Having missed out on the Lesser Yellowlegs at Montrose Basin on Saturday owing to other commitments I was rather disappointed to see that rain, some of it quite heavy, was forecast for Montrose on Sunday. I did not relish the thought of a 3.25 mile walk to The Lurgies from the bus stop and the same in the opposite direction having spent an unknown amount of time looking for a greyish bird against a greyish background, possibly in the wrong part of the Basin, so I decided to try Guardbridge in the hope of finding a Curlew Sandpiper as the tide came in.
 |
| Osprey |
It was raining when I left the house at around 1210 to head into town to catch the bus to Guardbridge. Once again, birds were in short supply with only a Starling and a Woodpigeon seen while I waited for the bus to arrive. Feral Pigeons were added at the Wellgate and a Blue Tit flew across in front of me as I headed for the bus station. From the bus over to Fife I added a few more species. Herring Gull near the bus station, a Carrion Crow by the entrance to City Quay, a Cormorant on Submarine Rock, Swallows near Drumoig, Jackdaw and Collared Dove in Leuchars and a House Martin high above the railway line.
Arriving at the hide it was busier than the empty car park suggested with Angus Duncan and Jim Brown and his brother already inside. Unfortunately this meant I had the faulty window spot, which negated the benefits of the Leica scope to some extent. My ears were still working though which helped to pick up a few species as the afternoon progressed. Out in front of the hide a few Black Headed Gulls flew around, a pair of Greenshanks landed opposite among the more numerous Redshanks. A few Goosanders were on the water and there were plenty of Lapwings dotted around. The feeders were rather busier than of late, with a nice mix of species - Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, Greenfinch, Robin, Blackbird and Great Tit all seen within around 30 seconds.
A Buzzard flew into the trees opposite and a Common Gull flew upriver. There was a single Osprey perched out on the 'goal posts'. Scanning around found a few Curlews, Mallards and Mute Swans, as well as a few Grey Herons. A Dunnock pair popped out below the feeders before vanishing back under the bushes. A distant Oystercatcher joined the other wader species on the list and more searching found a small number of Black Tailed Godwits. I was able to pick out Gannets in St Andrews Bay as the white caught the sun against the grey background. A White Tailed Eagle drew some attention from the resident Carrion Crows as it flew up to land on one of the distant posts in the estuary. A Great Black Backed Gull stood not far from the (largely) Herring Gull roost. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was picked out despite the angle it was stood at, which made it hard to determine the shade of grey on the mantle. I managed to pick out a very distant Little Egret well out in the estuary, and a lone Shelduck.
A small group of Teal were seen swimming upriver near the gull roost, not long before the Kingfisher flashed by below the hide. We were joined in the hide by a couple who were keen novice birders and they were inundated with lots of tips on where to go and what they could expect to see. I found a single unexpected juvenile Bar Tailed Godwit on the far bank, and a small group of Eiders working their way upriver. As the tide came further in, Jim and his brother left, followed soon after by Angus. I found a flock of Wigeon on the far side of the rapidly disappearing mud and a pair of Dunlin which I managed to lose again very quickly. A Stock Dove flew in and landed on the wall below the hide, but from the glimpse I got I concluded that it was probably just a badly seen Woodpigeon. However when it took off it proved to be a Stock Dove and I kicked myself for ignoring what would have been a decent photo opportunity. The local Collared Doves gave good views around the feeders and on the wall.
My ears delivered the next few new species for the day. The first was the surprising alarm call of a Snipe which flew up from across the river, thankfully I managed to get everyone onto the bird as it zig-zagged away. A Common Sandpiper flew downstream and a pair of Long Tailed Tits visited the feeders before a Grey Wagtail flew past. A total of five Little Egrets were counted flying in to roost at the salt marsh. Despite scanning through the waders I drew a blank on anything more interesting than the Bar Tailed Godwit which was frustrating given what Musselburgh to the south and Montrose to the north have had recently. In addition to the distant Gannets I was able to pick out a few probable Sandwich Terns as they dived out off Out Head. A drake Gadwall just before 1700 was one last surprise, before I packed up to head for home, though having missed the bus home I had to wait around 30 minutes for the next late-running bus to arrive before alighting into a torrential downpour back in Dundee.
A decent enough afternoon's birding with a reasonable list of 50 species to show for the effort, and a few reasonable photos. I just have to hope that the Montrose Lesser Yellowlegs sticks around for another day for me.
 |
| Collared Dove |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| White Tailed Eagle & Carrion Crow |
 |
| Grey Heron & Little Egret |
 |
| White Tailed Eagle |
 |
| Woodpigeon |
 |
| Goosander |
 |
| Curlew |
 |
| Osprey |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Bar Tailed Godwit & Lapwing |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Wigeon |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Redshank, Curlew, Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Lapwing |
 |
| Gadwall |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gadwall, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Snipe, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, White Tailed Eagle, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
