Following on from Sunday's rather long day of birding, I was a bit tired on Monday and was unsure where to go for the day. I had a bit of a lie-in so it was 1100 before I headed out, having eventually settled on a plan of going to Montrose Basin and walking round to The Lurgies and back in the hope of maybe picking up a passing less-common wader (Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank etc) or maybe a Garganey pair. Although my legs were feeling rather heavy I was in no hurry.
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| Osprey |
Starling was first onto the list followed by Herring Gull with Woodpigeon and Jackdaw added further on towards the bus station. From the bus I saw Blackbird, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Carrion Crow on the way out of Dundee. A Rabbit was seen further on with Collared Dove spotted as the bus passed through Arbroath. Rook, House Sparrow, Mallard and Yellowhammer made it onto the list between Arbroath and Ferryden where I got off the bus to see what I could see out in the basin from underneath the railway bridge.
With the tide out the answer was "not much". Linnets flew up from the grassy verge while out on the mud a few Oystercatchers could be seen. There were Eiders in the water, while out on the sandbanks Grey Seals and Cormorants lounged side by side. A Curlew flew in and landed, while behind me a Goldfinch called from the trees. I headed round a little to the south and decided to explore the treed area below the path. This proved reasonably productive with Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, Blue Tit and Great Tit all flitting around in the bushes. A few Swallows swept low over the mud.
I headed along to the Bank of Scotland hide by the visitor centre car park. A couple of Shelduck were in the pools, a Buzzard pair flew over and an Osprey with a blue leg ring coded FC6 ate a fish perched atop one of the fence posts along to the left of the hide. Sand Martins swarmed above the pools near the nest hole wall. A male Reed Bunting flew past as I was photographing the Osprey which once it had finished eating its meal moved a few fence-posts closer which gave me opportunities for more flight shots from a low perspective.
Tree Sparrows were seen at the feeders from the visitor centre along with Greenfinch and Chaffinch. Goldeneye was spotted well out in the Basin and a second Osprey had appeared over the water with the original bird also having taken to the air while I was walking to the visitor centre. There wasn't too much to see on the walk round to the Maryton Steps, my first stop. Peacock and Green Veined White butterflies were spotted. From the steps I did manage to add Grey Heron flying upriver and Common Gull but most of the birds were distant and species I'd already seen.
Skylarks sang above the fields as I walked the rest of the way to The Lurgies path. Robin was added at the car park. A pair of Red Breasted Merganser drakes were on the river not far from the car park. A Sedge Warbler sang loudly from the top of a reed in the reedbed, as a Great Black Backed Gull glided by. There were Greylag Geese in the water by the pebbles on the bend in the river along with Black Headed Gulls. On the opposite shore, a few Redshanks wandered along the muddy edges. A few Pied Wagtails were on the pebbles.
A pair of Gadwall were a slight surprise and a pair of Teal would have been easy to overlook as it slept. A male Pheasant and a Whitethroat were seen on the walk back to catch the bus at Ferryden. A trio of Buzzards circled high over the fields before drifting eastwards. An Osprey was on a different fence-post near the visitor centre when I passed on my way to the bus stop (possibly the same bird seen earlier, but too distant to tell for sure). A Brown Hare was seen from the bus back to Dundee and the local Magpies were seen as I neared home not long before 1800.
Nothing new added to the year-list but some nice photo opportunities with the Osprey made it a decent enough afternoon's birding even though I ended up with even less energy than I'd had to start with. I still managed to see 50 species despite what appeared to be a relative lack of birds.
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Osprey |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Eider |
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| Oyetsercatcher, Gadwall & Teal |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Buzzard |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Osprey |
Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Peacock.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Grey Seal, Rabbit.
