A cathode day - look it up and learn something

Obviously I'm under restrictions, but because I know the land around here well, the access points, paths and popular places, so far I'm almost avoiding seeing other people. To be honest, that's nothing new, when bird-watching and more so when a camera is present it's not useful to have people (dogs) around scaring the wildlife. Ask Olive, who is subject to what she thinks are arbitrary rules on where to walk, which side, how slow or fast, and the pink jacket! Sounds paranoid, but just imagine sitting for an hour waiting for the Avocet you're stalking to wander over to where you're hiding and someone from nowhere says, "seeing anything interesting".......Avocet flies away

Still trying to ID the fox in the video as last years vixen, failed so far.

Grey Wagtail, click here for video

Pintail drake / Mallard hybrid, click here for video

Fox in my garden on camera trap, click here for video 

Fulmars on my alternative exercise route, it's a good route where it's rare to see anyone and especially now I've found an inaccessible hide out

Gorse

Kittiwake

The Needle's E'e

Life on the edge, the cliff edge. Rock Pipit

Scurvy Grass

Shag at 90 metres, measured on Google Maps

Yellowhammer

The frogs ardour has subsided, all of the females must have mated, today's interest and briefly was a Yellowhammer. Three are visiting daily but the feral pigeons spook themselves and everything else frequently, I may have to eat them if my Red Cross Parcel doesn't turn today.

Yellowhammer in my garden, click here for video

In isolation like the rest of society, click here for video

In a bit of shaded cotoneaster

"Red Doggie" for Tiffin

There won't be any photos, or rants from Saturday as I'm waiting delivery of a Red Cross Parcel. So here's a few from Friday, again taken while on my current exercise route at West Links in Arbroath. 

Below a video of a Cormorant with a rockling, there are three species, shore, three bearded and five bearded, I can't tell which but I'll try and grab a frame from the video. I used catch them on the rocks when I was primary school age, we knew them as Red Doggies!

Cormorant with a Bearded Rockling, click here for video

Cormorant, one of two fishing in front of the paddling pool at West Links. It had just caught a small flounder and was manipulating it to swallow

Flounder shape in it's throat

Frog Frenzy and White Herring Gull

I'll try and vary my exercise routine to include some birds and wildlife, keeping within the spirit of the lock down. Something had a good rake around in my garden and Olive's last night so I'll put the trail camera out. The birds species and numbers have both increased dramatically, partly due the time of year and also I believe to the lack of human movement and disturbance. I've had Yellowhammers, Tree Sparrows, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and a brief glimpse of a Chiffchaff, all in my front garden!

The strange white Herring Gull resurfaced at West Links, or was it always somewhere nearby. I hope we'll meet again some sunny day, and I'll get a better photo. 
The Grey Herons at Keptie Pond news, a quick look as I passed by, one bird seen near the nest but I couldn't see one sitting, it's possible it was there and hunkered down. I might have seen it from the hill opposite and may do that when it gets cold and less people are "exercising". It seems to be, but I'm biased (not surprised are you) that dog walking has a higher acceptance just now than human walking, I'm getting looks as if to say "where's your dog", I look back thinking, it's on holiday in the Philippines!

Some years ago I dug a small pond in my garden and left it to nature, except when I found a puddle locally which was almost dried up and had a small amount of tadpoles in it. I rescued the tadpoles and released them into my pond. The last I saw of them was a few tiny froglets on my lawn, and thinking they'd probably be eaten by just about anything bigger than them, I thought I'd at least given them a chance. 
Over a year later I found an adult frog under an old door I'd placed as cover, for what I wasn't sure. Then some spawn appeared in the pond, although I didn't see any frogs mating or anywhere in the garden. This year, and perhaps because I'm at home a lot, lot more, I've witnessed a mass orgy of mating, counted at least 22 frogs and patches of spawn are now in all corners of the pond, and as I said it's not even that big. I'm now thinking I may have to move spawn or tadpoles to stop cannibalisation later.
I would recommend installing a pond to anyone, they come in different shapes and sizes, can be rigid or liners which mine is, and now if you're stuck at home thinking what can I do today, tomorrow, then order a liner, dig a hole, fill it up and probably like mine insects and life will find it. I had pond skaters the day after I filled mine. The birds love the pond, many bathe and drink from it and if I get my act together it makes for good reflection photos of birds drinking along the edge.
Finally, don't do what I foolishly did, I scooped a small amount of weed out of another pond to get it going and it took over, I have to rake it out now and then.


At least 22 frogs mating in my pond. click here for video

White Herring Gull reappears, click here for video

Ringed at Elliot, click here for video

Thought to the the aberrant/white Herring Gull I first found two years ago

Little Grebe on Keptie Pond, been there all winter, and still very shy

Very distant Puffin at 125 zoom

Stock Dove on Rossie Spit seen from behind the garage

Kittiwakes in flight, and garden videos

The Kittiwake post, and only Kittiwakes. All taken in a short spell in between cloud at Arbroath Cliffs. It was windy today and coming from the sea which stopped many from flying far enough out past the shelter of the cliffs. I'll try and not post any more, but if conditions are perfect one day soon, well.............


Likely to be more of these garden videos, Goldfinches in this one, click here

Another garden video, a pair of Greenfinches, click here

Still a shadow of its winter plumage about the head and neck

Social Distancing - do the same for nesting birds

Social distancing, I've practiced it for years apparently! This helped greatly while walking in Crombie and Monikie Country Parks on Friday, and reassuringly everyone else kept a distance. We'd gone there so Olive could see her family in safety, they're a wild bunch although it appeared that Alfie the Cavapoo was the real one she was missing!

Later on my own, but with a fair number of distancing walkers around, I had a look at Arbroath Cliffs and found a very large number of Kittiwakes already on nest sites. A few Razorbills, Shags and Fulmars were also starting to take an interest, some already on the cliffs. All photos with large levels of zoom without the need to get close.

A single Shag on the rocks, click here for video

More Fulmars near Whiting Ness, click here

A moody Great Egret video, click here

When your Wren flies off too soon, stretch the video, with interesting results, click here

I've put the Kittiwakes first to emphasise this one, its got some heavy duty sea fishing line built into its nest!

A fair number of the Kittiwakes are nesting in places where they won't get any, or not much sunlight

There are more Fulmars on the cliffs than usually stay to nest

Most Razorbills were on the water and I think some may displace Kittiwakes from nest sites soon

A decent number of Shags nest along the cliffs towards Auchmithie, best seen from the sea

Black-headed Gull at Monikie

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Oystercatcher at Crombie

Also Crombie, a good place to walk a dog as there aren't many birds to scare and plenty of other dogs to sniff, bark at and even fight......

Dogs barking, the soundtrack of my life it seems 

The Aukward Squad - and a Dipper

Videos from the cliffs and a close up of a male Dipper, for now. All filmed using a Nikon Coolpix P1000 from the clifftop at various places between Arbroath and Auchmithie. Note, it was windy and two videos have been steadied in software. 

Photos added from Arbroath Cliffs and an update of goings on at Keptie Pond.

Dipper video, click here

Guillemot video, click here

Kittiwake video, click here

Lesser Black-backed Gull video, click here

Razorbill video, click here

Bait ball with Gannets video, click here

Fulmar video, click here

Gannet in flight (67% speed), click here for video

Razorbills, a frame taken from a video

An unusually dark Fulmar, and not a quirk of the light or camera

Guillemot

Guillemot

Two Guillemots amongst the Razorbills

Kittiwake

More Kittiwakes, there were small rafts spread about

Looking north to the Coastguard house near Auchmithie

A nice touch this, two lines of trees planted along the field edge

The cliff path has been widened and levelled

Unheard of at this time of year at Keptie Pond, a Lesser Black-backed Gull coming to bread, yes a few people still don't use seed, lettuce etc

The Herons are still sitting on eggs, 25 to 26 days between laying and hatching. I'll workout a date later

It will be interesting to see if this unlikely pair manage to produce young, both are thought to be hybrid Pintail and Mallard