Thursday 23 August 2018

Dunlin in the sun, Egret in the gloom

The wader numbers at Easthaven/Craigmill seem to have dropped off or perhaps with the slack tides just now they are sitting out high tide on the rocks instead of roosting on the shoreline. There were a few Dunlin feeding near Craigmill and they were happy enough to venture close if I didn't move. Elsewhere around Montrose Basin a Little Egret has shown up, another Green Sandpiper, Snipe and the Canada Geese remain.



Dunlin, Craigmill Mouth


This Dunlin had spotted something flying over and was assessing whether it was a threat


Juvenile Pied Wagtail in the Craigmill Burn, part of a second brood I'd think


Sandwich Tern, looking for fish. It looks a kinda mechanical to me, but then my brain isn't wired up like yours!


Sandwich Tern, found a target


Lots of Starlings on the beach feeding on insects in the stranded and rotting seaweed. Good to see how many immatures are in the flock



Green Sandpiper at the Lurgies, photo from a hole in a gorse bush and from a distance as these birds are easily spooked


Greenshank, one of four still frequenting the area near the Old Harbour



The first Little Egret I've seen at Montrose Basin since spring


It landed midway between the Lurgies path and Miss Erskine's Bank before moving to the bank



One of three Ospreys fishing in front of Montrose Railway Station as the tide fell. You don't get close views but it's easy access with a high likelihood of seeing them fish





Common Snipe on a small scrape at the top of the Lurgies, the same site where the Green Sandpiper was but days apart. Got closer for this one and I'm sure it could see me peering through a tree


This young Sparrowhawk seems to sit in trees near the Old Harbour and always flies off over the trees. I just pointed the camera vaguely in its direction and got one photo with the whole bird, some with bits cut off and some blank sky



Small White butterfly caught in flight at the road bridge, Old Harbour, Montrose Basin


Same Small White


Some of the many Canada Geese seen on the shingle at Montrose Basin just now, numbers vary between 200 and 400. It looks like at least some of the geese move between the Basin and the North Esk estuary at St Cyrus and I've seen small groups flying over near the Glaxo



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