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Velvet Scoter, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
