Having missed out on the Lesser Yellowlegs over the weekend, and being off on a week's holiday with the aim of adding to my year-list, I knew where I wanted to be on Monday. Nat was also free, so transport was going to be a bit simpler than a bus journey and a long walk. Unfortunately, she wasn't free until around 0915, which is a bit later than I like to get started birding, so I decided that with high tide at Dundee being around 0645 I should be able to catch the receding tide at Riverside Nature Park, where I hoped I might find a Curlew Sandpiper (or Little Stint, or Spotted Redshank) before Nat arrived to pick me up. While I waited for the tide to go back out I would do a spot of vis-migging and see what was passing through the airspace above the park on its way south (well, west, then south).
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| White Wagtail |
I made it out of bed and out of the house for around 0620. As the sun hadn't yet risen, there weren't too many birds around, though Herring Gulls were already awake and busy. A Blackbird was picking around on the grass for food in the gloom. A Woodpigeon was perched on a lamp-post. Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow were added nearer the City Centre and a Meadow Pipit was heard then seen passing high overhead, pointing towards vis-migging not being a waste of time. Nothing else was added on the way out to the Nature Park where I arrived shortly before 0655.
A Woodpigeon was first onto the park list, followed by a flyover Carrion Crow. As I reached the wooden gate at the eastern end a Jay flew from the trees and out of the park. Magpies were next and a small group of ducks flying over were identified from the photos I snapped as Goosanders. Feral Pigeon was next overhead followed by a couple of Cormorants. There was a charm of Goldfinches around already busy in the early morning light. A Chaffinch was seen at Buzzard Wood, and a Chiffchaff was heard and then found in the bushes by the boggy area. A few Swallows passed over and a Robin was seen in the trees at the car park, while a few Blackbirds scuttled around on the grass further on.
At the Lochan were a few Redshanks sleeping while on the water were a few Teal. The Moorhen family picked around in the grass between the water and the road. A Little Grebe popped up, giving good views. I continued on round towards the hill, a Meadow Pipit flew over, the first from the park. Out in the bay a party of Lapwings rose from their roost hidden out of sight by the lush vegetation on the slope down to the bay. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was on the water with Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls. There were also a few more Teal and a few Mallards, but as it was a large high tide there was little to be seen down towards the burn mouth.
I headed up onto the hill and sat and waited. I didn't have to wait too long before Meadow Pipits passed over. A flock of around ten birds together turned out to be the first vis-mig Chaffinches of the morning. Siskins were next, their distinctive calls announcing their approach first. A flock of Curlews flew round from the airport with a couple of Bar tailed Godwits among their number. A Linnet headed west, as did a single Starling. A Grey Wagtail was seen on the fence surrounding the recently added new 'building' by the recycling area. The first of around half a dozen Tree Pipits went over, though frustratingly my camera struggled to pick it out against the blue sky. I almost missed a Sparrowhawk which was being mobbed by Swallows as it flew right over the top of the hill. A Great Black Backed Gull flew into the bay.
A few Skylarks were the next new species to pass over, these were a bit higher than the other species seen. Pied Wagtails also headed westwards over the bay. Out above the river a couple of Sandwich Terns headed eastwards. A distant Grey Heron was picked out on the shore beside the rather ugly modern house on the spit at Kingoodie. After around an hour's worth of vis-migging, my totals were roughly 6 Tree Pipits, 50 Meadow Pipits, 50 Chaffinches, 20 Siskins, 10 Skylarks, 10 Swallows, 3 Pied Wagtails, 1 Starling & 1 Linnet. Woodpigeons weren't counted though there were certainly birds passing.
I headed for the bay via the Lochan where a Grey Heron added to the species seen earlier. A Stock Dove flew over and Jackdaws were seen to the north. The tide had receded enough that there were some waders already searching for food in the mud. Unusually there were both Black Tailed and Bar Tailed Godwits, though numbers were low of both species. Redshanks made up the bulk of the waders and Feral Pigeons and Woodpigeons hung around on the pipe. There were a few gulls on the mud, mostly Black Headed Gulls and a Common Gull or two. However, there was a gull stood in the water which stood out from the rest - a Mediterranean Gull juvenile moulting into winter plumage. My second found at the park, and my 3rd in September (& 4th since August!). Unfortunately, it was now just after 0900 and I was running out of time for the rest of the waders to appear.
Nat messaged me to say she was on Riverside Drive, so I headed back to the car park to meet her. Even though I had failed to see any unusual waders, I'd had a good couple of hours with some nice finds among the 41 species seen, including tree Pipit, Mediterranean Gull, Jay and Bar Tailed Godwit.
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Goosander |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Swallow |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Curlew & Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Mediterranean Gull & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Mediterranean Gull, Redshank, Common Gull & Black Headed Gull |
Species seen at the park - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mediterranean Gull, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Siskin, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Pipit, Woodpigeon.
Once Nat arrived we headed off for Montrose Basin, hoping that the Lesser Yellowlegs had hung around an extra day. Nat had tried and failed to find it on Saturday. On the way through Dundee we added Black Headed Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull to the non-park list. Rook was added by the roadside near Arbroath and Buzzard was seen as we neared Montrose. House Sparrow was seen as we headed down the hill to Maryton Ditch, where the bird had been seen at times over the weekend. A Pheasant ran out from the stubble as we got out of the car.
There were plenty of birds out in the Basin so it was a slow process scanning through the 100s of birds that were close enough to identify using the scope. Black tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Curlews, Lapwings and Oystercatchers made up the majority of wader species. Waterfowl included Goldeneye, Goosander, Shelduck, Canada Geese, Mallard, Mute Swan and Wigeon. There were also plenty of gulls - Herring, Black Headed, Common and Great Black Backed.. Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Grey Herons, Swallows and House Martins were all seen, a Wren was heard but there was no sign of the target bird. An Osprey was seen hovering far across the Basin.
We headed round to The Lurgies around noon. An English birder we talked to confirmed that he'd seen the Yellowlegs around an hour earlier but that it had since disappeared. This was a bit of good and bad news combined. We scanned through similar species to earlier though thankfully there were less waders to go through. There were a few Little Grebes nearby and a very tame Black Tailed Godwit on the shore below us. The weather which had been sunny first thing in Dundee was now threatening rain, so I found a tree that provided at least partial shelter from the elements and started scanning. After five minutes or so, it began to rain, so Nat headed back to the car for some lunch and warmth. I was to ring her phone if I found the bird.
The light was quite poor so it was tricky to ascertain the leg colour on some of the Redshanks to ruke out yellow. Having no idea what plumage state the bird was in, and only a mental picture of the bird we saw well in Aberdeenshire last year to go on (a sort of Redshank x Wood Sandpiper cross with long yellow legs), it was once again going to be a slow process. However, despite the rain apparently trying to ruin my concentration I rather quickly found a bird which looked a strong contender. I took a photo to confirm the leg colour. Yellow.
Lesser Yellowlegs safely on the year-list. I messaged Nat, just two short words - "Got it". She joined me a minute or two later and we spent a bit of time getting decent, albeit distant, views of the bird.
Another local birder from Ferryden joined us and we let him see the bird in the scope before wandering upriver to see if we could see anything else of interest. A Grey Wagtail flew past and I missed out on Kingfisher, which Nat saw as it flashed up the drainage ditch. A few Goldfinches were seen in the bushes along the track. A Pied Wagtail and a Stock Dove were down by the water on the pebbles at the top end of the track but there were no waders opposite, though there were a few Teal. A few Swallows and Meadow Pipits overflew. When we were heading back to the car I had a chat to an Aberdeenshire birder down from Fordoun and found the bird for him.
We headed round to the visitor centre to see if we could add to our list from there. We did - I got Kingfisher on my list, Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit, Red Breasted Merganser, Tree Sparrow, Eider and Collared Dove. Long Tailed Tit and Blue Tit were seen in the car park foliage. Nat had to be home for around 1500, so we headed back down the coast. As I had the rest of the afternoon to fill and high tide wasn't until late afternoon, I decided that I would walk from Elliot to Carnoustie, hopefully adding to my list as I went. Starlings were seen on the chimneys as we drove down through the town for a quick stop near the cliffs at Arbroath which added Sandwich Tern, Common Tern and Linnet to the non-park day list.
Nat dropped me off by the railway footbridge just before Elliot at around 1400 and I wandered down to check out the burn mouth area. A Reed Bunting and a large flock of Goldfinches were first. The gull flock on the shore contained a couple of Kittiwakes. A small group of Dunlin and a single Ringed Plover gave me close views and photo opportunities before a loose Spaniel sooked them all, though thankfully they returned when the dog ran off again. A dog walker flinging a ball close to the gulls for her dog to chase cleared the beach so I moved on. A Skylark flushed from the edge of the track. A few hundred metres on a pair of Arctic Terns were on the beach, along with a Sanderling. More Sanderling were seen a few minutes later. A Wheatear's white rump/tail caught my eye as the bird flew off a short distance when it saw me.
There were plenty of Pied Wagtails along the way, picking around in the seaweed and assorted detritus on the shore for flies. Among them were a few rather smart-looking White Wagtails, the continental race of our Pieds. I had some really good views of a couple of White Wagtails near Easthaven, where I also added Rock Pipit. Offshore I could see a few Gannets, but there was not a lot of movement. The burn mouth at Craigmill Den was mildly disappointing, though I did add Goosander here and a juvenile Turnstone was seen well nearby. Thankfully, I was able to jump across the narrow, though deep and fast moving section of the burn, without getting too wet. More Turnstones and a few more Terns, plus a couple of Redshanks and an unexpected pair of Teal were seen at Carnoustie before I headed for the bus home. A Coal Tit was in the bushes behind the bus stop just as the bus arrived.
I arrived home rather tired at 1845 having been out birding for twelve and a half hours. Among the 64 species seen outside of the Nature Park, I'd successfully twitched a year-tick (in bold) and seen a nice mix of species. It had been a long day with 74 species seen (& 1 identifiable sub-species) in total but it had also been a good way to start my holiday week proper.
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| Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Mute Swan, Redshank, Wigeon, Canada Goose & Herring Gull |
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| Common Gull, Black Headed Gull & Lesser Yellowlegs |
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| Black Headed Gull & Lesser Yellowlegs |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Common Gull, Black Headed Gull & Lesser Yellowlegs |
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| Greenshank |
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| Sandwich Tern, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Dunlin & Carrion Crow |
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| Cormorant |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Herring Gull & Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Dunlin |
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| Goldfinch |
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| White Wagtail |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Sanderling |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Common Tern & Black Headed Gull |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| White Wagtail |
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| White Wagtail |
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| Eider |
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| Wheatear |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Turnstone |
Species seen outwith the park - Arctic Tern, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull,
Lesser Yellowlegs, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail (& White Wagtail), Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Wheatear, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
