Unfortunately circumstances meant a change of plan for a day's birding with Susan this Saturday. However as we were both needing to see some birds only really available in the Glens we decided to head inland to one of the Angus Glens to see if we could be lucky. I was needing to see Tree Pipit and Redstart while Whinchat and Cuckoo were also hoped-for possibilities for Susan. An 0900 start time was decided upon but as Susan was running a little late we moved it back a little to 0915.
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| Tree Pipit |
I headed out at 0900 for the walk to the usual meeting place. Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon and Blackbird were all I managed to see on the way. We set off up the A90 but things ground to a bit of a temporary halt at the Kingsway when an outsize load trying to negotiate the junction caused a bit of a wait. However this did mean we added Magpie and Lesser Black Backed Gull while we waited. Swallow, Rook, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Starling, Pheasant, Brown Hare and Roe Deer were noted before we reached our glen of choice.
Mallard were seen on the way in on a small pool by the roadside. We parked the car and had a bit of a walk along the road. Mistle Thrush, Chaffinch, Buzzard, a few Rabbits, some distant Lapwings and Sand Martins were seen along with Dunnock, Great Tit, Coal Tit and Robin before we headed back towards the car noting a pair of Oystercatchers in flight and then some Swallows and House Martins. We drove further on along the road to another stop where we again walked along the road a little. Siskin, Willow Warbler, a pair of Red Legged Partridges, an Orange Tip butterfly and a Meadow Pipit were spotted before we stopped to watch a few
Tree Pipits nearby. A pair of Bullfinches were partially hidden in a roadside tree. Wandering back to the car again we added a Pied Wagtail.
Onwards again we headed to an area where I've seen Whinchat in the past. Unfortunately we failed to see the birds this time. There were a few more Tree Pipits around including 1 which gave us close views as it perched above us in a tree. Green Veined White butterfly was another sighting and there were lots of Orange Tips around. A possible Woodcock was seen flying off up through the trees and Susan saw a Curlew that I missed. We drove up the hill and I almost missed a Cuckoo perched on a fence post but spotted it just in time. Thankfully we were able to pull in and get out of the car so Susan could also see the bird. As expected it flew off when it saw us and I failed to get an in-focus photo.
On we went again. This time the landscape changed to more typical Redstart habitat. I heard a possible singing bird and when we found a place to stop to go back to check there was another singing even closer. With patience and a lot of luck we finally managed to see the rather nice male
Redstart in the top of a tree. As we'd managed to see most of our targets we decided to head for Murton to see what we could see there with Little Ringed Plover a possibility to add to Susan's year-list. Red Squirrel and Yellowhammer were seen on the way but there was nothing else of note.
A Garden Warbler was heard singing as we got out of the car but it moved off as we tried to see it. We then headed into the car park hide. Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Black Headed Gull, Mute Swan, Shelduck, a single drake Teal and Little Ringed Plover (I saw this species elsewhere in April but kept the location quiet) were seen in addition to a displaying Sedge Warbler and a singing Reed Bunting. Although our time was limited we decided to try a circuit of the site. We found a singing Garden Warbler on the walk down to the second hide and also spotted a Common Sandpiper along the far side of the main pool. What was surprisingly our first Carrion Crow of the day was also seen along the edge of the pool.
The second pool gave us Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye and Wigeon as well as a very distant Raven which appeared to have some shotgun damage to the wings making it appear rather unbalanced as it circled high in the sky. Continuing on we stopped to check the banking for solitary bees and found a few Nomad bee species as well as a Small Copper butterfly. Susan found a Hairy Shieldbug while I was trying to get a better view of a pair of Whitethroats which had flown into a tree across the path. Another bee (likely Orange Legged Furrow Bee) stuck its head down an ants nest entrance and found itself being attacked by the inhabitants. Round by the Sand Martin banking Susan found a slightly faded Cinnabar Moth by the path.
A male Lesser Redpoll was seen in the trees nearby. A fresh looking Damselfly went unidentified as we hurried round the far end of the reserve as it failed to settle for us. From the last hide we were able to add a couple of pairs of Greylag Geese but despite plenty of quick scanning nothing else new was seen on the way back down the road. Susan dropped me off back in Dundee and I managed to finally add a Goldfinch and a male House Sparrow on the walk back home.
A pretty decent day out with 2 year-ticks for me (in bold) among the 54 species seen. In addition we saw a nice variety of insects and a few mammal species too. The weather varied between a little on the chilly side to just a little too warm for the amount of clothes we'd put on to counter the slight chill. As the forecast is for sunshine and warmer temperatures this coming week, the need for 'winter' clothes should now be over for a few months (hopefully).
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Dunnock |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Green Veined White |
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| Orange Tip & Green Veined White |
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| Orange Tip |
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| Cuckoo |
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| Redstart |
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| Redstart |
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| Little Ringed Plover |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Garden Warbler |
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| Garden Warbler |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Black Headed Gull, Lapwing, Wigeon, Tufted Duck & Gadwall |
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| Marsham's Nomad bee (Nomada marshmella)? |
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| Orange Legged Furrow Bee (Halictus rubicundus)? & Ant sp. |
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| Orange Legged Furrow Bee (Halictus rubicundus)? & Ant sp. |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Cinnabar Moth |
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| Cinnabar Moth |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Sandpiper, Cuckoo, Dunnock, Gadwall, Garden Warbler, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Little Ringed Plover, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Red Legged Partridge,
Redstart, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Siskin, Starling, Swallow, Teal,
Tree Pipit, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Orange Tip, Small Copper.
Moths seen - Cinnabar Moth
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Rabbit, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
Other insects of note - Marsham's Nomad Bee, Orange Legged Furrow Bee, 7-Spot Ladybird.
