The weather forecast for Saturday didn't look too promising for getting out birding but with Sunday appearing a bit more settled Ian got in touch to see if I fancied a day out somewhere. The decision was made though the destination would be largely determined by reports from Saturday. Either Angus or Fife were the options. I worked out on Saturday evening what species I still 'needed' and which ones had been reported over the previous few days along with where. In the end Angus looked the better bet with the main focus being on Montrose Basin and waders - though Terns at Westhaven and/or Arbroath also figured on the list. The one slight hitch was the tide times with high tide before we would be headed out.
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| Black Tern & Roseate Tern |
Ian picked me up at 0800 and we set off for Montrose Basin, though I suggested a stop at Arbroath for a quick look to see if there were any Terns worth checking through. A Sparrowhawk and a pair of Mallards in flight were the main highlights from the car on the way although a flock of Lapwings near Arbroath were also nice to see. There was a lot of movement of migrants with Swallows and Pied Wagtails much in evidence as we scanned through the Terns roosting out on the rocks between the harbour and Gayfield football ground. Sandwich Terns made up the majority along with Commons though I did find a couple of Arctics as well. A close fly-by of 20-30 Canada Geese was unexpected.
A few Kittiwakes, a distant Fulmar or two and an otherwise relatively typical mix of species were noted before we set off for Montrose Basin, a little later than was probably ideal. We tried Rossie Spit first with a single Knot among the Redshanks close by the only slightly uncommon wader though a small group of Black Tailed Godwits and at least 3 distant Greenshanks were spotted as we scanned the area. A passer-by stopped to chat to Ian about birds and was just in time to see a young Peregrine which passed over the top of the houses behind us. A few minutes later a female Osprey with a flatfish in her talons drifted over too.
Another Osprey was seen fishing to the north and yet another was spotted eating a fish on the fence across by the camera post. Another was seen catching a fish near the visitor centre with a further bird across the far side of the Basin. There were plenty of Goldeneye and Goosander dotted about among the channels as well as moulting Eider and a few Red Breasted Mergansers. We headed for Maryton Steps via a quick stop at the visitor centre so I could see if they had the latest Angus & Dundee Bird Reports yet. They didn't.
There were plenty of Canada Geese and a few Greylags round near the steps but otherwise there wasn't too much variety. A Buzzard and a very chunky looking Sparrowhawk female (though Goshawk was considered : EDIT - the bird was a Goshawk) were seen as we got back to the car for the short drive to the Lurgies. Two Little Egrets and a pair of Pink Footed Geese were added to the list along with the first Common Sandpiper of the day before we wandered along towards the bend in the river, avoiding the Wasps nesting in the gate first. Unfortunately for us waders were in short supply though a Wheatear popped up as we were about to head back to the car. A Stock Dove and a few Linnets overflew on the wander back and a well marked Buzzard drifted northwards.
We headed next for Tayock but the tide state meant things were very quiet and we ended up checking the bushes instead where a couple of Chiffchaffs were the best find. By now the time was beginning to run away from us so we decided to pop down to Boddin for a spot of seawatching before heading back to Arbroath or Westhaven to check the Terns again. There was plenty going on offshore at Boddin with a number of Gannets down on the water surrounded by gulls and Guillemots, while Terns and Kittiwakes lounged on the rocks to the north. Unfortunately the light was poor here and there was even a threat of rain. Distant Common and Velvet Scoters as well as a few Razorbills and a Shag were the best of the rest.
A lot of the camper vans from the morning had departed but there was no sign of the morning's Tern roost near the harbour. We did spot some Terns in flight so we headed round to the area between Pleasureland and Jumping Joeys to check there. Thankfully we were successful and we scanned through the perched birds on the rocks. The light was relatively decent with a rain shower having just passed through before we arrived. I managed to find an adult
Roseate Tern with its really pale back to us but something upset the flock and they took flight but settled again about 20 seconds later. A bit more searching and I found an adult Roseate - possibly the same bird (rings on both legs) though it did appear slightly different with less of a noticeable rosey flush to the breast and possibly a slightly different amount of black on the head.
Once again the birds all took flight but this time they relocated much closer to Pleasureland. More scanning resulted in me finding an adult Roseate Tern but this time with a juvenile alongside. I moved along the seawall for a better angle for a photo and as I was taking a few shots another bird dropped in behind them. Almost unbelievably given we were rapidly running short of time, this turned out to be a juvenile
Black Tern - our other hoped for species here. It showed really well behind the Roseate duo, meaning I was able to get a photo of both species in the same view - as well as Common and Sandwich in a slightly wider view. Unfortunately I wasn't able to sqeeze in an Arctic as well, but you can't have everything.
We called it a day around 1545 and headed back to Dundee where Ian dropped me off after what had been another good day out. The 2 year-ticks (in bold) among the 69 species seen, made up some way for the slight disappointment of not catching up with any of the wader targets. As well as the birds we also saw 3 butterfly species, a few (likely Udea Lutealis) moths, a single mammal and an unidentified large Dragonfly species - seen headed west along the coast at Arbroath.
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Starling |
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Black Tailed Godwit
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Goshawk |
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| Goshawk |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Buzzard |
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| Linnet |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Common Tern, Sandwich Tern & Kittiwake |
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| Gannet, Guillemot & Herring Gull |
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| House Martin |
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| Gannet |
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| Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Kittiwake & Roseate Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Kittiwake & Roseate Tern |
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| Common Tern, Kittiwake & Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Common Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern & Black Tern |
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| Roseate Tern, Black Tern, Sandwich Tern & Common Tern |
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| Black Tern & Roseate Tern |
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| Roseate Tern, Black Tern, Sandwich Tern & Common Tern |
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| Black Tern, Roseate Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Roseate Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern, Roseate Tern & Common Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern, Black Tern & Roseate Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern, Black Tern & Roseate Tern |
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| Common Tern & Black Tern |
Species seen - Arctic Tern,
Black Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goshawk, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook,
Roseate Tern, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Wheatear, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Peacock.
Mammals seen - Rabbit.
