Once again I chose to roll over and go back to sleep when the alarm went off at 0510 on Saturday morning instead of getting up and catching a bus to St Andrews and onwards to Crail and Fife Ness in the hope of seeing Little Auk. When I did eventually get up I decided to head out somewhere closer than Fife Ness. I decided to go to Arbroath. This would hopefully give me a chance at Little Auk though I wasn't overly hopeful given my recent attempt at seawatching from the cliffs. I headed out to catch the bus just before 1100.
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| Golden Plover |
The journey to Arbroath only resulted in a small number of species. I got off the bus at Elliot and walked along from there all the way to the cliffs. It was a fairly standard haul of species seen, though there were very few of all of them around. Even the gulls were only single figure totals. A single Razorbill was the only movement that could be considered a seawatching species. A pair of Stonechats were seen along by the cliffs. A Cormorant near the cinema looked to be a Sinensis race bird. The actual seawatching from the cliffs was dire with only a single Red Throated Diver seen passing offshore.
I considered walking to Morrisons where a flock of Waxwings had been seen on Friday, but a quick check of the Rare Bird Alert app showed they hadn't been reported so I decided to head back to the bus station via Cliffburn Gulley - which unsurprisingly was devoid of birds except a Blue Tit and Wren - both of which were only heard. As I neared the end of Victoria Park a flock of Golden Plover flew over and eventually settled down on the rocks. A birder walked by just as they settled and as I walked down the hill to get a better view, but he somehow managed to not notice the 26 (or 27) birds. A small flock of 4 more passed eastwards overhead. There was no sign of the Dipper at the burn and nothing else particularly interesting was added from the bus back to Dundee. Far from a classic day with only 31 species seen, with the nearest to a highlight being the Golden Plovers.
Species seen - Dundee to Elliot - Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Robin, Magpie, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Oystercatcher, Starling, Curlew, Black Headed Gull.
Elliot to Arbroath - Cormorant (also Sinensis race), Rock Pipit, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone, Great Black Backed Gull, Redshank, Razorbill, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Jackdaw.
Arbroath Cliffs to Dundee - Stonechat, Shag, Linnet, Red Throated Diver, Yellowhammer, Golden Plover, Rook, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove.
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| Dunlin, Turnstone & Ringed Plover |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Redshank |
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| Turnstone & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Turnstone |
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| Razorbill |
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| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
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| Curlew & Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher & Curlew |
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| Curlew |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Turnstone |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Robin |
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| Robin |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Cormorant |
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| Shag |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Cormorant |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant (also Sinensis race), Curlew, Dunlin, Golden Plover, Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Starling, Stonechat, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
