STONEFACTION BIRDING: 10/26/15

0225 : Last Day Of Summer (24/10/15)

With the clocks going back an hour, time for actual birding lessens until there is little over 6 hours worth of daylight to work with. Thankfully, the days soon begin to lengthen again by the end of January but from late October till early February it is "squeeze as much birding into the available time as possible". Although the winds weren't favourable for bringing in fresh migrants and with the main migration period coming to an end, I still wanted to get out and about on what was the last day of "British Summertime". Thankfully, Nat had the same idea. With nothing in particular around to try for, we would just head out somewhere and see what we could find.

Peregrine with Redshank kill.

With heavy rain forecast initially but clearing we decided on a 1000 start. Nat picked me up and we decided to head for Westhaven first. The first birds on the day list were a fairly standard mixture - Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon. Common Gull and Herring Gull were seen from Arbroath Road with Black Headed Gull, Oystercatcher and Curlew on football pitches near Claypotts. Near Dobbies we added Starlings and Rooks to the list while a bit further on a Kestrel hovering near the roadside flushed a flock of what were probably Redwings from a bush. A flock of what appeared likely to be Golden Plover headed northwest away from us.

As we headed down towards Westhaven we decided to take a detour into Craigmill Den first. Sometimes it can be productive with plenty to see, and other times you see practically nothing. What sort of day would we have. Time would tell. A pair of Mallards were on the burn near the bridge. We could see birds on the wires further down the Den. A quick check showed them to be Goldfinches. They were joined by a flock of Linnets. I spotted movement in the trees across the burn above the rockface. A female Sparrowhawk threaded her way through the greenery and briefly out into the open before flying up into the trees again.

A few Blackbirds foraged in an Elder bush. A Meadow Pipit overflew and a Grey Heron lifted from a bend in the burn. On the wires, the finches were joined by a few Tree Sparrows and a trio of Yellowhammers. The call of a Grey Wagtail as it passed over us ensured we added the bird to our list for the day. Jackdaws called loudly from the mature trees further on, while a small group of Song Thrushes proved tricky to see as they too foraged among the Elders and other trees nearby. A Wren flitted around among the greenery across the fence and a Dunnock showed for a second or two close to the path.

At the road end of the path, there were House Sparrows in the garden but nothing to see on the burn at the bridge. We doubled back up along the path, adding Robin at last to the list, having heard several which had proved elusive.Blue Tits and Chaffinches fed among the trees. A pair of Skylarks headed west. Just down from the weir we could hear Long Tailed Tits across the burn but they were tricky to see. I followed the calls to where the birds had crossed the burn into the bushes by the bend in the path and was rewarded with decent views. Nat spotted a male Blackcap feeding opposite and I eventually had a glimpse of the bird. A Treecreeper crawled up the trunk and branches of one of the trees across the burn.

Also in the same area as the Treecreeper were a number of other birds including Blue Tits, a Coal Tit, a Great Tit and a Goldcrest. A rather nice mixed flock to find. Having reached the top end of the path, we wandered along the road a bit, hearing what might have been a Jay, and also a Pheasant. We had a look in the stubble fields but saw neither, though we did discover that there was a path along the edge of the field that I will definitely explore in future when in the area birding on foot. A large pond to the north of the road was something I was previously unaware of so we wandered along the farm track to have a look. It was devoid of birds but a pair of Stock Doves and a Woodpigeon did fly over as did a single Goosander. As we headed back to the car a pair of Siskins showed high in the trees.

It had been a productive visit after all with plenty variety. We headed next to the small car park at Westhaven. There wasn't much room to park and with a few folk walking along what was left of the beach (as the tide was in) there wasn't much hope of us seeing too much, so after a quick look which produced Cormorant, Shag and Redshank we headed for Easthaven. Pied Wagtail was seen from the car as we had something to eat. The initial plan had been to walk eastwards along the beach but there were quite a few birds on the beach - Oystercatchers, Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Redshanks and a single (probably injured) Pink Footed Goose while just offshore there were numerous gulls, including the first Great Black Backed Gull. Rather than disturb these we chose to head west along the beach instead.

As well as Pied Wagtail on the beach, a male Stonechat perched atop the grasses near the small burn outflow. Out beyond the gulls we picked up a single Red Throated Diver. Further along the beach, there were a number of Rock Pipits picking among the seaweed. A few Greenfinches were with a small Linnet flock. Starlings, Redshanks, Oystercatchers all fed along the shoreline. A small group of Sanderling dropped in behind us, scurrying up and down the beach as the waves broke on the shore. A drake Eider was spotted near the Red Throated Diver and a few distant Gannets were seen near the horizon. Ahead of us were some Bar Tailed Godwits feeding further up the beach than the majority of waders. Out on the rocks were a large group of Turnstones. A flock of Wigeon swam a little beyond the rocks.

Somewhat surprisingly there were no Dunlin to be seen, or Ringed Plovers. Rather than walk back along the beach, we decided to cross the railway line and walk back along the cycle path instead. There wasn't too much to be seen until we were almost back at the village. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird pass in front of the trees behind one of the houses. I quickly took a series of photos as it flew past, struggling to stay airborne. A Peregrine with a freshly killed Redshank in its talons. Unfortunately only 1 of the photos was in focus. It landed up on one of the telegraph poles in the field where it called a few times, drawing some attention from a nearby Carrion Crow before it flew off again, dropping out of our line of sight beyond the rise in the field. A Kestrel was on another pole further along to the east. A Magpie landed in the top of one of the large conifers the Peregrine had flown past.

To the north of the village I picked up a distant Buzzard circling up on a thermal, before we headed back to the car. Close in to shore a juvenile Gannet circled round. e debated where to head for next before deciding to head inland towards Kinnordy where hopefully we would have a chance of seeing the wintering Bittern. It took around 45 minutes to reach the reserve and as I got out of the car I saw a bird fly through the trees and land in the trees just beyond the car park near the east end of the car park. The flight had reminded me of Great Spotted Woodpecker so I walked over for a look and I was pleased to find that my suspicions had been correct.

There were a few folk in the hide and we settled down to scan across the loch. As well as Mallards, there were Gadwall, Greylags, Moorhen, Teal and double figure counts of Snipe on the bogbean islands. The Barn Owl peered out from the box on the lone Pine, partially hidden by the height of the reeds. A flock of Lapwings roosted on another bogbean island. Mute Swans were dotted around on the water. A drake Shoveler was spotted swimming around but there was no sign of any Bittern. A pair of Reed Buntings flew up from the far side of the Loch and a female Goldeneye was picked out diving distantly. A small flock of Tufted Ducks were just visible at the eastern end of the Loch. I finally added Pheasant to our larger than expected day list when I found 3 males feeding in the fields to the north of the Loch. We headed for home just after 1600 with a rather surprising total of 72 species having been seen.

Species seen - Barn Owl, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Shag, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.