Back to birds, back to reality

An unscheduled walk down to Buddon Ness today to pass some time while waiting for Olive's hairdresser to work her magic! I didn't know the camp was open till I arrived and the website said there was no live firing until September 7th. I hoped to find a variety of butterflies, but in truth and despite what seemed to be good conditions I think I only saw five and only common species.
Later I had more than five butterflies in one buddleia bush in my garden!

Back to life, back to reality - Soul II Soul, click here for video  
my disco wrestling days were over by 1989 when this was released. yes it was more like wrestling than dancing!

Bar-tailed Godwits at Buddon Ness, roughly 110 birds in the flock which had been flushed by kayakers

   

Sanderling in the same place

Some Common Darter Dragonflies on Barry Buddon and Carnoustie Golf Links

As yet unidentified species of Grasshopper, I can't remember them from year to year

Peacock

Red Admiral and Peacock

Red Admiral

Sun Fly - Helophilus pendulus, I'll say it's a male

Silver Y Moth

Comma Butterfly - again

   
Three weeks earlier than one found in 2019, this Comma Butterfly was one of the first butterflies to appear in the same Carnoustie garden as the sun broke through on August 30th. Despite borders filled with bee friendly flowers the butterflies were few, probably the lack of any heat.

Comma Butterfly in my step-daughters garden in Carnoustie, one seen in September 2019 in the same place

Peacock Butterfly

Just a bit of heat and some sunlight and the butterflies show up. This one is a Painted Lady on my buddleia which needs moving as it's now blocking the light

Red Admiral, and there was a Peacock seen later

Legless again!

Some sea birds from Ferryden and Scurdie Ness on 28/8/2020, along with the House Martins nest on my neighbours gale. Photos from my DSLR using the two times converter which doesn't make capturing distant moving targets easy.

Eider with a crab, I watched as it held each leg shaking it till the leg broke off, and gathered the crab again each time until just the body was left which it swallowed. At Ferryden

Gannet offshore at Scurdie Ness

Despite the strong wind I could hear this juvenile Guillemot calling to be fed. The adult didn't seem to have any problem fishing, returning after each dive with a fish

Same juvenile Guillemot

House Martin chicks being fed in the late evening sunlight

Same nest when the light had gone, note the adult appears to be holding or controlling the youngsters beak with its foot which I've noticed is common practice

Ruff outside - not just the weather

   
Newest first from West Links on Thursday, everything else from Wednesday at Rossie Spit except the add-on Little Egret from the Lurgies where I found a Green Sandpiper today. All photos taken in poor light and often too far away with my P1000, even video wasn't easy! 

Ruff feeding at West Links, Arbroath, click here for video  

Green Sandpiper near the Lurgies path on Thursday, click here for video  

Black-tailed Godwit in front of the sailing club, Rossie Island, click here for video  

Moulting Greenshank video bombed by a Green Sandpiper, click here   a bit gloomy when this was filmed

Ruff at West Links, Arbroath, just beginning to rain and getting very windy

Trying to find some shelter

Success

Brent Goose on Rossie Spit, photo from behind the garage

It wanted to come closer but every time it did another delivery van went past!

Drake Goldeneyes have been back for months, this is the first duck I've seen

The same injured Redshank I saw at Maryton Ditch, it looks like it's leg is back to front or rotated 180 degrees at the hip. First seen on 20/8/2020, it's good to see it's still healthy otherwise

Curlew on the garage side of the bay at Rossie

Less than half of the huge flock of Redshanks at Rossie Spit, a similarly large flock of Oystercatchers and Lapwings too

Closer view

This Little Egret flew reasonably close to a group from ADBC on Saturday (I think it was Saturday)

"Calculating Cruelty" and "Hanged by the feet until dead"

Two recent studies commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports. Below the links, a few photos rom a rainy Webs count at East Haven, and two from Tayock at the weekend.

Calculating Cruelty, The results of a field study showing that up to a quarter of a million animals are killed each year in Scotland to ensure more grouse can be shot for “sport”, click here 

Hanged by the feet until dead, a report on trapping and snaring in Scotland, click here   


Breeding plumaged Turnstones at East Haven, click here  

Some of 63 Ringed Plover and a Knot cameo, click here  

Mediterranean Gull adult at Craigmill mouth, click here for video

Mediterranean Gull adult with an unreadable green ring at Craigmill Burn mouth

Immature Herring and Common gulls already showing winter plumage on their heads

Breeding plumage Turnstones, East Haven

Juvenile Knot at Tayock, Montrose Basin

Juvenile Oystercatcher, Tayock

So far away. Doesn't anybody stay in one place any more?

   
In a strong wind many birds just wouldn't settle and "stay in one place anymore". 

Distant videos from Montrose Basin, filmed with my Nikon Coolpix P1000 at insane distances. 


Whimbrel seen from the Tayock Hide, looking north towards the caravans, click here for video  

Juvenile Knot from the Tayock Hide, click here  

Juvenile Oystercatcher, again from Tayock Hide, click here  


Also seen very briefly near Tayock Hide, a Spotted Redshank which I failed totally to photograph with a huge over-exposure making the bird bright grey looking. I thought this older photo of one at the Lurgies with a Redshank for comparison might substitute.

Spotted Redshank from 2017 at the Lurgies. Note the longer upper bill is all black, the lower part red and black. No white wing bar and certainly more spotted

Redshank from 2019 at East Haven, shorter bill with red base and distinct white rear edge to the wings

New garden first!

   
I can't remember seeing a Willow Warbler in my garden before, this one appeared briefly as I sat on the back door step watching the Starlings squabbling over broken fat balls. 

Further afield at the Lurgies, Maryton Ditch and Rossie Spit, all Montrose Basin, I found a Curlew Sandpiper at Maryton and a Brent Goose (pale-bellied) and 2 Little Terns at Rossie Spit, an adult and juvenile.

Brent Goose (pale-bellied) at Rossie Spit, click here for 250 metre plus video  

The roost flushed by a Peregrine, and why I didn't get a Little Tern video, click here  

Not the urban Canada Geese in city parks, but some of the flock at the Lurgies, click here for video  

An arty slow motion video of a juvenile Starling, click here  
the slow motion setting on my P1000 is effectively quarter speed, filmed at 120 fps, and I've edited it in software to half again. The drawback is the size on the video frames at 640 by 480.

Willow Warbler I think, unless someone can magic it into something more exotic. The throat, breast and belly to the eye were white, the camera has picked up reflected light from the bush

One of as many as 60 juvenile Starlings in my garden this week

Possibly 550 Canada Geese at Montrose Basin just now, these in an adjacent field at Maryton Ditch

As the tide rose many of the geese moved up to the Slunks area and Miss Erskine's Bank

The Pink-footed Goose in the centre of the photo has been around all summer, probably carrying an injury from the shooting season last winter

There were 17 juvenile Goosanders at the upper Lurgies, with one of 30+ Common Gulls and a large number of Black-headed Gulls

There is a Wasp nest in the metal gate at the Lurgies car park, currently they are still friendly enough. This one was chewing the wood for nest building material

Buff-tailed Bumblebee in front garden, the buddleia flowers will be pollinated soon by the bees if the weather doesn't improve, few butterflies are passing through just now and mostly Large Whites