I was determined to make the most of Sunday with my returning migrant sightings lagging a little though it is still relatively early in the season. Among those I still hadn't seen, Osprey and Wheatear stood out as ones I probably should have seen by now. Scurdie Ness at Ferryden often turns up Wheatears and Ospreys have been seen in Montrose Basin on a daily basis over the past week or so. With high tide around 1000, I figured I could get the X7 to Ferryden, walk out to the lighthouse for Wheatear and a spot of seawatching before popping into the visitor centre for a look then heading round to the Lurgies if I failed to see Osprey from the centre. There would be a lot of walking involved but as it would be spread out across the day I figured it was a workable plan.
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| Little Egret |
Just before 0800 I headed out. Blackbird, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and Feral Pigeon were all on show when I stepped outside. Starling was the next find on Dens Road. A little further on a Collared Dove flew over and landed on a lamp post. Goldfinch and a Grey Wagtail were added next while a pair of Magpies were on Dens Brae. Lesser Black Backed Gull and House Sparrow were the last additions before I reached the bus station. From the bus to Montrose I was able to add a few more species - Blue Tit, Oystercatcher, Skylark, Rook, Buzzard, Linnet, Kestrel, Jackdaw and Sparrowhawk.
I had a quick look over the Basin from below the railway bridge when I arrived at Rossie Island. Great Tit in the trees as well as Great Black Backed Gull, Eider, Curlew, Goldeneye and an unexpected Guillemot were seen. A little further away I spotted a couple of Mute Swans. More searching found Mallard out on the water. A Greenfinch displayed from the trees behind me and a Pied Wagtail flew past. Walking out through Ferryden I added a singing Dunnock, and a number of Razorbills in the water just beyond the harbour. A Rock Pipit displayed over the grassy slopes as I neared the lighthouse. Scanning out over the bay I was able to find a Red Breatsed Merganser and also a Grey Seal. A number of Meadow Pipits and a nice male Linnet were spotted before I wandered through the gate to look out to sea.
A few Common Gulls flew past as Eiders bobbed around in the choppy waters. I heard a calling Ringed Plover but found a trio of Purple Sandpipers first while looking for it. I eventually succeeded in seeing it (and another later, further along the shore). Things were relatively quiet offshore though Gannet, 4 Red Throated Divers, Fulmar and Cormorant were seen before I decided that there were no Wheatears around and headed back towards the harbour. A possibly injured Grey Seal was hauled out and sleeping on the rocks. Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Black Headed Gull all showed well on the walk back. A Shelduck flying out to sea to the south of the village was unexpected and a Magpie flying across the river was also a slight surprise.
It was now around 1130 so I headed for the visitor centre. A few Chaffinches were in the trees while a roost of Redshank and Knot were relatively close in below the trees. A Stock Dove flew over towards Craig as I reached the gate to the visitor centre. I wandered down for a look from the Bank of Scotland hide where a Moorhen was the only bird seen close by. A few Teal were around a little further away among the pools. Movement out over the Basin included around 20 Pintail, a few Redshank flocks and a few of Black Tailed Godwits. Wigeon was added before I decided to head up to the centre. A Wren showed briefly in the scrub behind the hide.
I had a chat to Alison O'Hara at the reception desk before looking out from the windows. A Sand Martin flew around, while on the feeders a few Tree Sparrows and a Robin were noted. The hoped for Pheasants were easily seen. Using the centre's scopes I was able to find a pair of very distant Scaup though a potential Osprey turned out to be a Cormorant. While looking for Snipe among the pools, one of the young volunteers spotted a Water Rail stood out in the open behind the duck nest post beyond the feeders. I was able to get photos of my first
Water Rail of the year - a nice addition. The bird showed briefly again a few more times before I decided that if I was going to walk round to the Lurgies I had better go.
The forecast sunshine had so far failed to show up and instead the threat of a shower of rain came close to being realised, though thankfully the few drops of rain that did fall didn't amount to much and I didn't have to turn around and head back to the centre. Coal Tit was seen in trees near the junction at Maryton. A few Pink Footed Geese were seen in flight. There wasn't a huge amount to see at the Maryton Steps, nor at the Lurgies, though a Grey Heron was seen in flight. As I reached the area opposite The Slunks I spotted an
Osprey coming down the river which from a quite low altitude made a shallow dive before pulling up a foot or so above the water before continuing on towards the Basin.
With no sign of anything else and my target bird in the bag I headed back along the path. A Long Tailed Tit and a pair of Chaffinches flitted around in the bushes before I had even closer views of the Osprey as it headed back towards the river, resulting in some decent photos. There was some shooting going on somewhere close by and a large skein of hundreds of Pink Footed Geese flew over from the west and landed out on the mud. I picked out a very pale Pink Footed Goose among the flock and atttempted to get better views but there were too many birds in the way. Photos also showed what appeared to be a White Fronted Goose but I can't be certain it was definitely one.
There was a bit of movement of the geese and I realised that I should be able to get a better view from Maryton Steps. A Little Egret flew over as I hurried along the path. By the time I reached Maryton Steps again, most of the hundreds of geese had moved closer to the river. The majority were Pink Footed Geese but I found a pair of Barnacle Geese among them. I eventually had reasonably good views of the leucistic Pink Footed Goose which worked its way through the flock and onto the water. A single Greenshank and a Redshank foraged in a pool in front of the geese. On the walk back to the visitor centre I watched a male Pheasant displaying and added Rabbit to the list of sightings but there were no new bird sightings, either on the walk back, or from the visitor centre. It was a similar story on the walk back to the bus stop and from the bus back to Dundee.
A very good, if rather tiring, day's birding with 2 new year-ticks in among the 71 species seen. Using Google Earth at home I measured the distance covered and arrived at 11.2 miles around Montrose and Ferryden plus a total of 1.5 miles to and from the bus station, so 12.7 miles in total. Thankfully it wasn't particularly warm, as that would have added to the exertion required and my legs would have felt even heavier than they did.
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| Razorbill |
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| Linnet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Grey Seal |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Eider |
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| Eider |
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| Eider |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Guillemot |
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| Carrion Crow (x Hooded Crow hybrid?) |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Guillemot |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Mallard |
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| Pintail |
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| Moorhen |
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| Moorhen |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Great Tit |
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| Water Rail |
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| Water Rail |
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| Redshank |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Skylark |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Teal |
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| Eider |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Pink Footed Goose (including leucistic bird) |
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| Little Egret |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Pink Footed Goose & Barnacle Goose |
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| Skylark |
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| Barnacle Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose (including leucistic bird) |
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| Pink Footed Goose (including leucistic bird) |
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| Pink Footed Goose (including leucistic bird) |
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| Barnacle Goose, Pink Footed Goose & Herring Gull |
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| Pheasant displaying |
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| Rabbit |
Species seen - Barnacle Goose, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Purple Sandpiper, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Scaup, Shelduck, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow,
Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
