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Tayforth Birding (2 Viewers)

Kilconquhar

Unusually for a Saturday, it opened up to give me a bit of birding opportunity. Daughter two has a sprained ankle, so her usual dance class was off the agenda, then suddenly, daughter one had her horse riding arrangements cancelled at the last moment.

This left the Dad taxi free to roam.

I set off for Rossie Bog soon after eleven, with the hope of finding the male Hen Harrier spotted there yesterday. I was also hoping for a better look at the GWE that has lurked there for several weeks.

Having arrived, I gave the bog area a preliminary scan, with no reward. I was hardly there a few minutes when my mobile vibrated to announce a text arrival. The text was from the Fife bird alert system, and heralded the spotting of a male Red-crested Pochard. My choice was to hang around the bog in hope of my original targets, or rush across Fife to Kilconquhar Loch in search of a duck that had never previously been on my radar.

I decided to rush for the duck.

Arriving at the FBC hide, I hoped somebody would be there to let me in. The hide was empty and I did not have my key, as today was all very unplanned. I headed around to the churchyard where I knew I could get views of the loch. There was another birder there already, and two others, an older couple, were just leaving, one of whom turned out to be the original spotter.

The remaining birder had not seen the bird, and the original spotter had seen the bird earlier in the morning, left, then returned with his wife (both in their eighties I was told), but had not relocated the bird.

We scanned the loch as best as possible, but the area where the bird was first seen was obscured by the glare from the low, winter sun. Noticing the hide was now occupied, we decided to head around, and there we found the older couple again, but still no bird. Scanning for a while, we were joined by another two experienced birders I had met on previous occasions. Time ticked on, and with no R-C Pochard appearing, the older couple headed off. They were soon followed by the two birders who were last in to the hide, just leaving two of us. My new friend was about to leave, when I noticed some Mallard moving out of the little reedy bay to the left of the hide. They looked like something had spooked them a little. Scanning the group, I suddenly came upon a distinctive red beaked bird in their midst. The Red-Crested Pochard was soon in full view, and a great looking bird it is, may I say, although I probably say that for every lifer.:t:
 

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Having been unfortunate to miss out on the Great White Egret at Rossie Bog on Wednesday with Paul (Gander), I decided to try again today. Bussed it to Ladybank then walked out to the appropriate area and saw mostly rather distant birds, but no Egret. Later, however, a birder I know from Guardbridge (I think anyway - I'm usuless with faces/names) discovered it on the wall along from the road junction at the farm, and came back to tell me. He gave me a lift back around the road and I re-found it feeding in a ditch viewable from the road. When it flew I thought I'd have to make do with the photos and videos I'd already got (which were pretty good anyway) but it chose to land right in front of me in the field, and proceeded to feed in the ditch around 25-30 feet from me, allowing me some cracking photos. It moved off back along the ditch after a while, though others arriving to see it, mostly managed to get decent views, before flying off a little later to a different ditch to the west. Well pleased with the pics (and video - on YouTube - same user name) I got.
 

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I'm sure they don't taste that good Rob!;)

Guess they were eaten in the past though.
 
I gather it showed very well again yesterday but was rather more elusive when Daniel and I saw it in the afternoon. Nice views of the red-crested pochard at Kilconquhar though.

Rob
 
This Week

Prior to today, I've spent quite a bit of time bird watching this week. Monday and Tuesday were mainly tours of the Ladybank gravel pits, with visits also to Loch Gelly and to my Seafield patch. Good numbers of birds seen, but I kept missing out on the White-Fronted Goose seen at Gaddon and Birnie, and Letham Pools. Missed by an hour or two on one occasion, but had the unexpected bonus of finding my first ever onshore Brambling, so a good county tick made.

Wednesday was the main event, when once again I had the privilege of teaming up with Stonefaction (Barry). I can't remember the names of some of the places Barry directed us too, however a good time was had, with highlights for me being Dipper, Red Grouse, Treecreeper, Peregrine, Iceland Gull and of course more Brambling (just like buses). The first three were year ticks for me, with the Red Grouse strangely being one I missed completely last year.

Place names I do remember were Riverside Nature Park, Alyth area, Piperdam, Blackwater, Kinnordy Loch, Arbroath cliffs, Westhaven and Monifieth.

I'm not sure or the final tally (approaching eighty I think), but I look forward to Barry's usual detailed blog entry, if only to find out where I was. :t:

Today I needed a rest, but couldn't resist a quick spin along to Loch Gelly in search of a reported drake Mandarin. I only lasted twenty minutes or so, as the rain came on heavy, with strong gusting winds. No sign of my target bird, but I felt better for the trying. :t:

EDIT - Just noticed that Barry has posted the blog report. See http://stonefactionbirding2014.blogspot.co.uk
 
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Yesterday

I met up with Stonefaction (Barry) yesterday for another Wednesday wander. This time we started at the Eden centre, although both Barry and I picked up quite a few birds en route to our meeting point at the centre, with most of mine coming at a ten minute stop at Letham pools.

After a good scan of the exposed muds of the estuary, we moved on to Ruddon's Point with Surfie in mind. On the way we made short stops at Barnyards Marsh and Kilconquhar Loch.

Parking up at Shell bay, we made an extensive search for a reported Whimbrel there, but were not successful, unless some of the photos Barry took turn up something.

By the time we got out on the point, it was blowing hard and raining. We persevered, but there was no sign of the reported Surfie, although there was an abundance of Velvet Scoters. Also absent were any grebes or divers.

Returning to the car, we opted for a change of viewing angle on Largo Bay, by heading along the coast to Lower Largo. It was from here that we picked up on Common Scoter, but the Surfie remained MIA.

We continued coast hopping by visiting Leven and Buckhaven before heading inland to Loch Leven. On the way to Loch Leven, we made stops at Loch Gelly and the west end of Loch Ore. It was at Loch Ore that we picked up on one of the more unexpected birds of the day, with good views of a group of Pintail.

At Loch Leven, we headed for Burleigh Sands. The target was Slavonian Grebe, however we drew a blank. What we did get however, were two Sand Martins. Unexpectedly early year ticks for both of us.

From Loch Leven, we headed for Letham Pools, traveling over the Lomond hills through Falkland, and with a quick stop off at Rossie Bog. Arriving at Letham, we found it goose-less. The hoped for P-F Goose flock complete with W-F Goose was not to be seen. This goose is now a clear leader on my bogie list!

Before dropping Barry off at Cupar, to catch his bus, there was still time to get one more bird for his list. I'd re-found Brambling at Bow of Fife, when I'd passed through in the morning. Happily, we found a Brambling still in residence.

Bird of the day for me was Pintail. My total was eighty birds, although there were a few more that were heard, but not seen. Frustratingly, I believe I saw two Wheatear approaching Upper Largo, but as it was a drive by sighting, with nowhere to stop, I couldn't list it, even on 99% confidence. Still, the Wheatear probables are a good reminder of better things to come.:t:
 
I'm usually tied up on Saturdays, but as one of the kids had sprained her ankle, and would therefore not need me to transport her to a highland dancing lesson, I decided to take my youngest out for a bit of birding.

It was dry and bright with little wind, so I thought it could be a good time for a try at Hawfinch in the grounds of Scone Palace. We headed off early, stopping briefly at Loch Leven for a quick scan of the calm waters, then on to Scone Palace.

We arrived at the palace at ten past nine. The gates were locked. I had thought it opened at nine, but had miscalculated, as the signage indicated the correct opening time of ten.

With fifty minutes to burn, we headed around to the back gate and parked up. Scanning over the fence, we found nothing, but there was a lot of bird noise coming from deeper inside the grounds. With nothing to see, we drove off slowly down the country road to kill some time. A mile or two down the road, a Jay made an appearance in the roadside trees. A first for my son.

A little further down the road, we came across two birds on the grass verge that I first thought were Grey Partridge, but as we drew level with them, I realised they were Red-Legged Partridge. Another first for the boy, and a year tick for me.

We carried on slowly down the road until it started to pass through some open farmland, where we stopped and turned to retrace our route back to the palace gates. Arriving for the second time, we found the gates open so proceeded to the car park.

Exiting the car park, we picked a route that took us past the palace and away to the back gate. We had not got past the palace, when my young one spotted a bird that he got very excited about. There on the lawn was a Peacock. He was not impressed when I told him we would not be listing it, and he is still declaring it as his bird of the day.

Moving slowly and quietly down the road towards the back gate. I carefully scanned the branches above. I could hear plenty of activity, but saw little until we spotted an upside-down Treecreeper walking along the underside of a low branch.

Reaching the gate, this time from the inside, we scanned the trees for some time, but found nothing. We now headed east, sticking to the main track. There were plenty of Chaffinch around, so when I saw some movement on the ground at the base of a tree, I assumed it would be another Chaffinch. I was wrong. The binoculars revealed the bird to be a Nuthatch.

I have only ever seen one Nuthatch before, and that was thirty-five plus years ago. This was as good as a lifer for me, and certainly a lifer for my young one. The bird kept reappearing as we move through this area, although I suspect there was probably more than one.

Turning south to follow a road that ran back towards the palace, parallel to the road that we had first walked out on, we came across another birder. He bemoaned how flighty the Hawfinch were today. He'd seen about seven, but hadn't been able to get a photo.

As we spoke, my eyes were drawn to movement, as a bird flew across the trail into a tall pine. As I scanned the area it had headed into, I found my first ever Hawfinch sitting on a sunlit branch, looking down at me. I tried to direct the other birder's camera to it, but it disappeared into cover before he could get a photo.

I didn't get my son onto it either, as he had been two busy telling the other birder about his Peacock spot.

Further down the trail, I got a glimpse of another Hawfinch in flight, but as the grounds were filling up with bus loads of tourists, we headed off. On the way back to Fife, we pulled into Erroll, and walked down to the reed beds with Bearded Reedling in mind. We drew a blank, but I was very impressed with my first look at this area.

Heading back into Fife, we made a couple of detours on the way home. Firstly to Kinshaldy, and then the briefest of stops at Letham. There were the expected birds at both, but we had had the best of it in the morning, and were back home before teatime.:t:
 
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i went to have a look at the pale belied brent goose that has been present at Arbroath esplanade for the last 4 days,this bird is showing really well especially when the tide is nearly fully in well worth a check
 

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I had my fifth attempt at seeing the black redstart which is currently at Arbroath behind the old brewhouse,this is the second bird here in a short while,(maybe even the third)it was very stormy when I arrived and I wasn,t expecting it to show but the wee beuty showed very well,it appeared to be resting up in the garden surrounded by the yellow wall,along at Victoria park the dark bellied brent goose was still present,while talking to alec shepherd the goose took flight and we both watched it flying out to sea,it flew far out and it could be a case of it is time to move on,there is also an Iceland gull here which I have not seen until today,the bird was spending a lot of time on the grass beside the furthest east goal post
 

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North Fife Circuit

I usually try and take it easy on the first day back onshore, but having done an early morning visit to Seafield, followed by a brief visit to Loch Gelly, I decided to see what Stonefaction (Barry) was up to, and fired off a text. Timing was perfect, as he was just preparing to head out, so we decided to meet up at Guardbridge.

The Eden estuary was fairly quiet, but made a good starting point. We quickly made up a rough plan, and headed out to a site in central Fife known for Little Ringed Plover. There were none, so we moved on to Letham, where Barry picked out a 1W Mediterranean Gull from a flock of BHG, and then on to Mountcastle. On the road from Guardbridge, I picked up two year ticks with House Martin and Swallow, with the House Martin also being a year tick for Barry.

Next stop was Rossie Bog, however, it was pretty much deserted by the birds, so it was not long before we were on our way to a new site for me. Arriving at Newburgh, we were soon at the side of the Tay, looking out over Mugdrum Island. The main target here was Marsh Harrier, a bird I'd only ever seen once before, several years ago, up in Orkney.

It was not long before Barry picked out a Marsh Harrier at height in the distance, but soon we had good views of a male and female swooping over the reeds in front of us.

Heading back towards central Fife, we chose a route past Golden and Black Lochs. It was along this road that we found some Red-Legged Partridge. A Fife tick for me.

Getting back on the A92, we now headed north to check out the pools at Luthrie. We had been advised by a gentleman at Mountcastle, that he had recently seen Mandarin ducks on these pools. We were both sceptical, hence we had not rushed off there, but as we were passing, we checked it out. There were no Mandarin. We also had doubts about the same gentleman's story about seeing a wolverine somewhere in Scotland.

At this point, we decided to call it a day, and the plan was for me to drop Barry off at Cupar. We found however, that the road to Cupar was closed, so we rerouted back to Guardbridge via St Michaels. Arriving at St Michaels, on the spur of the moment, we decided on a detour to Morton Lochs. This proved a good decision, as we found two more year ticks for me with Canada Goose and Blackcap. Interestingly, one of the Blackcap we found; a male, was mixing it with a few Reed Bunting, in the reeds at the Railway Hide.

Leaving Morton, I dropped Barry off at a Guardbridge bus stop, and headed off for home. Not bad for a day on which I was trying to take it easy.:t:
 

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Elie Lifer

An afternoon trip to Elie produced a lifer for me when I found the long staying Black-Necked Grebe. :t:

Also went to a rather subdued Kilminning and Fife Ness, before stopping off at the Eden Estuary Centre. Nice views of a Kestrel at Kilminning, but no sign of my target Corn Buntings.

The bird log at the EEC showed a sighting of three Avocet for yesterday. The record wasn't signed, so hard to authenticate. There was no sign of Avocet today.
 

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Mmmm.... nice one Paul - congrats on your Lifer lad.

Avocets do seem to be becoming a bit more regular up here, don't they.
 
Wednesday Wandering

I met up with Stonefaction (Barry) yesterday, for what has become our usual wednesday wander. The plan was to head north to the Angus glens to try and catch some returning migrants. After the glens, we would then head for the Montrose Basin, and finally on to Auchmithie to specifically see the Puffins.

On my way to pick up Barry, I couldn't help but pop in to a couple of sites as I crossed Fife. Highlight was at least one, possibly two Common Sandpipers at the Wilderness. At Letham, there was still a sizeable (100+) flock of Pint-footed Geese, but I did not have time to sift through them to see if there may be the odd White-Fronted Goose in their midst.

Picking Barry up, we took the scenic route past Brechin, to see what we could see. This produced a year tick for both of us as an early returning Swift was spotted.

Arriving in the glen of our choice, we hurried to the head of the road, before walking further up it to an area we visited last year. Even though we "hurried", to try and beat the rain that was forecast for later that day, we did find a few birds from the car including some very cooperative Red Grouse, that sat right on the edge of the road, and also some Wheatear, the first I'd seen this year.

Parking up at the head of the glen public road, we were soon searching for more returning migrants, and were rewarded by Common Sandpiper and Ring Ouzel. The first of the day's shower's hit us here, but soon passed, as we headed back down the glen, picking up on a Dipper as we returned to the car.

Stopping every now and again as we drove back down the road, we would head off for short walks in the surrounding woodland to try and find our target birds. It was on one of these patrols that we (Barry) found a very splendid male Redstart.

At a later stop, Barry heard a Tree Pipit, but we had to wait 10 mins or so in the car due to a very heavy shower. Once the rain eased off, we carried out a circuitous walk. It was as we got back to the road and started to approach the car, that eventually, a Tree Pipit made an appearance on a wire.

Leaving the first glen, we were soon heading up another. It was here that we came across my first Black Grouse or the year. Like its Red cousins, this bird was sat right next to the road. I did not even have to lift the binoculars.

From the glens, we headed across to the Montrose Basin. I've been to the basin a couple of times now, but this time Barry guided me to the area called the Lurgies. Walking along the embankment, we soon added some highlight birds to our list, with Osprey, Greenshank and Little Egret. The Osprey was a year tick for me, and initially I thought the Greenshank was also, but my records show I had one at Seafield in late January.

From the basin, we headed out to Ferryden for a brief scan from the car, before heading for our last stop of the day at Auchmithie. At Auchmithie, we looked down from the cliffs and there paddling about were our target Puffins. A fine end to a successful day.

There were a few targets such as Cuckoo and Pied Flycatcher that escaped us, but we knew that we might be a touch early for some returnees. And of course there is always next Wednesday.:t:
 

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East Lothian

I took my first bird watching trip into East Lothian on Friday, with fairly good results. Starting off at Musselburgh Lagoons, a Grasshopper Warbler lifer was located at the hides, although it was only a fleeting glimpse. Hearing the reeling though was impressive.

Out on the Firth of Forth, I located the main target for the day with the long staying White-Winged Scoter coming into view. However, the Surf Scoter that has also been present, escaped me.

Moving on to Barns Ness, I parked up at Whitesands and walked out to the lighthouse before walking along the back of Skateraw Beach. The main target here would have been another lifer, but despite a few hours taken in the area, the much reported Yellow Wagtails also escaped me. In their place though, especially on the beach, I found a multitude of White Wagtail, Skylark and Wheatear. The bonus bird for the day was a Jack Snipe found in a boggy bit of the sheep field at the back of Skateraw.

Heading back to Fife, I took a detour to Aberlady Bay, but found it very quiet in the late afternoon sun. Certainly a place that looks well worth a return visit though.
 

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while walking along the path at Elliot yesterday I came across a bird that I first thought was a common whitethroat but looking at my pic im not so sure,the bird was just sitting quietly on its own
 

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while walking along the path at Elliot yesterday I came across a bird that I first thought was a common whitethroat but looking at my pic im not so sure,the bird was just sitting quietly on its own

Your warbler is a Common Whitethroat, as was mentioned on the ID thread.

Nice Sanderling shots!
 

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