I hadn't intended on going anywhere on Sunday after Saturday's bitterly cold experience. With the weather forecast being rather similar I decided on a rather long lie-in. A heads-up text message on a couple of Black Redstarts at Arbroath almost tempted me out. A second message, from Jacqui offering to take me through to see them got me out of bed and I got ready to meet her at around 1345 at our usual pick-up spot.
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| Black Redstart |
In similar style to the previous day there wasn't much to see as I headed along the road to meet her with only a few Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons flying over and a single hungry Pied Wagtail on the pavement to start the list. We added a few more on our way out of Dundee with Carrion Crow, Lesser Black Backed and Black Headed Gulls, Woodpigeon and Oystercatcher all seen along the section between the (former) Scott Fyffe roundabout and the Claypotts junction. A few Rooks were seen from the road and Jacqui spotted a couple of perched Buzzards but a combination of a slightly fogged side window and me not looking in quite the right place meant I missed them both.
Arriving at Arbroath we found a place to park and wandered round to the area where the birds had been seen. Keith Edwards was coming the other way so I asked him if the birds were still around. They were, but weren't showing as well as earlier. There was a small crowd of local birders already stood watching for the bird and we joined the huddle. Redshanks and a Turnstone on the shore and a few Rock Pipits were seen along with Starlings but after 15 minutes or so we decided to check along the front of the houses. We bumped into Stuart Green as he was arriving and he joined us, and Doug Milne, to check out the narrow street in front of the former fishermen's cottages.
Needless to say we drew a blank, though we did succeed in adding a few Ringed Plovers and a small flock of House Sparrows. A young Kittiwake flew past close in to shore. In addition to the Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls, we also added Common and Great Black Backed Gull to the growing list before we headed back round to the original spot. Jacqui went back to get her phone from the car and I wandered round to find the
Black Redstart showing out on a low wall at the rear of a house a little along the shore from where we were all stood. Not only was it showing quite nicely but it was an adult male bird too. Jacqui arrived and managed to see and photograph it too. Doug took a few attempts to catch it but eventually succeeded too before heading off.
Within a short space of time most of the others had left too, leaving Jacqui and me with Neil Black though we were soon joined by Jon Cook. The bird showed on and off for the next wee while before we too decided to head off elsewhere. Elsewhere, in this case, was Victoria Park to see if the Iceland Gull was around. As the sea was so wild there were lots of folk taking photos around the harbour area of the large waves, so the park area was actually rather quiet. This meant that there was a roosting flock of gulls and Oystercatchers on one of the football pitches. I spotted the Iceland Gull among them before we'd even stopped and we got a few photos of the bird which was hunkered down on its belly among the other birds.
A pair of Eiders landed on the water not far offshore as we were checking for passing seabirds and a flock of Curlews dropped in to land near the gulls. We headed next to the other side of the harbour to check the usual wader roost there. A couple of headless auk corpses were on the grass no doubt predated by the local gulls. I suspect they were both Guillemots but I can't be sure (there was also a pair of wings among the seaweed where the Black Redstart was). Guillemots in particular seem to have taken the brunt of the bad weather's effects and that will no doubt impact on the numbers breeding on the Angus cliffs and the Isle of May off Fife this Spring.
A Cormorant flew past low just offshore before a flock of Oystercatchers landed on the small area of exposed pebbles below us. When they did we noticed there were a few Redshanks and a pair of Ringed Plovers already in situ. Another Rock Pipit flew past towards the harbour before we headed back to the car to try Westhaven for Little Gulls. I finally managed to see a Buzzard when we turned down towards Easthaven and one lifted from near the road and flew above the car, talons dangling. A photographer on the beach meant that all the birds at Westhaven were offshore among the waves. It didn't take long to pick up what appeared to be a few Little Gulls but seeing them well enough to be 100% sure took longer. Eventually a winter plumaged youngster flew past close in to shore and we moved on again.
I added a Blackbird on the outskirts of Carnoustie and having persuaded Jacqui to detour through Barry village to see the local Dinosaur (in a front garden near the church) we also added a couple of Collared Doves. Back on the main road to Monifieth we stopped by the caravan park to check a flock of finches on the wires opposite which unsurprisingly turned out to be Linnets. A quick stop at the waterfront in Monifieth produced another couple of species in Sanderling and Grey Plover with one of each sharing the beach with a mix of gull species, though only in small numbers. Turnstones were seen along the shore opposite the Barnhill Rock Garden and a couple of Red Breasted Mergansers were just off the mouth of the harbour at Broughty Ferry.
A drake Merganser was also seen near the Lifeboat jetty with a mix of gulls on the water but no Mallards or Mute Swans seemed to be around. I suspected that they'd headed inland away from the wild seas. As it turned out some of the Mute Swans hadn't gone very far inland at all, with one sat on the ground out of the wind behind a couple of parked cars and another being fed just up the end of the nearby street by a young girl and her dad. Nothing else was added between there and home.
Despite the conditions I managed to see 33 species (Jacqui also saw a Wren which gave her 34) including the year-tick (in bold) that had tempted me out in the first place. Having learned my lesson on Saturday I'd chosen to wear a couple of extra layers which certainly paid off, though also having a car with heaters that we could retreat to also helped.
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| Kittiwake |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Iceland Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Great Black Backed Gull, Oystercatcher & Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Cormorant |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Linnet |
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| Grey Plover & Common Gull |
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| Mute Swan |
Species seen -
Black Redstart, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Iceland Gull, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Starling, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.
