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| Whimbrel |
While I was at the Law on Saturday, word came through of a Great Shearwater passing Fife Ness. Great Shearwater is probably the smartest looking of the shearwater species and one that I'd quite like to see (though the chances of one turning up in the Tay are very, very slim). Ian Laird (who had seen the Great Shearwater earlier in the day, messaged me to say he was planning on heading back over to Fife Ness on Sunday afternoon, if I fancied a spot of seawatching from 1600-2000 (more or less). At this time if year, anything can turn up, so I immediately said yes to the offer. Shortly after Rohan messaged me to see what my plans for Sunday were. I told her about the afternoon outing and asked if she fancied a spot of Angus seawatching in the morning. Plans were made for an 0800 start with either Arbroath cliffs or Boddin our seawatching location for a few hours.
Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Herring Gull, House Martin and Feral Pigeon were noted before we set off. From the car we added Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Sparrowhawk, Pied Wagtail, Swallow, Black-headed Gull and House Sparrow before we reached Boddin, just a short distance down the coast from where Gus Guthrie had reported Sooty Shearwater, Manx Shearwater and a Minke Whale less than 2 hours before. As with our previous visit there was a large flock of Linnets milling around near the car park. A Fulmar flew past the cliff top as we got the scopes and tripods organised. Starlings were on a telegraph pole nearby and down in Lunan Bay we could see a few Guillemots as we walked down the hill towards the Lime Kilns. A Rock Pipit flew past before we headed up to our chosen spot overlooking the sea and north end of the bay. Things were fairly quiet once again though we quickly found Sandwich Tern, Cormorant, Great Black-backed-Gull, Grey Heron and Kittiwake.
A small flock of Redshanks headed north along the front of the cliffs towards Usan and a few Common Terns were seen. I caught a glimpse of something relatively small breaking the surface and over the course of the next 10 minutes or so we both managed to catch the same thing. The brief time above water and the small size made it a fairly obvious Harbour Porpoise, though I didn't manage to get any photos. A Red-throated Diver flew northwards out over the sea. A Small Copper butterfly landed at my feet. Unfortunately, other than distant views of Common Scoter and Eider in the bay and numerous distant Gannets out towards the horizon things were a bit too quiet, and the sun was a bit warmer than either Rohan or myself particularly enjoyed. A Buzzard drifted over behind us. I suggested we try somewhere else instead of more seawatching. Weighing up the possibilities we eventually settled on Murton. Small White & Green-veined White butterflies were seen on the walk back up to the car. A Kestrel was seen being harassed by a Rook.
Nothing new was seen on the way to Murton. A quick look from the car park hide proved completely pointless. We wandered round to the Gladstone Hide on the south side. Green Sandpiper was our main target there. Common Darter dragonflies and a Peacock butterfly were spotted en route. From the hide we quickly noted Mallard, Teal, Gadwall, Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Goldfinch and Sand Martin. After a few minutes, Rohan spotted a Green Sandpiper working its way along the shore of the 'island'. A Roe Deer wandered out into the open giving us good views. Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer and a Willow Warbler were spotted along the western fringes and Sand Martins, a House Martin and a Swallow were seen hawking for insects over the water. A Buzzard was seen to the north. Unfortunately, time was very much against us.
Walking back to the car got us a Speckled Wood butterfly and a Tree Sparrow as well as a calling Wren. An unwelcome surprise was a dog walker with her pet who wandered past us, obviously oblivious to the 'No Dogs Please' signs dotted around the site. Rohan spotted a raptor to the north which turned out to be a Marsh Harrier, which was a nice way to round of the morning's birding. The total for the morning's outing was 47 species of birds, 5 of butterflies, 1 of dragonflies and 2 of mammals. Rohan dropped me off at home just before 1300, giving me roughly 2 hours to recharge the camera, transfer photos onto computer and generally get organised for Ian's arrival around 1500 for part 2 of my Sunday birding.
Just before 1500, I happened to look out my living room window and spotted something circling distantly over Stobswell. Grabbing the binoculars I discovered my second 'house' Red Kite of the year. Unfortunately, it had vanished by the time I got my camera from the packed bag. However, a Buzzard was now upsetting the local gulls and pigeons much closer. A minute or two later, Ian messaged to say he was on his way. I headed out to wait for him. House Martin, Feral Pigeon, Swallow and Herring Gull were noted before Ian arrived and we set off for Fife Ness. Mark had found a Caspian Gull at St Andrews but with the bird having vanished we decided not to make the slight detour to try to see it. Birds seen from the car en route were Cormorant on the Tay, Collared Dove at Leuchars and Lapwings over the St Andrews road.
We arrived at Fife Ness around 1610. Some quick scanning produced a pair of Redshank at Stinky Pool, some Oystercatchers beyond, along with Shag, Gannet, Great Black-backed Gull and a Pied Wagtail. As we walked round to the FBC hide, we heard Curlews calling and picked up a group of 5 birds flying towards us. A Whimbrel called from among the small group and I somehow managed to quickly get the camera onto the bird. As we were getting organised in front of the hide, a Greenshank flew low over the rocks in front of us. Common Scoters were next out over the water. A Goosander heading south just over the rocks was a bit of a surprise. Sandwich Tern, Grey Heron and Kittiwake were less of a surprise. A Bottlenose Dolphin put in an appearance as it swam northwards.
Ken Shaw and Jared Wilson were inside the hide along with another couple of birders. This couple left after a short while and with the front of the hide now being in the shade and a bit of a chilly wind blowing from the south, we decided to head inside. Things proved to be rather quiet, though Common Terns were seen heading south low over the water. I picked up a Great Skua heading north around 1730. Having missed a Manx Shearwater called out by Ken earlier, I managed to get on one a bit later, though it was very distant. Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Eider and a Carrion Crow proved scant consolation over the course of the next hour. Ian saw a small flock of Ringed Plover which vanished behind the rocks and didn't appear out the other side. I saw a Turnstone and a Dunlin a bit later. Another distant Manx Shearwater and an all dark bird that might have been a Sooty Shearwater (or an Arctic Skua) way out on the horizon plus a few more Common Scoters rounded off a relatively quiet few hours seawatching (though still lots more activity than the morning's).
Heading back to the car we added Wren and from the car on the way back to Dundee we got Woodpigeon and Starling taking the afternoon/evening's total to 38 species of birds and 1 of mammals. There were a few 'white' butterflies flitting around when we arrived at Fife Ness but they refused to settle so we were unable to get an ID for them. The combined totals for the day as a whole were 60 species of birds, 5 of butterflies, 1of dragonflies and 3 of mammals. The weather was probably slightly better than expected overall (certainly warmer in the morning) and it was interesting to see what things were like on the 'evening shift' at Fife Ness. (Needless to say, less than 12 hours later, things at Fife Ness were a lot more interesting with 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 33 Manxies, 3 Sooty Shearwaters and at least 5 Minke Whales being seen from the hide between 0600 and 0800. Ach well).
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| Grey Heron |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Rook & Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Gadwall, Teal & Green Sandpiper |
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| Teal & Little Grebe |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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Tree Sparrow -------------------------------------------------- |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Curlew & Whimbrel |
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| Goosander |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Great Skua |
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| Gannet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Common Gull |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Cormorant |
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| Gannet |
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| Eider |
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| Shag |
Birds (Angus) - Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Green Sandpiper, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Red-throated Diver, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (Angus) - Green-veined White, Peacock, Small Copper, Small White, Speckled Wood.
Dragonflies (Angus) - Common Darter.
Mammals (Angus) - Harbour Porpoise, Roe Deer.
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Birds (Fife) - Black-headed Gull, Buzzard*, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Skua, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Manx Shearwater, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Red Kite*, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Starling, Swallow, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (Fife) - Bottlenose Dolphin.
* - seen from home.
