There are very few remaining days for finding new birds for my already record-breaking year-list but there's no point in resting on my laurels with the end of the year within touching distance. With this in mind and the opportunity to get out with Susan falling through for Sunday, I decided to do a wee bit of 'out of area' twitching when I discovered that the location of the bird I was wanting to see was only a 2 mile walk in a straight line from the railway station. The bird in question was the Mandarin drake which winters in Aberdeen at Johnston Gardens and Walker Dam then disappears to Norway for the summer where he was fitted with a ring a few years ago. I had almost forgotten about him but saw a photo on the internet on Saturday evening and decided "might as well".
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| Mandarin Duck |
I headed out at 0845 to catch the 0920 train to Aberdeen. The plan was to hopefully see at least some birds from the train so I chose to sit on the side that would allow me to scan Montrose Basin as the train arrived in the town. The walk into the city centre was relatively productive with plenty of activity even though the sun had only just crept over the horizon. Herring Gull, Blue Tit and Woodpigeon were seen within the first few steps outside. Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon were next and a small Rowan tree on Dens Road had a few Blackbirds and Redwing still asleep in it. House Sparrows were at feeders in a garden on Victoria Road.
A Buzzard was the first addition from the train near Carnoustie with Starlings and Black Headed Gull being seen as the train passed through the town. A Curlew flew over near Hatton but there was no sign of the Short Eared Owls at Elliot though the "big lens brigade" were already out waiting. Jackdaws were seen in Arbroath but things were very quiet between there and Montrose. Thankfully the tide state at the Basin meant there was plenty to see. A small group of Shoveler were a surprise near Rossie Spit. A few Black Tailed Godwits, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew were noted. Great Black Backed and Common Gulls, Cormorants and Eider were all seen too. Surprisingly I didn't see any Pink Footed Geese in the area.
Heading northwards again after Montrose I added a few more Buzzards plus a large flock of Fieldfares. A pair of Mallards were on a small pool in a field and nearing Aberdeen a few hundred Pink Footed Geese were finally spotted together on a sloping field. A pair of Tufted Ducks and a Grey Heron were on the river Dee as we crossed the bridge. I wasn't expecting to see many birds in the city or on the walk to the Gardens and that was indeed the case. Pied Wagtail was seen over Union Street. Magpies were seen in Union Grove along with a Collared Dove and a Blackbird.
I found Johnston Gardens without any problems. Black Headed Gulls and Mallard were on the water while a Jackdaw and Woodpigeon picked around on the ground. A Moorhen adult and youngster were also around though slightly more skittish than the ducks and gulls. With no sign of the Mandarin I headed in the direction of the nearby Walker Dam, arriving 5 minutes or so later. There were plenty of Mallards on the dam and a few Black Headed Gulls plus a Moorhen but no sign of the Mandarin. I scanned the trees that were partially submerged and could see a few Mallards and what appeared to be the Mandarin Duck. I took a few photos and yes, I had
Mandarin Duck on my year-list.
I wandered round to the slope behind the trees for a better look and was able to see the bird preening among the branches. I was hoping someone would arrive to feed the ducks tempting the Mandarin out into the open. Thankfully within minutes a mother and child arrived to do just that. This did result in the bird swimming out to join the Mallards and Black Headed Gulls and I was able to get some decent shots of the bird relatively close in. I told the mother about the bird's Norwegian travels and that I was up from Dundee to see it and that I was about to head back to catch the train south again. I was offered a lift back to the city centre which I declined owing to the time until the next train, but thanked her for the kind offer.
I added Goldfinch and Siskins as I headed back through the city and also a few flocks of Fieldfares and Woodpigeons. A group of 6 Magpies together squabbled noisily on Union Grove but overall it was rather quiet again. There were fewer birds seen on the way back south though a few Buzzards, a large flock of Fieldfares and the odd pigeon, crow and gull were seen. A new addition was a male Pheasant in a field and a Goosander was stood by the water's edge as the train pulled into Montrose. Teal were seen on the water as we headed out of town again. I had decided I might as well stop off at Arbroath to try and finally get photos of the Black Redstart as I would have plenty time to just sit and wait. The downside was that I only had the 70-300mm lens on the D500 with me as I wanted to travel light knowing that the Mandarin was likely to come relatively close.
I arrived in Arbroath around 1330 and walked down towards the harbour area. A Robin perched up on a roof before disappearing down the other side of a house. Purple Sandpiper, Turnstone, Redshank, Cormorant and Great Black Backed Gull were on the breakwater. A Shag was hunting around in the outer harbour. There was no sign of the Black Redstart near the ramp where it had been reported in the morning, and where Jacqui and I had seen it 24 hours earlier so I wandered along to see if it was where I'd seen it originally on Wednesday. A Rock Pipit was seen along with Curlew and Oystercatcher but there was no sign.
I made my way back along the top of the slope stopping to scan every few steps but drawing a blank. As I stood near the top of the ramp I spotted movement and checking with binoculars I discovered that the Black Redstart was indeed still around. I even managed a photo this time. When it disappeared in among the rocks I hurried down to the rocks opposite and crouched among them as best I could. The bird popped back up and posed nicely atop a rock or two. I was able to get lots more photos as the bird hunted around on top of the rocks in between forays down among them in the gaps. At one point the bird even perched on a broken creel a few feet in front of me but flew back to the rocks opposite seconds later. I had plenty opportunities to shoot a few poor video clips and lots more photos.
After around 20 minutes of great close views I decided to head along towards Elliot to see if the owls were around though the 70-300mm was unlikely to be ideal if they were. I decided the sky looked potentially decent for a colourful sunset which made the possibility of an arty silhouette shot a possibility. A Grey Seal was seen offshore and there were Black Headed and Herring Gulls on the water as I wandered along, including one Black Headed Gull with what appeared to be a black hood, rather than the usual brown (possibly Mediterranean Gull influence in the mix?). A pair of Turnstone were feeding on the shore among the piles of seaweed on the beach and a Rock Pipit and Pied Wagtail were seen on the grass. A Kestrel was spotted hovering above the border between beach and grass ahead of me. It flew over me before heading back inland before I had the chance to get a hovering shot or two.
A pair of Stonechats were seen as I reached the golf course entrance. I couldn't see any obvious signs of the owls over the course but wandered along past the clubhouse. I bumped into local photographer Adam Caird who told me the owls were away at the far end of the course and we had a chat for a wee while about photography and birds. The sky was still looking potentially promising for the arty shot so I headed on along the track though I still couldn't see any owls. A pair of Mallards flushed from within the reeds but it was otherwise very quiet. I wasn't going to walk all the way to the end of the course and the sky failed to deliver on the promise of nice colours. I headed back to catch the X7 bus back to Dundee just after 1600. A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed west as I passed the clubhouse rounding off my haul of birds for the day..
A very good day out with a year-tick (in bold) as well as nice views and photo opportunities of both the Black Redstart and the Mandarin Duck. A total of 45 species seen (and 1 mammal). Can I add anything else in the 3 birding days I have left? Time will tell.
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| Mallard |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Moorhen |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck & Mallard |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Mandarin Duck & Mallard |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Cormorant |
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| Redshank, Turnstone & Purple Sandpiper |
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| Shag |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Cormorant |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Grey Seal |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Black Headed Gull (with very black hood) |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Turnstone |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Mallard |
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| Starling |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
Species seen - Black Redstart, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Magpie, Mallard,
Mandarin Duck, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Shoveler, Siskin, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.
Mammals - Grey Seal.
