Spoonbill at Montrose Basin

A Spoonbill first seen on Wednesday evening was still around at 0600 and 1330 on Thursday but as far as I'm aware at this time, (1940) no other sightings have been made so let's hope it stays around for a few days. I'm hopeful that I can get a photo with my DSLR instead of the two below with my Canon SX60 which given the light and distance did an acceptable job at getting a record photo.

Spoonbill flying over the South Esk near the Slunks

Craigmill Den near Carnoustie

A quick trip to Craigmill Den and then a short survey at Carnoustie Golf Links by which time it had become colder and windy which limited the numbers and species recorded. At Carnoustie the very defensive male Mute Swan at the bottom pond has apparently left to spend at least some of his time on another pond, I wonder if something happened or he's been injured defending a cygnet as one of the seven is missing. The pair of swans on the main pond continue with five cygnets and that is one less than I saw when newly fledged.

Spotted Flycatcher in Craigmill Den

Whitethroat chick, also Craigmill

Collared Dove

Song Thrush

A new emergence of Six Spot Burnet moths at Carnoustie Golf Links

RIP, the first of many no doubt

The male Sparrowhawk has returned and was seen in Olive's garden taking and plucking a juvenile House Sparrow, I eventually got the ring on a Starling, Swifts are occasionally coming in and two photos from Montrose Basin at low tide today.

RIP the Spuggie...........gone to be a Sparrowhawk chicks lunch nearby

A ringed Starling back in my garden, the first time I've seen it since the start of May. This time I've managed to read the metal ring and report it. Unusually it only has one colour ring having figured out how to remove the other two as a few birds do according to the ringer.

Still not a good Swift photo and they'll soon be gone again, just to dull and they're so fast

Black-headed Gull at the Lurgies with a small flounder

Only one Pink-footed Goose today but the other nine or ten may still be at Montrose Basin somewhere

Killiecrankie

I got the offer of a trip to Faskally to paint some caravan decking so accepted and went to the Pass of Killiecrankie looking for Wood Warblers and Pied Flycatchers instead. I did see one Wood Warbler but I had to spend what seemed like a lifetime looking before getting a decent but brief view. The paths were a bit busy but I also found a Nuthatch on one of the side paths and a Spotted Flycatcher on it's favourite perch. During my trip which was in good conditions I covered 6 miles and only saw two butterflies, both Ringlets.

Nuthatch in a shady corner

Spotted Flycatcher on it's perch

Herring Gull at the Old Brewhouse in Arbroath taken while waiting for my white pudding supper.

Ythan Estuary - King Eider 2016

A busy week hence no posts until today and starting with this years photos of the King Eider Drake at the Ythan Estuary, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire. Also some of the other wildlife at Ythan mouth. Below these are Damselflies and Butterflies from Carnoustie Golf Links and then some of the new life in and around my garden.

All of these including the insects taken with the Tamron 150-600mm, should have used a tripod though. Just noticed I've used the wrong script, resize to 1000 pixels instead of 1200. I'm not changing them now!!

Colours look to be towards eclipse

Feeding with the Common Eiders

The distinctive "sails" showing well

Arctic Tern

Same Arctic Tern

Common Tern

Common Terns at the river mouth

Grey Seal, one of perhaps 800-1000 seals at the river mouth

Fledgling Sand Martin

Adult Sand Martins guarding at least one fledgling in this nest hole

Cygnets on Carnoustie Golf Links

Azure Damselfly male, at Carnoustie Golf Links

Azure Damselfly female

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Common Blue Damselflies, you should be able to see the packet of sperm the male is offering where they are joined

Common Blue Butterfly male

Same Common Blue

Ringlet Butterfly

Dunnock juvenile

Goldfinch

Greenfinch juvenile

Lapwing, Kinneil Lagoon, Forth

Swift from my garden

Woodpigeon which landed above the House Martin nest I'm surveying

Silver Ground Carpet Moth                                                                                                           

Latticed Heath Moth

Black Guillemot at Scurdie Ness

After a long walk surveying Corn Buntings I decided to take it easy and sit on the rocks at Scurdie Ness hoping to see a Skua or some Gannets feeding close in and there it was, a Black Guillemot a bird I've never seen before. Just after texting the report out I found a new way to lose a bird, it was flushed by a school of dolphins. Luckily it was re-located at Mains of Usan and its last location was back at Scurdie. Also other birds from Scurdie and some from the early morning Corn Bunting surveys.


Black Guillemot, but distant, for video click here

Black Guillemot, far out baby, and it was...........

This Common Tern used the post as a perch just like a Kestrel and dropped down to take a sand eel

Eider, after being spooked by the dolphins

Meadow Pipit not happy about me being near its nest so I moved on

A "ringed" Ringed Plover, one of a pair which I suspect have new chicks hiding in the rocks

Sedge Warbler on the track to the lighthouse

Summer plumage Turnstones, returning or I think they may not have left

Linnet from one of my surveys

Skylark from the other survey

Mallard ducklings, they look good enough to eat and something probably will