Saturday 28 April 2018

Blackcaps, Terns and Whimbrels

More new spring arrivals this week, some photos of birds staying around to nest and others on their way through to breed in higher latitudes. I've added more text to the photos in this post rather than here.

Note, due to the large number of photos this post may take a minute to fully load. Olive complained!!


Male Blackcap feeding and drinking in the Craigmill Burn, viewed from the bridge on the coast road


A serious looking character





Lineet with nesting material in Craigmill Den


A Sandwich Tern in the milky light which varied between glare and darkness


Four of the five Sandwich Terns near Craigmill Burn


One of at least three Stock Doves coming to feeders at the foot of Craigmill Den. Please don't disturb the residents, this photo is from a tree in the den


One of just two Swallows on the beach at Craigmill


A backlit Turnstone with much of the shadow removed in an edit


One of around 30 Turnstones in various stages of moult


This I believe is one of the two (at least) Whimbrels I saw on the beach which I could confirm the ID of from distant shaky photos. There were two many disturbances on the sunny day and each time I sat for long enough for the Whimbrel and Curlews to  come closer another dog, jogger or walker sent them skyward. The beak on this bird is seen at it's actual length in the photo and others I took and I think it looks much smaller than the Curlews as did the two birds in my shaky photos which showed their head and face markings


Willow Warbler in Craigmill Den


Another Willow Warbler, this time at the Lurgies and is one of the pale less colourful variation


Wren also seen from Craigmill Bridge


It's usually late May before I see a Corn Bunting male sitting on the wires but then I'm specifically looking for them. This one was on the road to Boghead and let me get a photo from the car



Eider numbers are building up at the Lurgies with courtship started and calling birds heard from a distance if the wind stops long enough



Greylag pair just upstream from the Slunks, an overlooked bird and it's not their fault if they are escaped or of feral origin


Meadow Pipit near the Shelduck Hide(s), the new one still isn't open


There were at least five pairs of Mute Swans courtship displaying in the Slunks and this was as close to the heart shaped pose I could get. I did get mating photos as well but we don't show that kind of thing here, well unless it's a Peregrine or something really interesting


If you hide in a gorse bush long enough something interesting might happen and in this case an Osprey flew over my head. Unfortunately it arrived from behind me so I only got this shot of it going upstream along the South Esk


Yet another photo of a Fulmar from Auchmithie. I've got to do something while waiting in hope for some Puffins to appear. I haven't seen any there since 26/3/2018


One of two Coot chicks with it's parents at Keptie Pond. Apparently a Mallard had five ducklings in tow on Sunday, two on Monday and none by Thursday, normal for first broods at Keptie. The Coots fair better by keeping their chicks close to cover and feeding them, whereas the Mallards have to venture into the open for the ducklings to feed themselves


Often blamed for the ducklings demise and I've certainly see the Lesser Black-backed Gulls predate them given an un-attentive mother duck


Moorhen at Keptie Pond


A failed photo of a male Redstart, partly due to it being in the shade but mostly as I'd adjusted the exposure for a flight photo ages earlier. Memory like a hen!


Not my fault this time, this Whinchat had cleverly positioned itself with the sun directly behind it and of course the photo came out as a silhouette which has been edited about as far as it can be. Proves that they've arrived though


Skylark, seen a fair bit up one of the lower Angus hills


I'm not sure about these Red-legged Partridges, if they weren't so colourful they they'd be considered by more people as an invasive/introduced species. Another species only here to be shot!


Little Ringed Plover pair. It's not nesting, the male, just sheltering from the wind


Female, brown on the mask and in this case the male is ringed, the female not yet



The ever present Iceland Gull still hanging around Victoria Park, Arbroath. Must leave soon you'd think


Monday 23 April 2018

Windy Glenesk and Lochlee

I was too early for Ring Ouzel and Cuckoos last week when I visited Glenesk and Lochlee. In fact there were precious few birds of any species especially at the loch on a windy day and not one raptor was seen between Edzell and Lochlee. I did see a single Red Grouse, many Willow Warblers, Sand Martins, Meadow Pipits, Wheatears and two Woodcocks in flight, one chasing the other.


Lapwing in one of the fields near Invermark House


Willow Warbler on the track to the loch


Always branches in the way


There were three Common Sandpipers on the lochside but I didn't see any Grey Wagtails



Back home and an accidental capture of a Blue Tit in the garden


Thursday 19 April 2018

Black-necked Grebe and large supporting cast

I recently took a risk that a Black-necked Grebe in Elie Harbour wouldn't leave before I could manage to go down there and on a sunny day, yahoo! Never having been there before I went to what I thought was the most likely place to see it, maybe not close but then I could develop a plan. I hit the jackpot, the Grebe was in front of the Granary building next to the Sailing Club and what I thought at the time close in. It was much closer than I could have expected but not being the biggest of birds it was still a small bird in the middle of the original photos. Yes, photographers are never happy, we're like farmers!

Black-necked Grebe video, click here


At 28cm to 34cm this grebe is not much bigger than a Little Grebe which is 25cm to 29cm. Always a better looking bird though in all plumages











Moving on from the star of this post, here's a Bar-tailed Godwit at the mouth of the Craigmill Burn between Easthaven and Westhaven, one of two being pushed in by the tide.





They didn't stay long after this wave


Also in the Craigmill Burn but upstream in the den was this Grey Wagtail. The strange colour and blur on the left of the shot is a twig of the tree I was hiding behind


One of many and various birds coming to feeders at the house at the bottom of Craigmill Den, a Pied Wagtail. As I was leaving a Stock Dove landed on the pavement and likely to come to the feeders often from a nest nearby


Back on the beach three Purple Sandpipers were feeding on the strand line with a flock of Turnstones, Redshanks and around fifty Sanderlings


You've got to agree this Rook definitely has character. From the rookery at Craigmill and feeding in the adjacent field


One of the Sanderlings which is showing some the it's moult into breeding plumage


Probably the same Sanderling


Turnstone also getting into breeding colours


White Wagtail, at least if I've interpreted the ID guides correctly. One of two seen on the beach at Craigmill. The male Pied further up this post is for comparison





Shows the pale grey rump which would be much darker in a Pied



Kestrel seen hunting near to the caravan park at Shell Bay, Elie


Skylark, also at Shell Bay


First of the season Swallow at Craigmill


The very promiscuous female Dunnock in my garden shrub cuttings which I may now have to leave alone if it turns out she's nesting in it


Olive spent all winter trying to lure in Goldfinches with niger seed and now they've arrived when it got warm. She lured me in with offer of Doctor Tennents Amber Elixir

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