Sometimes provisional plans don't quite come to fruition as with Sunday's birding outing. Provisional plans to have a day out birding with Susan had to be modified to a much shorter trip out but we decided to try to squeeze as much as possible into the shorter time frame anyway. Roy arranged to travel up from Lothian to join us for a spot of birding in Angus with Ring Necked Parakeet, Waxwings and Great Grey Shrike our target birds. If time allowed later then Kinnordy was pencilled in for myself and Roy to round off the day's birding following on from Susan's necessary early finish.
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| Waxwing |
I headed out at 0915 to meet Roy. Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and House Sparrow were noted before we set off to meet Susan. I swapped cars to travel with Susan and we set off first for Carnoustie to try for the Ring Necked Parakeet though it hadn't been reported for a few days. Common and Black Headed Gulls, Feral Pigeon, Oystercatcher, Buzzard, Rook and Jackdaw, Linnets, Collared Dove and Starling were all seen en route to the site as well as a flyover Curlew as we drove up the street. There was no sign of the Parakeet though there were a few Fieldfares in the trees by the park entrance.
Next stop was Montrose for Waxwings so we set off northwards. Blackbird, lots of Pink Footed Geese and a Kestrel were spotted before we arrived at the site in Montrose where I've previously seen Waxwings. As we turned into the street we could see some of the birds perched in the top of a tree. We spent the next 15 minutes or so enjoying close and prolonged views of the birds acrobatically feeding on berries. With time in short supply we wasted no time in heading for Montreathmont Forest to try for the Great Grey Shrike which I'd failed to see on Wednesday with Paul. Pheasant was seen on the way.
Parking proved to be a problem with 4 cars already at the end of the track so some improvised parking was achieved within walking distance. A flock of Long Tailed Tits, a few Blue Tits and a couple of Goldcrests were seen where the power lines bisect the forest. Unsurprisingly given the cars parked at the track entrance there were already a few folk around looking for the Shrike, but it hadn't been seen that morning. We scanned around for around an hour but Coal Tits caching nuts from the bird club feeders were the most numerous sightings, along with Great Tits, a few Bullfinches and Chaffinches, Jays, Carrion Crows, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Kestrel, a Robin, Dunnock and a Yellowhammer. One of the birders already there turned out to be a woman I had been in contact with on Twitter the night before (Hi, Helen).
With Susan's birding time for the day rapidly running out we headed back to the cars. Susan headed for home and Roy and myself discussed heading to Kinnordy or elsewhere. As Roy hadn't seen Black Grouse this year, I suggested we try my most productive glen for them as it was slightly closer than Kinnordy and there was likely a better chance of Black Grouse than either Bittern or Bearded Tits. On the way to the glen a party of Red Legged Partridges flew across the road in front of us, and a few Pheasants were seen before we found a field full of Pink Footed Geese though we were unable to stop for a better look because of the nature of the road.
Not surprisingly things were relatively quiet in the glen though we did manage to see a few Red Grouse and when we stopped near the usual Black Grouse site, we added a Red Kite which flew past and a flyover Siskin. A Mistle Thrush landed briefly on a wire, and others were in a field nearby along with a few Pheasants. There were also some Rabbits around. Heading back down the glen empty handed as far as our target bird went, I spotted a bird out of the corner of my eye landing in a small tree just as the tree was hidden by the roadside verge and heather. We reversed back and there were 2 male Black Grouse now perched in the treetop feeding on buds - an adult and a youngster. A result for Roy. A Stonechat and a Wren were both seen as we headed back to Dundee where Roy dropped me off and headed home.
Although it was a relatively rushed outing we still managed to squeeze in a fair bit and got some nice views of a few targets among the 41 species of birds seen (plus 1 of mammal). The weather was relatively mild for this time of year which was a nice bonus.
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Kestrel |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Jay |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Buzzard |
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| Red Kite |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Stonechat |
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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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Pink Footed Goose
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Species seen -Black Grouse, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Red Grouse, Red Kite, Red Legged Partridge, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Starling, Stonechat, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Rabbit.
