East Haven Webs Survey July 2026

   
Some of the returning birds which have spent the summer in the far north breeding. I hope that the low numbers is an indication that they've had a successful season, and August's Webs Survey will have more juveniles, and a peak in numbers in September.

Whimbrel, the left hand smaller bird with the distinctive crown pattern, with a Goosander and Curlew. All of the 70+ Curlews were on the tideline rocks and too far away

Dunlin, this bird and one other moved from an inshore rock to the beach edge

Bar-tailed Godwit, unexpected

Curlew, most birds are moulting in their new flight feathers

One of 5 Grey Herons, perhaps an indication of the low water levels inland

Adult Sandwich Tern

Juvenile Sandwich Tern

Hummingbird Hawk Moth and Holly Blue, and lots more

   
At last a warm and still day, and where to go? It was Olive's hairdressers in Carnoustie, so I went to Barry Buddon to see if the camp was open, it wasn't. I took the easy option and went down to the ponds to the south of Barry Halt. It didn't look good as I walked down with a northerly wind but once I got some shelter at the ponds I started seeing Damselflies and a few Dragonflies.

The photos below start with a sighting of a Hummingbird Hawk Moth, and one other photo of a Holly Blue in a garden. Everything else was seen and photographed at the ponds, tracks and the wind farm cable terminus near the camp boundary. All photos with a D500 and 500mm lens which let me get photos without getting close, which would have been impossible in the heat.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth in Olive's garden, actually feeding in a hanging basket as she was deadheading flowers in it

I was trying to photograph my Swifts, which meant I had suitable settings on my D500

Four-spotted Chaser Dragonfly

side view

Dark Green Fritillary Butterfly

again

Common Blue Butterfly male

and its underwing

A Holly Blue in a garden in Carnoustie, three seen but difficult to capture as they were very mobile in the afternoon heat

Meadow Brown Butterfly

Red Admiral Butterfly, flushed by a greenkeepers truck before I could get a photo in focus

Ringlet Butterfly

Small Copper, and they are small

Small Heath and around the same size as the Small Copper above

Small White, not so small but is smaller than the Large Whites

Common Darter Dragonfly male

with a twinkle in its eye

One of the many variations of Common Blue Damselfly females

Common Blue Damselfly male

Pied Plumethorn Volucella pellucens 

Giant Tachinid Fly Tachina grossa

Giant Tachinid Fly Tachina grossa

Tapered Drone Fly

Red-sided Parasite Fly Eriothrix rufomaculata, it was on the same flower as the Drone above, I didn't notice the small fly through a 500mm lens...

Red-tailed Bumblebee, a photo promised to Lorna who has the Holly Blues was taken by lots of these Red-tails in her garden. (Not from her garden)

and finally a parting smile from the Common Darter

Puffins and an angry gull

   
An early evening brief look at Auchmithie and West Links, the light had gone due to low cloud and some mist

Puffins at Auchmithie, photographed from the clifftop

There were 19 in total in a few groups

Common Gull at West Links

Lesser black-backed Gull, it was behaving aggressively towards almost everything else

and this is why, it was protecting it's youngster

Starling, a few were half hidden in the rock armour and two Common Sandpipers were just as elusive