I failed to get motivated to get out of bed to catch an early bus to Kirriemuir for the walk out to Loch of Kinnordy to sit and wait for a Bittern to put in an appearance on Wednesday. However, I was determined to get out birding somewhere. There were some reasonably "good" birds around locally with Waxwings on the Kingsway, the Shorelark still around at Barry Buddon and Short Eared Owls at Elliot, so I wasn't without options. I decided to try for the Waxwings first and then to catch a bus eastwards from there with Balmossie, Westhaven, Easthaven and Arbroath all options.
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| Kestrel |
I didn't quite make it out in time for sunrise, leaving the house around 5 minutes too late. I had a look out of my bedroom window before I left and was pleased to see a nice variety of birds around - Blackbird and Redwings feasting on Rowan berries, a Starling on a TV aerial, a Carrion Crow overflying and a Herring Gull perched on a nearby roof as well as the local Feral Pigeon flock. Magpies could be heard but were hidden from view. Heading out I added a small flock of Fieldfares perched in a tree on Court Street. A pair of Jackdaws flew over and a Blue Tit flew out from a tree which also held a Woodpigeon.
A wander along Argyle Street instaed of my usual detour on the way to Swannie Ponds added House Sparrow and Goldfinch though a calling Robin proved elusive. Swannie Ponds was quite productive with almost the full set of regulars. Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Goosander, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Magpie, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull and a Common Gull were all noted. There were 2 ringed Black Headed Gulls seen - 1 white, 1 yellow, though neither were close enough to read off. A Sparrowhawk flew over Rodd Road as I headed for Eastern Cemetery.
A small skein of Pink Footed Geese passed high overhead as I slowly searched the graveyard which was relatively busy with birds - mostly Mistle Thrush and Redwing but also Chaffinch and Greenfinch as well as Woodpigeons. I heard a Waxwing calling as a few birds burst out from a treetop but it wasn't the bird I was looking at. I wasn't unduly worried as I was heading to the Kingsway next to look for the flock of over 100 Waxwings which Stuart Green had found the previous day. Initially I drew a blank and there was no sign of any perched flocks in trees nearby. I walked up the Kingsway as far as the retail park roundabout before walking back down towards the Scott Fyffe roundabout where I reckoned the birds had been seen.
I crossed the road to where I could see a few Rowan trees with berries on. These surely had to be where the birds had been. Just as I was considering my options a flock of around 40 or so descended in to land on the trees and grabbed some berries before a Mistle Thrush in the tree behind saw them off again. My camera was still in my bag so I missed out on any photos. Again there was no obvious sign of where the birds had disappeared to so I decided to head for the bus stop to catch a 73 bus along the coast. The next one due was for Arbroath which gave me the most options. A Dunnock was seen from the bus stop while I waited.
From the bus I added Curlews just outside Monifieth and also a flock of Lapwings. Grey Herons were roosting in the fields between Westhaven and Easthaven and a few Oystercatchers were seen opposite on the other side of the road near the railway line. I decided that I would get off the bus at Easthaven and walk to Elliot and then on to Arbroath to check the fields at the cliffs for bunting flocks etc. I was still hoping to find an Angus Water Pipit among the Rock Pipits though I wasn't greatly optimistic. There were a handful of Pink Footed Geese in the same field as my previous visit.
I headed for the beach and found that the tide was already quite well in. Piles of seaweed littered the beach and a few Redshanks could be seen off to the west while the first of the day's Rock Pipits picked around much closer. A Turnstone flew off as I began wandering along. I found a few more Rock Pipits with one looking rather pale on the underside but a bit too 'blotchy' for a Water Pipit. A small flock of Teal were seen offshore further on near the small wooden bridge and a flock of Linnets circled round before settling north of the railway line again. A Pied Wagtail was seen on the beach and a Cormorant flew past low over the sea.
I found the Pink Footed Geese flock in a field just west of Hatton water treatment plant with around 200 birds flying further west in smaller groups to land closer to the village. There were Grey Herons in another field and Oystercatchers and Redshanks roosting by the small pool just beyond the railway line. A pair of Teal preened by the water's edge before being joined by another male and then all 3 flew off together back out onto the sea. A pair of Meadow Pipits were seen perched on fence posts by the railway line briefly before dropping down to the ground to feed. A Wigeon drake was spotted among a larger flock of Teal on the water. I found a wader roost ahead of me on the beach and wandered up to the edge of the banking to try not to spook them. I was successful and managed to add Sanderling, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper and Grey Plover to the list in addition to Oystercatchers and Redshank in the roost.
A Red Throated Diver was seen offshore though there was little evidence of much else on or above the sea. A small mixed flock of Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Sanderling flew past before I headed in to walk along the cycle path by the railway line. There was no sign of any Short Eared Owls around but there were at least 4 photographers dotted around hoping for a photo if one did appear. A Stonechat flew across into the reedbeds and a small group of Reed Buntings flew off high across the golf course. A pair of Mute Swans, a Moorhen, a pair of Mallards and a Little Grebe were seen at the opposite end of the open water from the small wooden viewing platform.
I continued on to the burn where a calling Wren eluded me. A Robin showed in a small tree and a Grey Wagtail flew over. Continuing on I added another few Rock Pipits and a Pied Wagtail on the grass. Offshore I found a female Eider among the waves and an adult Great Black Backed Gull flew over. More Redshanks, Turnstone and Rock Pipits were seen among the rocks near the cinema and playpark. A Kestrel flew west north of the road. Another was seen a few minutes later hovering behind Pleasureland and hunting over the small pitch and putt course. I managed to get some nice photos of this bird as it hovered just across the road from me, with the low winter sun illuminating the bird rather well.
I found a small flock of Purple Sandpipers with Redshank and Turnstone on the shore behind Gayfield. A small Oystercatcher roost was a little further on. Passing these birds without spooking them I stopped at a gravelly spot and spotted movement on the grass at the top end of the anti-erosion rocks but below the level of the path. I expected another Rock Pipit so was rather surprised to find myself looking at a rather nice grey female/1st-winter type Black Redstart, its red-brown tail quivering characteristically as it perched atop the rocks. I lifted the camera to take a photo just as the bird chose to dive off the rock and out of sight behind it. Luckily I managed to catch the salient features of the bird on the 2 photos taken, the 2nd showing just the top half of the bird peeking out from behind the rock, though in shadow.
As I tried to get a different angle for a better view a bird flew past me and I lost sight of it as it flew across the line of the low sun. Despite much hunting along the stretch of rocks bewteen Gayfield and the harbour for the next 40 minutes or so I failed to refind the bird which was rather frustrating given how well it had shown initially when I spotted it, which suggests it was the Black Redstart which flew past me. Although there have been no further reports via the bird news sites, Jacqui informed me it was apparently photographed yesterday by a few of the Short Eared Owl photographers though she had only heard about the photos second-hand. I suspect the bird will linger for the winter along this stretch given that the species was seen earlier in the year on the other side of the harbour. I headed along there in case the bird had relocated but failed to find it, so I headed for the bus station and home.
A good day out in lovely mild winter weather with blue skies, light winds and sunshine all day. A total of 56 species of bird were seen with the Waxwings and Black Redstart the main highlights though Red Throated Diver, Fieldfare and Purple Sandpiper were also good to see.
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Linnet |
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| Linnet |
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| Teal |
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| Turnstone |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Curlew |
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| Redshank |
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Redshank |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Grey Plover, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Redshank, Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper |
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| Sanderling |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Common Gull |
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| Stonechat |
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| Moorhen |
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| Little Grebe |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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| Redshank |
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| Grey Heron & Oystercatcher |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Oystercatcher & Curlew |
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| Herring Gull & Oystercatcher |
Species seen - Black Redstart, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Waxwing, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
