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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
I arranged to meet Susan at 0830 and headed out around 0815. Herring Gull, 2 Feral Pigeons, a single Redwing on Dura Street and a Carrion Crow were seen on the walk down to the pick-up point. Starlings, Rooks, Jackdaw and Curlew were seen on the way to Barry Station from where we intended to walk out to the lighthouse area and then we would walk eastwards along the beach looking for the bird. It had been reported yesterday not far from the lighthouse so we were hopeful that we wouldn't need to walk too far along the beach in the freezing wind.
Blackbird, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wren and Blue Tit were seen on the walk out but overall things were very quiet. We reached the beach around 0935 and scanned from by the guard-hut. Cormorants, Bar Tailed Godwits, Herring Gull and Black Headed Gull were seen on the beach while offshore we found a few Red Breasted Mergansers and a larger flock of Eider among the waves. It was not unexpectedly rather hard going walking into the strong wind. Birds were few and very far between. A few Carrion Crows, a pair of Sanderling and a Great Black Backed Gull were noted. We made it all the way round to the area where I saw the bird a week previously but there was no sign of it.
Heading back again we stopped to scan ahead at various points but again things were very quiet. A dog walker headed towards us, near the southern tip of the range, and a small bird flew up from the beach. The style of flight and the jizz of the bird certainly suggested a lark but the strong winds at our backs made it almost impossible to keep our binoculars steady enough to get much detail, so it was one that got away. We weren't too worried as the bird had flown on ahead of us beyond the dog walker. Scanning on again we spotted what appaered to be a Seal pup corpse at the edge of the dunes. We wandered over only to see the Grey Seal pup moving. It was still alive and rather grumpy that we had woken it up. We rather quickly backed off again and left it to go back to sleep.
We tried searching further down the beach which made the return walk into the wind again even trickier than before with the wind seemingly having strengthened. We were very pleased to get back off the beach and out of the direct line of the wind. We headed back to the car adding only Mistle Thrush to the list on the way. We decided to pop along to Riverside Nature Park to try for Jack Snipe for Susan's year-list. A Buzzard was perched in a tree by the burn when we turned back onto the main road. A detour to see the Xmas Dinosaur in a garden in the village added Magpie and Woodpigeon.
A Kestrel was on wires near the caravan park and an Oystercatcher flew over as we headed in towards Broughty Ferry. A Sparrowhawk was seen overe Queen Street as we waited at traffic lights. We reached Riverside Nature Park around 1225. Blackbird, Carrion Crow and Goldfinch were seen as we wandered to the boggy area. Unfortunately a combination of the area being drier than usual, and the few wet bits being mostly frozen meant we didn't even manage a Snipe. A Wren had to suffice. Rather than head straight back to the car we decided to try the Lochan and then to head round via the bay to the car park and home.
A Stock Dove flew past. To the north a few Herring Gulls hung in the wind. A Magpie flew off into the trees as we headed into the top half of the park. A small flock of Black Headed Gulls, a single Herring Gull and a Goldeneye were on the partially frozen Lochan. A pair of Stock Doves flew off from the slope. We headed along to check the bay. A few Redshanks and a number of Teal were seen by the burn as it meandered through the mud. A Curlew was seen by the gull roost further upstream. There were plenty of gulls around - mostly Herring, Black Headed and a few Commons. A pair of Mallards were seen in flight out towards the end of the pipe. A few more waders were seen along the mud by the edge of the river. A few Black Tailed Godwits, a small number of Dunlin and the wintering Spotted Redshank were added before we called it a day.
A total of 38 species seen in less than favourable conditions though thankfully it did stay dry, even if it was very windy and wild, making standing still difficult at times and walking not much fun. 29 species were seen outwith the park, and 17 inside, along with a single mammal species at Barry Buddon. I took very few photos so the pictures illustrating this post are rather limited.
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| Cormorant, Herring Gull, Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Eider |
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| Grey Seal pup |
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| Dunlin, Teal, Redshank |
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| Teal, Redshank, Bar tailed Godwit, Dunlin |
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| Redshank & Spotted Redshank |
Species seen outwith Riverside Nature Park - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Red Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals seen - Grey Seal.
Species seen at Riverside Nature Park - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Stock Dove, Teal, Wren.