My original plan for Tuesday was an early start and a day around Fife Ness and Crail. When the alarm went off, I sleepily checked the weather. It was to be wet until later in the morning, so I decided an extra few hours sleep was a better bet. I was still in my bed, but awake when Paul texted me around 0930. I suggested that we head for Arbroath to try and get Black Tern for his year-list. With a bit of luck Curlew Sandpiper (for him) and Little Stint (for us both) might also be found either there or at Westhaven. I arranged to meet him at 1100. It was still rather wet when I got up and even when I headed out at about 1050 it was still raining and I was wearing the wrong choice of coat but I hoped the weather would change as forecast.
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| Black Tern |
Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Herring Gull were seen on the way to meet Paul. I decided to get Paul to stop by at mine so I could change my coat to something more waterproof. This meant that once underway we passed Swannie Ponds on our way to the Kingsway, which added Mute Swan, Mallard and Black Headed Gull to the list. Heading out to Arbroath I spotted Oystercatcher and a flock of Lapwing. We decided on a quick stop at Elliot before heading to Arbroath harbour. Swallow, Starling, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch and House Sparrow were seen before we reached the beach. Here we found Ringed Plover and Dunlin along with a single Sanderling before a dog walker who could see us standing looking at the birds - as her dog was barking at us - flushed the whole lot.
She then flushed them again a little further on though some did fly back along the beach though we checked the birds on the other side of the burn mouth first before wandering along for a better look. Sandwich Tern and an Arctic Tern were seen offshore along with a single Eider. A Meadow Pipit briefly landed beside the waders but flew off again. There was one particular grey looking bird that I had a good look at before deciding that it had to be a Dunlin a bit further into its moult than the others. A 1st winter Kittiwake drifted by and a Linnet was on the grass as we headed back to the car to drive along to the harbour.
When we arrived we found Alex Shepherd scanning through the terns on the rocks. It was dry and the sun was shining - though there was some thin cloud at times and I now felt a bit overdressed (typical!). Alex had a bird that looked good for a Roseate Tern but as we were looking into the light it was hard to be 100% certain. The Black Tern had been seen a little earlier by Alex and he refound the bird after a few minutes which gave Paul his year-tick. Cormorant, Great Black Backed Gull and a single Shag were on the breakwater. Common and Arctic Terns made up the bulk of the birds below us on the rocks. I found a Guillemot on the water not too far offshore. As the tide came in further some of the birds ended up on the breakwater blocks relatively close to us.
I caught sight of one just as it was about to land and it was a very obvious Roseate Tern. It had no rings which tallied with the 'possible' we'd looked at earlier - confirming Alex's suspicions. The birds almost all took flight seconds later. Checking my photos later at home I found that there had been a 2nd Roseate Tern perched next to the one we'd been looking at. Incredibly there was also a 3rd bird on the block in front of them too. We were so focussed on the definite 1 that none of us noticed the other 2. Nor did we notice them later when once again at least 1 of them perched next to 'our' Roseate Tern! (Though it was largely obscured). Rock Pipit was noted before Paul and I set off for Westhaven.
On the way there we decided to stop off at Easthaven for a quick check of the beach. Rook was seen as we turned off the dual-carriageway. Dog walkers flushed the large mixed Ringed Plover and Dunlin flock here too before we got a decent look at it, but there were no obvious white rumps as the birds flew off and out of sight. A Goosander flew past offshore. We headed for Westhaven. Time was now against us as Paul had to be home in Kirkcaldy for 1530, meaning to be sure he'd get home in time a 1400 finish made sense. Redshank, Curlew, Turnstone, Dunlin and Ringed Plover were feeding along the water's edge and we managed to get past them without flushing them. Further on a single Bar Tailed Godwit was wading in the water just off the beach.
There were plenty of gulls along at the river mouth and I found a single juvenile Little Gull among them. Despite much searching I failed to find anything unusual, though we did add Common Gull. A Magpie flew past as we headed back towards the car. A couple of Wheatear were seen on the beach. We made it back to the car for 1405 and headed back towards Dundee. A Buzzard was perched on a post not far from Dobbie's and a pair of Collared Doves were on a roof just off Arbroath Road. Paul dropped me off at around 1425 and I added a Feral Pigeon to the list on my walk back home.
A decent few hours birding with good views of Black Tern and also of the one Roseate Tern we happened to notice. Stuart Green found more Roseate Terns later including a youngster meaning there was a minimum of 4 and as many as 6 of the species around. A total of 44 species were seen. A few butterflies were glimpsed but not well enough to be certain of ID at Westhaven.
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Ringed Plover, Dunlin & Sanderling |
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| Arctic Tern |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Black Tern |
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| Common Tern & Black Tern |
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| Black Tern |
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| Black Headed Gull, Common Tern & Black Tern |
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| Black Tern |
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| Black Tern |
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| Guillemot |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Roseate Tern, Kittiwake & Common Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Kittiwake, Common Tern & Roseate Tern |
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| Kittiwake, Common Tern & Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern (& Kittiwake) |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Common Tern & Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Roseate Tern, Common Tern & Kittiwake |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit & Ringed Plover |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Black Headed Gull, Common Gull & Little Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Common Gull & Black Headed Gull |
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| Wheatear |
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| Turnstone & Dunlin |
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Tern, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Roseate Tern, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Starling, Swallow, Wheatear, Woodpigeon.
