The weather forecast for Saturday was mostly rather wet across large parts of Scotland. However there was a small window of opportunity for me to get out birding and potentially catch up with a year-tick with a bit of luck. The northern half of the Angus coast was to stay dry until around mid-afternoon. This meant I could get the bus to Inverkeillor then walk to Lunan Bay to check the gull and tern roost there, then either walk to Montrose Basin, via a spot of seawatching at Boddin Point, Usan or Scurdie Ness, or walk back to Inverkeillor to catch the bus onwards to Montrose. Having found a rather interesting pile of birding magazines and old Bird Reports on Wednesday at the Basin visitor centre I had discovered later at home that I needed one of the Angus Bird Reports to fill a gaping hole in my collection. I had asked for it to be set aside and said I would collect it next time I was in, giving me a very good reason to get up and out early.
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| Swift |
Unfortunately I set my alarm for PM rather than AM meaning I slept in. I still managed to be up and out for just before 0800 to catch the 0815 X7 bus though. Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull and Woodpigeon were the only birds seen before I caught the bus to the Wellgate Centre and walked from there down to the bus station. From the bus to Inverkeillor I was able to note Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Sparrowhawk, Starling, and Oystercatcher before the bus left Dundee. The weather deteriorated more and more around Carnoustie with visibility reduced greatly owing to widespread mist which didn't bode particularly well. I did however still manage to add Lesser Black Backed Gull, Swallow, Jackdaw and House Sparrow before I got off the bus in Inverkeillor.
The first time I attempted the walk from Inverkeillor to Ferryden via Lunan Bay a few years ago the visibility was rather similar and I lucked onto a Sabine's Gull at the roost, so I wasn't completely disheartened by the low visibility levels. A pair of Grey Wagtails flew over as I left the village and there were plenty of Swallows hawking over the farm buildings on the outskirts of the village. A Yellowhammer showed nicely on the bridge over the railway line. A few Linnets were seen a little further on and a House Martin or two were with a group of Swallows passing southwards low over the fields. A Kestrel was spotted atop a pole by the first farm and a pair of Whitethroats were busy around the vegetation at the fenceline a little closer to me.
As I neared Lunan Bay I could hear Common Terns behind me, and spotted a small group just in the lower reaches of the haar. The path down to the houses before the beach proved rather productive with a pair of Grey Wagtails, a juvenile Robin, a Willow Warbler and a male Chaffinch all giving good views. A Wren showed briefly before disappearing into cover again. I scanned out over the beach to where the gulls and terns were roosting. Arctic and Common Terns were plentiful as were Kittiwakes. There were some Herring Gulls, Common Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, Great Black Backed Gulls and a few Sandwich Terns as well. Everytime I managed to get part way through checking the terns they would all take flight before settling again a few seconds later.
This quickly becaming rather frustrating but I kept checking. I had a possible Roseate Tern which was confirmed on Sunday from photos but despite lots of effort I failed to find any Black Tern among the flock. A Stonechat showed quite well and a Reed Bunting was also seen. A flock of Sanderling were spooked from further along the bach by 2 women and a little boy with 2 dogs who walked towards the roost and then continued to push the birds further on each time they landed back on the beach. Thankfully the birds eventually returned to their original spot by the mouth of the river, though no less skittish than earlier. The visibilty slowly improved and I was able to pick out some distant Common and Velvet Scoters well out in the bay.
After around 90 minutes of checking through the terns and gulls I decided I should move on again. A Stock Dove flew over as I headed back towards the houses. A few Udea lutealis moths were noted by the Red Castle. A few Blue Tits were around in the trees as were a pair of Willow Warblers. Green Veined White and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies were also seen up on the hill-top. A pair of Grey Wagtails were spotted as I crossed the bridge over the Lunan Water. A Kingfisher briefly landed by a Grey Wagtail before heading off down the river again. Heading up the road as it wound its way uphill I was able to add a few more butterflies - Painted Lady and a rather tatty Red Admiral as well as a Ringlet.
Small White was noted near the crossroads just before Dunninald Castle and I watched a pair of Linnets bathing in a puddle. A Grey Partridge took flight from the weedy corner of the field opposite and as I wandered over for a look the rest of a sizeable covey of around 8 or so birds took flight before diving into the crops out of sight seconds later. A flooded area in a horse field by a bend in the road had Swallows swooping low for a drink, a few bathing Goldfinches and at least 14 Pied Wagtails around the edges. The first Buzzard of the day was noted circling towards Ferryden as I headed down the gentle slope towards the village.
Having chosen not to go to Boddin Point or Usan for sea-watching I decided I should squeeze in a few hours before popping into the visitor centre a bit later then heading home. I was surprised to add a Swift as I walked along a road that ran parallel with Ferryden. A path through the fields towards the lighthouse petered out at a gate. Rather than turn back I climbed over the fence into the grassy field and continued eastwards. A Skylark and a Brown Hare were spooked from just ahead of me. I found the other end of the path, on the other side of the fence from the field I was in and managed to clamber over the barbed wire fence using the signpost as a helpful support.
A few Eiders were down in the river and a Meadow Brown butterfly was added to the lepidoptera list for the day. Things were rather quiet at Scurdie Ness with a flock of Linnets flitting around among the rocks while offshore a mixed group of Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes and Common Gulls were seen. Lots of scanning added Cormorant and some distant Gannets and eventually a Fulmar or two. A Rock Pipit was also seen before I decided that the looming rain cloud approaching from the north was probably worth avoiding. A few Goosander were seen on the river and a flock or two of Common Terns headed out of the river mouth to feed. More butterflies were seen along the path edges as I hurried back towards Ferryden.
It began to rain as I reached the western end of the harbour sheds. A few Rabbits and a Pied Wagtail were photographed beyond the fence before I tucked the camera inside my jacket and walked a little faster towards the visitor centre using the trees as best I could to provide a little cover. The visitor centre was rather busy and I collected the 2004 Bird Report which had been set aside for me in exchange for a donation. An Osprey was hunting over the Basin and a second bird was found by one of the volunteers as she watched the first bird. Redshanks, Curlew, Lapwing, Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit and Greenshank were added to the rather short waders list for the day.
Grey Herons could be seen around the pools and the Kingfisher put in an appearance by the Sand Martin wall and then atop the Mallard nest tunnel. Distant Mute Swans and a number of Shelduck were watched as I attempted to find the Ruddy Shelduck. Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Tree Sparrow, Great Tit and Blue Tit were seen at the feeders while a Willow Warbler showed well in a Rowan Tree just outside the window. Collared Dove, Woodpigeon and a male Pheasant were seen below the feeders. More scanning out over the bay as the visibility worsened as another shower approached added Mallard, Goldeneye, Red Breasted Merganser and eventually the Ruddy Shelduck to the list.
I decided that I should head for the number 30 bus to hopefully avoid the imminent rain but figured a quick look at the magazines and books again was in order. I discovered there were "new" magazines out so asked if there were more still to go out. It turned out there were and I ended up purchasing a nice mix of Birding World, Dutch Birding, Birding Scotland and Scottish Birding magazines as well as a couple more Angus and Dundee Bird Reports. This did add a fair bit of extra weight to my already heavy load but as I was going to catch the bus back to Dundee anyway I figured it was worth the extra effort required and made another donation in exchange for the bagful of magazines. I hurried to the bus stop with a few minutes to spare. On the way back to Arbroath a Brown Hare shared a field with a Roe Deer near Marywell but I failed to add either Rook or Magpie or anything else to the list before I eventually made it home around 1745, a bit wet and rather weary.
Despite missing out on Black Tern, (which Ian managed to see around 24 hours later at Lunan Bay), I finished the day on 71 species of bird, as well as 7 of butterfly and 3 of mammals. All in all, a reasonable day out with a decent mix of species seen and a host of extra reading material added to the collection.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Kestrel |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler & Robin |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Gull, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Gull, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Kittiwake, Common Gull, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Kittiwake & Common Tern |
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| Kittiwake & Common Tern |
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| Sanderling |
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| Kittiwake, Black Headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Arctic Tern & Herring Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull, Kittiwake, Arctic Tern & Common Tern |
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| Common Tern, Arctic Tern & Kittiwake |
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| Common Scoter & Velvet Scoter |
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| Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Common Tern & Arctic Tern |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Red Admiral |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Linnet |
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Swallow |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Swallow |
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| Buzzard |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Swallow |
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| Linnet |
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| Linnet |
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| Swift |
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| Swift |
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| Brown Hare |
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| Green Veined White |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Green Veined White |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Linnet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Gannet & ? |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Cormorant |
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| Fulmar |
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| Common Tern |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Udea lutealis |
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| Green Veined White |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Goosander |
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| Rabbit |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Redshank & Greenshank |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Willow Warbler |
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Roseate Tern, Ruddy Shelduck, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Velvet Scoter, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
Moths seen - Udea lutealis.
