Saturday 27 May 2017

Spoonbills, Little Ringed Plover and a lonely Cygnet

A rare visit by two 1st summer Spoonbills which are currently still at Montrose Basin today Saturday 27/5/2017. Last report said they were again on Miss Erskine's Bank where the photo below shows them, which was taken from the Lurgies path. Also below a Little Ringed Plover sitting tight on three eggs after the pair had spent a few minutes seeing off a Black-headed Gull which is a threat to these tiny plovers.

Spoonbills feeding, click here for video                       

Two minutes of the Little Ringed Plovers distracting the gull from their nest, click here,



Spoonbills resting during high tide, previously they had been feeding in a channel near Maryton Ditch


Little Ringed Plover


Late Black-tailed Godwits



Grey Heron on what has become a roost, originally two birds looked to be about to nest but it's a busy place at Keptie Pond, Arbroath and I suspect that's why they abandoned it as a nest


The male Swan at Keptie who has been looking after the wee fella below while his partner continued a fruitless wait on remaining eggs for about two weeks. Today she has left the nest and joined the male and cygnet


An only child, sure to be spoilt, aawwhh....


Still a few Tufted drakes around, a species that does better at keeping ducklings from the gulls than the mallards


Jackdaw on the beach at Easthaven where only a few waders are passing through now. Other birds on the beach at high tide were Herring Gulls, Carrion Crows and Rooks feeding on the strand line


Full of cheek and character, well I think so. More of the Starlings causing a din in my garden


Feed me!


Accidental arty photo.............


Wednesday 24 May 2017

The great House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow mystery.......

Not many new birds around and nearly all of the waders have left or gone through with new arrivals now nesting they are more difficult see and I'm avoiding disturbing birds which will likely be sitting on a clutch or feeding chicks. My Corn Bunting surveys have started and already I've seen a 100% increase in singing males on one farm, numbers went from 1 to 2!

I've tried very hard to find out what has happened with the House Sparrow/Tree Sparrow pair and have watched and photographed many young sparrows and to date I haven't seen any young that look like hybrid or tree sparrow. It looked like that just before fledging that the Tree Sparrow disappeared but the female House Sparrow continued visiting the nest and other sparrows were seen listening to the chicks calling. I'll be keeping a watch on the nest site to see if the House Sparrow nests again but without any further evidence at this time it remains a mystery.


Meadow Pipit on the track to Scurdie Ness, Montrose


Shelduck on Montrose Basin


Still a few late Ringed Plover and Dunlin heading northwards along the coast


Grey Heron which was preening at the Old Harbour, Montrose Basin


Numbers of Greylag Geese at the Basin now around 26


Only the second time I've seen a Magpie in my garden in Arbroath which was chased off by the Starlings


Good to see a Coal Tit must be nesting close to home, a Blue Tit is also seen daily


House Sparrow drying out after one of this weeks showers


One of around 20 young House Sparrows creating havoc on my feeders and elsewhere


The Sparrows like the millet Olive continues to temp the budgie with!


Adult male House Sparrow


Tree Sparrow


Female budgie, still holding its own in the street and becoming increasingly confident



Thursday 18 May 2017

Whitethroat and others

A few from a shortened day broken by a dentist appointment. Hope to spend tomorrow inland and maybe even up the hills.



Whitethroat on the usual territory near Glaxo in Montrose


Linnet, also near Glaxo


House Martins collecting mud for their nests on the St Cyrus NNR Centre buildings


Willow Warbler at St Cyrus


One of a mixed age group of this years young Starlings which have invaded my feeders


Sunday 14 May 2017

Webs Count, Easthaven

My monthly Wetland Bird Survey count at Easthaven today and since it was sunny I took along a camera just in case something rare or interesting turned up, nothing unusual did but a flock of small waders at least 150 strong was impressive to see. Most waders are in or getting close to breeding plumage and I was a bit surprised to see so many still around.



At a first glance I thought two Dunlin had just landed but it's a Sanderling on the left with a Dunlin to the right



Turnstone almost in full breeding colours



Some of an eventual count of around 90 Sanderlings which formed the bulk of the large flock seen at Easthaven. Other photos I've ditched had a higher percentage of birds closer to their eventual breeding plumage than some of these



This male Shelduck had just seen off another male who had designs on his missus!



Saturday 13 May 2017

Garden Warbler

A Garden Warbler in the open, well for one of these which are usually heard and seldom seen the photo below is in the open and a few days from now when the leaves grow it will disappear for the season.

I also caught up with some Grey Wagtails and a Dipper at Powmouth and saw my first two Whitethroats of the year along with Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and many Swallows, House Martins and some nest prospecting Sand Martins.



Garden Warbler, near Powmouth



A crop of the one above which itself was cropped from a 6000 by 4000 photo taken on a dull day with a strong wind, one of only three shots I got



One of two Grey Wagtail chicks I saw being fed by both parents, hopefully I just didn't see some others. See the link to the photo below posted before on this blog


Very likely as both photos were taken in almost exactly the same place that these are the parents. This was taken on April 6th in much better conditions



Dipper, upstream of the metal foot bridge at Powmouth



A female Eider looking for somewhere to nest was sitting on top of the dyke near the Shelduck Hide at Montrose Basin, last seen in the middle of the path, let's hope it finds a better spot



Rubbish photo in more ways than one, of a distant Lesser Black-backed Gull from the Shelduck Hide but included to show the polythene caught around both feet. A real life example of what our rubbish does to wildlife and I wonder if it had to struggle free from a larger piece



Thursday 11 May 2017

Little Egret and inland Black-tailed Godwits

At long last I caught up with the Little Egret at Montrose Basin today and although it was far out on the mud the dull light in the morning allowed a record photo and a video clip.

Murton still had Black-tailed Godwits and numbers had increased to 29 today and an odd duck flew in with a small flock of Tufted Ducks.

At Balgavies I recorded a singing warbler which proved to a Garden Warbler, I'd heard it sing two days ago but wanted to confirm the ID and the bird was seen briefly today but as usual it stopped singing and disappeared.


Little Egret in one of the shallow channels to the east of the path from the Old Harbour



Most of the 29 Black-tailed Godwits at Murton NR today



A few of the Godwits which had been flushed by a passing Osprey, thought to be the male from Balgavies



The lower duck on the right appears to be a hybrid, maybe a bit of Goldeneye, who knows?


Wednesday 10 May 2017

Woodcock in Glenesk, and a supporting cast

A very rare opportunity on a trip to Glenesk in Angus when in the middle of the day a Woodcock stepped into view within photo distance of the fenced track I was on. Also on the trip, Cuckoos at various places, heard but never seen, a single male Ring Ouzel, Tree Pipits, many Mistle and Song Thrushes, Redstarts, Red-legged Partridges, Lapwings, Curlew, Oystercatchers, Siskins, Lesser Redpoll, Bullfinch and an Osprey failing to catch a fish in three attempts. No Spotted Flycatchers seen despite a long search.

Note to self and photographers, a repeat trip from the south bank of the North Esk may be a better option unless in early morning, the light in late morning onward was always wrong.


Woodcock, it had the decency to stand still for a couple of seconds in a small bit of shade in otherwise bright sunlight. It's looking directly at Olive as she fumbled to get her binoculars on it......





Common Sandpiper on the North Esk near Auchintoul where I also found a pair of Redstarts, unfortunately they remained directly into the sun in a tree



This Common Sandpiper is one of a pair on the shores of Lochlee



Good to see a Tree Pipit in exactly the same place as previous years in the Haughend area of the Glen. Good to hear the song as elsewhere I found a Meadow Pipit in a tree but in different habitat before it returned to forage on the ground



Monday 8 May 2017

Glossy Ibis at Kinnordy, also Murton, Balgavies and of course the Lurgies

Although the Glossy Ibis at Kinnordy today is undoubtedly the highlight it doesn't get top billing as it was only seen from at the other side of the loch fleetingly as it moved around to feed. Hopefully it's doing a recce around the loch with a view to staying for a while. The photos below are instead listed in order of time taken during the day and start at Montrose Basin where I'd gone in the hope the Ibis which hadn't been seen in the morning may have moved there, it obviously hadn't when it was reported from the Gullery Hide near lunchtime.



Osprey, Lurgies, it wasn't having much success in even finding a fish in the strong wind and choppy waters



Pink-footed Goose, Lurgies. Still a few Pink-foots around and initially I thought this one might be the one which remained all of last summer but that's to be seen



Song Thrush fledgling, Lurgies. Great to see the first new life this year at the Lurgies and the large flocks of Eider will soon be ensuring we see many more if they can avoid the Great Black-backed Gull onslaught



Glossy Ibis at 200 metres, Kinnordy, honest it is an Ibis.... Seen from the Swamp Hide but it had originally been in front of the Gullery Hide



Redshank, Kinnordy, also from the Swamp Hide



Another Shoveler drake at Kinnordy



One of 15 Black-tailed Godwits at Murton and the only adult in breeding plumage



Dunnock, Murton



Osprey male Green BF at Balgavies. First seen as it appeared to sitting in the water but it was standing on a stone or log just under the surface halfway down the loch. The terrapin was showing well although its sun-bathing spot isn't close enough for photos



Lesser Redpoll at Balgavies Hide. Good to see that the keeping the feeders topped up has resulted in birds usually only seen in winter have remained loyal to the hide, today Siskins and Goldfinches were visiting



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