I was asked to complete a Coastal Survey for someone on holiday along the coast between Victoria Park Arbroath and Elliot. The day was overcast, warm and still with lots of people around the beach and at sea in small craft fishing with rod and line.
The first two photos are of two Red-throated Divers which I didn't expect to see at Elliot and close enough in to get a good enough shot for ID. The angle of the head and slight up-curve of the beak is a give-away and the one on the left is showing the red on the throat.
Sandwich Terns with a juvenile in the centre
Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black-headed Gull
Adult male Eider in eclipse
Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull for comparison, note the leg colours.
A Swallow singing on a wire at the greenkeepers huts at Elliot
Given the size and shape of the beak I'd say this is a Greater Black-backed Gull chick which looks to have been through a washing machine. Another Herring Gull chick had a horrible wing break and won't survive.
