Bonaparte's Gull - Lunan Bay and Montrose

   
This Bonaparte's Gull was found a few weeks ago at Lunan Bay and also seen in the South Esk estuary in Montrose. I've deleted the post with the original finder!

The video was filmed in front of the car park at Lunan Bay on 29/10/2026, I didn't get a chance to take any stills as the gull was spooked by three Bottlenose Dolphins fishing almost on the beach at high tide. The first image is a screenshot from the video, the other photos were from the Scurdie Ness road and were about mid-channel. The Little Gull video is from 19/10/2026 and recoded from the Splash at Montrose Beach on a stormy afternoon.

The two photos at the bottom are from Arbroath Harbour which has a dredger working there, it looks like it could be sometime before the water clears and the seabed settles. I don't know how long the dredging will continue.

UHD videos below, click the links to my Flickr.

Bonaparte's Gull, Lunan Bay      Little Gull 1st winter, Montrose Beach 

Bonaparte's Gull, Lunan Bay, this image is a screenshot taken from the video above

Bonaparte's Gull fishing at Scurdie Ness area

Comparison with Black-headed Gull

Comparison with Black-headed Gull

Great black-backed Gull, the largest gull in the world (Arbroath Harbour)

Redshank, Arbroath Harbour

Golden Plovers to wind turbine blades

The worst photo first, as it's the first time this season I've seen Golden Plovers, they were part of a flock of 86 behind near Gayfield.

Various sites are covered, and the photos from my Webs Survey at East Haven are at the bottom of this post, because it's the easiest way to import them! 

As mentioned before, changes to the blog template, the same one I've used for many years, has meant that I've lost control over how fonts are displayed on a phone. The posts are best viewed on a PC, or through a phone browser, at least for my Motorola.

A juvenile Little Gull around 600 metres off Montrose Beach

Golden Plover behind Gayfield Park (home of the Mighty Red Litchies), unfortunately looking into low sunlight

Greenfinches feeding on Rosa Rugosa hips on the pitch and putt course, the sun on my back

Curlew at West Links

Rock Pipit

Now at the Lurgies with a reflected Greenshank

Little Grebe, probably 16 near the car park

Little Egret, Lurgies

Pintails photographed from the Tayock Hide at Montrose Basin at a distance of 197 metres, also 2 Wigeon, and Mallards in the foreground

Turnstone, not seen very often on the basin

Little Egret at East Haven

A Goosander seen on my Webs Survey at East Haven

Black-headed Gull

Common Scoters, not seen often on my webs

Common Gull

One of the few Carrion Crows with white feathers, seen better when in flight

Redshank

Rock Pipit, they feed on the washed up seaweed on small insects

Olive who was my scribe on the survey asked me to photograph this ship on the horizon, it was laden with wind turbine blades. More turbines are being installed, another ship and a crane were placing the yellow bases

Pink-footed Geese, Lunan Bay Scoters

   
A post specifically for my "wee" brother who has been amazed at the numbers and noise of the Pink-footed Geese arriving at Montrose Basin. 

I think he's slowly becoming a birdwatcher....some say he's been doing that since his teens!

Links to UHD video below this photo.

A pan across a huge flock of Pink-footed Geese at Montrose Basin      Pink-footed Geese re-aligning

Common Scoters at Lunan Bay, Angus      Common Scoters in flight      Bar-tailed Godwit at Tayock moulting      

Curlew at Tayock      Redshank also Tayock