On Wednesday this week, I decided to take a chance on heading to Arbroath in the hope of catching up with a Black Tern as the tide came in, as 2 had been seen on Tuesday on the rising tide. I wasn't feeling 100% but decided I should at least make some effort given Wednesday is my day off work. It was a later start than usual though with high tide around 1500, I only needed to be there for around 1300 or so. With the intention to catch the bus around 1050, I would still be at least an hour earlier than necessary.
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| Sandwich Tern |
I headed out around 1035, noting Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull and Blackbird on the walk to Arbroath Road. From the bus (with the heaters on!) I was able to add Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, House Martin, Buzzard and Rook before arriving in Arbroath. I got off the bus at Elliot to kill a little time and hopefully add a few species around the mouth of the burn. Swallows zipped through in a small group and there were plenty of Pied Wagtails on the grass. A few Linnets were also seen, though these were more skittish than the Wagtails. A dog flushed the gulls that were roosting by the burn mouth before I was close enough to scan through them.
Those that settled again were a handful of Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull and a few Great Black Backed Gulls. A few Sandwich Terns called loudly as they flew by just offshore. I could see a distant Cormorant on the rocks behind Pleasureland. I found a Curlew among the seaweed on the beach and there were a few Oystercatchers feeding along the water's edge. Nearing the pizza restaurant I spotted a few Redshanks before I got as far as the small gull roost down on the shore. This turned out to be Black Headed Gulls, Sandwich Terns, an Arctic Tern and a few Common Terns. There was no sign of any Mediterranean Gulls.
I wandered along the path by the seawall in the direction of the football ground hoping to find a few more terns on the rocks. A pair of Jackdaws were begging around the parked cars and a small group of Eiders were a few hundred metres offshore. I spotted movement down on the pebbled beach and discovered a few Ringed Plover, a Dunlin and a Turnstone a little further back towards the water. Wandering onwards I spotted a bird by the edge of the football ground. A quick check with the binoculars identified it as a Wheatear but it flew off before I managed to get a photo. I failed to find any more gulls or terns on the rocks by the shore though there were some gulls down in the harbour, mostly Black Headed and Herring Gulls with Cormorant and Great Black Backed Gulls atop the breakwater. A small group of Redshanks were on one of the stepped levels of the structure.
A few more Turnstone were found and as I wandered back up the ramp I spotted a Rock Pipit and a Yellow Shell moth. The tide had came in quicker than expected so there were even fewer birds behind Pleasureland than before. The same applied near the pizza restaurant. I managed to add a Gannet flying past not too far out. I checked the time of the next bus back to Dundee and decided to head for the bus station to head for home rather than kill time till the tide receded again. I added House Sparrows by the school and from the bus noted Moorhen and Mallard at Keptie Pond. One last sighting was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly as I neared home.
A rather disappointing few hours birding with only 34 species seen, plus 1 moth and 1 butterfly. To add insult to injury, a Black Tern was found by Stuart Green later at Westhaven as the tide receded along with Roseate Terns and Little Gulls.
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| Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Starling |
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| Starling |
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| Starling |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Dunlin & Ringed Plover |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Redshank |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Cormorant |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Yellow Shell |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Curlew |
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| Turnstone |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone & Redshank |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Ringed Plover & Turnstone |
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| Gannet |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Linnet |
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| Redshank & Turnstone |
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Starling, Swallow, Turnstone, Wheatear, Woodpigeon.
Butterflies seen - Small Tortoiseshell.
Moths seen - Yellow Shell.
